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Libertarian National Committee, Inc. • 2600 Virginia Ave, NW, Suite 100 APRIL 2001 Washington DC 20037 ♦ Phone: (202) 333-0008 ♦ Fax: (202) 333-0072 newsletter The Real Kramer plans NEWS FROM AROUND THE USA SOUTH PARK CREATOR: LIBERTARIAN Trey Parker, the co-creator of the pol- run for New York mayor itically incorrect and foul-mouthed enny Kramer, the man Kramer, "I'm TV cartoon South Park, has announced who inspired the Cos- not kidding." that he is a Libertarian. K mo Kramer character Kramer, Parker, 31, made the revelation in on the hugely successful 57, has an April 4 Los Angeles Times article, TV series, has worked as a where he described himself as a "regis- announced that he is seeking stand-up tered Libertarian." ■ the Libertarian Party's nom- comedian Parker and creative partner Matt Parker: A ination to run for mayor of and manager Stone were interviewed by the newspa- Libertarian. . ■ Kramer: of a British per about their new Comedy Central "I'm in it to win," said Not a joke. reggae band. show, That's My Bush!, a send-up of the Bush presi- Kramer. "With the success However, he dency and TV sitcom clichés. of becoming became famous because he Although it was the first time Parker has publicly governor, why can't I be- lived across the hall in a Man- claimed a Libertarian affiliation, it's not the first time come mayor?" hattan apartment building he's been tagged with that label: Last year, National Kramer will seek the from Seinfeld co-creator Review complimented South Park for its "extremely nomination at the state in the 1980s. amusing libertarian-minded political commentary." party's annual convention When David and Jerry in Manhattan on April 28. Seinfeld launched the Sein- NATIONAL REVIEW: THE LP THREAT There are no other candi- feld show, Kramer served as dates for the nomination, the inspiration for the "hip- A major political magazine says that Libertarian Party said New York LP State ster doofus" character, M candidates have cost Republicans control of the Chair Richard Cooper. . U.S. Senate — but LP leaders say that if Republicans Despite the link to the Played by actor Michael kept their promises, they would also keep their jobs. zany Cosmo Kramer char- Richards, Cosmo Kramer On March 19, the National Review Online posted acter, Cooper said the real was known for his hyper- an article that claimed the "most underreported Kramer would run a serious kenitic physical comedy, political phenomenon [is that] Libertarian Party campaign for mayor — and outrageous schemes, and candidates are seriously hurting Republicans." focus on Libertarian issues. loyalty to his neurotic, amoral The article, written by John J. Miller and Ramesh sitcom friends: Jerry, George Ponnuru, noted that LP candidate Jeff Jared may have Not a joke Costanzo, and . cost Republican Slade Gorton his U.S. Senate seat in "Kenny Kramer is not a Capitalizing on the Washington state in 2000, while Michael Cloud may joke nor is his candidacy," he Cosmo Kramer fame, in have knocked Republican John Ensign out of his U.S. said. "[He is] serious about 1996 Kramer created the Senate seat in Nevada in 1998. the problems of New York "Kramer Reality Tour," If not for those two defeats, Republicans would City and its oppressive, where he ferried tourists have a 52-48 majority in the U.S. Senate, instead of the overreaching government." around to New York City current 50-50 split with Democrats. In 1996, Kramer un- landmarks where the But instead of worrying about Libertarians, Repub- successfully sought the Seinfeld show was taped. licans should start worrying about their voting records, Democratic nomination for He has appeared on said LP National Director Steve Dasbach. mayor, which he acknowl- Access Hollywood, the "I hope we're drawing votes away from any politician, edged was a "publicity Oprah Winfrey Show, and of any party, who isn't working to reduce the size, power, stunt." But this time, said the Today Show. expense, and intrusiveness of government," he said. Liberty Pledge News ♦ April 2001 Libertarian Party offers dwelling for the politically homeless

By Mike Rieman being heard. get the message out that there is a polit- Douglas Neighbor Staff Writer Calling for liberty and personal free- ical home for you," he said. dom, the Libertarians' beliefs also in- In their meeting earlier this month, After paying close attention to the clude a free market economy of abun- Raiford outlined some short-term goals impeachment process of former Presi- dance and prosperity and a foreign for the local party. dent Bill Clinton, Mike Raiford was left policy of non-intervention, peace and "We want a government that is limit- wondering if there was a political party free trade. ed to protecting our freedoms, not one out there representing his ideals and be- Raiford said a return to the Constitu- that's expanding its own budget at the liefs. tion is necessary. expense of family budgets. The limited "It was a game for both parties," he "I lean toward honesty," he said. "The role of government and self responsibil- recalled of the impeachment process. Libertarian Party believes that we ity are ideas which most voters in this- "When I realized what was going on, I should return strictly to the Constitu- country agree with," said Raiford. decided it was time to get out of this. I tion. If we need to change it, there is a In addition to outlining some short- had heard information on the Libertar- process to change it, but the Constitu- term goals in their meeting, the Douglas ian Party and I decided to get involved." tion is the law of the land." County Libertarian party also elected One call to the Libertarian Party state Furthermore, Raiford said downsiz- three new officials to their board. Bill office set the wheels in motion for ing government will allow citizens per- Hardin was named vice-chairman, Gail Raiford , who is chairman of the party in sonal rights and less interference in day- Gams was named secretary and Angela Douglas County. to-day happenings. Camp was voted in as treasurer. After an initial meeting with five at- "We believe that government and This year the Libertarian Party plans tendees, just two years later the party regulations should be minimal. We be- to have a float in the annual Fourth of has grown to a base membership of lieve government that works best does July parade through downtown Dou- more than 30 people. the least to interfere with peoples' glasville. Raiford said the exposure is a Raiford has now found a place for his rights." step in the right direction for the party. ideals and beliefs. He is no longer polit- Raiford said the Libertarian Party tar- The Douglas County Libertarian Par- ically homeless. gets the thousands of citizens who have ty meets the fourth Thursday of every Created in 1971, the Libertarian Par- become apathetic and have lost interest month. Party members plan to meet in ty is the fastest growing third party in the in the two-party system. different communities from time to nation. "We know we have supporters from time in a public outreach. Originally created to maintain Amer- both the Democrats and Republicans For more information, call Mike ica's heritage and freedom, the party is and the independent voters. We want to Raiford at (770) 489-5523.

A Tim Douglas Net:nbbor, Douglasville, Georgia, March 14, 2001 Libertarian Party objects 10. Rocky Fork Enterprise, Gahanna, Ohio, March 8, 2001

V Tbe Denver Post, Denver, Colorado, March 9, 2001 to city expenditure for YMCA Franklin County Libertarian. Party chairman recreation facilities that pay their own way with- Rick Sargent has called the use of tax money to out asking for tax handouts," he said. *VERN SOP supplement the construction of a Y branch in McGregor, however, disagreed. "I do think town a "gross misuse." it is inappropriate to do this whole project with Libertarians file complaints Sergeant, in a press release, said he has public funds," McGregor said Tuesday. "But as MONTROSE — The Western Slope Libertarian protested the expenditure of $2-million for the a city, we use money to fund a lot of private or- Party filed complaints Thursday with tIcaTetfrary Y branch to Gahanna Mayor Jim McGregor. ganizations." of state alleging the city of Montrose and Montrose "City tax dollars should never be used to fund He pointed to financial assistance provided Memorial Hospital have violated election laws in private development or to open such facilities," to The Olde Gahanna Sanctuary board to allow an upcoming vote on smoking regulations. he said. it to purchase that building, street repairs on The Libertarian Party is alleging the city unlaw- Sergeant said McGregor responded to his South High Street around the Gahanna Histor- fully demanded the Libertarian Party register as a protest with an email message in which he re- ical Society buildings and the purchase, prepa- political action committee because the party has peated his statement, made at Gahanna City ration and maintenance of soccer fields that are been campaigning against an ordinance that would Council meetings, that having a Y branch in used by the Gahanna Soccer Association as good ban smoking in many indoor places in Montrose. That ordinance will be voted on April 3. town is a better than asking voters to approve a uses of city money. The Libertarian Party also alleges the Montrose tax levy to fund a recreation center. The money provided to the Y would also be hospital is spending money on a campaign warning McGregor cited a Gahanna Lincoln High a good use of city funds, he said. "This is pretty of the dangers of second-hand smoke. Because of School DECA survey that said 53 percent of typical of the way Gahanna has historically op- the timing of that campaign, Libertarian Party of- voters would support a recreation center. That erated. We do the heavy lifting and let the citi- ficials are claiming the county-funded hospital is means, however, that 47 percent do not and zens run the organizations. spending taxpayers' money on a lobbying effort. would feel as if the money to build and fund 'They do a great job of it," he added. Montrose officials have denied the Libertarians' such a center would have been taken from them. Sargent, in his letter, urged Gahanna to re- allegations. "Quoting a study that is more than 20 years turn the $2-million to taxpayers instead of do- old as a justification for this investment is clearly nating it to the•Y. "Once that is done, the citi- out of line." Sargent said. "Subsidizing a YMCA zens who want a Y branch in Gahanna can do- branch places unfair competition towards other nate that money directly to that group," he added. Liberty Pledge News ♦ April 2001

N.C. political country to get on the ballot. The fact Third Party that no one in North Carolina was activists work allowed to vote for Ralph Nadar or Continued from front page other Green Party candidates last natures to requalify as a "new" polit- year proves the requirements are too to plant third ical party under state law. strict. But we think we have the High voter turnout in 2000 raised resources and experience to make it party options the number of signatures required to happen." qualify by more than 7,700 to a Philosophically, the Libertarian By BUCK YOUNG record 58,892 registered voters. Party is supports absolutely minimal STAFF WRITER Since not all signatures gathered are government. The Independence deemed valid, party leaders estimate Party gets into areas like public Tired of Al Gore or George Bush? they will have to get as many as funding to "introduce finance reform Talk to Andy Nilsson or Sean Haugh. 98.000 signatures to complete the and regulate industries in environ- Nilsson's Independence Party and drive. mental sensitive areas such as bond- Haugh's Libertarian Party are planting "It's a tall order," said Haugh, the ing hog farms before they are per- third party seedlings in Eastern North party's executive director. "North mitted," said Nilsson. Carolina. Carolina is the toughest state in the Last weekend, Nilsson, chairman of the steering committee, with 15 like- minded individuals gathered for a meet- ing and to interview perspective Independence Party candidates at Pitt Community College in Greenville. "One gentleman from New Bern, Bill libertarian Party Endorses Systems in Harper, has run twice as unaffiliated for Craven County Commissioner. He Which Voters Rank All Candidates expressed interest in running next time as an Independence Party candidate," said According to Preference Nilsson. Nilsson has had e-mail and phone con- (CNS)—The_Libertarian Party of California yester- tact with possible candidates from Nash day endorsed a voting system that would prevent candi- and Halifax counties, but no nibbles from dates from winning elections without a majority of the Edgecombe, Wilson, Martin, or other votes cast. down east locals. "We must prevent situations like the one in Florida The focus of the Independence Party is last year from ever happening again," said the party's money, or more exactly the restricting of executive director, Juan Ros. "Americans need fundamen- money in political campaigns. tal voting reform, and Libertarians have found the perfect "Big business injects money into both solution." parties. We all know what the payoff is," Under the proposed reform, known as "instant said Nilsson. "We want a ban on soft runoff voting," voters rank candidates in their order of money and lowering the maximum con- preference. If a candidate receives a majority vote, that tribution limits in North Carolina from candidate is declared the winner. But if no candidate receives a majority of the first- 6 election to an individual $8,000 in - choice votes cast, the candidate with the lowest vote total total of $500." is eliminated and that candidate's votes are transferred to For the Libertarian Party, there is a the next-choice candidate listed on each ballot: in effect, statewide petition drive to reclaim ballot holding a runoff without the need for additional ballot- access in North Carolina. • ing. The process repeats until one candidate receives a The party failed to get 10 percent of majority of the votes cast. the vote for either governor or president "IRV eliminates the problem of multiple candidates in November, forcing them to gather sig- splitting the vote, throwing elections to less popular `spoiler' candidates," Ros said. See THIRD PARTY, page .5 Ros also said his party has an ulterior motive. "Most important for us, IRV will eradicate the per- ception that voting for a third party is a 'wasted' vote, A The Daily Southerner, since voters can cast their first choice for a third party Tarboro, North Carolina, February 23, 2001 and if that candidate is eliminated, their vote would go to their second-choice candidate." ► The Metropolitan News-Entelprise, Los Angeles, California, February 22, 2001 Liberty Pledge News ♦ April 2001 COMMUNITY REPORT V The Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania, April 2, 2001 'Reform' bill threatens freedom, official tells Libertarians in city

■ FEC member argues McCain-Feingold would only protect incumbents.

By JOE McDERMOTT Of The Morning Call

A Republican member of the Federal Election Commission told Pennsylvania Libertarians on Satur- day the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill will hurt citizen involvement in future campaigns. "For the most part this is an incumbent's protection bill," said Bradley A. Smith, a one-time Liber- tarian Party member nominated to the FEC by President Clinton. "We are stomping out grassroots poli- tics in the U.S." Smith was the lunchtime speak-

BETHLEHEM er for the Pennsylvania Libertarian Party's annual convention this weekend at the Radisson Hotel Bethlehem. Scheduled as a convention Lois Kaneshiki said the group's speaker weeks ago, he planned to goal this year is to improve candi- At Libertarian Party talk about third-party involvement date performance in local elections. convention at in the political process. But two "I would like to communicate to Radisson Hotel weeks of debate and today's sched- people that this year's elections are Bethlehem, Future uled vote for the reform bill very important to the Libertarian of Freedom changed his mind, he said. Party," said the Duncansville, Blair Foundation Comments made by senators County, woman. President Jacob over the past two weeks, Smith Kaneshiki said one Libertarian Hornberger talks said, make it clear they are more target this year will be Election with high school concerned with protecting them- Board posts, as the party tries to students about selves than eliminating potential boost its visibility and role in the corruption in campaign financing. election process. Libertarian philosophy, above. The bill would allow incum- Though alternative party regis- bents to raise more money if they tration has grown — nearly one in At left, Freedom face a self-financed opponent, re- 10 registered voters in Pennsylva- High junior Laura strict a challenger's ability to criti- nia is independent or aligned with Weisbein listens as cize incumbents through television a third party — the Libertarian another student ads and rein in political party Party's poor showing in the 2000 questions support for challengers — who elections bumped it off the state's Hornberger. need it most, he said. list of acknowledged political par- DOUGLAS BENEDICT "So what they've produced is a ties. The Morning Call law that has a lot to do with pro- Kaneshiki said the Motor Voter tecting incumbents. It doesn't have law, which allows voters to register members. "It is eating away at the Freedom junior Laura Weiss- a whole lot to do with reducing when they renew their driver's freedoms we hold dear." beim who organized the forum, corruption," said Smith, the author licenses, has skewed registration Jacob Hornberger, founder and was happy with the debate despite of "Unfree Speech — The Folly of numbers. president of the Future of Freedom a paltry turnout. Campaign Finance Reform." "One of our problems is that Foundation, told a group of Free- "I'm learning it's very hard to However, a higher individual because of the national party plat- dom High School students that argue with someone who knows a contribution level, better accep- form, we can be seen as extreme Libertarians generally believe peo- lot more than you do," she said. tance of Libertarian ideals and a on some issues," Kaneshiki said, ple should be permitted to do any- "As for the philosophy, I'm very move by younger voters toward mentioning the Libertarians' nation- thing they want as long as it Libertarian. It's the application of different politics are signs for opti- al push for legalized drugs as an doesn't physically injure others. the philosophy that's the problem." mism, he said. example. In a forum with about eight One of the veteran third parties "The war on drugs, it is no students, he prompted students to in the country, the Libertarian secret, is a monumental and fantas- answer their own questions, but ■ Reporter Joe McDermott Party in Pennsylvania has fallen tic failure," breakfast speaker Di- also admitted there are limitations 610-5.59-2150 on rough times. State Chairwoman ane Fornbacher told delegates and on Libertarian philosophies. joe.mcdennotri mcall.com