Posts for LP National
for release by LNC on 05/03/2020
Last week Libertarian history was made! Welcome to the Libertarian Party, Congressman Amash. We look forward to continuing to grow as a party together.
Join Justin and thousands of other Americans in supporting the Party of Principle!
for immediate release by LNC on 05/01/2020
BREAKING NEWS: Thanks to the efforts of the Libertarian Party of Illinois and the Libertarian Party’s legal counsel, we have succeeded in reducing petition signature requirements and are guaranteed to have our presidential candidate on the ballot in Illinois!
We have now secured ballot access in 36 states, with more battles being fought at this moment!
Matt Welch | 4.29.2020 10:11 AM | Reason.com
article reprinted by permission
image courtesy of C-SPAN
After a half-century of existence, the Libertarian Party (L.P.) this morning wakes up to a situation it has never before experienced—with a sitting member of Congress proudly waving the Libertarian flag.
“I will be the first,” Rep. Justin Amash (L–Mich.) told me late Tuesday [04/28/2020] night, just after announcing his candidacy for the Libertarian presidential nomination. “And I’m happy to do that.”
Amash is not the only person smiling. In an email, Libertarian Party Chair Nicholas Sarwark said, “I’m happy to see that Representative Amash has come home to the political party most closely aligned with his views,” adding: “If more members of the House who are tired of being marginalized by the GOP and Democratic leadership joined him, we could see a caucus of legislators who are able to work for the American people instead of conflicting teams of special interests. My DMs are open.”
Amash, a persistent critic of President Donald Trump who left the Republican Party to become an independent last July 4, was facing a competitive reelection campaign in his 3rd District of Michigan, a state whose straight-ticket ballot option disfavors candidates outside the two major parties. Yet he says his seat could have been defended.
Read the rest of the article at https://reason.com/2020/04/29/justin-amash-becomes-the-first-libertarian-member-of-congress/.
sent by the LNC on 04/28/2020
Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen our government attempt to yet again solve a problem apparently the only way they know how — by kicking the can down the road. In this case, the “can” is a national debt approaching $30 trillion dollars! At this rate, our children and grandchildren will continue to be suffocated by that debt long after every member of this congress is defeated or retired.
Government leaders who believe you and I could not survive without them think the only way to solve a problem is to throw tax dollars at it. We do have very real, deep problems in this country that need to be addressed — health insurance costs, ever-increasing student debt, the opioid crisis, veteran homelessness and suicide — and these problems vary from community to community. Not every American is living with the same issues, and what works in one state may not have the same effect on a different population.
Blanketing problems with money is like applying a band-aid to a gaping wound, and inevitably creates a society that will become reliant on subsidies to survive and never allows for genuine solutions to be tried. Whether a government response has single party or bipartisan support, those actions almost always create unintended consequences that lead to crippling citizens to be donor dependent. Instead of getting to the heart of these wounds at the community levels, our representatives are satisfied to cover them up with billion-dollar band-aids and call themselves champions. They accomplish nothing more than adding their name to another bill they have never read.
In the middle of a global pandemic and a nearly complete economic halt, our elected officials could not comprehend the obvious idea of giving taxpayers their money back to help them keep their bills paid without adding in more than a trillion dollars of corporate bailouts and pork-barrel spending. When we actually break down the numbers, that $1,200 check costs each and every living man, woman and child in America $6,656.91 dedicated to the national debt.
Scarier than the government’s lack of problem-solving skills is what they expect us to accept for this $1,200 payoff. Mandating business closures, stay-at-home orders, massive expansion of executive power, and declaring “total authority” — it is as if someone told the president and Congress that civil liberties could be bought from each citizen for $1,200.
You and I know this is not right, and we deserve better. Better is being demonstrated by The Party of Principle. Better can be achieved by electing and supporting Libertarians across the country. Better is possible when Libertarians (like you and I) contribute to our fight.
Shortly after the government payouts started to hit bank accounts, we received this amazing message, among others:
Gift Date: April 15, 2020
Gift Amount: $1,500 (Lifetime Membership)
Comments: “$1200 of this payment furnished by Democrat and Republican taxpayers who yearn for liberty via coronavirus stimulus payment”
Can you think of a better way to tell government what you think of this destructive power grab in the middle of a crisis than to strengthen the efforts that fight that corruption?
We are here for that battle — are you here with us?
The recent events in our country have galvanized many who were unaware of how strongly they felt the libertarian call to push back against aggressive government overreach. It’s important that we come equipped to contend against those who would willingly cripple our future with debt. To that end, each and every one of our contributors plays a critical role in restoring free people and free markets.
for immediate release on 04/14/2020
We think this one might be too easy for you.
Across the country last week, people shouted out “Who is The Libertarian Party” when this answer was uncovered on Jeopardy! As we are particularly proud of our 2016 ballot access victory, we couldn’t have picked a better fact to broadcast.
We did make history in 2016, and we are determined to secure back-to-back 50-state + D.C. ballot access by doing it again in 2020. That goal is currently in jeopardy though, and we need your help right now.
We have had some very recent successes in our ballot access fights.
However, there are more battles on the horizon. We are currently in court in Illinois and Georgia to remove signature gathering requirements. Amazingly, there are governors who still want to have petitioners standing on street corners asking passers-by to sign a petition. Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, this was an outdated method for gaining ballot access; now it is downright foolish and dangerous.
In many other states, we are appealing to have petitioning requirements removed or relaxed and we will be ready to take any of those to court as well if they are not granted. This unforeseen global crisis will not lead to a crisis of voters’ rights as long as the Libertarian Party has anything to say about it. It is more vital than ever before that there is a third option for all of us.
Please support our goal of 50-state ballot access for the Libertarian Party. Only with all of us working and fighting together will we overcome those who want to take advantage of voters in the midst of a health crisis. The two old parties have let every single American down — we need to give everyone the chance to tell them that.
for immediate release on 04/08/2020
Everywhere we look we see the same familiar talking heads who bring the news, many just relocated to an office or living room. No matter how drastically our world seems to be changing, the messages our media is bringing haven’t seemed to change at all.
It’s exhausting and it’s offensive. Those we should be able to turn to for accurate information when our representatives make decisions that harm the American people, we now can only count on to confirm our biases, or make us laugh at their dishonesty.
You don’t have to settle for that noise anymore. Last week the Libertarian Party launched LPTV; an online platform for timely and relevant discussions on the subjects that actually matter and affect Americans right now. Health information, discussions of economics and free-market solutions should not be colored by tribalism and buried by meaningless platitudes.
Real Libertarians talking about real solutions. That is what we aim to bring you.
We are so excited by this new venture and we hope will join us. More content will be rolled out in the coming weeks and months, but for now you can tune in for Town Hall Thursdays at 7PM ET and even drop in and chat with us during our Friday LIVE Happy Hour at 5PM ET. You can also make a contribution directly to the effort of building up this project so that more are reached every week. People need to hear that there are those out there defending their liberties in the midst of this crisis — the Libertarian Party has always done just that, and we are doing it again now. Please tune in, share with your friends and family, and support us if you can.
for immediate release by the LNC on 04/01/2020
Dear Friends and Fellow Libertarians,
Your Right To Vote Libertarian Is ONCE AGAIN Under Attack!
LATEST DEVELOPMENT: A source tells us Andrew Cuomo has SUCCEEDED in inserting the same recommendations into the 2020 New York State Budget to that were created by the unconstitutional “Public Finance Commission” and struck down by Justice Ralph Boniello on March 12, 2020. He rightly tossed out the law that established a “Public Finance Commission” with the purported intent of creating a system of publicly financed campaigns. Its other goal: to destroy the Libertarian Party and other minor parties in New York by changing the state’s ballot access requirements to be among the most restrictive in the nation. Now, Governor Cuomo and the legislature’s leadership are trying to bring the commission’s recommendations BACK TO LIFE by using the current COVID-19 crisis and budget legislation as cover.
Call your representatives in the state Assembly and Senate today and tell them that the legislature must reject the budget legislation based on the Commission’s December 1, 2019 report that undermines a New York voter’s choice of political party. It is essential that this is shot down now, or there may be no more Libertarian Party after November, 2020.
We need you to do the following, now:
1. Look Up The Contact Information For Your Representatives In The NY State Assembly and Senate.
Click here to look up your elected representatives. Enter your full address and then click “submit.” When the window reloads, select the results tab labeled “State” and then scroll down to see your representatives in the Assembly and Senate, along with their contact information. (Note that you may need to close an email signup form in order to see the address lookup box.)
2. Call Your Representatives.
Tell Them: “My name is ________ and I am a constituent of Assembly Member/Senator ___________. I want more political choice in New York State, not less. I am counting on you to demand that the legislature reject the proposal to insert into the budget the Public Campaign Financing Commission’s recommendations making New York’s ballot access laws for grassroots parties like the Libertarian Party among the worst in the nation. NY voters want and deserve diverse political parties that reflect their perspectives.”
3. Email Governor Cuomo, Leader Stewart-Cousins, and Speaker Heastie
Click here to email Gov. Cuomo and tell him no!
Email the Leaders of the Legislature:
Speaker of the Assembly Carl Heastie: Speaker@nyassembly.gov
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins: scousins@nysenate.gov
“Dear Gov. Cuomo/Speaker Heastie/Leader Stewart-Cousins,
My name is ________ and I am writing to tell you I just got done calling my representatives in the state legislature to tell them I want more political choice in New York State, not less. As a legislative leader, it’s time for you to reject Gov. Cuomo’s attempt to insert the Public Campaign Finance Commission’s recommendations into the state budget legislation. Those recommendations will make New York’s ballot access for minor parties like the Libertarian Party among the most restrictive in the nation, and create a public financing plan that spends taxpayer dollars needlessly and frivolously at a time when the state cannot afford it. NY voters want and deserve real campaign finance reform and diverse political parties that reflect their perspectives.”
4. Tell Us All About It!
Tell us who you contacted and how it went.
5. Spread the word.
Forward this email or share this page online! Tell them why this must be stopped.
The Libertarian Party of New York is counting on you!
In Liberty,
Jim Rosenbeck
Chair, Interim State Committee
Libertarian Party of New York
for immediate release by the LNC on 03/30/2020
This crisis has made it clearer than ever: Our country is hurting due to overregulation by the federal government controlled by the Democrats and Republicans. We issued a press release calling upon the CDC and FDA to stop obstructing the private sector’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. One of the core principles of libertarianism is that governments should not pick winners and losers. Instead, the free market should make that determination.
Where is the fiscal sanity in Washington? The largest stimulus bill in the history of the United States — $2,000,000,000,000 — was just passed on Friday by old party politicians.
We believe government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations without their consent. We support the passage of a “Balanced Budget Amendment” to the U.S. Constitution, provided that the budget is balanced exclusively by cutting expenditures, and not by raising taxes.
Libertarian candidates up and down the ballot this fall will be running against big-government opponents. Our candidates will be the voice of reason on the ballot.
As always, thank you for your support of the Libertarian Party.
In liberty,
Alex Merced
Vice Chair, Libertarian National Committee
The NYC public education system has revamped its entire way of teaching our children, with the parents being in control, teachers now having the freedom to teach, and children learning at their own pace with no standardized testing. I know it’s a HUGE struggle; suddenly being thrown into routine change and working parents have to adjust more. But let’s focus on the benefits instead of the negatives. My child has had zero meltdowns, no bullying issues, more freedom to move around, more exercise, & learning what she wants to learn with a dedicated home teacher giving 1:1 lesson instruction. What are some of the positive changes in your child you have seen?
— Debra Altman,
as posted on her Facebook account,
reprinted by permission
Debra Altman is a Citywide Council for District 75 schools, has a special need child with an IEP, double masters in business and works for the family court system helping families as a paralegal. Born and raised NYC, Staten Island.
for distribution by the Libertarian Party on 03/24/2020
“Only a crisis – actual or perceived – produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around.”
— Milton Friedman
As of right now, AMERICANS IN ONLY 35 STATES will have a third choice in November. This is not enough! We cannot stop until we have secured 50 state ballot access for the Libertarian Party once again.
We have already deployed, or had planned to deploy petitioners in several states to collect the mandatory number of signatures to grant us access to each ballot. That method has become IMPOSSIBLE to continue with while also following suggested guidelines and essential requirements of social distancing in order to protect against the Coronavirus. Moreover, knowing that asymptomatic people can still spread the virus makes any attempts to continue with this method far too risky for both our petitioners, and the many thousands of people they would come into contact with. For this reason, we have shifted our strategy to one of appealing to the good sense and empathy of the Governors and other officials of the states in question.
So far letters have been sent to Governors and Secretaries of State in Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, and Minnesota. Ten more states are preparing letters at this time, and in Texas similar action is being taken in an attempt to grant permission to postpone their state convention — a date that is currently mandated by law. Please contact your state chair IMMEDIATELY to find out how you can assist in this campaign. While any sensible and rational person would grant the requests in each of these appeals at such a time as this, we have to remember that politics can poison even the most sensible. In the case that any of these appeals are rejected, we will take this fight to the courts. Libertarianism will not become victim to political abuse of power no matter how dire the situation becomes. Our fight will continue until our Libertarian candidate has a place on every ballot once more.