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Ron Paul can save the deficit
Gary Johnson has pretty much the same proposal as Ron Paul
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20121028/OPINION03/310280008/Ron-Paul-can-save-deficit
I was watching part of the presidential debate and Romney said he wanted to triple the Armed Forces.
When are the people who run this place going to understand where money needs to be spent?
Why don’t they just write off the federal deficit?
They are a bunch of college alma mater people who compete with each other over whose school is the best and they don’t get anything done.
No major business would have a deficit and pay interest on it. They write off their losses and keep on keeping on.
They think more about their alma mater than the country.
Write off the deficit and spread the wealth around.
Romney wants to increase the war budget for what? We have laser satellites that are aiming at the Earth that can shoot anybody or anything anytime.
Vote for Ron Paul. Leave the fools, Romney and Obama.
Richard C. Jones
Battle Creek
Reality Check: Can Ohio Voting Machines Be Hacked? The Facts Behind
RT-America Hosts Third-Party Presidential Debate on Foreign Policy
Ron Paul or Gary Johnson? Will the revolution vote for Johnson?
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/13272320-ron-paul-or-gary-johnson-will-the-revolution-vote-for-johnson
Will it be Gary Johnson or Ron Paul for Americans who are not willing to vote for the lesser of two evils?
That is the question after the recent Third Party debate brought out a passionate Libertarian who did a bit more than just turn a few heads; he may have changed a multitude of minds after he mentioned Ron Paul as his hero, among other things. You know, like bringing the troops home and legalizing marijuana, just to name a couple.
Today, Free and Equal announced Libertarian candidate Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein are the winners over Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode and Justice Party candidate Rocky Anderson from the Oct. 23 bout and subsequent polling that allowed "We the People" to choose the winners. This brings the Libertarian and the Green candidates to their final destination on Oct. 30 in Washington for a late-in-the-game publicized opportunity to sway voters their way -- and you can bet Ron Paul's movement will be there in full force.
Although Johnson is certainly no Ron Paul, he may have become the next best thing in the hearts of grassroots campaigners who filled stadiums around the country each time the Texas representative made an appearance this past year as he campaigned for constitutional government, honest money and personal liberty.
Many in the revolution who chanted "President Paul" and vowed to write in the good doctor are changing their minds and aren't shy about announcing it publicly. Needless to say, some will be marking their ballots for Johnson wearing their Ron Paul T-shirt, for symbolic purposes, of course.
A Washington state resident going by "Pawnstorm" caused a category three indeed on the Daily Paul website when he announced his decision to vote for Johnson. Some solid Ron Paul supporters weren't too excited about the idea, while others embraced it after reading his persuasive piece and argument with himself that brought him to his final decision, which included the fact that his write-in Ron Paul vote may not even be counted in the only state named after a president.
The excitement around the Internet grows as social networking informs Americans that there are other choices besides the continued attempts at a two-party gridlock with Republican candidate Mitt Romney and our current president, the Democrat, Barack Obama. Their similarities are many, as they admitted in their final debate.
Even MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell put out an interesting Last Word the night after the first Third Party debate: "That right there was a presidential debate last night that was not covered by the major networks because it did not include any candidates who are running above 15 percent in the polls, but it did include candidates who dared to talk about important issues that never came up in the presidential debates watched by 60 billion people."
O'Donnell used his show to educate on voting in a democracy, telling viewers to not listen to those who mislead you by telling you voting for a Third Party candidate is a wasted vote. He persuasively points out that if you vote for a Democrat who loses you are not told you wasted your vote, so why would you be wasting your vote if you voted for a Third Party candidate who loses? You would instead be sending a message.
Proving Americans are looking for another option to choose for their commander-in-chief, Tim Sarver commented beneath a Third Party video and gained 37 thumbs up for saying: "All? of these guys, even Virgil, seem like better candidates for president than Obama or Romney."
Will the Paul revolution vote for Johnson? From what I have read, it may be 50/50 due to some of the differences between Paul and Johnson. Most Paul freedom fighters are a stubborn, determined group. Like their mentor, they will not be swayed by anyone or anything if it goes against their core values, even if they are the last one standing against the crowd. Some have announced on YouTube, Twitter, Ron Paul forums, and Facebook that they have, and will still write in Ron Paul as they take Gary Johnson's quote seriously, "Wasting your vote is voting for somebody you don't believe in."
If you like writing about US politics and Campaign 2012, enter "The American Pundit" competition. Allvoices is awarding four $250 prizes each month between now and November. These monthly winners earn eligibility for the $5,000 grand prize, to be awarded after the November election.
RT to host final US presidential third-party debate
http://rt.com/usa/news/rt-third-party-debate-stein-249/
Libertarian Party candidate Gov. Gary Johnson and the Green Party’s Jill Stein will sound off once more before Election Day, with both presidential hopefuls now slated to debate live from RT’s Washington, DC studio on October 30.
Tens of thousands around the globe watched earlier this week when broadcasting legend Larry King moderated a debate between the top third-party candidates live from Chicago. As those politicians continue to be shunned by the mainstream media and political establishment alike, though, they remain excluded from presenting their platform to the country on the eve of a historic election. RT aims to make a difference, however, and will host Johnson and Stein to speak their minds on the topics Americans really care about in 2012.
Following the success of this week’s Third Party Presidential Debate broadcast on RT live from Chicago, the top candidates as selected by voters on the Free and Equal Elections Foundation website will move on to a second debate from the nation’s capital, this time answering questions dedicated solely to foreign policy.
“The voters have spoken, and we are pleased to announce that Gary Johnson and Jill Stein will advance to the second debate,” Christina Tobin, founder and chair of Free and Equal, tells RT.
When Johnson and Stein took the stage to participate in the first third-party debate this year, the candidates sounded off on questions that, while vital to the voting public, were absent from the discussions held between President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney during the televised debates that selected only Democrat and Republican politicians to participate.
The second and final third-party presidential debate will be held on October 30 from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time, (October 31, 1:00 a.m. – 2:30 a.m. GMT) and will be aired on RT America as well as RT.com and on RT’s
In my Email Box
The Libertarian Party invites you to participate in an amazing celebrity-filled event with Presidential nominee Governor Gary Johnson Friday, October 26th at 5:00-9:00 PM Pacific Time. The event will be broadcasted live online for people to log into. Visit www.DoubleTheLP.com for information on how to log in on Friday.
If you can be in Las Vegas and would like to attend the event, it is open to the public. Please read the information below and be sure to RSVP on the Facebook page, http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=59229438&msgid=278538&act=FD7J&c=1115108&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fevents%2F165112913612960%2F
I feel the same way. Ever since seeing all the cheating done by the republicans this entire campaign season, I have promised that "I'll Remember In November" and remember I did.
Therefore...
Gary Johnson 2012!!!
Ron Paul Embarrasses Mitt Romney As He Demonstrates TRUE Leadership
Clip from NH GOP debate. Foreign policy we can be proud of.
http://dailybail.com/home/ron-paul-embarrasses-mitt-romney-as-he-demonstrates-true-lea.html
Shermann
My final decision: Gary Johnson for President of the United States
http://www.dailypaul.com/260093/my-final-decision-gary-johnson-for-president
After weeks of arguing with myself whether to write-in Ron Paul or vote for Gary Johnson, I came to a decision I can live with.
Since I wanted my vote to count (in WA State), and since I wanted to send a message to the 2-party strangle-hold on the American political process, I concluded a vote for the Libertarians was my best option.
But in one last attempt to vote for Dr. Paul, I spoke with Washington State's Secretary of State office to see how they handle write-ins.
Even if a candidate registers here (which Dr. Paul didn't do), they will not even look at write-in names unless they feel they might affect the outcome of the election.
And even if they DO count them, they won't publish the actual names unless a write-in candidate were to miraculously win.
So in the end, as much as I wanted to write in Dr. Paul, I felt it was more important to support a viable candidate, who was on the ballot in the most states, and who I liked well enough to vote for.
We all know Gary Johnson is not Ron Paul (but then who IS other than Dr. Paul himself?!).
But Johnson has said on more than than one occasion that his hero is Ron Paul (he said it again in the 3rd party dabates).
There is no doubt that the Libertarian Party would have welcomed Dr. Paul with open arms as their candidate.
Top that off with Ron having stated recently that Gary Johnson is a "wonderful candidate who everyone should take a look at."
So in the end, I felt the very best use of my vote (even after years of supporting the Ron Paul campaign with my money, time and effort), was to choose Gary Johnson.
Ever since seeing all the cheating done by the republicans this entire campaign season, I have promised that "I'll Remember In November" and remember I did.
Therefore...
Gary Johnson 2012!!!
Courting the Ron Paul Vote: Libertarian Gary Johnson and Constitution Party Nominee Virgil Goode Make Their Case (VIDEOS Also)
Garrett Quinn|Oct. 24, 2012 2:09 pm
http://reason.com/blog/2012/10/24/virgil-goode-and-gary-johnson-on-why-ron
CHICAGO—Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson of New Mexico and Constitution Party nominee Virgil Goode of Virginia are both looking to scoop up as many disaffected Ron Paul voters as they possibly can on Election Day. During the third party debate here they both made their own unique pitches that would appeal to Paul backers. Goode emphasized his paleoconservative positions on things like trade and immigration while Johnson pushed his libertarian credentials on things like ending the war on drugs and a non-interventionist foreign policy.
Both, though, were reluctant to tell Paul voters in detail why they should for them. Goode declared that Paul voters should look at all the candidates but not vote for Mitt Romney or President Obama. Johnson said he thinks Paul voters should favor him because he doesn’t really want to tell them what do, but, he adds, his positions are the same as Ron Paul on nearly everything. Here in their own words are Goode and Johnson after the jump.
Full Third Party Presidential Debate Moderated by Larry King
Gary Johnson’s closing pitch: ‘Waste your vote on me’ The candidates’ closing pitches, unlike their opening statements, came right on time, several minutes out from the debate’s end.
Goode reiterated his positions on term limits and immigration. Stein urged attendees to vote, quoting poet and activist Alice Walker as saying, “The biggest way people give up power is by not knowing we have it to start with.” She also returned to the issue of student debt, telling the crowd that recent graduates are “indentured servants,” and for the second time tonight declared that “corporations are not people.”
Johnson, who has caused some agita among Republicans who fear he may cost GOP nominee Mitt Romney some votes on Nov. 6, addressed head on the question of whether he might act as a “spoiler.”
“Wasting your vote is voting for somebody that you don’t believe in,” an impassioned Johnson said. “That’s wasting your vote. I’m asking everybody here, I’m asking everybody watching this nationwide to waste your vote on me.”
The line was one of several memorable ones uttered by the libertarian White House hopeful Tuesday evening. Earlier in the debate, in taking aim at the war on drugs, he cited Whitney Houston as an example of the dangers of cocaine use. He also stated that he believes political candidates should wear “NASCAR-like jackets” displaying the names of the corporations and individuals that have funded their campaigns.
Moderator Larry King had the last word for the night: “You’re kind of Don Quixotes in a way, but the windmills have a way of stopping, and we have a way of saluting you just for getting into the fray.”
Tuesday’s debate won’t be the last third-party face-off of the campaign. Another debate sponsored by the Free and Equal Elections Foundation is expected next week, this one in Washington, D.C., featuring the two candidates who receive the most online votes after tonight’s debate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/10/23/gary-johnsons-closing-pitch-waste-your-vote-on-me/
Gary Johnson: On fire for freedom in third party Larry King debate
WAIKIKI, October 23, 2012 — America owes Larry King a debt of gratitude for giving an audience to third parties tonight. Rocky Anderson, Virgil Goode, Jill Stein and Gary Johnson all come from differing ideologies and have vastly contrasting visions of reform, but share the united belief that America deserves better than the two party system.
Tonight, everyone who participated in the third party debate was truly a winner. We witnessed a perestroika of American politics as candidates who had been suppressed by partisan stratification and media lockout spoke with palpable emotion and deep seated sincerity. As someone who voted absentee for Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson, I was especially moved by the former New Mexico governor’s incredible tour de force rebuke of the ongoing war in Afghanistan, the post-9/11 security state, the inability of the two parties to balance the budget and cut spending and the need to put morals back in the lap of families and local communities instead of government.
Johnson has always been an inspiring public figure and an adept orator, but tonight we saw the “bingo” moment for the Libertarian Party with him on fire for freedom and speaking boldly and unrestrained about the need to vote on principle. So stunning was Johnson's debate performance that I was quickly reminded of Ron Bloom's epic 1988 liberty anthem In Your Eyes - tonight, America could clearly see the love of freedom shining in his eyes.
So many today have settled into the dividing belief of left or right, but tonight Johnson and the other three debate participants were united in the pursuit and restoration of American freedoms.
It’s been a long time since America has heard a presidential candidate truly worth cheering for, but Gary Johnson delivered a powerful liberty message that deserves not only our applause but a click of our heels to attention and a razor sharp hand salute.
“Wasting your vote,” Johnson said, “is voting for someone you don’t believe in.” His words should be the rallying call of this election. “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” the Declaration of Independence says, teaching us that America began not with government, but with faith and personal conviction. For too long America has allowed her beliefs to be put on hold for the momentary expedience of choosing between the lesser of two evils. It’s time to restore America’s fallen tent of faith and go back to voting for principle, not for party, not for candidate egos, not for the sake of stopping one angry mob with another angry mob.
I consider myself very blessed to have not only the privilege of voting for Gary Johnson, but to have seen him participate tonight in a national debate hosted by Larry King. This is a step in the right direction. Let us not despise the day of small beginnings. This is America’s time to stand and be counted for principle, for honor, for liberty and for justice for all.
I voted for Gary Johnson as my first ever Libertarian presidential candidate – and I hope you will too.
Read more: Gary Johnson: On fire for freedom in third party Larry King debate | Washington Times Communities
Follow us: @wtcommunities on Twitter
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/making-waves-hawaii-perspective-washington-politic/2012/oct/23/everyones-a-winner-tonight/
Governor Gary Johnson, Part 2
In the second installment of Larry's interview with Governor Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Presidential nominee sounds off on Obama's shortcomings, marriage equality, and the impact the Libertarian party has had on federal policy.
http://www.ora.tv/larrykingnow/governor-gary-johnson-2-0_6fgx78az
Governor Gary Johnson, Part 1
In part one of Larry’s interview with Governor Gary Johnson, the Libertarian presidential nominee discusses his exclusion from the debate process, why he thinks Obama and Romney are similar candidates, and his reasons for wanting to abolish the IRS.
http://www.ora.tv/larrykingnow/governor-gary-johnson-1-0_ro1t0ind
Second 2012 Presidential Debate October 30 in Washington, DC Viewers of First Debate to Determine Which Candidate Advances to the October 30 Debate via Instant Runoff Voting
Free and Equal Elections Foundation today announced that its second 2012 Presidential debate is scheduled for October 30 in Washington, DC, from 9:00pm to 10:30pm Eastern Time. The venue will be announced shortly.
As a follow-up to Free & Equal’s October 23 debate at the Hilton Chicago, viewers of the first debate will choose which two candidates advance to the final debate on October 30 via instant runoff voting online. The debate will be broadcast live online and will focus on international issues.
http://freeandequal.org/updates/second-2012-presidential-debate-october-30-in-washington-dc/
What a Difference Other Candidates Make
by Laura Flanders
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/10/23-12
Haven’t read Lee Fang’s excellent expose on the lobbyists controlling the Presidential Debate Committee? You should. Then imagine what these debates would be like if things were very different. For one thing, there might be more parties’ candidates included.
Thanks to Democracy Now, Jill Stein of the Green Party and Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party have been able to take part in three virtually-expanded debates. On no occasion was the contrast greater than in the foreign policy debate Tuesday night. While the word clouds over the Obama/Romney debate screamed “crippling, kill, world leader, Israel,” the debate over at Democracy Now kept coming back to international law, climate change, morality and human rights.
Take the first segment. To Bob Schieffer’s question about Libya, terrorism and US policy in the Middle East, Mitt Romney applauded the president: “We’re going to have to recognize that we have to do as the president has done." The president appreciated the recognition. “I’m glad that you agree that we have been successful in going after al-Qaeda.”
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, on the other hand, had this to say:
“It’s very clear that there is blowback going on now across the Middle East, not only the unrest directed at the Libyan embassy, likewise at the embassies really across the Middle East, including in Egypt. We are seeing in Afghanistan our soldiers are being shot at by the police forces that they are supposed to be training in Afghanistan. We’re seeing in Pakistan that 75 percent of Pakistanis actually identify the United States now as their enemy, not as their supporter or their ally. And, you know, in many ways, we’re seeing a very ill-conceived, irresponsible and immoral war policy come back to haunt us, where United States foreign policies have been based, unfortunately, on brute military force and wars for oil."
Rocky Anderson, presidential candidate of the Justice Party added this:
"We’re like the bully that never got counseling, and we keep wondering, why don’t they like us? We invaded Iraq and occupied that country. It was completely illegal. Two United Nations secretaries-general declared that it was illegal. It was a war of aggression, and it was all done on a pack of lies. Now, we aggravate the situation by keeping bases in so many other nations, including Saudi Arabia, bolstering these tyrants and, at the same time, engaging in direct, unmanned drone strikes in at least four sovereign nations, killing, in the process, hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent men, women and children. That is the policy failure: our belligerence, our efforts to control, to dominate and to make certain that we will always have that control over the resources in these nations. That’s what this is all about…”
Libertarian party candidate Gary Johnson declined to take part.
For democracy to flourish, we need not only a corproate-free debate committee, we need a way to break through the monopoly of the two party system. That problem's only gotten harder as the wealth gap has grown and the cost of competing for office in this country has sky-rocketed. What's the number one security threat facing American democracy? If last night's debate is anything to go by, it's the narrow range of policy alternatives on basic issues brought to us by big money in poliitcs.
For more on why our election system needs radical change, check out these commentaries from pro-democracy activists James Rucker co-founder of Color of Change and the New Organizing Institute’s Ashindi Maxton. The Why We Care series continues this week with John Nichols & Robert McChesney and Bob Edgar of Common Cause.
I heard the web site mentioned at the end of the debate. Must have been a lot of listeners last night. Cause it crashed right away. I could not access until this morning. moxnews has the debate. link here. http://www.youtube.com/user/MOXNEWSd0tC0M
Nice link...I voted away...
Shermann
Vote for 3rd Party Debate here the 2 winners move to the next debate Second 2012 Presidential Debate October 30 in Washington, DC http://freeandequal.org/
C-SPAN to air Third Party Presidential Debate tonight. http://www.c-span.org/Events/Third-Party-Presidential-Debate/10737435220/
Larry King To Moderate Third Party Debate! Tonight!
GARY JOHNSON: "ISOLATED SYSTEM" (YOU'RE ALL GETTING SCREWED!)
Gov. Gary Johnson’s Reponse to the Presidential Debate Libertarian presidential nominee Gov. Gary Johnson released the following statement last night in response to the Presidential debate:
We didn’t see a debate tonight. We saw two slightly differing versions of defending the Republican and Democrat status quo that has given us war after war after war, a $16 trillion debt, and a government that is the answer to everything.
Nowhere was there a real plan for reducing government, balancing the budget any time in the foreseeable future, or a path that will actually put Americans back to work.
We heard two politicians arguing over which of their plans for government-run health care is less bad. We heard fantasies about balancing the budget while not reducing Medicare costs.
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are nibbling around the edges of the nation’s problems. We don’t have time to nibble — we need to devour them.
Americans deserve real debates and a voice who will actually tell the truth about what it will take to put this great nation back on track.
Libertarian presidential nominee Gov. Gary Johnson released the following statement last night in response to the Presidential debate:
We didn’t see a debate tonight. We saw two slightly differing versions of defending the Republican and Democrat status quo that has given us war after war after war, a $16 trillion debt, and a government that is the answer to everything.
Nowhere was there a real plan for reducing government, balancing the budget any time in the foreseeable future, or a path that will actually put Americans back to work.
We heard two politicians arguing over which of their plans for government-run health care is less bad. We heard fantasies about balancing the budget while not reducing Medicare costs.
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are nibbling around the edges of the nation’s problems. We don’t have time to nibble — we need to devour them.
Americans deserve real debates and a voice who will actually tell the truth about what it will take to put this great nation back on track.
Libertarian presidential nominee Gov. Gary Johnson released the following statement last night in response to the Presidential debate:
We didn’t see a debate tonight. We saw two slightly differing versions of defending the Republican and Democrat status quo that has given us war after war after war, a $16 trillion debt, and a government that is the answer to everything.
Nowhere was there a real plan for reducing government, balancing the budget any time in the foreseeable future, or a path that will actually put Americans back to work.
We heard two politicians arguing over which of their plans for government-run health care is less bad. We heard fantasies about balancing the budget while not reducing Medicare costs.
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are nibbling around the edges of the nation’s problems. We don’t have time to nibble — we need to devour them.
Americans deserve real debates and a voice who will actually tell the truth about what it will take to put this great nation back on track.
http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/gov-gary-johnsons-reponse-to-the-presidential-debate
Gary Johnson Shut Out: Presidential Debate Excludes the Libertarian Yet Again The third and final debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney is Monday night at 9pm in Boca Raton, Florida, and it will focus exclusively on foreign policy. Unfortunately, Libertarian presidential nominee will not be participant, as he has failed to garner the necessary 15% in a national poll for inclusion in the debates hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Johnson's views will be sorely needed tonight, as Obama and Romney will take turns blustering about how "tough" they are/will be on foreign policy.
There is little difference between the foreign policy prescriptions of Obama and Romney.
As a Republican, Romney has reflexively run to the right of Obama on every issue, especially foreign policy. But given Obama's overall hawkishness in this realm, Romney has essentially come off as just another neoconservative. Indeed, many of Romney's foreign policy advisers are recycled Bush administration neocons.
That should concern anyone who's hoping to avoid another Iraq-like disaster in the Middle East or anywhere else. On foreign policy, Obama has been pro-active and interventionist.
Despite his administration's claims that Obama is winding down the war in Afghanistan, there are more U.S. soldiers there now than when he took office.
With Iraq, Obama tried (unsuccessfully) to get the Iraqis to disregard the Status of Forces Agreement negotiated by the Bush administration and allow a continued U.S. troop presence.
In February 2011, Obama commenced a months-long bombing campaign of Libya under humanitarian pretenses without any authorization from Congress whatsoever.
Regarding drones, Obama has increased the number of drone strikes, and also the number of countries in which they are now taking place. In September 2011, the administration assassinated Anwar al-Awlaki — a U.S. citizen — via drone strike without Constitutional due process because the administration said he was al Qaeda's chief propagandist. Two weeks later, a U.S. drone strike killed Awlaki's 16-year old son.
On Iran, the Obama administraion has imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic, while maintaining a massive U.S. naval presence in the Persian Gulf, within easy striking distance of the country. Obama has repeatedly stated, rather cryptically, that when it comes to Iran's nuclear program, that "all options are on the table."
Concerning Israel, Obama has continued the flow of billions of dollars in unconditional aid and arms to the country, despite continued settlement-building in the Occupied Territories, in direct violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions. In January 2011, the Obama administration vetoed a resolution that would have condemned the building of illegal settlements on Palestinian territory. The vote was 14 to 1 in favor, but failed. Furthermore, when the Palestinians sought, and received, admission to UNESCO by a vote of 107 to 14, the U.S. responded by withdrawing funding from the sub-organization.
Although Gary Johnson's approach to foreign policy is desperately needed, good luck finding anything resembling his positions during Monday's presidential debate.
http://www.policymic.com/articles/17177/gary-johnson-shut-out-presidential-debate-excludes-the-libertarian-yet-again
Libertarians are not corporate apologists
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/reawakening-liberty/2012/oct/22/libertarians-are-not-corporate-apologists/
In the wake of Ron Paul’s campaign and with Gary Johnson rising in the polls, libertarianism may just get a hearing for the first time in decades.
Already, the usual fallacies have resurfaced. If you don’t want the government to run education, you must be against education. If you don’t want the government to run healthcare, you must not want people to get healthcare.
This misunderstanding is often summed up with comments like, “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with an ‘every man for himself’ society.” This springs from the absurd assumption that human beings never confer benefits upon one another except when forced to do so at gunpoint.
One corollary of the “every man for himself” theory is that a libertarian society would “let corporations run wild,” resulting in a small, wealthy elite controlling all of the resources and exercising oligarchical rule over the rest of society. (So do we live in a libertarian society now?)
Most people would probably be surprised at the libertarian stand on corporations. In a libertarian society, they wouldn’t exist. Corporations are creatures of the state. They are created by the government and endowed with privileges that individuals do not have. This contradicts a fundamental premise of libertarianism, that all people are created equal and have equal rights.
One hundred years ago, Woodrow Wilson first articulated the “progressive” argument about why and how the government should tightly regulate corporations to protect the public. His arguments are still widely accepted today.
For Wilson, the problem was that corporations get too big and use their vast wealth to influence the government. Size changes the dynamics of the employment contract. For example, employers used to live in the same town as their employees. Now, the employer might live in another state.
For Wilson and the progressives, too much voluntary association is a bad thing. Wilson made all of the same, absurd arguments one hears today about how the free market poses a danger to society, while ignoring the elephant in the room concerning the corporate question: limited liability.
The privilege of being released from liability beyond what one has invested in the corporation violates the rights of all who haven’t agreed and causes economic distortions.
The first is size itself. Without the guarantee that one’s personal assets are off limits in a lawsuit, one must take more risk in buying stock in a corporation. Imagine if potential stockholders knew that their personal assets might be at risk in a case like the BP oil spill. Some number of shareholders would decide against taking that risk, or at least limit it by acquiring less stock.
This is the natural balance between risk and reward that limits the size of any going concern. The more ownership one acquires in the firm and the larger the firm becomes, the more personal risk one takes on. Once the government releases the stockholder from liability, this natural balance is destroyed. Risk is removed, allowing the corporation to grow beyond what it otherwise would.
Having created the problem in the first place, the government then proposes to mitigate the effects of the distortion it has caused with heavy regulation. This further distorts the market’s natural balancing mechanisms.
Regulations drive up the operating cost of doing business and provide barriers to new firms entering the market. The larger, established players can absorb the costs due to economies of scale. Smaller firms cannot and are kept out of the market by high entry costs, if not more directly by other regulations like permitting or licensing.
The effect of regulation is exactly the opposite of its intention. The largest and most powerful corporations are insulated from competition, allowing them to grow even larger, while putting less pressure on them to improve quality or lower price. That’s why most regulations are written by corporate insiders themselves.
In a libertarian society, entrepreneurs would be able to do most things that corporate shareholders do. They would be able to pool their money with as many people as they like, even millions of other people. They would be able to release each other from liability. They would be able to secure agreements from their customers and vendors to do the same.
However, they would not be able to release themselves from liability to people who hadn’t agreed. Their potential liability to third parties would act as a natural deterrent to inordinate growth.
They also wouldn’t be able to use regulations to keep out new competitors, because there would be no “regulations” as we know them today. Yes, there would be laws against force and fraud and committing torts. But the government wouldn’t be telling companies how to avoid committing a tort or how to run their businesses in the safest manner. Not only would this result in an enormous increase in competition and thus consumer choice, but it would also foster spectacular innovation compared to the stifled environment that businesses operate in today.
Libertarian conclusions are inescapable without completely abandoning cause and effect reasoning. With risk providing a natural limit to growth and free entry into the market providing significantly more competition, the largest firms must be smaller and competition and choice must increase.
A century of progressive governance has produced exactly the results that the progressives purport to oppose: an enormous concentration of wealth in the hands of a small percentage of society and a few large firms dominating every economic sector. We have nothing to lose giving libertarianism a try.
Down with corporations. Bring on the free market.
Tom Mullen is the author of A Return to Common Sense: Reawakening Liberty in the Inhabitants of America.
Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson responds to five key debate questions.
Gary Johnson 2012: Civil Liberties
Larry King Wants Your Questions For 3rd Party Presidential Debate | Ora 2012 Extras
http://www.youtube.com/oratv
Debate Tuesday October,23rd at 9pm ET/ 6pm PT Link to 3rd party debate here. http://www.ora.tv/larrykingnow
2012 Presidential Candidates
Gary Johnson
On the issues
http://www.ontheissues.org/gary_johnson.htm
Gary Johnson on Fox News' Geraldo At Large 10/21/2012
Doug Wead The Blog Amazing, Romney still battles Ron Paul in New Jersey
October 19, 2012
The battle for the soul of the Republican Party is still ongoing. If you doubt that, take a look at the Romney henchman in New Jersey, who is even now, doing everything within his power to resist the involvement of grass roots Ron Paul people. What you saw in Tampa, where Ron Paul delegates, mostly young and war veterans and Hispanics were unseated, continues in other ways, unabated in state after state, county after county.
Governor Mitt Romney is conducting a war on two fronts. On the one hand he is trying to wrest control of the White House from the Democrats in a close election. But simultaneously, as distracting and draining as it may be, he continues the brutal scrub of any challenge to the American oligarchical system by destroying the last vestiges of democracy within his own Republican Party.
Here’s a typical story, this one coming from New Jersey.
In June a number of Ron Paul activists ran for the Jersey City’s Republican Committee. They won. And like innocent Ron Paul winners everywhere they thought that they would be able to assume their new positions.
But the Committee Chairman, threatened by his new members, called his meeting without telling them. It’s an old story, very familiar to Ron Paul activists. Russell Maffei, Chairman of the Committee, and a strong Mitt Romney supporter, apparently worried that he would lose his position.
Last month, according to a story in the Hudson Reporter, Maffei was asked if “the underlying dispute really has to do with insurgent Ron Paul supporters coming onto the Committee, Maffei said, ‘Yeah, maybe. Why haven’t any of these people contacted me about working for Romney?’”
A lawsuit may force Maffei and the Committee to allow its duly elected members to participate but the story is yet another example that the brutal battle in the trenches is still ongoing.
Sometimes Romney’s involvement is direct, with people on his own payroll. (See: Romney and Charlie the Cheater.) But even if one gives the GOP candidate the benefit of the doubt, and concludes that this is only the spontaneous work of politically inept and threatened, power hungry people at the local level, even them, Romney has never repudiated the tactics.
When the pro Romney governor of Maine, a loyal GOP leader, pleaded with the RNC to seat the duly elected delegation from Maine, in spite of their Ron Paul allegiance, he was ignored and the Romney convention tossed them out, replacing them with unelected toadies as puppet delegates instead. The governor was genuinely impressed by the involvement of so many young people and thought that his Party would welcome them. And this New Jersey story sounds like a replay. It was a Republican establishment leader, Sean Connelly, the former Chairman of the Hudson County Republican Committee who imagined he was doing a good thing by encouraging the young Ronulans to get involved. Doesn’t the GOP want to grow? Don’t they want to win?
It must all look like Alice in Wonderland to the uninitiated. Why would the GOP hurt itself by keeping out the young, the Hispanic, the Independents, even the Democrats? But as the Liberty people know, the challenge within the GOP represents a people’s revolution against the establishment, an oligarchy that runs the country and depends on easy money created electronically by the Federal Reserve and loaned out to them through their banks and their corporations at zero percent interest while the rest of us pay through the nose.
The contest did not end in Tampa. The war for the soul of America goes on. And the more that the Romney GOP establishment defrauds us, behind the curtain, pulling the levers of power, then the more likely we will be to pull the lever for Gary Johnson, behind the curtain of our voting booth this November.
http://dougwead.wordpress.com/
10/21/12 I asked Doug Wead, a question on his blog. Mr Wead, have you or are you going to endorse Gary Johnson. For those that do not know who Doug Wead is. He was senior adviser for the Ron Paul 2012 presidential campaign. This was his response, Doug Wead says:
October 22, 2012 at 1:04 am
Well, he hasn’t asked me but I’m thinking about it.
Here is a link to his blog, it is about 1/2 way down the page. http://dougwead.wordpress.com/about/
Some Neat Links!!!
This is an Email I received!!!
Gary Johnson 2nd GOP 2012 Debate.
Gov. Gary Johnson's Plan for America, Presidential Debates Disservice
Gary Johnson on Fox Business With Neil Cavuto 10-17-2012
http://libertycrier.com/politics/gary-johnson-on-fox-business-with-neil-cavuto-10-17-2012/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Teaparty07+%28TeaParty07%29
Shermann
Video: Dr. Ron Paul In Utah Huge Ovation! 4,200 Attending! (VIDEO)
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/123485.html
http://www.dailypaul.com/259449/dr-ron-paul-in-utah-huge-ovation-4200-attending
Shermann
Gary Johnson Explains What We Didn't Hear In The Debate
http://xrepublic.tv/node/646
Shermann
I never new Gary was in MN until I seen your post. I have watched twice so far. lol
Larry King to moderate third-party debate Larry King, the celebrated talk show host accustomed to A-list interview guests, has agreed to moderate a debate featuring a squad of minor-party presidential candidates.
The former CNN giant will guide next Tuesday's debate in Chicago, which will be broadcast on the Internet. The candidates taking part are the Libertarian Party's Gary Johnson, the Green Party's Jill Stein, the Constitution Party's Virgil Goode and the Justice Party's Rocky Anderson.
King told The Associated Press it's clear none of them will win the election, but said they all deserve a voice in the presidential race.
Democrats and Republicans are keeping tabs on Johnson and Goode, two ex-Republicans who could be factors in key battleground states.
Do the debates unfairly shut out third parties?
"They have a story to tell. It's a valid story," King said. "It's a two-party system, but not a two-party system by law."
King left CNN in 2010 and now hosts a show on Ora.TV, an on-demand Internet channel.
The debate was organized by the Free and Equal Elections Foundation, which has criticized the debates between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney for excluding third-party candidates and coming off as too programmed.
Organizers say at-home viewers will be encouraged to submit real-time questions on social media websites such as Twitter, where they'll get King's attention with the "AskEmThisLarry" hashtag
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57533931/larry-king-to-moderate-third-party-debate/
"The American system is designed to eliminate political opposition like some of the dictatorships we criticize that have rigged political systems." Jill Stein on RT
http://xrepublic.tv/node/640
Shermann
Poll: Who Should Ron Paul Endorse?
http://www.ronpaul.com/2012-10-16/poll-who-should-ron-paul-endorse/
Shermann
Gary Johnson Speaks About 2nd Presidential Debate On CNBC The Kudlow Report
http://libertycrier.com/politics/gary-johnson-speaks-about-2nd-presidential-debate-on-cnbc-the-kudlow-report/?utm_source=The+Liberty+Crier&utm_campaign=c7cbb189bc-The_Liberty_Crier_Daily_News10_17_2012&utm_medium=email
Shermann
Ron Paul On CNBC Talks About 2nd Presidential Debate (VIDEO)
http://libertycrier.com/politics/ron-paul-on-cnbc-talks-about-2nd-presidential-debate/?utm_source=The+Liberty+Crier&utm_campaign=c7cbb189bc-The_Liberty_Crier_Daily_News10_17_2012&utm_medium=email
Shermann
Gary Johnson vs Jill Stein, The Other Presidential Debate on CNN
http://libertycrier.com/politics/gary-johnson-vs-jill-stein-the-other-presidential-debate-on-cnn/?utm_source=The+Liberty+Crier&utm_campaign=300e73c286-The_Liberty_Crier_Daily_News10_15_2012&utm_medium=email
Shermann
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Johnson, who has been referred to as the 'most fiscally conservative Governor' in the country, was the Republican Governor of New Mexico from 1995-2003. Governor Johnson brings a distinctly business-like mentality to governing, believing that decisions should be made based on cost-benefit analysis rather than strict ideology.
An avid skier, adventurer, and bicyclist, he has reached the highest peak on four of the seven continents, including Mt. Everest.
Governor Johnson, who has been referred to as the 'most fiscally conservative Governor' in the country, was the Republican Governor of New Mexico from 1995-2003.
A successful businessman before running for office in 1994, Gov. Johnson started a door-to-door handyman business to help pay his way through college. Twenty years later, he had grown the firm into one of the largest construction companies in New Mexico with over 1,000 employees. Not surprisingly, Governor Johnson brings a distinctly business-like mentality to governing, believing that decisions should be made based on cost-benefit analysis rather than strict ideology.
Johnson is best known for his veto record, which includes over 750 vetoes during his time in office, more than all other governors combined and his use of the veto pen has since earned him the nickname "Governor Veto." He cut taxes 14 times while never raising them when he left office, New Mexico was one of only four states in the country with a balanced budget.
Term-limited, Johnson retired from public office in 2003. An avid skier, adventurer, and bicyclist, he has reached the highest peak on four of the seven continents, including Mt. Everest.
In 2009, after becoming increasingly concerned with the country's out-of-control national debt and precarious financial situation, the Governor formed the OUR America Initiative, a 501c(4) non-profit that promotes fiscal responsibility, civil liberties, and rational public policy. He traveled to more than 30 states and spoke to over 150 conservative and libertarian groups during his time as Honorary Chairman.
He has two grown children- a daughter Seah and a son Erik and currently resides in a house he built himself in Taos, New Mexico.
http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/about
Gary Johnson Has The Beltway's Attention-And Willie Nelson's Endorsement {C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}By Jim Scarantino on June 15, 2012
Is Gary Johnson the wild card in the Presidential election? "A surprise may be lurking in the presidential campaign that could cause a stir in the coming months, but it has nothing to do with Mitt Romney or Barack Obama," begins the story in Real Clear Politics on Johnson's possible impact in picking the next President. That article observes that Johnson's impact on the race remains unknown, though a recent Arizona poll showed him pulling 9% of the vote in a race against Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Capitol Report's
Rob Nikolewski has done a better job following Johnson's growing impact on the conversation, if not yet the electorate. As he has reported, national polling organizations will be including Johnson in their surveys. Another poll reported by Nikolewski found Johnson pulling 7% of the national vote in a three-way race with Obama and Romney. Johnson has qualified for federal funds, and it is likely he will be on the ballot in every state. Johnson dipped into his personal fortune in his first race for Governor. On a national stage, his resources won't go as far as they did in New Mexico. But they can keep him alive, especially in selected swing states. The other unknown is whether Ron Paul's money bomb capabilities will shift to Johnson as the standard-bearer of the libertarian cause. http://newmexico.watchdog.org/14118/gary-johnson-has-the-beltways-attention/
Gary Johnson appears on "The Colbert Report" wants the government to decriminalize marijuana and tell kids the truth about smoking pot. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/309253/may-10-2010/gary-johnson
Gary Johnson appears on "The Daily Show" http://newmexico.watchdog.org/13896/gary-johnson-appears-on-the-daily-show/
Track Record
Gary Johnson announced his gubernatorial run under a "common sense business approach"
1994Gary Johnson elected governor of New Mexico, beating incumbent 50% to 40%
Governor Johnson set state and national records by vetoing 200 bills out of the 424 that were passed by the Legislature
1995Ran for re-election against Democratic Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez
1998Won reelection by a 45% to 55% margin despite a 2-1 Democrat majority
Term-Limited, Governor Johnson finished his second term as a Governor
2002
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