New Gary Johnson Ad

I know I risk turning this blog into the Gary Johnson Fan Page, but he's putting out good quality ads.

Here's the latest.

Please share with friends and family.  Please ask for him to be included in the debates.

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Gary Johnson: A New Ad

Gary Johnson has a new ad out.

I covered his first six ads in a series of posts on these pages a week ago.  I guess we'll consider this a follow-up.

Let's Talk Gary Johnson (pt. 6 of 6)

Now that the Republican and Democratic conventions are in the past, I want to spend a few days talking about the Libertarian Party's Presidential Candidate, Governor Gary Johnson.

He has a series of very well-produced commercials.  They are very upbeat and positive.  Unlike most political ads today, they spend their time to explain why Johnson is the best choice, instead of saying why the other guys suck.

Since you are unlikely to see these ads on TV too often, I am going to share them with you here.  Each day this week I will be posting one of Gary Johnson's ads.  I hope that, if you enjoy them and believe Gary Johnson should at least be considered by the voters, you will share these videos with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and in person.

Let's Talk Gary Johnson (pt. 5 of 6)

Now that the Republican and Democratic conventions are in the past, I want to spend a few days talking about the Libertarian Party's Presidential Candidate, Governor Gary Johnson.

He has a series of very well-produced commercials.  They are very upbeat and positive.  Unlike most political ads today, they spend their time to explain why Johnson is the best choice, instead of saying why the other guys suck.

Since you are unlikely to see these ads on TV too often, I am going to share them with you here.  Each day this week I will be posting one of Gary Johnson's ads.  I hope that, if you enjoy them and believe Gary Johnson should at least be considered by the voters, you will share these videos with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and in person.

Let's Talk Gary Johnson (pt. 4 of 6)

Now that the Republican and Democratic conventions are in the past, I want to spend a few days talking about the Libertarian Party's Presidential Candidate, Governor Gary Johnson.

He has a series of very well-produced commercials.  They are very upbeat and positive.  Unlike most political ads today, they spend their time to explain why Johnson is the best choice, instead of saying why the other guys suck.

Since you are unlikely to see these ads on TV too often, I am going to share them with you here.  Each day this week I will be posting one of Gary Johnson's ads.  I hope that, if you enjoy them and believe Gary Johnson should at least be considered by the voters, you will share these videos with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and in person.

Let's Talk Gary Johnson (pt. 3 of 6)

Now that the Republican and Democratic conventions are in the past, I want to spend a few days talking about the Libertarian Party's Presidential Candidate, Governor Gary Johnson.

He has a series of very well-produced commercials.  They are very upbeat and positive.  Unlike most political ads today, they spend their time to explain why Johnson is the best choice, instead of saying why the other guys suck.

Since you are unlikely to see these ads on TV too often, I am going to share them with you here.  Each day this week I will be posting one of Gary Johnson's ads.  I hope that, if you enjoy them and believe Gary Johnson should at least be considered by the voters, you will share these videos with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and in person.

Let's Talk Gary Johnson (pt. 2 of 6)

Now that the Republican and Democratic conventions are in the past, I want to spend a few days talking about the Libertarian Party's Presidential Candidate, Governor Gary Johnson.

He has a series of very well-produced commercials.  They are very upbeat and positive.  Unlike most political ads today, they spend their time to explain why Johnson is the best choice, instead of saying why the other guys suck.

Since you are unlikely to see these ads on TV too often, I am going to share them with you here.  Each day this week I will be posting one of Gary Johnson's ads.  I hope that, if you enjoy them and believe Gary Johnson should at least be considered by the voters, you will share these videos with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and in person.

Let's Talk Gary Johnson (pt. 1 of 6)

Now that the Republican and Democratic conventions are in the past, I want to spend a few days talking about the Libertarian Party's Presidential Candidate, Governor Gary Johnson.

He has a series of very well-produced commercials.  They are very upbeat and positive.  Unlike most political ads today, they spend their time to explain why Johnson is the best choice, instead of saying why the other guys suck.

Since you are unlikely to see these ads on TV too often, I am going to share them with you here.  Each day this week I will be posting one of Gary Johnson's ads.  If you enjoy these videos and/or you believe that Gary Johnson should at least be considered by the voters, I hope you will share them with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and in person.

The GOP Labored Hard to Keep Ron Paul Quiet

It's Labor Day.  A day that most use as an extra day of rest as a reward for their hard work the rest of the year.

Today, I am going to show you some hard work done by the Republican Party at their convention last week.  Sure, it's been over for a few days.  Still, I am bothered by what I saw.

The Republicans fought their hardest to keep Ron Paul and his supporters quiet.  Here's some great news coverage from Fox 19 News in Cincinnati. Ben Swann's "Reality Check" segment covers how the GOP not only changed the rules at the last minute, but also went so far as to script doing so.  They also kept a person heading up those voting against the rules change trapped on a bus circling the stadium while the vote was approaching.  The video runs about 5 and a half minutes.  The entire thing is worth a peek, but it starts to get really good around 1:14.






Even many Republicans are disgusted by how this unfolded.  Here's former RNC Chairman Michael Steele in an interview with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show.  He makes it clear that he believes the actions of his own party are disgusting.




If you, too, find these actions disgusting, please share these videos.  Help inform those that might not realize what is happening behind the scenes.

Tax Day Thoughts...

There's a lot of different thoughts on taxes, even among Libertarians. There are few, if any, that believe our current tax rates are appropriate. There are those that are nearly anarchists and think taxes in general are a bad thing. There are those of every level in between.

That's where I find myself. While I don't necessarily believe that an income tax is the best way to tax our citizens (I'm a fan of a spending tax, but that's a talk for another day), I don't think near-zero is exactly called for either.

I'm also not one of those Libertarians that pitches a fit every time tax season rolls around. I'm happy to pay my taxes...I just don't think that I should be paying so much of them.

So how should we be taxed and what should our taxes be used for? The scope of government is far too grand, even in a reduced tax and reduced spending environment, to cover that topic in detail within the boundaries of this blog. So I'll hit a few highlights.

I don't believe that our tax money should be funding undeclared wars. We've been at war pretty much nonstop for longer than any of us have been alive. Since World War II, not a single one of those wars has been properly declared by Congress as the Constitution mandates. That's a problem that has cost us Trillions of dollars.

And presidential candidates like Ron Paul are getting chastised for being “isolationist” when he says he wants to correct this problem. He's not saying that he doesn't want to get involved...he's just saying that if it's necessary for us to go to war then we need to get a Congressional Declaration of War. It's not isolationist, it's mandated. We just forgot.

Some Libertarians think that tax money shouldn't even be used for things like roads. That's an extreme I don't buy into. I think that there are certain pieces of infrastructure that Government should be involved in. That includes roads. That does not include the internet.

I don't think our Federal tax dollars should be going toward education. Not that I don't believe that education is important. I think that by the time your tax dollars get filtered through the bureaucratic red tape at the Federal level, then your tax dollars would be better served by being collected by the State. Not to mention that the Department of Education doesn't exactly have a track record of accomplishing, well, anything.

On the other hand, I don't really have a problem with State tax dollars being collected for education. Education succeeds better when handled locally. At the State level, though, I believe it is important for schools to have to meet the demand to improve that is created by competition. For the reason, I am a big fan of voucher programs.

Mostly, though, when it comes to to taxes I think that the discussion needs to be focused on spending.  And sacrifice.  The fact that we're fighting over who gets taxed and in what amounts is only successful in doing one thing: turning us against each other.  For Big Government, that's good news because it means we're not turning our attention towards the other details that add up to so much of what our government does and spends.

The truth is that, no matter how much we tax, we can't overcome our deficit woes with our current spending levels.  The only way we can ever begin to ease the pain of our deficits is by dramatically reducing our spending. We all need to agree to sacrifice to accomplish this.  Not just the rich.  Not just the poor.  Not just the middle class.  If eveyone is not on board, then we are doomed to fail.

So on this tax day, I ask you to not just look at the amount of the refund you may be getting.  Don't just look at the amount of money you had to fork over.  Also look at your legislators.  Reach out to them and let them know that you've had enough.  Demand spending cuts from them, and let them know that you're willing to sacrifice a little to help us all out in the future.

5 Reasons to Believe 2012 is Going to be a Big Year for Libertarians

Libertarians have been around long enough to have had good years and bad years.  They've won a few elections here and there, and have been appointed to plenty of offices.  People have shown an enormous interest in their political philosophy, but just haven't got around to voting for them in big numbers yet.

Still, the Libertarian Party has seen considerable growth.  Indiana represents one of the stronger Libertarian states in the nation and is often (not regularly, but often) included in main stream news stories about what's going on in politics around the area.

2012, though, represents a year that has the potential to really see the Libertarian Party explode.  If things come together right, this year has the makings to create a perfect storm for Libertarian growth.  It may not be the year that they win a ton of big elections, but it could very well be the year that sets them up for big wins down the road.

Here's five reasons why the LP just might make the leap into the mainstream this year:

1) Ron Paul - The longtime Texas Congressman is running for President.  He, for all intents and purposes, is a Libertarian.  He was even the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate back in 1988.  He's held office as and is running as a Republican, but has made no secret over the years that he is strongly committed to libertarian ideals.  People on both sides of the aisle, love him or hate him, have made comments that he is the most principled and consistent member of Congress in the last 30 years.  He also brings with him one of the most passionate and engaged group of supporters you'll find in a candidate.

But let me let you in on a little secret....Ron Paul is not going to win the Republican nomination.  And at the point where that is made official, either by his dropping out or by it becoming mathematically impossible, all of those hardcore Ron Paul supporters are going to have to turn their energy elsewhere.  Which brings us to...

2) Gary Johnson - The former New Mexico Governor also held office as a Republican.  He, too, was running for President as a Republican, but dropped out of the race after being excluded from early debates and not grabbing any real support from the GOP.  Even as a Republican, Johnson was also very libertarian-minded.  He cut costs and refused to sign any bill that increased taxes.  In fact, he refused to sign pretty much any bill that ever extended the size or scope of government.  Over his two terms as New Mexico's Governor, Johnson vetoed over 750 bills...a number that Johnson proudly states was more than all other governors at the time...combined.

Johnson doesn't have enormous name recognition across the nation, but he arguably has better name recognition than any of the Libertarian presidential candidates of the last several election cycles. According to a recent Public Policy Polling poll, Johnson is currently polling at 7% versus Obama and Romney.  

Seven percent doesn't sound like an important number, but is is.  You see, to qualify for participation in the Presidential debates, there are a handful of prerequisites.  Most importantly, you have to be on enough states' ballots to mathematically be able to win a majority of the electoral votes.  Being a Libertarian candidate, Johnson will qualify easily for that.  Another debate participation requirement is polling at at least 15% in five major polls leading up to the debates.

So why should you believe that Gary Johnson has a shot at polling at least 15% heading into the debates?  For that answer, we refer back to my #1...Ron Paul.  You see, when Ron Paul publicly acknowledges that he will not be the Republican nominee, he'll have to make a big decision about who, if anyone to endorse.  He could endorse Mitt Romney.  Since Paul will no longer be a Republican Congressman, something tells me his ideals may keep him from throwing his support that way.

Paul may choose to endorse no one...definitely a possibility since there are no Republican candidate will truly match with his political ideology.  But if Paul wanted to endorse the candidate that most shares his views, he'll be endorsing Gary Johnson.  And with Ron Paul's endorsement comes the possibility of gaining the support of a large chunk of Ron Paul's followers.  If enough of the Paul supporters begin to follow Johnson, Johnson will easily eclipse the 15% support number to find himself in the national debates.  

Making it into the debates will bring a lot of attention to the LP from people that have never considered them before.  Making it to the debate, for many who are skeptical about a third party, suddenly makes them viable.

3) Mitt Romney and Barack Obama - There are two kinds of Obama supporters...those that will support him no matter what, and those that supported hope and change in 2008 and find themselves disgusted with him today.  Those that are die-hard supporters will be voting for him in November no matter what.  Those that are disgusted are looking for another option.  

On the Republican side, it looks like that option will be Mitt Romney.  Hardcore Republicans will be supporting Romney because he has an "R" next to his name, but other other voters are unlikely to find Romney to be a refreshing option.

Those disgusted with Obama and not finding Romney refreshing are, in any other election year, those that are just going to stay home on election day.  If Gary Johnson can prove to them that he represents the change they want to see, then they just may be willing to go out and vote for him.  If not out of thinking he can win, then perhaps out of a statement of principle.

4) Rupert Boneham - It's taking a while for many members of the voting public to warm up to the idea of voting for a former reality TV star for Indiana's Governor, but it is happening.  When Rupert first announced he was considering an Indiana gubernatorial chase as a Libertarian, many, including this author, were unsure if it was a good idea.  A lot of people worked very hard for a lot of years to grow the positive public perception of the Libertarian Party, and letting a celebrity run for the state's top spot seemed a dangerous gamble with the potential to throw it all away.

After looking beyond his television past and furry beard, though, people are beginning to see Rupert's strong philanthropic side and sensible ideas for running the state.  Many skeptics are meeting with Boneham and walking away saying, "Hey, this guy is for real.  He's worth giving a listen to."  Really, in politics, getting people to open their ears to you is where it all begins.

But even if Boneham doesn't put a dent in Indiana politics, he's already increasing name recognition for the Libertarians.  From the second he announced he was running, there have been countless national news stories on the campaign.  Win or lose, the fact that Rupert Boneham running for Indiana Governor is great news for a Libertarian Party that has often had trouble getting into mainstream news.

5) Ross Perot - Whhhhaaaaaaaa?!!?  How in the hell, you ask, can Ross Perot help the Libertarians in 2012?

The simple answer is that he can't.  Ross Perot isn't going to directly do anything to help the Libertarians in 2012.  But he has the unique position of having provided a historical precedent that we all need to remember.

I'm old enough now that I have to consider that many of my readers don't know much about Ross Perot.  Perot is a Texas billionaire that ran for president as an independent in 1992.  He polled very strongly throughout most of the race, participated in the presidential debates, and ended up taking down about 20% of the popular vote in that year's election.

So what does an independent candidate from 20 years ago have to do with us today?  It has to do with the overused argument that people just aren't ready yet to vote for a candidate in a major race that isn't a Republican or Democrat.  Ross Perot, I submit, is evidence not only that we are ready to vote for such a candidate, but also that we have been ready to do so for at least twenty years.  Perhaps we've just been waiting for the right candidate to present themselves.

So does all this mean that 2012 is the Year of the Libertarian?  Maybe, maybe not.  It definitely has all the right pieces to make it happen, though.  It is going to be very interesting to see if the pieces will come together.

Gubernatorial Candidate Rupert Boneham Announces Birthday Money Bomb

Libertarian Gubernatorial candidate Rupert Boneham has announced plans for a money bomb style fundraiser.  Designed to be part of his 48th birthday celebration, the campaign plans has set a goal to raise $48,000 by his January 27th birthday.

Boneham's campaign is trying to capitalize on the success of money bombs by other politicians.  Most notably, Presidential candidate Ron Paul has had extreme success with his many money bombs.

In the most recent filings, Boneham submitted numbers well behind the major party candidates.  From the beginning, though, Boneham's campaign admitted the challenges to being a Libertarian candidate.  Part of that challenge, they admitted, was making the most of the funds they have.  Attention was pointed to the Rupert's Kids charity, which Boneham has ran with great success for many years without ever accepting a single government dime.

If you'd like to help Rupert out by contributing to his money bomb, you can do so by clicking here.

Ron Paul and Republicans: It's Decision Time

Dr. Ron Paul
(image credit: paul.house.gov)

There's been a lot of chatter in the blogosphere and the news lately about whether Ron Paul may abandon the Republican Party and choose to run for President on a third party ticket.  It's not exactly a surprise to be hearing these rumblings.  However, as the first presidential primaries draw closer, it is time for both Ron Paul and the Republican Elite to make a decision on how they want to proceed.

 

The first decision needs to be made by the Republicans.  It's time to answer a question: Is it more important for a Republican to win the presidency, or is it more important for Barack Obama not to?  That's the decision the GOP may be making when they decide to support or not support Ron Paul.

 

Let's break that down.  First, don't give me that "third party candidates steal votes" crap.  It isn't true.  Our votes do not belong to candidates, they belong to us.  If I vote for a third party candidate it's because they earned it.  If a major party candidate loses by a margin smaller than the amount of third party votes, then that candidate did not earn a win.  The winner wins because they earned the most votes.  The loser(s) lose because they were not successful at earning the number of votes they need.  That is fact.  You would be unable to convince me otherwise.

 

Next, Ron Paul is doing pretty well.  He is raising a ton of cash.  He is obliterating the competition in straw polls.  In head-to-head comparisons, he fares extremely well versus Obama.  The only people that don't seem to like him are the Republican Elite and the media.  Hell, even the media is slowly starting to come around.

 

But, as noted, the Republican brass don't seem to care for Paul much.  No matter how well he does, they just can't come to embrace his libertarian ideals.  More, I believe that they dislike him because he does what he believes is best rather than simply falling into line.

 

Now, though, the Republicans are going to be faced with a major problem.  There is growing belief that Ron Paul will be unable to earn the Republican nomination for President.  Because of that, the calls for Paul to run on a third party ticket get louder and louder.  On Saturday, ABC news reported that the director of the Manhattan Libertarian Party had specifically called for Paul to run for the LP. (Because of his libertarian ideals, and his 1988 run for president on the Libertarian ticket, the LP seems to be the most likely spot for Ron Paul to land if he ran as something other than Republican.)

 

The problem for Republicans has to do with Ron Paul's enormous popularity with those outside the Republican Establishment.  If Paul ran on a third party ticket, he would most certainly earn a huge number of votes, including a part of the Electoral College. If the votes are split three ways, there is little chance that a Republican candidate will earn enough votes to win the Presidency.  In fact, because of Paul's attraction to people on both sides of the aisle, a Third Party Ron Paul could quite possibly earn more votes than the Republican counterpart.

 



(image credit: wikipedia.org)



So, the Republican Elite have themselves in a pickle.  Their choices are: A) Suck it up and throw their support behind Ron Paul, a candidate they don't seem to care for but that has a real shot head-to-head versus Obama, or; B) Risk Ron Paul running on a third party ticket, in which case the GOP has no chance of 2012 victory.

 

That being said, I doubt that the Republican Elite have the intestinal fortitude to give enough support to Ron Paul to give him a shot at the nomination.  That would require conceding.  Conceding anything is not something the two major parties are known to do.

 

This brings us to the decision that needs to be made by Ron Paul.  He could wait for the Republican Elite to make a decision, but that decision is predictably a negative one for Paul. The problem is, if he waits for the Republicans to decide then they could stall.  My understanding of sore loser laws is that if Paul loses a GOP primary, then most states will not allow him to run for the same office on a different ticket in the subsequent general election.

 

That means Paul must decide about a third party run before the primaries, which gives him precious little time to do so.  Thus far his answers to questions on this issue have been relatively vague, but seem to lean heavily towards not doing so.  Of course, he's still running for the Republican nomination, so acting like he's considering defecting would be a sure-fire way to end any shot he has at an R nod. So, for now, it makes complete sense that Paul denies any third party rumors that are out there.

 

If, though, Ron Paul is serious about his intentions to be President, and all indications are that he is, he and his campaign team have to be seriously looking at the Third Party possibility.  Within a month, unless polls show him much stronger among likely Republican voters, Paul will need to decide whether to hang up his hat or to run for another party.

 

Paul's decision about a third party, though, will mean he will need to consider many of the same things that the Republican Elite will need to consider while thinking about him. If he runs as a third party candidate, there is little chance that the Republican candidate will earn enough votes to win the Presidency.  Paul, on a third party ticket, may earn more votes than the Republican, but will have a difficult time earning more votes than both the Republican and the Democrat.  In that case, it would appear that the Presidency remains under the grasp of Barack Obama. So, is it more important for Ron Paul to win, or for Obama to lose?

 

The Republican Elite and Ron Paul are both nearing the zero hour for a decision to be made.  I'm sure there are Republicans everywhere begging Ron Paul to not run third party.  I'm sure, also, that Ron Paul is using that to apply some leverage to his fellow Republicans.  "If you don't want me to go, you'd better get out there and start supporting me." The GOP probably won't offer that support, thinking they are calling Ron Paul's bluff.

 

Historically, though, Ron Paul is not known for bluffing.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if Paul announces a third party run within the next month.  If so, it's just one other story that's going to make 2012 one hell of a ride.

Ron Paul's Website Attacked During Online Fundraiser

Libertarian-leaning presidential contender and congressman Dr. Ron Paul (R-TX) turned 76 years old yesterday. As part of his birthday celebration, Dr. Paul and his campaign team decided to hold a "money-bomb," or day-long online fundraising push.

The congressman has had extraordinary success with money-bombs in the past, and has them regularly. He was the first candidate in U.S. history to raise one million dollars in a day via the internet.

His goal for yesterday's birthday money-bomb was an aggressive $1.5 million. Not surprisingly, he was making great strides towards that goal as the day progressed.

Then came the devastating news from Paul's campaign. At approximately 10:40pm Eastern, the Ron Paul Facebook page posted the following status update:

"The ronpaul2012.com website is under cyber attack. Our team is working to fix this as we speak. So sorry to all who have tried to make donations and could not. We'll have more info ASAP."

Speculation as to the cause and source if the web failure began quickly circulating the internet. Some were saying that the website's servers simply couldn't handle the traffic (something this author doubts do to the large number of successful money-bombs Paul has had in the past). Others speculated that the attacker was some Republican that wanted to slow Paul's recent successes. (A little more reasonable of a theory, since Paul is often considered a radical to ignore within his own party, but has had many recent positive movements in his campaign.)

The truths is, it doesn't matter who the attacker is. It could be someone just out to make a name for themselves in the hacker world. Or, as earlier stated, there may be no attacker at all.

The site was finally up and going before midnight, and the site announced they were extending the money-bomb until noon today to allow a chance to donate to those that could not.

By the time midnight struck, the money-bomb had raised $1.49 million of their $1.5 million goal. Because there's some extra time on the clock now, the campaign has increased the goal to $1.75 million.