Tag Archives: 2016 Libertarian Party Presidential Primary

New Data: Libertarian Party Registrations Rising

Mar 10, 2016 Joshua Cook Leave a comment

According to a recent Gallup poll and a report from Ballot Access News, the libertarian movement is not only gaining in popularity but is adding new members to the Libertarian Party. In fact, recent data shows that the it’s becoming the fastest growing party in the United States.

According to Cato‘s David Boaz, the number of people who identify as libertarian is increasing in the US according to the Gallup Poll’s 2015 survey. The results show that “27 percent of respondents can be characterized as libertarians, the highest number they have ever found,” as more people are identifying as libertarian than conservative, liberal or populist.

gallupresults — Graphic from Reason.com.

According to the March 1, 2016 Ballot Access News publication, Democrat Party registrations declined between Oct. 2014 and Feb. 2016. The same occurred among Republicans, Independents, The Green and Constitution Party. The only party that gained registrations is the Libertarian Party (See chart below on page 3. The chart shows the states in which people register by party).

Ballot Access News’ Richard Winger told Truth In Media’s Joshua Cook, “Even though it’s still small, the Libertarian Party registration has increased percentage wise in the last year and a half more than the number of Independents and you will not find the media mentioning that.”

Carla Howell, political director of the national Libertarian Party, told Cook that she is seeing a spike in Libertarian Party registration.

“I can tell you what we have seen for several years now is consistent growth in the Libertarian Party registration in states where you can register to vote by party and a decline in other parties,” said Howell.

Sean Haugh, a North Carolina Libertarian candidate for the US Senate, told Cook his thoughts on the rise of the Libertarian Party.

Cook asked Haugh, “It seems ballot access was an issue in the past for Libertarians, but is the new issue now getting on the debate stage in general elections?”

“For Libertarians in North Carolina, yes,” said Haugh. “We’ve reached the point where we can easily attain the 2 percent we need to stay on the ballot. The next goal is 15 percent to ensure debate access. Still, other candidates have to agree to debate. The signs I’m seeing indicate my opponents this time may avoid debates under any circumstances. I have long felt that once we get to 15 percent, the next step is 51 percent.”

Haugh added, “It’s very gratifying, having been here all this time and seeing Libertarian ideas become mainstream. I’ve been saying the same things for over 30 years, and now I’m the sane, common sense candidate, no longer some fringe radical. It’s nice.”

In July 2015, the Truth in Media Project released a Consider This video, seen below, revealing that Independents and third party voters together are now outnumbering Democrats and Republicans.

Republicans and Democrats are no longer the majority.Learn more: http://bit.ly/1Kdbdqm

Posted by Ben Swann on Saturday, July 18, 2015

Election, Politics

Exclusive: LP Candidate Austin Petersen Responds to Colorado Debate Exclusion

Mar 8, 2016 Joshua Cook Leave a comment

According the Libertarian Party of Colorado (LPCO), the board made a decision in February not to formally invite LP candidate Austin Petersen to its debate this weekend because of philosophical differences.

The LPCO posted in a statement on its Facebook page:

“Candidate for the Libertarian Party Presidential nomination Austin Wade Petersen has openly repudiated the non-aggression principle as stated specifically within the Statement of Principles and declared this principle to be ‘non-libertarian’ and intellectually bankrupt using various insults and thus has clearly illustrated that he is philosophically opposed to essential first-principles of the Libertarian Party which the Colorado governing documents hold in primacy as the minimal bar by which everything is measured.”

According to A Libertarian Future, two resolutions were approved by the LPCO board. The first resolution was not to invite Petersen and the second one barred any executive board members from contacting Petersen prior to the debate.

Cook asked Petersen to give his thoughts on the board’s decision.

“It’s one thing to not invite someone but its another to do it in such away as to gag one another and that shows me that they are authoritarians,” said Petersen.

Petersen stressed the point that there maybe broader consequences on the board’s decision regarding the LP’s current lawsuit fighting to be included in the general election televised debates (see lawsuit here).

Petersen stated on his Facebook page:

“The Libertarian Party is suing to get into the national debates, saying the DNC and the GOP are being exclusionary. And now the government can look at the actions of the LP of Colorado and say, ‘hey, even the Libertarian Party excludes their own candidates.'”

Nathan Grabau state Chairman of LPCO told Cook: “The motions that were passed at our February board meeting did not bar Austin Petersen from participating in our debate. Austin Petersen will be allowed to participate in our debate if he shows up.”

Update: Petersen told Cook he plans to attend the LPCO debate.

Election, Featured, Politics

Gary Johnson Responds to President Obama’s State of the Union Address

Jan 13, 2016 Barry Donegan Leave a comment

After U.S. President Barack Obama gave the final State of the Union address of his presidency on Tuesday, 2016 Libertarian Party presidential candidate and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson issued a response on his official Tumblr page.

Johnson opened his response by praising Obama’s optimistic tone, but cautioned that he takes issue with “basing that optimism on what government has done over the past 7 years and what President Obama wants it to do in the future.”

The former two-term Republican governor, who now identifies as a member of the Libertarian Party, challenged Obama’s claim that the U.S. economy’s health is beyond question, noting that the national debt, which Johnson says is bankrupting the country, has “doubled on his watch, aided and abetted by Congress.”

Johnson then criticized President Obama’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act, and said that his “promise of better care and lower cost simply isn’t happening.”

“To be fair, there have been steps in the right direction. Meaningful criminal justice reform is taking hold across the nation. More and more governments at all levels are finally seeing the failure of the War on Drugs. But far too many Americans are still being victimized by militarized police and heavy-handed laws,” said Johnson, who also in the same response called Obama “a President whose Administration continues at every turn to dismantle the 4th Amendment, spy on American citizens and plant the government in every aspect of society.”

Johnson summarized his appraisal of the health of the Republic and said, “My assessment of the State of the Union is quite different than President Obama’s, and much simpler. I see a national debt that will hit $20 trillion by the time he leaves office. I see a government that was too big and too overreaching when he took office, and has gotten more so under his watch. And I challenge anyone to show that we are today safer after years of war, failed nation-building abroad and foreign policy chaos.”

The Libertarian Party presidential hopeful concluded by saying that he shares Obama’s optimism, but not because he believes government policies will deliver the nation from its problems, but because he feels “it is clear America is tired of too much government and too little freedom, and appears poised to demand change – a different kind of change than we have gotten over the past 7 years.”

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Election, Featured, Politics

Former N.M. Gov. Gary Johnson Launches Bid for Libertarian Presidential Nomination

Jan 6, 2016 Barry Donegan Leave a comment

Former Republican New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson announced on Wednesday that he is seeking the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination in 2016.

According to KRQE News 13, Johnson made his announcement from the New Mexico state capitol in Santa Fe.

In 2012, Johnson launched an unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination before he went on to win the opportunity to be the Libertarian Party’s standard-bearer in the general election. Johnson obtained almost 1.3 million votes for president in the 2012 general election, the most ever by a Libertarian Party candidate.

A fiscal conservative who won the governorship twice in what was a majority Democrat state, Johnson topped headlines in 1999 when he took a controversial and early stance in favor of marijuana legalization, making him the highest ranking U.S. politician to have done so by that time in modern history.

Reason notes that Johnson scheduled a Wednesday appearance on Cavuto: Coast to Coast to publicize his 2016 presidential announcement. A campaign website also went live on Wednesday.

Rumors began to fly about a potential Johnson campaign announcement after he stepped down as CEO of Cannabis Sativa, Inc. last week.

“I am announcing my candidacy right now for the Libertarian nomination. I do believe that crony capitalism is alive and well. It’s Democrats and Republicans that contribute to that. I’d like to be that choice that is not going to succumb to that,” said Johnson on Cavuto: Coast to Coast according to Politico.

The Daily Caller pointed out that Johnson told Fox Business host Neil Cavuto, “I think the biggest problem facing this country is the $20 trillion debt that we will have when Obama leaves office. Government is too big, it’s unwieldy, it’s out of control, we need to get control.”

He added, “On my deathbed, I’m hoping that I look back and believe that I was the voice of reason in all this, regardless of how many votes I end up garnering.”