Mediaboss Marketing

Former Texas congressman Ron Paul isa favorite among libertarians, even though technically he was a Republican. But his stances on personal liberty set him apart from many fellow Republicans, and he ran as the Libertarian Party nominee in 1988. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)

Libertarianism might be all the rage, butits adherents might not be as "libertarian" as you think.

That's the premise of a very interesting new Pew Research Center piece, which notes that there arerelatively fewbig differences between how those who call themselves libertarians and everybody else view the role of government regulation, foreign policy and personal liberty.

Here are the most striking figures (while encouraging you to read the whole piece):

No. 2shows an approximation of New York's "stop and frisk" policy is the biggest red flag here. The idea that 4in 10 real, genuine libertarians support such a policy in basically equal numbers asthe general populace just doesn't really pass muster.

Neither does the idea that libertarians would push for a more active U.S. role in foreign affairs than the rest of Americans, as No. 1 shows.

Yes, there are certainly libertarians of all shapes and sizes, with varying degrees of belief in the role of government. But on the whole, being libertarian means erring on the side ofindividual liberty over government regulation and expansion. On all of these measures,libertarians as a whole are pretty much tucked nicely inside the political mainstream -- so much so that they almost look like political moderates.

So is that because people don't know what being a libertarian is, or is it because being a libertarian doesn't mean what it used to?

Pew tried to control for the former, asking people to correctly identify the over-arching libertarian philosophy. While 14 percent of people claimed to be libertarians, included in the numbers above are only the 11 percent who knew what that actuallymeant.

We would argue, though, that many within that 11 percent still don't really know what it means.

Read more from the original source:
The Fix: Its cool to be a libertarian whatever that means

Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks at the 2014 National Urban League Conference July 25, 2014 in Cincinnati Jay LaPrete/Getty Images

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., appears to be a competitive contender for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, but few Americans identify with his political ideology, according to a new survey.

Only 14 percent of Americans identify as libertarian, according to new Pew Research Center data. Fewer, just 11 percent, identify as libertarian and also correctly define the term as "someone whose political views emphasize individual freedom by limiting the role of government."

Additionally, Pew found that self-described libertarians do not always subscribe to libertarian views. For instance, libertarianism is often associated with non-interventionist foreign policy beliefs. Paul over the weekend said derisively, "Let the Democrats put forward a war hawk like Hillary Clinton." However, Pew found that as many as 43 percent of self-described libertarians think "it is best for the future of our country to be active in world affairs." By comparison, just 35 percent of the general public said the same.

In other areas, the views held by self-described libertarians were more in line with typical libertarian believes. As many as 82 percent say "Americans shouldn't have to give up privacy and freedom in order to be safe from terrorism." Nearly three-quarters of the general public said the same thing.

Additionally, more self-described libertarians (56 percent) than the public overall (47 percent) say government regulation of business does more harm than good. Self-described libertarians are also more likely than the general public to disapprove of social safety-net programs and more likely to support legalizing marijuana.

Pew found that men were twice as likely as women (15 percent compared with 7 percent) to identify as libertarian, while college graduates (15 percent) were more likely to identify as libertarian than those with just a high school education (7 percent).

While just 6 percent of Democrats identified as libertarian, 14 percent of independents and 12 percent of Republicans did so.

Pew's data comes from its political typology and polarization survey conducted earlier this year, as well as a recent survey of a subset of those respondents, conducted April 29-May 27 among 3,243 adults.

2014 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpt from:
Few Americans identify as libertarian, survey finds

Libertarian Jeff Amason got his day in court, but it looks like it wont be enough to reach his goal of being placed on the November ballot for Georgia House District 21.

Amason filed an emergency court appearance with Fulton County Superior Court on July 28, seeking to compel the Secretary of States Office to place his name on the ballot after it was disqualified based on a notary error. But when the judge met with the two sides to make a decision in court Monday, there was one problem: Amason had named the wrong person in his lawsuit.

The Cherokee County attorney was representing himself and Jeff Amason for Liberty Inc., his election apparatus, in the case. He filed the suit against Linda Ford, the director of elections in the Secretary of States Office. But only Secretary of State Brian Kemp, as Georgias chief elections officer, has the ability to grant ballot entry.

Amason said he was previously informed by the Secretary of States Office that Ford was the wrong person to sue, but he thought the defense was saying so as a tactic to discourage him from filing the lawsuit.

I sympathize with your situation, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Adams said. What Im going to do, Mr. Amason, is let you take any next steps you believe are appropriate.

Though Amason can now file a claim against Kemp, his chances of making the ballot are effectively shuttered. Thats because the deadline for ballot candidates is Aug. 29.

State law requires any lawsuit against a chief officer, such as the secretary of state, to give at least five days notice before the case can begin. So even if Amason does file another lawsuit, the ballot deadline will have come and gone.

Amason said he was still considering pursuing further legal action, though he could also choose to run as a write-in candidate. If he does, that means incumbent Republican Scot Turners name will appear on the ballot unopposed.

We are considering our next steps, Amason said. Its unfortunate the court declined us on a procedural standpoint alone.

There was another concern with Amasons ballot bid.

Go here to see the original:
Libertarian candidates ballot bid thrown out

By MARK THIESSEN - Associated Press - Saturday, August 30, 2014

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Legalizing pot, trying to find the Libertarian candidate for Senate and whittling through a growing field for Alaska governor are among the things to watch ahead of the Nov. 4 election:

- LIGHTING UP THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST:

Residents in both Alaska and Oregon will decide whether to legalize the recreation use of marijuana during separate ballot measures in November. Washington state already has approved the use of pot, as has Colorado.

- DELAYED VOTES:

Alaskas marijuana measure, along with ballot measures on a minimum wage increase and requiring legislative approval for a large-scale metallic sulfide mining operation in the Bristol Bay region, were supposed to have been on the primary ballot. But the state Legislature went into extended session in April. Statutory and constitutional provisions require that at least 120 days pass after the regular session adjourns before the day of the election for purposes of initiative placement, pursing the measures to November.

- LIBERTARIAN MESS:

The Alaska Libertarian Party may wind up with a U.S Senate candidate that doesnt want to be on the ballot. Thom Walker won the primary election without campaigning. He works in the Brooks Range, and party officials say he posted his withdrawal from the race on their Facebook site. The problem is, hes mostly out of contact and only periodically sends messages from a satellite phone. Election officials say posting notice to withdraw on Facebook isnt good enough. Go figure. Hell have to have a signed letter sent to the state by Tuesday to exit the race. If he does, the party will make Mark Fish, a former party chairman, its candidate to battle the races two high-profile candidates: Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich and Republican challenger Dan Sullivan.

- CROWDED FIELD:

This years general election for governor is expected to be a spirited three-way race between incumbent Republican Gov. Sean Parnell, Democrat Byron Mallott and independent candidate Bill Walker. But theres another candidate in the race. J.R. Myers collected enough signatures to qualify as the candidate for the Constitution Party, which has a platform goal of restoring American jurisprudence to its Biblical foundations and to limit the federal government to its Constitutional boundaries. Libertarian Carolyn Clift is also running.

See the original post here:
5 things to watch in Alaska general election

Posted: Thursday, August 28, 2014 1:44 pm | Updated: 4:06 pm, Thu Aug 28, 2014.

Judge rules against Libertarian in ballot lawsuit Associated Press |

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) A federal judge ruled Thursday against the South Dakota Libertarian Party in an attempt to add its Public Utilities Commission candidate to the November general election ballot.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol heard arguments and concluded Secretary of State Jason Gant followed state law last week in declaring Ryan Gaddy, of Sioux Falls, ineligible to run for the office because he didn't change his party affiliation from Republican in time to be nominated at the Libertarian convention.

"It seems to the court Secretary Gant had no alternative other than to deny the application," Piersol said.

He also deemed constitutional a state law requiring candidates to be members of the party that nominates them.

The ruling allows Gant to print ballots, which are required to be in county auditors' offices by Sept. 17, two days before absentee voting starts.

"It's unfortunate that his name won't be on the ballot," Gant said. "All he had to do was register to vote the day before and his name would have been on the ballot and South Dakotans would have had the opportunity to determine whether they wanted him as their next public utilities commissioner."

Gaddy changed his party affiliation from Republican at the Libertarian convention, but the official paperwork wasn't filed until later. That meant Gaddy was still a Republican at the time of his Libertarian nomination, a violation of state law, Gant argued.

Assistant Attorney General Richard Williams told Piersol that the law preserves party rights and is a minimal burden. Libertarian Party attorney Edward Welch argued it's unconstitutional and that not putting Gaddy on the ballot infringes on his and the party's rights.

The rest is here:
Judge rules against Libertarian in ballot lawsuit