Dear fellow Libertarian,
Thanks to those of you who responded to our email on Tuesday and donated a total of $5,870 to fund Libertarian Party sponsorship and participation in the Ron Paul festivals in Tampa this August.
This helps tremendously.
To have a strong presence and reach the tens of thousands of Ron Paul supporters – and potential LP members – who will be at these events, we need more.
When the GOP convention is over, Ron Paul supporters have a choice.
They can quit and not stay active at all. A liberty activist lost.
They can be cajoled into believing they should support Big Government Republican Mitt Romney or Big Government Democrat Barack Obama – both of whom, they’re told, are the “lesser of two evils.” (Nice racket, wouldn’t you say?)
Or they can choose to join the Libertarian Party. And support Libertarians Gov. Gary Johnson and Judge Jim Gray. And Libertarians up and down the ticket.
To attract – and bring back - these true Ron Paul, liberty supporters to the Libertarian Party we must act today.
We need LP advertisements, banners and promotional materials at booths, on stage, and everywhere we can get them at these Ron Paul festivals.
We need to show Ron Paul supporters that, should he not win the GOP nomination, the Libertarian Party is their natural home. And that our Libertarian candidates will continue the fight for liberty right through the General Election in November.
We need them to understand that while Ron Paul supporters fight for liberty inside the GOP establishment, the Libertarian Party applies pressure from the outside. We’re the competitive threat that helps make their success possible.
Help us get this message to every Ron Paul supporter before they quit – or worse, defect to one of the two old establishment parties.
There will be lots of media coverage of these events in Tampa.
The Libertarian Party needs to be there.
Will you help?
Time is of the essence. We must commit today or tomorrow to our participation in these events, or our opportunity for a sponsorship will be lost. We need your donation today.
Would you please make your most generous donation right now?
We need one $5,000 donor. Will you be this person?
We have two $1,000 donors. We need three more. Could you please help today?
We have three $250 donors. We need ten more. Will you be one?
We have twelve $125 donors. We need the equivalent of thirty more to put us over the top. Will you be one of 30 more $125 donors?
Every donation of every size will help.
Please donate now -- and write “Tampa Ron Paul events” in the “Comment” box at the bottom of the form.
Thank you!
Yours in liberty,

Carla Howell
Executive Director
National Libertarian Party

   

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It’s Not Just A Two-Man Presidential Contest
By Glenn Garvin
Miami Herald

You probably don’t give a great deal of thought to Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party presidential candidate. Maybe you should. Mitt Romney certainly is.
Romney’s political cronies in Michigan have gotten Johnson kicked off the November ballot there because he was three minutes late in filing some paperwork. With polls indicating the race for Michigan’s 16 votes is a dead heat, Romney’s camp doesn’t want to take any chances that Johnson, a former Republican who served two terms as governor of New Mexico, will siphon off any of his votes.
Romney, however, might not want to start counting his new Libertarian votes yet. Johnson’s lawyers, arguing that one absurd technicality deserves another, say they’ve found a loophole in Michigan law that will keep the Libertarian Party on the ballot if they can just find some other guy named Gary Johnson to take his place.
“And fortunately, I’ve got a pretty common name,” said Johnson, laughing.
There are other good reasons you might want to give Johnson some thought:
•  He’s the only candidate who will be on the ballot in all 50 states and Washington who shows no interest in bombing Iran.
•  He’s the only candidate willing to violate the politicians’ version of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and say out loud what they all know – that the war on drugs is a useless waste of money.
•  And he’s the only candidate promising to cut the federal budget – actually cut it, not just slow its growth – in his first year in office.
Not symbolically, either. He plans to cut $1.4 trillion in government spending. And it won’t be as hard as you think. Start with the Pentagon, where Johnson already has made a list of cuts that amount to 43 percent of the budget.
“You know how many years that rolls back our defense spending?” Johnson asked. “All the way to 2003. That’s not the end of the world. I think we can live safely within the military security we had in 2003.”
Johnson confounds political reporters because his mix of positions doesn’t correspond to their bipolar worldview, where everybody is either a free-spending, pro-civil-liberties, dovish liberal Democrat or a skinflint, lock-’em-up, hawkish conservative Republican.
But polls show growing numbers of Americans are socially liberal and fiscally conservative. “I don’t think either major party embraces those values,” said Johnson. “I’m running in the same political category as most people in this country.”
They figured that out in New Mexico, where Johnson was governor from 1995 to 2003. Though the state is overwhelmingly Democratic, Johnson won a solid victory with his platform of cutting taxes and reining in spending. And in spite of facing a legislature that was two-thirds Democratic, he delivered, vetoing 750 bills and thousands of line-item expenditures. He easily won re-election, and when he left office the state had a $1 billion budget surplus.
Jobs in New Mexico grew at a faster clip under Johnson than under any other former governor who ran for president this year – five times faster than they did in Massachusetts when Romney was governor. But Johnson quickly corrects any suggestion that he “created” jobs.
“I didn’t create a single job,” he said. “The private sector did that. But I did create an environment where the private sector could flourish. And that’s what I’ll do as president.”
He might, however, create one job. If you live in Michigan and your name is Gary Johnson, send in a resume.

Glenn Garvin is a columnist for the Miami Herald.
 

Dear fellow Libertarian,

A lot of former Libertarian Party members have campaigned for Ron Paul for the Republican Nomination for President.

Thousands of potential LP supporters have campaigned for Ron Paul’s nomination.

We have a huge opportunity before us to get them to join, and rejoin, the Libertarian Party. And we need your help now.

The gallant efforts of Ron Paul supporters to clinch the 2012 Republican nomination for president will soon come to an end – at the Republican Presidential Nominating Convention in Tampa, Florida at the end of August.

As Ron Paul himself has said, he will likely fall short of the delegates he needs to win the GOP nomination.

When it’s over, where will his supporters go?

God forbid they go to Republican Mitt Romney, Democrat Barrack Obama or any of the many “conservative” or “liberal” organizations that give lip service to liberty – while working to destroy it.

We have an opportunity to attract these true Ron Paul, liberty supporters to the Libertarian Party. But we must act today.

Several Ron Paul events are planned for August 24-26th in Tampa in conjunction with a major rally organized by Ron Paul himself on Sunday, August 26th, just before the GOP convention which begins on the following Monday.

The Libertarian Party has an opportunity to have a presence at these rallies. Our presidential nominee, Governor Gary Johnson, is already booked to speak at one on Saturday.

We want LP advertisements, banners and promotional materials at booths, on stage, and everywhere we can get them at these festivals. We want additional LP speakers so that everyone who attends hears the message that the Libertarian Party is the place for them to be.

To do this we must buy a sponsorship package and commit to participate. But the window for this opportunity may close any time in the next few days. Which is why we must raise funds and commit to buying a sponsorship immediately.

This will be a golden opportunity for the LP to get our message out and show Ron Paul supporters that, should he not win the GOP nomination, the Libertarian Party is the bar-none, highest leverage, best way possible to keep the flame of liberty alive right through the General Election in November - and beyond.

The Libertarian Party is the only party that for forty years:

• has fought to end the Federal Reserve and reckless fiscal policy
• has fought to draw down high taxes and high government spending
• has fought to get the U.S. out of foreign wars
• has fought to end the destructive War on Drugs
• has cleared the mine field and made it safe for others to stand up for the right of consenting adults to marry whomever they choose.
• has fought against the Patriot Act and other infringements of civil liberties.

Ron Paul supporters have embraced these ideals and goals – ones that the LP has been fighting for since Day One, forty years ago.

The establishment parties and their candidates give lip service to these ideals – but they betray their supporters when it comes to casting votes.

Why they need us – and we need them

Whereas Ron Paul supporters have taken the battle for liberty inside the GOP establishment, the Libertarian Party has been the all-important outside competitive threat that helped to make their success possible.

Without outside competition, the GOP has no reason to listen to liberty candidates and Ron Paul supporters within their own ranks.

Just like the free market, competition is the essential element that makes change possible.

The Libertarian Party threat limits what Democrats and Republicans can get away with. We force them to listen to the liberty factions within their own parties.

The notable successes that Ron Paul supporters have achieved this year – winning a majority of Republican delegates in Iowa, Maine, Minnesota and Louisiana and winning key positions in Republican states committees such as in Iowa, Alaska, Nevada, Colorado and Massachusetts, to name a few – would not have been possible without the Libertarian Party.

Without the possibility that LP candidates could spoil an election for a Democrat who promises to stay out of war – and then escalates war – the Democrats will continue to keep us at war. Barrack Obama’s partial withdrawal from Iraq may never have occurred without the LP.

Without the possibility that LP candidates could spoil an election for a Republican who promises to cut taxes and spending – who then raises them both - the Republicans will spend us into oblivion. The fact that real spending cuts are finally being talked about may never have happened without the LP.

The competitive threat of the Libertarian Party is one of the biggest forces to stop outright tyranny in the United States today.

Ron Paul supporters need to know this. They need to understand this dynamic – lest they get swept away by forces within the Democrat and Republican parties that are trying to scare them into voting for the “lesser of two evils."

Ron Paul supporters need the Libertarian Party. And the Libertarian Party needs them.

We need this vital energy, this rising tide of supporters and voters, to grow the LP and grow that outside competitive threat until the day comes when we can reverse today’s Big Government. End wars. Dramatically cut government spending and taxes. Restore civil liberties.

We need to be at these festivals. We need a wide and unmistakable presence that gets our message across to every Ron Paul supporter who attends -- and to the wide range of media that will be covering these festivals.

Will you help?

We need to raise $20,000 immediately to buy a sponsorship package, create materials for this event, get speakers there and to advertise.

The more we raise, the greater our presence will be, and the more Ron Paul supporters we can attract.

But we cannot wait. We must commit ASAP to our participation in these events, or our opportunity for a sponsorship will be lost. We need your donation today.

Would you please make your most generous donation right now?

We need one $5,000 donor. Will you be this person?

We need five $1,000 donors. Could you please help today?

We need twenty $250 donors. Will you be one?

And we need forty $125 donors. Will you be one of forty $125 donors?

Every donation of any size will help.

Please donate now to the Libertarian Party here and write “Tampa Ron Paul events” in the “Comment” box at the bottom of this form.

Let the R3VOLution CONTINUE – and let it energize the Libertarian Party in 2012!

With your help, we’ll take liberty to the General Election and make the Libertarian Party a driving force in politics for years to come.

Please donate today.

Yours in liberty,

Carla Howell
Executive Director
National Libertarian Party

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Paid for by the Libertarian National Committee
2600 Virginia Ave, N.W. Suite 200, Washington D.C. 20037
Content not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

Jury Nullification In New Hampshire Becomes Reality

by Michael Suede via Policy Mic           

For those of you who don’t know much about jury nullification, basically it’s when the jury finds a defendant innocent because of their dislike of the law. For example, a jury might refuse to convict a non-violent drug offender because they disagree with the fundamental premise of drug laws themselves.
Throughout the United States, judges have forbidden defense attorneys from informing juries that they have a right to nullify the law based on their dislike of the law. In California for example, jurors are required to inform on other jurors if one of them argues that the law is bad. The judge will then replace that juror with an alternate. A defense attorney who argues on grounds of nullification could face disbarment or other sanctions by the court, even though nullification is a right all U.S. jurors poses under common law.
On June 18, New Hampshire Governor John Lynch signed HB 146, which reads:
"[A] Right of Accused. In all criminal proceedings the court shall permit the defense to inform the jury of its right to judge the facts and the application of the law in relation to the facts in controversy."
I have the feeling this New Hampshire law will end up having a tremendous effect on the American judicial system as a whole. If enough people start nullifying drug laws in New Hampshire, eventually New Hampshire prosecutors will be forced to stop prosecuting drug offenses in that state entirely. In 2010, a Montana case never even made it to trial because prosecutors could not find enough people who would be willing to convict a person based on drug charges.
It is a little-known fact that the vast majority of cases in America never make it to a jury trial. The Florida Bar released a report showing that less than 1% of civil and criminal cases go before a jury. This is because legislatures have imposed incredibly stiff penalties for all sorts of victimless crimes, which makes gambling with a jury trial inherently dangerous for those who are accused of violating a victimless law. Often prosecutors will initially charge a person with numerous felony offenses, then offer a plea deal for far less time if the person agrees to plead guilty; thereby avoiding a jury trial. Presently, people who are charged with growing 50 or more marijuana plants under federal law face 20 years in prison. Often prosecutors will drop that to 5 years under a lesser charge if a person agrees to plead guilty.
If jury nullification were to become widespread, more and more people would again seek jury trials hoping for an acquittal. Since the number of people being charged with victimless crimes has increased exponentially, the U.S. court system itself would crumble under the weight of pending jury trials. Prosecutors would have no choice but to stop prosecuting victimless laws or face an implosion of the legal system.
Here is a document on nullification created by a lawyer that explains your rights as a juror. Every American citizen should take the time to read this document.
In the video below, historian Tom Woods explains the impact of nullification by state legislatures and juries throughout America's history. Jury nullification was used to combat fugitive slave laws, as well as to fight against laws that violated free speech and free trade.

Picture Credit: Wikimedia

Dear Friend of Liberty,

The libertarians of the day two hundred and thirty-six years ago banded together to declare America’s independence from the King of Great Britain. They sought to create a sovereign nation of strictly limited government designed to protect life, liberty and property – and no more.

Today, the Libertarian Party champions those same ideals.

In celebration of Independence Day, and the unalienable rights our Founding Fathers put their lives at risk for, we are asking for a symbolic donation of $17.76 to help continue our new American Revolution.

Simply click here to donate your special gift of $17.76.

The freedom our Founding Fathers fought for is severely at odds with today’s Big Government. In many ways, we are even less free than colonial Americans were under King George III.

Your symbolic donation of $17.76 will help our Libertarian Party mission to turn back Big Government, creating liberty and prosperity for all Americans.

How will your $17.76 help the fight for liberty?

It will help fund volunteer and outreach activities to bring more patriots like you into the Libertarian Party.

It will help fund our fight against unfair ballot access laws throughout the country so our Libertarian candidates give voters more choice.

It will help us create videos of candidates delivering their Libertarian Solutions to voters and to a new generation of potential Libertarians.

Lastly, it will help the Libertarian Party be more effective in fighting assaults on freedom from all levels of government!

Will you donate today by clicking here?

If we raise $1,776 in online donations before midnight on the Fourth of July, one of our generous Libertarian members will immediately donate another $1,776 to our party!

That means we need $17.76 from just 100 of you! Don't miss the chance to be one of those proud 100. Click here to donate today.

If you feel the spirit of the American Revolution welling up inside of you, and want to donate more than $17.76, it would be greatly appreciated.

Every dollar will be used to further the cause of liberty and freedom for all Americans.

Thank you for your donations, your dedication, your support and your commitment to liberty in America.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey J. Neale
Chair, Libertarian National Committee

P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party with a mission to give voters a choice to downsize Big Government, to do so in the most humane way possible, to greatly reduce taxes, and to slash high government spending. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can simply make a contribution.

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Libertarians post candidates for November election

By Fred Mann from the Sunday July 1, 2012 Wichita Eagle

Sixteen Libertarians have filed to run in the November general election, according to the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office.
They include Thomas Jefferson in the District 4 U.S. Congressional race, which includes Sedgwick County. Thomas Jefferson is the legally changed name of Jack Talbert of Wichita, according to Jefferson and the Secretary of State’s Office. Other candidates in the race are Democrats Esau Freeman and Robert Tillman and Republican incumbent Mike Pompeo.
Jesse Bryant of Galva has filed as a Libertarian for the general election in state Senate District 35. He filed as a Republican for the Aug. 7 primary. Should he win the primary against Senate Majority Leader Jay Emler of Lindsborg, he would have to notify the Secretary of State’s Office which party he chooses to represent on the November ballot, according to a spokesperson in the office.
Other Libertarian candidates in south-central Kansas races.
• Dave Thomas, Wichita, state Senate District 25, will face winners of primaries between Republicans Michael O’Donnell and Jean Schodorf, the incumbent, and Democrats Perry Schuckman and Timothy Snow.
• Carl Kramer, Wichita, state Senate District 29, will face Republican Kenya Cox and the winner of the Democratic primary between incumbent Oletha Faust-Goudeau and KC Ohaebosim.
• Gordon Bakken, Wichita, state House District 84, will face Republican Dan Heflin and the winner of the Democratic primary between incumbent Gail Finney and Matthew Collins.
• James Pruden, Wichita, state House District 86, will face Republican John Stevens and the winner of the Democratic primary between Judith Loganbill and Jim Ward, both incumbents.
• Santana Marie Talbert, Wichita, state House District 87, will face Democrat Chris Florquist and Republican Mark Kahrs.
• Randall Batson, Wichita, state House District 105, will face Democrat Liz Hicks and Republican Mark Hutton.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2012/07/01/2383738/libertarians-post-candidates-for.html#storylink=cpy