Archive for the ‘Libertarian’ Category

Former commissioner, Libertarian battle for south Charlotte seat

Eric Cables bid to become North Carolinas first Libertarian legislator pits him against Republican Dan Bishop in a GOP-dominated district.

One will succeed Rep. Ruth Samuelson, who opted not to run for a fifth term representing House District 104 in south Charlotte. Democrats didnt run a challenger.

Bishop, a lawyer specializing in business litigation, served as a Mecklenburg County commissioner from 2004 to 2008. He says those experiences, and a lifetime in Charlotte, give him a deep understanding of local issues that utopian politics cant match.

Im conservative, but I believe you have to temper ideology with practical experience, he said.

His Libertarian opponent, who lost a run for Charlotte City Council last year, says voters are eager for a new political approach.

People are pulling away from both sides, but more from the Republicans, Cable said. There are people who are getting fed up with extremism from both sides.

The districts profile suggests a steep uphill battle for Cable, whos counting on Democrats and independent voters to turn out. Nearly 40 percent Republican, the district has only 235 registered Libertarians.

Bishop, 50, says Republicans in charge of North Carolinas legislature since 2011 have rightly started rebuilding the states economy with limited government, lower tax rates and fewer regulations.

The big challenge over the coming years will be that the changes that have been made need to be able to play out, he said. You have to let that have the effect of drawing businesses in to the state and incentivizing businesses to grow.

He supports the teacher pay raises legislators granted this year but says the teacher career ladder needs reform. He says legislators were right not to expand Medicaid amid the Obamacare disaster and prescribes market competition to improve health care and lower costs.

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Former commissioner, Libertarian battle for south Charlotte seat

Sarvis addresses students

Libertarian Senate Candidate discusses social, economic policy by Will Marshall | Oct 02 2014 | 10/02/14 1:52am

Libertarian Virginia Senate candidate Robert Sarvis spoke at a Students for Individual Liberty event at Clark Hall Wednesday, outlining his platform in the upcoming midterm election.

The Annandale native broke into the spotlight when he ran as a third-party candidate in last years Virginia gubernatorial election, defining his brand of libertarianism as a best of both worlds, striking a balance between what he considers the Republican and Democratic parties best policies.

Generally speaking, Sarvis said he identifies with the rights fiscal policies and the lefts social policies.

Sarvis began his political career as a GOP candidate running for state Senate, eventually dropping his Republican affiliation and taking up the Libertarian mantle.

After I ran in 2012 as a libertarian Republican, I learned that the GOP is not a good vehicle for liberty candidates, Sarvis said. They are hypocritical on economic issues and strident on social issues. I feel like the two-party system is broken. I could have run as an independant, but thats not leaving behind something that outlasts you.

Sarvis emphasized what he considers the most urgent issues libertarian candidates need to address the dwelling on the long, costly drug war, which he blames for saddling the nation with excess expenditures in the last 50 years.

Thanks to the drug war, we have millions in prison the highest incarceration rate in the world, Sarvis said. A third of those are for nonviolent crimes, which, a) costs money, and b) is wasted human potential.

Other issues topping his list of priorities included reforming certain entitlement programs and deregulating areas where he believes the free market would be a more effective solution.

Obamacare is a problem but weve also had 100 years of misregulation of the health care system by both major parties, Sarvis said.

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Sarvis addresses students

Robert Sarvis, Libertarian Candidate for Senate, On VA Immigration #2 – Video


Robert Sarvis, Libertarian Candidate for Senate, On VA Immigration #2
What is the biggest hurdle in Congress to addressing immigration reform? What is your suggested solution?

By: Virginia Wins

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Robert Sarvis, Libertarian Candidate for Senate, On VA Immigration #2 - Video

Libertarian Choices in Colorado

Karen Tumulty asks in the Washington Post,

what label do you put on the political philosophy of a state that one year would legalize marijuana for recreational use and the next year recall two state senators who voted for stricter gun laws?

Readers of this blog might have an answer. So, it turns out, does Sen. Mark Udall:

Were a libertarian state small l when it comes to privacy issues, issues of reproductive freedom, gun ownership, who you worship, who you spend your life with, Udall said. Were a pro-environment state. We self-identify with environmentalists more than any other state in the nation. But were also very pro-business.

So now those small-l libertarian voters will have to decide whether they prefer a not-so-libertarian Democrat, a not-so-libertarian Republican, or a big-L Libertarian.

Read more on libertarian voters, especially in the Mountain West.

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Libertarian Choices in Colorado

CNN Receives Fire For Ignoring Libertarian Wyllie – Video


CNN Receives Fire For Ignoring Libertarian Wyllie
The video was produced exclusively for BenSwann.com.

By: Evan Mulch

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CNN Receives Fire For Ignoring Libertarian Wyllie - Video