Libertarian Party nominates Jo Jorgensen for president during online nomination

Today, Saturday, May 23, 2020, the Libertarian Party held a bifurcated national convention online — the first-ever for any political party to . The Libertarian Party will hold an in-person convention in Orlando, Florida from July 9-12, 2020. The party’s national convention was originally scheduled for this weekend in Austin, Texas; however, due to the COVID-19 crisis, it necessitated these changes.

Jo Jorgensen, Libertarian Party Presidential Nominee 2020

Libertarian Party delegates elected Jo Jorgensen as their presidential nominee after a session lasting over twelve hours and four rounds of voting. Jorgensen is a lifetime Libertarian Party member and is well known in Libertarian circles; though time will tell if the general voting public in the United States will learn who Jorgensen is before the general election on November 3, 2020. Jorgensen is a candidate for those seeking a principled, freedom-based candidate who also happens to be a woman.

Today’s nomination process was challenging; however, Chair Nick Sarwark expertly threaded through the many interruptions (Robert’s Rules of Order) to get the hundreds of Libertarian delegates to vote for their nominee. Sarwark and all members of the Libertarian National Committee deserve a tremendous amount of gratitude from the delegates and the general membership of the Libertarian Party for handling the difficulties of putting on an online nominating convention. This weekend’s convention will continue tomorrow at 11 a.m. Eastern to nominate the party’s Vice-Presidential nominee. Although delegates will be participating on ZOOM, the public will be able to view tomorrow’s nomination via YouTube and other channels.

Jo Jorgensen will face the Republican Party and Democratic Party presidential nominees who are Donald Trump (incumbent) and Joe Biden, respectively. Jorgensen’s success in the 2020 general election will largely depend upon her ability to garner media exposure. Whether the mainstream media chooses to give Jorgensen equal or significant air time and print alongside Trump and Biden remains to be seen. Jorgensen also gives Republicans and Democrats a better option than the two other candidates who will likely be on the ballot in all 50 states.

The Libertarian Party is accustomed to making history, so today is not unusual. The party’s first presidential candidate was openly gay and had the first female to receive an electoral vote in the 1972 general election. The Libertarian Party was supportive of marijuana legalization decades before the rest of the nation came around to their way of thinking. The same can be said on a multitude of issues like asset forfeiture, same-sex marriage, foreign policy, etc. The Libertarian Party has been the most-advanced political party when it comes to maximizing the freedom of the individual.

Libertarian Party to hold “hybrid” convention

Yesterday, Saturday, May 9, 2020, the Libertarian Party National Committee (LNC) met online to decide how to go about their 2020 national convention due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous Saturday, the LNC met and canceled their contract with the JW Marriott in Austin, Texas. This is becoming a common scenario with political parties as they make changes in their conventions in light of personal distancing requirements as well as travel challenges.

The LNC has decided to choose our Libertarian Party Presidential Nominee on Memorial Day weekend, the original time of the Austin, Texas convention. This will likely happen via ZOOM and details will be forthcoming for delegates. The choices for presidential nominees are extensive and vary greatly. You can see a complete list here.

As for other business before the national Libertarian Party, there will be an in-person convention happening July 8-12 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida.  No charge for parking for convention attendees 🙂

Yesterday’s meeting got bogged down in a minutia of Roberts Rules of Order as well as an embarrassing amount of infighting. No wonder, current Chair Nicholas Sarwark is no longer seeking to be chair (at least as much as I’ve been told). He was obviously frustrated throughout the eight-hour-long meeting that went from public comments to the LNC meeting, to Executive Session, then back to the actual LNC meeting where the final decisions were made.

Today, the Bylaws and Convention Rules Committee will meet.

For those wishing to watch party business, you can subscribe to the Libertarian Party’s YouTube channel here. Under Sarwark’s leadership, the party has been very good with transparency. In addition, to yesterday’s meeting, you can watch past videos that are very informative and occasionally entertaining.

As a matter of public disclosure, I have been a member of the Libertarian Party since 1996 and have held various positions with the Libertarian Party of Florida and the Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County.

A ballot access update of confirmed states for Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson

The Libertarian Party is now a recognized party in Maine, as the Secretary of State’s office announced that more than enough Libertarian voters had been registered.

The law was changed in 2014 so that a new party would need at least 5,000 registered members by December 1 in the year prior to a general election to become recognized. Maine Libertarians submitted more than 6,300 registered voter forms by the deadline last year, but almost 2,000 were thrown out so that the party would not appear on the 2016 ballot. A judge later ruled that 4,513 registrations were valid and that the Maine Libertarians would have until July 12 to submit the remaining 487 registrations to become a party.

To retain party status in Maine, the party will have to have at least 10,000 registered voters participate in the November election.

The LP presidential and vice presidential nominees are now on the ballot in 35 states.

The Libertarian Party currently has ballot access for the 2016 Presidential candidate in 35 states. We’re working to get on the ballot in all 50 states plus DC.

Green: on the ballot
Blue: process underway to get on the ballot

Palm Beach Libertarians help Delray tattoo shop owner fight city hall and win

Rebecca Loveless, the owner of Tradition Tatoo, gives Paul Collinson his first tattoo.

 

 

Last night, Tradition Tattoo shop owner Rebecca Loveless had a quasi-judicial hearing with the Delray Beach City Commission regarding whether she could move her Boca Raton tattoo salon to the City of Delray Beach. She won! For your reference, I wrote an article on the issue this past Monday. Many members of the Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County (LPPalmBeach) both wrote the city commission and appeared at last night’s hearing to support Loveless and her small business effort. Although I was the only Libertarian who spoke in favor of allowing Loveless to open, several members showed up to show their support, including (but not limited to) LPPalmBeach Chair Shane George, Vice-Chair Marc Tancer, and Treasurer Larry Stone. No one at the meeting spoke out against Tradition Tattoo. But don’t get too excited, as city commissioners didn’t want Delray residents to have too much freedom because they restricted Loveless to only doing tattoos, no piercings allowed!

Loveless, who lives in Delray Beach, had signed a lease for a space in the south end of Delray after meeting with Delray’s planning and zoning earlier this year who recommended she open up shop there. So, she signed a lease and had to stop renovations once some members had concerns about Delray having its first tattoo shop. Loveless has now been paying rent on both spaces, even though the Delray location has remained empty. The city commission refused to give her final approval even though there was nothing restricting a tattoo shop from opening in the city. No one spoke against the tattoo shop from opening and ultimately, last night, all the city commissioners did the right thing by voting in favor of Loveless. After stating earlier that the case would be determined based on fact and not the character of tattoos or tattoo recipients, the mayor finished the quasi-judicial hearing with a long list of derogatory statements concerning tattoo shops and their effect on surrounding neighborhoods. A video of last night’s meeting can be found here: http://delraybeach.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=938

Unfortunately, it was only a half win for Libertarians as, even though city commissioners voted to permit Loveless to open Tradition Tattoo in Delray Beach, last night they voted on at least a 90-day moratorium of future tattoo shops from opening until the city can update their zoning regulations as they pertain to tattoo shops (Reso 26-16 Zoning in Progress ResolutionTattooStudio (1)-Delray). As mentioned earlier, there is nothing in the city’s code that restrict a tattoo shop from operating in the city limits.

Libertarians are not for or against tattoo shops and are free marketers when it comes to individuals transacting voluntary business with others. This is especially true in Loveless’ case  because her business has the added benefit of artistic expression which is protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Libertarian Dr. Marc Feldman speaking at Pennsylvania Libertarian Party Debate

Gov. GARY JOHNSON Be Libertarian with me.

Meet 2016 Presidential Candidate Austin Petersen

Be a Libertarian – John McAfee / Judd Weiss Presidential Campaign Ad

Libertarian White House hopeful: Hillary and Trump represent just 30 percent of the electorate

In a presidential campaign season featuring polarizing front-runners and infighting among Republicans and Democrats, Gary Johnson sees an opening.

That’s if more folks realize they have options outside of the country’s two juggernaut parties, says the former two-term New Mexico governor.
The Republican-turned-Libertarian got something of a pick-me-up late last month. He drew 11 percent support in a nationwide Monmouth University poll asking registered voters whom they would pick in a contest between Republican Donald Trump, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Johnson, the 63-year-old fitness freak who has climbed each continent’s tallest mountain (Everest was the biggest challenge).

READ THE REST OF THE STORY

First ever nationally televised Libertarian Presidential Debate

Featuring three of the Libertarian candidates seeking the Libertarian Party’s Presidential Nomination: Gary Johnson, John McAfee and Austin Petersen.

April 1, 2016 9PM Eastern. Hosted by John Stossel on his Fox Business show.
https://www.facebook.com/JohnStossel/

For a full list of Libertarians seeking the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination go here:https://www.lp.org/candidates/presidential-candidates-2016/

Regardless of political affiliation, which 2016 presidential candidates are most in line with YOUR values? Go here: http://www.isidewith.com/elections/2016-presidential-quiz

Are you a Libertarian? Take the World’s Smallest Political Quiz: https://www.theadvocates.org/quiz/quiz.php

Why aren’t the Republican candidates talking about cutting government spending?

In seven GOP debates, not one of the candidates, who all claim to be fiscally conservative, has vowed to stop today’s astronomically high federal government spending and to balance the budget now. At best, they talk about slowing the growth of the federal government.

When business owners and families spend more than they take in, they are forced to take action—or pay consequences. They must stop overspending immediately, balance their budget, and come up with a plan to pay off their debt.

In 2012, Republicans and Democrats in congress voted for a ten-year plan to balance the budget. If they had kept their word, the 2022 budget would be balanced. But in December 2015, the Republican-controlled congress not only refused to balance the budget by then, they passed a spending bill which, projections show, will nearly double today’s deficit, raising it to over $1 trillion.

“Apparently, the Republicans’ ten-year plan to eliminate the deficit became a ten-year plan to explode it,” said Libertarian National Committee Chair Nicholas Sarwark.

“Clearly, neither Democrats nor Republicans have the slightest intention to reduce total government spending or balance the budget—ever,” he said. “Not to mention paying off the federal debt, which will cost Americans $255 billion in interest payments this year, and rise to $830 billion in 2026.”

“If that wasn’t bad enough,” he said, “these projections assume the federal government will collect a staggering $1.7 trillion in new tax revenue—every year—beyond what we’re already paying today.”

“We must stop overspending now. Not in ten years. Now,” he said.

The Federal Reserve has kept interest rates artificially low. If interest rates are allowed to return to market rates, interest on the debt could balloon even more.

Government overspending and low interest rates have been harming the U.S. economy for years.

High government spending depletes the private sector of capital needed to create jobs. As a result, millions of Americans are unemployed, underemployed, or working two jobs to make ends meet.

The government prints hundreds of billions of dollars out of thin air every year to cover expenses, which devalues the dollar. Retirees despair as they watch their nest eggs dwindle. Older workers, afraid to retire, continue to work instead. This makes jobs even harder to find for young workers. Prices of food, housing, and other essentials continue to rise, lowering everyone’s standard of living.

“The damage done by high government spending goes beyond wreaking havoc on the economy,” said Sarwark. “It fuels Big Government and all its abysmally failed programs: the Iraqi war which gave rise to ISIS; heavy-handed regulations that force small businesses to close their doors; and the drug prohibition, which has failed to prevent a growing epidemic of heroin addiction, has incarcerated millions of nonviolent African Americans, and has made our streets unsafe.”

History has proven time and again: countries that continually print money to balance their budgets are at risk of hyperinflation and economic collapse. Witness the post-inflation economies of Austria (1922), Germany (1923), Greece (1944), Hungary (1946), Argentina (1989), Russia (1992), Brazil (1994), Yugoslavia (1994), Zimbabwe (2008), and Venezuela (today).

“Why hasn’t every single candidate who claims to care about the American economy been talking about balancing the budget—now—in the first fifteen minutes of every Republican and Democratic debate?” asks Sarwark. “Why can’t they talk about cutting anything beyond the trifling amounts that are used to subsidize Planned Parenthood?”

Libertarians are serious about cutting spending. In 2014, dozens of Libertarians running for federal office pledged to cut military spending by 60 percent. This will force the closing of unneeded military bases all over the world, stop dangerous overseas ventures, and still leave the U.S. with the strongest military in the world.

Dozens of Libertarian candidates who ran in 2014 also pledged to bring down federal spending to $1.65 trillion, the level in 1998 when Democrat Bill Clinton was president. This balances the budget while ending the federal income tax and putting an average of $11,525 back into the family budgets of hard-working Americans every year.

More Libertarian candidates will make bold pledges in 2016.

“This is why the Libertarian Party is needed,” said Sarwark. “Voting Libertarian is the only way to end the superficial banter that dominates GOP debates and to focus instead on serious proposals to reduce today’s dangerously high government spending.”

Number of presidential candidates widens with official Gary Johnson announcement

The number of candidates vying to be the next President of the United States widened this afternoon, January 6, 2016, with the official announcement of former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson . Johnson was the 2012 Libertarian Party Presidential Nominee and he is in strong demand by Libertarians.

Photo Credit: Gary Johnson

Johnson joins several candidates running in the 2016 presidential election from theLibertarian Party, Republican Party, Green Party and a number of independents seeking American’s votes in the November general election. Gary Johnson is now competing for news airtime against such candidates as Republicans Donald Trumpand Jeb Bush as well as Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders and other Libertarian Party candidates. The candidates from the Republican and Democratic parties are working to win their respective primaries before the general election on November 8, 2016.

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Most Americans find country on wrong track, opens door for Libertarians

A poll released yesterday, November 30, 2015 has found that a growing number of Americans feel the country is on the wrong track. This has been a growing trend since February 2015. Rasmussen Reports released a report yesterday showing only 28 percent of Americans who are likely voters feel the country is on the right track. The poll confirms the average of other surveys and polls showing 64 percent of Americans feel the country needs to go in a new direction. This could open the door for candidates with the Libertarian Party to shine in 2016 elections as the country questions the political theater of the Democratic and Republican parties.

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE

Libertarian Party presidential candidate Marc Feldman talks about opening the tent of the Libertarian Party

The house of the Libertarian Party is 43 years old and it is in great shape. We have a firm foundation with our basic principles and our honored founders.

Today, August 30, 2015, Libertarian Party presidential candidate Dr. Marc Feldman, made the following statement:

“Our dedicated activists are the supporting beams that keep the structure from falling in on itself. Our generous donors provide the roof that protects us from the hostile environment.

The problem is, our house is too small. My goal is not to change the basic structure, but to knock down some exterior walls to add a couple wings and a large addition in the back, with a huge patio and gardens to make us welcoming to all who would join us.

I always found it strange to go to Libertarian meetings and see a group nearly completely composed of idealistic, intelligent white men. Why would a movement of freedom be composed of one of the least oppressed groups? This has always been a puzzle to me. I may have found an important clue.

I was reading about a controversy in the feminist movement. At the February 2015 Oscars Patricia Arquette appealled for gender and pay equity in her acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress:

“To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights,” she said. “It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America.”

Do you see the problem yet? It is not her tacit assertion of positive rights and the appeal to the use of government force . I am talking about people, not rights.

“To every woman who gave birth” what does this say to transgendered women or to lesbian couples who have adopted, or women who by choice or not by choice have not given birth? They are not included.

“to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation” what about people who do not make enough income to pay income tax? What about residents who are not yet citizens? They are not included.
“we have fought for everybody else’s rights” It is time to focus on taxpaying citizen biological mothers. This tent is getting increasingly small.
Her backstage comments did not help:
“it’s time for all the women in America and all the men that love women and all the gay people and all the people of color that we all fought for to fight for us now.” It is an ideology of exclusion.

I see the ideology of the current Libertarian party, not as an intersectional Libertarian universalism, but a narrow white Libertarianism that does not see or does not recognize the equally important but different experience of the black struggle, the Latino struggle, the struggle for the majority of poor, who are not only oppressed, but devalued, disenfranchised, and discriminated against.

Dr. Marc Allan Feldman, Libertarian for President”

Update on Ohio Ballot Access Lawsuit

The Libertarian Party of Ohio’s federal court fight to regain ballot access in time for the 2016 elections continues with expectations of success, party leaders said Tuesday .

“The LPO has been active in the effort to overturn Senate Bill 193 since it was rushed through the legislature in November of 2013, and we will continue until our party, along with other parties who challenge the Republican/Democrat cartel in Columbus, have a chance to give Ohio voters a real choice,” said LPO Chair Paul Hugenberg.

The case of LPO v. Husted is currently before Judge Michael H. Watson of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The LPO is asking Watson to overturn SB 193, which denies ballot access to Libertarian candidates.  Watson previously granted the LPO’s request to block enforcement of SB 193 for the 2014 election.

“Though we originally expected a verdict in the first several weeks of 2015, we are grateful for a system that is taking a long and hard look at this matter. It is that important for Ohio voters,” Hugenberg said.

Charlie Earl, the 2014 Libertarian candidate for Ohio governor, is heading a group of LPO leaders working to support the party’s legal team as the lawsuit continues. “At this point we must trust that the court will discern that SB 193 is not only unconstitutional but is morally reprehensible,” said Earl. “The old parties’ lust for power has driven them to attempt extreme measures to limit their challengers, but we hope and trust the court will see through the smoke.”

“While Charlie Earl and our legal team are working within the judicial system, I’m encouraging every Libertarian in Ohio to please continue to spread the message of liberty, individual rights, and voter choice. These principles are never outdated or wrong,” Hugenberg said, adding that the LPO is considering a few different courses of action should the court case not be resolved favorably by the 2016 election cycle.