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Though long shots in just about every race, Libertarians are getting on ballots across Northern Michigan in unprecedented numbers. By Patrick Sullivan | Aug. 8, 2020

Something in the ether, maybe, brought together a bunch of people who over the last year or so declared themselves Libertarians and got nominated to run for local, statewide, and federal office.

Theyre not an easily organized group of individuals, but they are united in their conviction that something is not working in this country under a government that is controlled by two parties.

(Quick brush-up for those unfamiliar: Like Democrats and Republicans, Libertarians dont share a singular opinion on all societal and economic issues, but if you had to distill their guiding philosophy to a singular commonality, you might say they believe first and foremost in the liberty of the individual and that government should take a smaller role in the activities of the state. Some believe it should limit its reach to providing only police, courts, and military, while others believe that more or less is necessary.)

Donna Gundle-Krieg, a real estate agent, candidate for Mancelona Township trustee, and a Northern Expressguest columnist, helped organize the Northwest Michigan Libertarian Party affiliate to help get candidates on the ballot across nine counties in northwestern Lower Michigan this year. She said that there were plenty of folks who wanted to sign up; they just needed a little organization to help them along.

In the past, people have inquired, and they get sent to the head of the state party, Gundle-Krieg said. They never get to meet that person or have that comradery. You need likeminded people to get excited about this. Its hard to be excited when youre all alone.

At the statewide convention in Gaylord July 18, the Libertarian Party nominated 61 candidates for the 2020 general election, including nine candidates for U.S. Congress, 10 candidates for the Michigan State House, eight candidates for statewide offices, and 32 for county and township races. Many of the local candidates are running for office in Northern Michigan, thanks primarily to the local Libertarian organizations that have formed in the last couple of years.

Northern Express reached out to some of the candidates to find out what drove them to throw their hat into the ring.

FACEMASKS AND A BID FOR CONGRESSAt the statewide Libertarian convention in Gaylord, almost everyone wore facemasks, said Benjamin Boren, who is running to represent Michigan in its 1st Congressional District. Wearing masks is something Boren said he supports. But, like other Libertarians interviewed for this article, theres a caveat: Boren said he thinks people should wear them as a matter of personal responsibility, not because the government tells them to.

Boren was born and raised in Nevada, near Lake Tahoe, to parents who worked in real estate. The 35-year-old has moved around a lot, but for the last few years hes lived just south of Charlevoix, where he moved to be closer to his parents for a time. He thought it would be a short-term move, but it hasnt turned out that way, and as hes settled in, hes found a political home of sorts in the Libertarian cause in Northern Michigan.

Boren, who works part-time at a tobacco store in Traverse City and part-time as a heavy-equipment operator, said hes voted for candidates from both major parties throughout his life but became increasingly drawn to the principles of libertarianism. A couple of years ago, he decided to join the Libertarian Party, then discovered hed have to help create one in the region first.

The prospect was daunting. This is such a scary time, Boren said. I would love to live a normal life and not have anything to do with the political realm.

But it just so happened that there were others clamoring for just the same thing at the time, so he found help and support from people like Gundle-Krieg, who was already gaining momentum in the effort.

Boren said that he believes people are more drawn to libertarianism today because of a combination of the executive order requirements in Michigan spurred by the coronavirus pandemic and because of the authoritarianism of the Trump Republican Party.

First off, I think a lot of people feel not everyone, but a lot that the two-party system seems to be broken, Boren said. Everyones freaking out. This pandemic is hard to get used to, but it was a huge eye-opener for a lot of people.

The people drawn to libertarianism pretty much just want to get the government to do a lot less, even amid a pandemic, he said.

Its not like [Libertarians] think they know what other people need in their life. They just want to live their life and dont want to be told how to live it, Boren said.

Another factor that Boren said he believes increased the number of people who identify as Libertarian is what he calls the Amash effect, after Justin Amash, the GOP Congressman from Grand Rapids who left his party in protest over Trumps policies and later became a Libertarian. Amash made the party switch during the states stay-in-place order, when a lot of people in Michigan had extra time on their hands to do things like look up libertarianism online, he said.

Boren said if he had to choose between Republican and Democrat, he wouldnt, because both want too much control over peoples lives. He said he likes aspects of each he is pro-Second Amendment, like most Republicans; and pro-LGBTQ-rights, like most Democrats, for instance.

Despite his enthusiasm for libertarianism, he is still a reluctant candidate for Congress.

I would prefer to do something else, honestly, but no one else would step up, he said.

Boren said he, his campaign manager, and most of his campaign volunteers are Millennials who lack experience but who have passion, though he said he doesnt look at his campaign as a symbolic one. He said he wouldnt run unless he thought he had an outside chance to overcome two well-funded candidates from the major parties.

Theres a lot to navigate; theres a lot of hurdles. But its important regardless, he said. I think I have a chance. I would never ever just do something and accept defeat. Im going to give it a good go. Hopefully, we can have a lot of fun were going to learn a lot.

RACIN JASON JOINS THE RACEOf all the Libertarian Party candidates in Northern Michigan, none has the kind of name recognition of Jason Crum, who has spent decades working as a deejay at stations from Petoskey to Gaylord to Traverse City. He was also a winning contestant on the reality television game show Forged in Fire that aired last September on the History Channel. Now, hes running to replace state Rep. Larry Inman in the Michigan House.

Crum said he started out as a rebellious youth who didnt want to follow in the footsteps of his father, an attorney, or his mother, an academic, and instead launched himself into a career on the airwaves, moving from Rochester, Michigan, where he grew up, to Petoskey, where he got his first radio gig almost three decades ago.

Crums last radio job was the morning slot at WKLT in Traverse City, where he was known as Racin Jason until a shakeup late last year put him out of work. Since March, hes been driving a bus for BATA.

The outset of a global pandemic was not the easiest time to take a new job that involved close contact with the public in tight quarters, but he managed to get through it and has stayed healthy.

It was right at the start of the whole COVID, Crum said about starting the new job. It was nerve-wracking, you know. Ive got young kids at home and a wife, and I didnt want to do anything to put their lives in jeopardy. The whole COVID thing was so new and everybody was so scared of it.

Crum, who lives in Kingsley and has six kids, ages 8 to 24, continues to wear a mask whenever hes driving his bus or in a store. He also frequently washes his hands and said he instructs his children to do the same.

I support science, and I support smart conclusions, he said. If the science says to wear the mask, then Im going to wear it.

The 50-year-old is not against following protocols that are backed up by science in order to stay safe, but he said he is against the government telling him what to do.

I never had much of a political bone in my body. I mean, I definitely have opinions on things, he said. It was actually Gov. Whitmers executive orders that made me really start to question what was going on in Lansing. The legislature should be involved in a situation like this. I just dont like ruling by executive order.

He was also frustrated that his own state rep, Inman, the troubled Republican, was missing in action following a partial acquittal/hung-jury verdict on federal bribery charges last year.

I couldnt find one single phone number or a web page, Crum said. Hes a lame duck at this point. Hes not our representative. We are representative-less.

So, since Crum didnt ever really identify with either of the major political parties, when the nascent Northern Michigan Libertarian Party approached him about running on their platform, Crum hopped on board. It made sense, he said, because he said he is fiscally conservative and socially liberal, and after he checked out the partys website, he said he found very little in the platform that he disagreed with.

Crum said he has no political aspiration and that if he is elected, he would only serve one term.

He knows he faces an uphill battle; he sees plenty of yard signs as he drives his bus and recognizes that his opponents from the major parties will be much better funded.

THE LIBERTARIAN BUREAUCRATAndy Evans knows that his job would be in jeopardy if, someday, the Libertarians took over state government and dismantled the bureaucracy. The Cheboygan resident works at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources customer service center in Gaylord. But if he had his way, that job wouldnt exist. The only reason it does, he said, is because of how complicated the states hunting and fishing code has become over the decades.

I spend a great amount of time demystifying the hunting and fishing regulations for people, Evans said. You reach a breaking point with regulations. You confuse the public; you confuse business owners.

He insists that he would eliminate his own job if he had the chance.

My particular job could be eliminated, absolutely, Evans said. Lets just say, seeing how Im only four years from retirement, its easy for me to say that.

Evans is running for county commissioner for District 3 in Cheboygan County.

Ive always been a real student of history and politics, throughout my lifetime, and I tended to vote Republican, Evans said.

He said that though he always leaned Republican, the strong positions Democrats have traditionally taken on civil liberties have lured him in the past. Nevertheless, Evans eventually grew dissatisfied with both parties and concluded that there have been a lot of empty promises theyd made in the past 20 years. A couple ago, he was listening to a local call-in radio political radio show that featured a state Libertarian Party official as a guest. Evans said he liked what he heard, and, after some investigation, he was converted.

Evans helped start a Mackinac Straits region Libertarian affiliate, which covers four counties in the Straits region.

The federal and state governments, I feel, have become far too intrusive into our lives, Evans said. I feel like government is becoming pretty unrestrained of late.

Evans said the Libertarian Party is a good alternative for folks interested in getting into local government in a place like Cheboygan, where Democrats rarely run for local office, and Republicans often run unopposed.

Still, like the other northern Michigan Libertarians, Evans is realistic about his chances. He ran for the same county commission seat in 2018, in a three-way race, and he got just six percent of the vote.

This time around he will be going head-to-head with an incumbent Republican. He said the situation improves his chances, but he still considers himself a longshot.

My opponent hes a well-established incumbent, very well-known in the community, a former undersheriff, he said. I have an uphill battle.

REPUBLICAN TURNED LIBERTARIANCory Dean, a 51-year-old who has lived for decades in Blair Township and raised four kids there, is running as a Libertarian for township trustee.

Hes run before as a Republican and narrowly lost by three votes in 2012, and by three percent of the vote in 2018, when he ran amid a larger field of candidates.

This year he will be among five candidates who are vying for four spots on the board, and since the others are all Republican, Dean thinks he might have an advantage because there are no Democrats running.

This time Im running as a Libertarian, Dean said. I feel at home. Its like I finally found a party that feels right.

Dean, who works for a truck-rental company, said that he believes Libertarians need to start small in order to grow their power.

Maybe we can win at the lowest levels of government and work our way up, he said.

Dean said he has been a political junkie since he was a teenager. He grew up in a Democratic family and became a Republican as a teenager because of Ronald Reagan.

Dean said he gradually switched from Republican to Libertarian as he gradually became disillusioned and felt a growing sense that government is run like a dictatorship.

The conservatives just seem to want to use the government to get you to do what they want, Dean said. [Libertarians] dont want our government forcing its views on anyone.

Dean said part of the reason there are so many Libertarian candidates in Northern Michigan this year is because of the recent creation of the regional affiliates, which enable people to get on the ballot as Libertarians. Four years ago, Dean said he wanted to run as a Libertarian, but he only had the state office to call, and it didnt work out.

I tried to investigate running before, in 16, and I had a hard time having anybody get back to me, Dean said. [Having a regional Libertarian organization to assist] helps. You need to feel like you have some support.

Original post:
The Libertarians are Coming - northernexpress.com

It's Thursday in Nashville. Libertarian presidential nominee Jo Jorgensen has parked her blue campaign bus in Centennial Park for her "Real Change For Real People" tour. There are tables with masks and hand sanitizer. Supporters gather early, their excitement seemingly unaffected by the pandemic precautions. A few cars slow down to observe the gathering in the park. After a mic check, Jorgensen is introduced and begins to speak.

Almost immediately, her speech covers the two most pressing topics of the summer: criminal justice reform and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Back in June, Jorgensen attended a Black Lives Matter vigil for victims of police brutality. Her presence there received mixed reviews, with libertarians who distrust the official Black Lives Matter organization for some of its political and economic views facing off those who believe libertarians should be present in the Black Lives Matter movement protests. (The differences between Black Lives Matter the organization and the movement are explained here.) Regardless of the potential backlash, Jorgensen doubled down on her stance.

"We need change, and I'm glad [the protests] are getting the attention," Jorgensen tells me on the bus after the speech.

Jorgensen says that the Libertarian Party agrees with the national Black Lives Matter organization on several issues, such as the drug war, no-knock raids, and qualified immunity.

"But their answer is more government," she says, and "big government is what got us here to begin with."

Jorgensen mentions a meeting she had with a Black Lives Matter activist in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (The activist was not affiliated with the official Black Lives Matter organization.) They discussed the government's role in discrimination, with Jorgensen pointing out that the buses in the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott were publicly run and that segregation laws were enforced even though black residents made up the majority of the ridership. "Now imagine today, if Uber decided to discriminate against the majority of their customers. What if they treated their best customers that way? They would go out of business," she argued. Jorgensen says the activist told her that the experience was "opening his eyes."

"Libertarians have been talking about these issues for 40 years," she says. "I think we should support the protesters, but, at the same time, get rid of the opportunistic people hijacking the movement." Jorgensen points to the people who have used the protests to loot and commit violence: "They are going around basically inserting themselves into peaceful protest. And I've seen many clips of the protesters saying, 'Stop it. Go away. You're not helping us. We don't want you here.'"

When the demonstrations first began in May, black organizers and protesters across the nation desperately attempted to keep the violence in check. In one video, D.C. protesters hand-deliver a young man to nearby police after seeing him destroy a sidewalk. In her firsthand account of the Nashville protests, author Nancy French tweeted a video of a black protester arguing with white protesters over property destruction.

"We need to do what we can to keep the protests on target," Jorgensen adds.

The conversation then shifts to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We're all adults, and it shouldn't be against the law to be stupid," Jorgensen says.

Jorgensen notes that with personal freedom comes responsibility. While she doesn't support mask mandates ("unless we're talking about a government building") or even a forced vaccine in the event that one is developed, Jorgensen sees private companies enacting mask policies as a sign that most Americans are taking the pandemic seriously.

"That just shows what libertarians have been saying for decades, which is just because the government doesn't tell you to do it doesn't mean it won't get done," she says. "We still have entities who are requiring us to wear masks. We don't have to wait until the government tells us to. But this way, we have choice."

Jorgensen adds that private companies wouldn't enact mask policies if they thought doing so would harm their profits: "I don't think they'd be requiring a mask if they thought that people would stop shopping in their store and they'd go out of business. So ultimately this is coming from the individual."

What does Jorgensen think the executive branch should be doing in the pandemic? "I think the president has the obligation to lead the country and to get information out there to warn people," she says. She is upset at President Donald Trump for saying, "If you don't have [COVID-19] symptomsdon't get the test." Given the disease's asymptomatic spread and long incubation period, she says, this was irresponsible advice.

Jorgensen also notes the variety of ways the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other federal agencies have restricted access to mass testing. Such testing, she notes, contributed greatly to South Korea's flattening of the outbreak curve.

"We lost tens of millions of jobs," she says. "If we had the testing out there, if we didn't have the FDA obstacles, if we didn't have so many other government obstacles, we could've had widespread testing. And then we could have known which people should have stayed home and which could go out."

Our conversation concludes with aquestion about the current debate over voting by mail.

"It's fine with me if we have mail-in votes," she says. "As long as we do it through FedEx."

Read the rest here:
Jo Jorgensen on Black Lives Matter: 'I Think We Should Support the Protesters' - Reason

In case you just returned from an extended trip to Mars, be advised there is an election right around the corner.

You cannot pick any news source that does not bombard you with stories on every subject that have been impacted by the poisonous partisan atmosphere that has developed in America in the last 16 years. I think the real shift in attitudes began during the Gore-Bush election debacle and has escalated since then.

Locally, we have county and municipal elections that do not feature the rancor and hate speech generated by the major parties at the state and federal level. We elect council members and supervisors on their ability to project a message that speaks to our local needs. They see what is needed then tailor their platform to what their constituents want.

State and federal political candidates from the two major parties do just the opposite. They strategize issues then let experts tell them what positions will resonate with the most voters. They use social media and clever ads to tell us what we should care about, why they should get our vote and, more importantly, why the other party is trying to destroy us.

Is it time to rethink the way our system is structured? Do you check the box on your federal taxes to donate a dollar to the presidential election process each year? Why dont we ask taxpayers to fund the development of new parties?

A multi-party system found in many western countries would greatly benefit America. Today we cannot get Democrats and Republicans to agree or compromise on anything without an ugly partisan public brawl that usually ends with the American taxpayer getting shafted. A Congress made up of members of multi-parties, with no one party in majority would require coalitions and negotiation continually. Current politicians do not make deals, they make demands.

Neither party is definable any longer. The Democratic Party has moved from its southern conservative roots in the late-1940s to adopt a platform as far right in 2020 as any ever seen in its history.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is quoted to have said, "I dont think the street will accept no action on this," while discussing police reform legislation in June. She is crafting legislation based on the will of street protesters. This is the "new" base the Democrats are reaching for to construct a winning coalition. Part of that recipe is acceptance of continuing anger and violence, which keeps the public mood unsettled and questioning of the future. That is good for a challenger.

Not long ago, the Republican party revitalized itself by backing the Taxed Enough Already (TEA) Party formula to rail against out-of-control spending and government growth. Republicans had effectively moved from the image of rich country club dilettantes to a party concerned about American jobs, industries and debt. Middle class voters came back to the party because it seemed to care more about them. That party is no more.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an economic upheaval. But the total abandonment of fiscal sense on the part of Republicans to participate in throwing billions of borrowed dollars at solutions that are not proven or sustainable leaves the party directionless. If you will stand for anything, you stand for nothing.

We have alternatives. The Libertarian Party vote grows each election year. Their basic belief in limited government, fiscal restraint and freedom embraces the founders dreams and sounds a lot like what "Reagan Republicans" used to profess. The 2020 Libertarian Presidential candidate is Dr. Jo Jorgensen, a Psychology professor at Clemson University. She is smart, articulate and will not be invited to the Presidential debates.

The major parties have divided our country. Yes, Mr. Trump has not been a healer, but he did not invent identity politics. Pandering to segments of the electorate because of their race or ethnicity will never be a unifying message as it specifically is not inclusive. Issues can divide reasonable people, but assuming you have the support of an entire group because of their race, ethnicity or economic status is certainly divisive, if not biased.

Our parties will not let us discuss issues. You are either for them or against them. The term "moderate" has left political speak. No one on either side can afford to be a moderate.

Both the left and right, through the years, have destroyed free speech, lives and livelihoods via public intimidation. The Republicans had a good run with Joe McCarthy and his Communist witch hunts. The ultra-progressive Democrats are wreaking havoc now with their "woke" attacks on anyone and everything they deem off the party line.

The truth is, we have invested too much power to form public opinion in both parties. They are thinking for us in order to act in their own self-interest. We need to break that hold, add new voices who listen to us first and then act in our interest.

My friends in the GOP will roast me for this thought, but one wonders what would happen if 80% of registered California Republicans voted for the Libertarian Ms. Jorgensen in November. Its not as if we are harming Mr. Trumps chances to win California, that ship sailed a decade ago.

Do we still have enough free will to even discuss a multi-party political revolution in America, or are the cards and big bucks too stacked against real freedom of choice?

Contact Pat Orr at avreviewopinion@gmail.com.

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Around Town: Rethinking political parties - VVdailypress.com

A Nazareth woman pleaded guilty Monday to participating in an election fraud scheme.

Amber Correll, 39, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of making false signatures and statements on nomination petitions, according to a news release from Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

Police say she forged 25 signatures on nomination petitions for U.S. Congressional candidate Tim Silfies. The Libertarian candidate ran in 2018 against Susan Wild and Marty Nothstein.

There should never be a doubt that the men and women who appear on ballots or work to gather the signatures needed to get candidates before voters are following the law and doing honest work, Shapiro said in a news release.

Corrells attorney, Brandon Lauria of Philadelphia, didnt return a phone message seeking comment.

Police say Correll was paid to collect the signatures by Jake Towne, 40, of Easton. Thats not illegal, but police say Towne broke the law by signing papers saying he circulated the nomination petitions when in fact Correll circulated them.

At a preliminary hearing in January, Towne attorney Gary Asteak said its common practice for party officials to sign off as circulators of nominating petitions even though they didnt physically circulate the petitions. He said Towne looked over the sheet, matched the names to the addresses and was satisfied they were authentic.

Northampton County Libertarian Party Chairman Jake Towne, left, leaves his preliminary hearing with his attorney, Gary Asteak. Towne is charged with perjury for allegedly signing a candidate's nominating petition even though he didn't circulate the petition.Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com

Asteak said Towne turned down a really sweet deal to plead guilty and will take the case to trial. Towne is charged with five criminal counts, including perjury. Shapiros news release says Towne will stand trial in February. Correll will be sentenced after Townes trial.

This contrived case against Jake Towne is the result of a corrupt system that seeks to silence political activists. The charges against Mr. Towne originated with a GOP fishing expedition to coerce two third party candidates to withdraw from running for office. Circulators in Pennsylvania have never been required to witness signatures on a petition sheet. They only need to have requisite knowledge, meaning reason to believe that the signatures are genuine. Dozens of previous civil cases prove this. What Towne did has never been tried in a criminal court because it is not a criminal matter, said Libertarian Party Chairwoman Jane Horvath in an emailed statement.

She said Correll acted along to deceive Towne.

The attorney generals abuse of power will become evident as the details of this case unfold, and hopefully the public will take notice of how corrupt the two-party system really is, Horvath said.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Nicole Forzato is prosecuting Correll and Towne.

Towne ran for Congress in 2010 and ran for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2018. He serves as secretary for the Northampton County Libertarian Party.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to Lehighvalleylive.com.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. If theres anything about this story that needs attention, please email him. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.

Read more:
Nazareth woman pleads guilty in election fraud case - lehighvalleylive.com

Across the years and around the world, no single issue unites libertarians more than war, and no other issue is more important. Alibertarian despises war. In fact, one could view the whole libertarian project as opposition to war and militarism: Alibertarian disapproves of using violence to induce other people to do what one wants. Furthermore, alibertarian is hostile to the states attempts to impose military regimentation on society as awhole, treating citizens like soldiersorganized and trained by the state to effect the states ends.

The indirect effects of warmaking abroad are often inimical to liberty at home. The size and power of the state, which grow during war time, rarely return to prewar levels after the fighting stops.

Because wars inevitably create widespread death and destruction of property, threaten civil liberties, and encourage nationalist thinking instead of individualism and cosmopolitanism, libertarians treat war as, at best, an absolute last resort. Libertarians like Christopher A. Preble have cogently argued that alibertarian foreign policymust be restrained, shunning wars of choice, and that the military should be of an appropriately small size for that purpose. Some libertarians, like Bryan Caplan, think there are good reasons to oppose any and all wars, and many libertarians are inspired by the ideas and deeds of pacifists like Leo Tolstoy or William Lloyd Garrison.

More:
What is a libertarian? | Libertarianism.org