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By Jeff, on May 21st, 2010%
I’m a State/Local specialist. I don’t track National politics that closely, but seeing as how the Libertarian National Convention is next weekend and we have a fairly hotly contested race for LNC Chairman going on, I decided to take a look into it and let my voice be heard. After all, what is the point of having a blog if you don’t express an opinion or two, right? 
I’ve been talking to a few Libertarians I trust, all of which are admittedly in Georgia -including my good friend Jason Pye-, and I’ve been reading what I could find on Independent Political Report and the websites IPR’s Paulie gave me when I asked about them last night.
Based on those conversations, a review of the information on each of the websites provided, and my brief conversation on IPR with one of the LNC Chair candidates, I hereby endorse John Jay Myers for LNC Chair. Like Mr. Myers, I believe that as a Party our best strategy at the present time is to work first at home, then in our States, and then at the National level.
For too long, the Libertarian Party has tried a top down approach, which I understand is mandated to an extent by ballot access laws, of which Georgia’s are some of the worst in the nation. There are three approaches to achieving ballot access though: 1) Comply with them. I know nothing about other States, but in Georgia, a top down approach via either President or Governor candidates is mandated by law to achieve full equal ballot access, and this is the approach typically used by the LNC in my understanding. (This is referred to by many as the “50 State Strategy”.) 2) Work to get the existing laws changed. This requires networking with everyone concerned, including legislators, activists, and concerned citizens. We had a number of ballot access bills introduced in Georgia in 2010, and I hope we will be able to continue this in the near future and get at least some degree of genuine ballot access reform in this State.
But the third approach is what I personally believe is the area where we as a Party – at both National and State levels – need to concentrate: Grow the Party from the bottom up by concentrating on winning as many local races as possible before moving up the political ladder to the State Assemblies, Statewide offices, and then National offices. Grow our local chapters and affiliates, and use them to spread the Libertarian message door to door, neighbor to neighbor, friend to friend, business associate to business associate. John Jay Myers seems to understand this better than the other candidates, all of whom seem to favor either no actual political activity or a continued top-down mentality.
Mr. Myers also seems to understand the politics of the day and that we truly are a distinct philosophy from both the mainstream “left” AND “right”, but that our message appeals to both and should be discussed with both. As someone has said, we will not gain a majority – and thus begin winning elections – by appealing only to one half of one half of the Big Government Party.
I completely agree with this quote in particular from Mr. Myers’ website:
I understand that we will not attract new membership unless we distinguish ourselves from other parties without alienating the majority of Americans. The Libertarian Party is the only one that stands for the American principles that defined our country, and it can once again, but only with leadership that focuses on our true principles and lives those principles every day.
The next 2 to 4 years represent a significant opportunity for Libertarians, and we cannot afford to have an LNC Chair who either appeals almost exclusively to one half of one half of our competitor or who does not believe we should engage in actual politics at all. We also cannot have a LNC Chair who is intent on continuing the backbiting and infighting that has plagued the LNC for so long and has led many Libertarians to end their involvement in the National Party.
Because Mr. Myers understands that our Party will grow best if grown from the bottom up, and because he understands that we must spread our message to ALL of our American brothers and sisters, I am proud to give him my endorsement.
Jeff Sexton
LP-Georgia Executive Committee At Large Rep,
Founding Chair, LP-Southwest Georgia,
Founder, SWGAPolitics.com
jeff.sexton@lpgeorgia.com
By Jeff, on May 16th, 2010%
A few incidents have come up in the past few days that I wanted to briefly comment on – ironically enough, 2 of the 3 involve high schools.
The most well known is the Elena Kagan nomination for Supreme Court. Apparently some “conservatives” are upset that she may or may not be a lesbian. When it comes to the Supreme Court, I am worried about one thing and one thing only: what are their views on the Constitution? I really don’t care what they do in their private lives, and by and large the same goes for ANY public official. But hey, maybe I’m just more enlightened there than most. For some solid thoughts on Kagan and the issues that SHOULD be raised around her nomination, I highly recommend the Cato Institute. Here’s a brief selection from them: Kagan Nomination Launches Constitutional Debate, Does Elena Kagan Support Limited Government?, Kagan: Revenge of the Grinds, Kagan on Military Recruitment, Kagan Nomination: Around the Web, and Kagan Bad, But Not Worst
The other two issues I wanted to discuss both involve high schools and the First Amendment.
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By Jeff, on May 15th, 2010%
A report came in through Independent Political Report last night that the Georgia Republican Party may want to look at.
Apparently, the Libertarian Party of North Carolina has full ballot access, and therefore is under the exact same laws as the NCGOP – and GAGOP is under what appear to be similar laws here.
There, LP-NC had a situation where a guy was running for County Commission for apparently personal reasons (something to do with getting his kids back from the NC equivalent of DFACS), and has violated core Libertarian principles, such as non-aggression. From the IPR report: [The LP-NC] “charges that Stratton has a history of responding to criticism with “unfounded legal threats and intimidation.””
The LP there can’t keep him off the ballot, due to those laws there that are very similar to what the GAGOP is under here – but they did publicly repudiate him, including striking his name from their endorsement list and denying him “any financial, logistical, or electoral support”.
Like I said, just something the GAGOP may want to take into consideration. I’m posting the full resolution from the LP-NC Executive Committee after the jump.
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By Publius, on May 6th, 2010%
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today made the following statements after the Senate defeated an amendment that would have protected small businesses from additional, overreaching regulation. Continue reading Chambliss, Isakson Disappointed in Democrats’ Failure to Protect Main Street from Unintended Consequences of Financial Reform Bill
By Publius, on May 6th, 2010%
WASHINGTON – At an awards ceremony this morning, U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., was recognized as an ACU Conservative by the American Conservative Union’s annual Ratings of Congress.
“It’s an honor to be recognized for voting in a conservative manner,” Chambliss said. “I will continue to strongly advocate for measures that uphold our Constitution and America’s core principles.” Continue reading Chambliss Receives Conservative Rating from American Conservative Union
By Tom, on May 5th, 2010%
“To leave Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae out of any additional regulations is a mistake.”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., addressed his concerns with the financial regulatory reform bill on the Senate floor today. The following are excerpts of his floor speech: Continue reading Chambliss Addresses Concerns with Financial Regulatory Reform Legislation
By Tom, on April 27th, 2010%
The sign on the Statue of Liberty calls for other nation’s tired, poor, and huddled masses yearning to be free. Through the years, that’s changed. Now, to relocate to the United States, you’ve got two options. The first is to do it legally, which is the way most people would prefer immigrants to come here. The next is to just jump the border and live the good life.
Illegal immigration has been an issue for decades, but after Arizona passed it’s own immigration measure, the issue has been moved to the forefront. Continue reading How about some real immigration reform?
By Tom, on April 20th, 2010%
MSNBC is reporting that the Food and Drug Administration is planning an effort to reduce the amount of salt in the average American’s diet by regulating how much producers can put in it’s products. Maybe it’s just me, but this seemsios even dumber than when they tried to smack down Cheerois. Continue reading The FDA has officially gone off the rocker
By Tom, on April 20th, 2010%
Yesterday, Jeff posted a little something on his Facebook status, like he tends to do from time to time. You see, Rudy Adams is a birther, and Jeff mentioned that was something he and Nathan Deal had in common. Adams just had to comment on it, but really…he shouldn’t have. Kyle Constable has the quote and a screen capture of his comment here.
“You know what Rudy Adams and Mike Keown has in common? NOTHING! Keown believes Obama is a legit President.” – Rudy Adams
Now, this lead me to ask Adams if he was drunk, or just stupid. Continue reading Rudy Adams: Nothing in common with Mike Keown?
By Jeff, on April 15th, 2010%
A Federal Court in Wisconsin has ruled (correctly) that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.
U.S. District Court Judge Barbara B. Crabb ruled that the statute that created the National Day of Prayer violates the Constitution’s prohibition against the government establishment of religion.
Judge Crabb, an appointee of former President Jimmy Carter, wrote in her decision that ‘”some forms of ‘ceremonial deism,’ such as legislative prayer, do not violate the establishment clause.” But she said the National Day of Prayer goes too far.
“It goes beyond mere acknowledgment of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context,” she said. “In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience.”
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