Ballot Access Case: WE WON!!!!

A huge thanks on behalf of and from the Maryland Libertarian Party to Mark Grannis and his firm for representing us in our fight to stay on the ballot in Maryland. Mark's firm, Wiltshire & Grannis released a statement that I posted here on Independent Word with the pdf versions of the complaint, motion and ruling attached to the post.

There are many other people we need to thank for this victory including Doug McNeil who has worked tirelessly and is our own official Ballot Access "Guru". This is not only a great victory for the MdLP and the Green Party it is a victory for those who desire more than the typical two choices at the polls and a victory for ballot initiatives in our state.

Now it is back to work to continue our never ending battle at defending Liberty. 

Maryland is killing participatory democracy

As The Sun's recent editorial noted, the right to petition almost no longer exists in Maryland ("Technicalities kill another petition," May 23). The Frederick petition is only the latest in a very long line of petition drives that have failed to qualify for the ballot in recent years. 

And this problem affects small political parties as well as ballot questions — currently, all three of Maryland's small parties have lost their status as recognized political parties and are no longer able to nominate candidates for public office. In particular, the Green Party, which has been getting more and more votes in every Baltimore City election, will be unable to nominate candidates for this year's election unless its ballot access is restored by July 1. 

But fortunately, political parties are more permanent organizations than referendum and initiative groups, and we have decades of experience with ballot access law. So Maryland's Libertarian and Green Parties have joined together as co-plaintiffs in a lawsuit attempting to reestablish the fundamental right to petition that Maryland voters once enjoyed. The rule in Maryland has always been that whatever our policy differences, we're all in the same boat on ballot access. 

Each party submitted about 15,000 petition signatures to regain its political party status to the Maryland State Board of Elections, but election officials will not recertify either party — even though they admit that more than the required 10,000 registered voters have signed each of our petitions. We argue that they are seriously misinterpreting the case law and applying a signature verification standard that is much more strict than is legally justified. 

Do we really want only the Democratic and Republican parties to be able to run candidates for public office? No minor party or independent candidates, no initiatives or referenda — and no participatory democracy? We think not. 

Doug McNeil, Baltimore

Tim Willard, Gaithersburg 

The writers are the plaintiff's representatives for the Maryland Libertarian Party and Green Party, respectively.

Dr. Richard Davis' interview with the Daily Times

Great Quotes from Maryland Libertarians - Dan Massey

"There is NO role for the federal government in education. Education is most productive when it is handled at the local community level. Spending money has been shown not to improve education levels. The most effective way to improve education is to let the local leaders and the principle control their own budget. School choice would add free enterprise into the system and kids would flow to successful schools and those unsuccessful schools would lose their funding."

Dan Massey
Libertarian for U.S. Congress
District 4, Maryland

Great Quotes from Maryland Libertarians

"Our country is bankrupt. Our representatives in Congress and the Senate don't want to talk about it, but it's true. This is a greater threat to our national security than any terrorist organization, and it's a threat we have created ourselves. Acknowledging the fact that we're bankrupt will allow us to start fixing it. We need the right person in Congress -- me."

Lorenzo Gaztañaga
Libertarian Candidate for Congress 
District 2, Maryland

LP Monday Message: Candidates, Campaigns, Polls, Fundraising

Dear Friend of Liberty,

We have a great slate of over 800 Libertarian candidates for the upcoming November elections. Many of them are looking for more coverage on our website, in our emails, and in LP News. They want publicity, donations and help. That's a good thing.

Unfortunately, there's just too much information about our candidates for us to convey directly. And even though there are probably a hundred candidates around the country who would be happy to email all Libertarians nationwide each week, we know that you might not appreciate getting that much unsolicited email.

We have to rely on our state and local affiliates to provide announcements about the campaigns. I also encourage you to seek out candidates you might be interested in, and get more information. You can visit all 800 candidates listed here. Some of them have websites with email announcements you can sign up for.

Even though it's impossible to give you a picture of what's going on with all our candidates, I would like to pass along some notes about a few of this year's campaigns. (The selection of campaigns is arbitrary, but hopefully interesting, even if you live in a different state.)

QUESTION 1: CAN WE DO IT?

30 August, 2010
Dear Editor:

Here begins a short series on what I think a Congressman should consider about every issue. Washington abounds with wonderful ideas of things the federal government could do to make life better for the people, the country, and the world.

QUESTION 1: CAN WE DO IT?

The quick response is the President’s glib “Yes, we can!” After all, this is the country that has repeatedly put men on the moon. Yes, if we have a well-defined goal we can usually work out the details. That if, however, can be a big one. Yes, we have sent men to the moon, and, more impressive, brought them back to earth alive. We have NOT explored the moon, or established commercial mining there, or established a base to try to control tides or weather; we have simply sent men there and back.

Our record is not so impressive on less well-defined goals. In 1917-18 we sent troops off to “the war to end all wars” to “make the world safe for democracy”. It looks to me like war is still going on, and currently we’re just trying to make Iraq and Afghanistan safe for democracy – 92 years later. We’ve had a “war” on poverty for 45 years now and one on drugs for about the same. When your goals are poorly defined or you keep changing them, it’s a lot harder to meet them.

NEXT MONTH: PART 2 – SHOULD WE DO IT?

Sincerely,

Richard J. Davis D.D.S.
Libertarian for Congress

MdLP 2010 State Convention - A Huge Success

The MdLP experienced a great State Convention in 2010.  Here are some of the highlights.

Were treated with listening to Wes Benedict, the Libertarian Party's Executive Director, who offered some his advice and experiences from when he was the Chair of the Texas LP. 

Paul Jacob, a Liberty Warrior in the trenches for decades, gave us his 10 Commandments, these will be included in a separate post with links to his website.

We had a speaker about a possible Constitution Convention in the State of Maryland, with a question on the ballot in November.  Here is a link to the website.  Until he "comes out officially" we will keep him nameless.

There is no change on the Executive Board as the Central Committee elected the following individuals:

• Chair: Robert S. Johnston III
• Vice-Chair: Dave Sten
• Treasurer: Michael Linder
• Secretary: Robert E. Glaser
• Media: Muir Boda
• At-Large: Lorenzo Gaztañaga
• At-Large: Justin Kinsey

Two individuals were nominated for Maryland House of Delegates:

Arvin Vohra for District 15 

          Jerry McKinley for District 42.

 Two awards were handed out at the Convention.

Samuel P. Chase Award:  Joe Miller

Defender of Liberty Award: Gary Hoover

Our featured speaker for the evening Radley Balko is a Senior Editor at Reason Magazine.  He provided us  with a positive outlook on the Liberty Movement and some great advances on that front.  He also gave some great quotes from his research like this:

"Support for legalizing Marijuana is higher than the support for the Republican or Democratic Parties."

On behalf of those that attended, we wish to thank MdLP Chair Bob Johnston for putting together another great convention.

MDLP Candidate Spotlight: Jusitn Kinsey

We are casting the spotlight on Justin Kinsey, the Maryland Libertarian Candidate for House of Delegates in District 5B.

Check out more about Justin on his website www.kinsey5b.com.

Libertarians: No need for ‘Iraq war rush’ to government-run medicine

Obama demands for immediate action, little transparency are hallmarks of bad legislation

WASHINGTON -- America’s third largest party Tuesday urged Congress to take its time deliberating the proposed government takeover of the nation’s health care system amid pressure from the White House to quickly adopt the troubled proposal quickly and with minimal debate. Libertarians oppose the plan, which deepens the federal budget deficit and leads to the rationing of basic health care.

“As confidence in President Obama’s plans for a federal government takeover of medicine plunges, the White House is pressuring legislators to rush to judgment while the plan can still be salvaged,” said William Redpath, Libertarian National Committee Chairman. “We urge Congress to deliberate this massive government takeover carefully, take their time to allow Americans to read the full bill and then vote down this legislative disaster.”

A poll conducted independently by the Gallup organization, not for any party or group, and released today shows disapproval of the Obama plan tops approval among adults by a 50 percent to 44 percent margin. Among political independents, the gap grows. Fifty-five percent of independents disapprove of Obama’s plan. Only 40 percent approve.

“The more we find out about the Democrat plan, whether it’s the language on page sixteen outlawing private insurance or Section 440 empowering government to visit your home and monitor your parenting, the more obvious it becomes why President Obama wants as little transparency as possible. As we saw during the rush to the Iraq war, nothing good can happen when the president demands Congress give him what he wants immediately and without debate,” said Redpath.

For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.

The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.

Wes Benedict named Executive Director

posted by Donny Ferguson on Jul 08, 2009

Wes Benedict, Libertarian Party of Texas Executive Director from 2004 to 2008 and former member of the Libertarian National Committee, was named Executive Director of the Libertarian National Committee today by Chairman William Redpath.

Benedict begins his service July 17 at the LNC's quarterly meeting in St. Louis, Missouri and will then move directly to the Party's Washington, D.C. headquarters.

National Platform of the Libertarian Party

2.0 Economic Liberty

A free and competitive market allocates resources in the most efficient manner. Each person has the right to offer goods and services to others on the free market. The only proper role of government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected. All efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society.

National Platform of the Libertarian Party

1.6 Self-Defense

The only legitimate use of force is in defense of individual rights — life, liberty, and justly acquired property — against aggression. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the right to keep and bear arms, and oppose the prosecution of individuals for exercising their rights of self-defense. We oppose all laws at any level of government requiring registration of, or restricting, the ownership, manufacture, or transfer or sale of firearms or ammunition.

National Platform of the Libertarian Party

1.5 Crime and Justice

Government exists to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and property. Criminal laws should be limited to violation of the rights of others through force or fraud, or deliberate actions that place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm. Individuals retain the right to voluntarily assume risk of harm to themselves. We support restitution of the victim to the fullest degree possible at the expense of the criminal or the negligent wrongdoer. We oppose reduction of constitutional safeguards of the rights of the criminally accused. The rights of due process, a speedy trial, legal counsel, trial by jury, and the legal presumption of innocence until proven guilty, must not be denied. We assert the common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the justice of the law.

National Platform of the Libertarian Party

1.2 Personal Privacy

We support the protections provided by the Fourth Amendment to be secure in our persons, homes, and property. Only actions that infringe on the rights of others can properly be termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes" without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational purposes.

National Platform of the Libertarian Party

1.4 Abortion

Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration.

National Platform of the Libertarian Party

1.3 Personal Relationships

Sexual orientation, preference, gender, or gender identity should have no impact on the rights of individuals by government, such as in current marriage, child custody, adoption, immigration or military service laws. Consenting adults should be free to choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships. Government does not have the authority to define, license or restrict personal relationships.

National Platform of the Libertarian Party

1.1 Expression and Communication

We support full freedom of expression and oppose government censorship, regulation or control of communications media and technology. We favor the freedom to engage in or abstain from any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others. We oppose government actions which either aid or attack any religion.

National Platform of the Libertarian Party

1.0 Personal Liberty

Individuals should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. No individual, group, or government may initiate force against any other individual, group, or government. Our support of an individual's right to make choices in life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those choices.

National Platform of the Libertarian Party

Adopted in Convention, May 2008, Denver, Colorado

Preamble

As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others.

We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized.

Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power.

In the following pages we have set forth our basic principles and enumerated various policy stands derived from those principles.

These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.