Published for the friends and supporters of the Libertarian Party LIBERTY PLEDGE NEWSLETTER Libertarian National Committee, Inc 4- 2600 Virginia Ave, NW, Suite 200 + Washington, DC 20037 ♦ Phone: (202) 333-0008 ♦ Fax: (202) 333-0072 www. LP. org January 2012

drives in 1998, 2000, and 2002 with 100% Libertarian Party welcomes success rate in making ballot. new Executive Director • Organized and managed two statewide libertarian ballot initiatives to End the Carla Howell Income Tax in Massachusetts in 2002 and 2008. Endorsements from Wall Street The month of Journal, Steve Forbes and National December brought change Taxpayers Union. Almost one million votes to Libertarian Party each time. Headquarters in • Featured stand-alone guest on O'Reilly Washington, DC. Wes Factor, Neil Cavuto, Glenn Beck, and Fox Benedict wrapped up his Business News Happy Hour as well as two-and-a-half years as hundreds of TV interviews and debates Executive Director and during the last 12 years. prepared to ring in 2012 in • Covered by Wall Street Journal, New York his home state of Times, LA Times, The Economist, and USA Louisiana with his new Today. wife. • Co-founded Center For Small Government Carla Howell, long-time Libertarian activist, which advocates for specific proposals to joined the staff at LPHQ as Executive Director on shrink Big Government. Wednesday, December 14th. She brings with her • Spearheaded 2010 statewide ballot initiative years of business and political experience: to roll back the sales tax garnering 966,973 votes - in liberal Massachusetts! • 308,860 votes - 12% of the vote - as • Ran against Presidential candidate Mitt Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate against Romney for in 2002. Ted Kennedy and a Republican candidate in 2000. The highest % in party's history for a She also brings twenty years of experience in Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate in a 3-way product/project management, marketing, and race (against both a Republican and software development. She holds an MBA in Democrat). Her campaign raised over Marketing and Entrepreneurship from Babson $821,000 for that race-an amount unheard of College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. for most Libertarian campaigns. • Two-term Massachusetts Libertarian Party Mark Your Calendar for the 2012 State Chair (1997-1999) Convention! • Organized and ran the most successful May 2-6, 2012 regional Libertarian Presidential campaign Red Rock Hotel and Casino fund-raiser in party history (Harry Browne, Las Vegas, 1996); filled Faneuil Hall and Parker House to capacity in Boston (where John Kennedy Visit LP.org for more information and announced his 1960 presidential campaign). convention registration. • Successfully fund-raised for and ran 5 Libertarian candidate statewide petition Liberty Pledge Newsletter - January 2012 Libertarian Party in the News

More Roads Lead to Third The Effect and Party Bids Altering Primary Calculus

From The Wall Street Journal, December 28, 2011 From The Christian Science Monitor, January 6, 2012 The prospects for a significant third-party presidential bid in 2012 are gathering steam, Ron Paul's strong third-place finish in Iowa potentially complicating things for the eventual and second-place showing in New Hampshire polls Republican nominee. have galvanized a movement that's increasingly The Libertarian Party could have a difficult for establishment Republicans to dismiss as candidate with some name recognition, with former "fringe." The former Texas congressman is Gov. expected to exciting young voters, attracting independents to the announce Wednesday he will leave the GOP and ballot box, and bringing in the money — $13 million seek the Libertarian nomination. in the past quarter. And the spot is not necessarily Johnson's for Whether or not he can ultimately win the the taking. Should Rep. Ron Paul fail in his bid for nomination — which most political commentators the Republican nomination, he would have until and even some of his own supporters say is highly May 5, the date of the Libertarian nominating unlikely — Representative Paul clearly has the convention, to declare a candidacy for that party. staying power to needle his opponents with Paul, who ran for president as a Libertarian in 1988, attention-grabbing ads and bring his Constitution- has said he has no plans to pursue a third-party bid, centric message to the masses. but he has not definitively ruled one out. So what, ultimately, might be The Ron Paul Both Republican and Democratic Effect? For one, he's already changed the pollsters have suggested that an electorate conversation to a degree — in Republican debates buffeted by the prolonged economic downturn and beyond. and angry with both parties could be open to the Paul has campaigned on cutting $1 trillion in appeal of a third-party candidate, much as Ross federal spending — something that has perhaps Perot caught the imagination of voters in the upped the ante on how aggressively other 1990s. candidates say they'll cut. As a GOP candidate, Johnson proposed Several polls have asked about whether eliminating the Internal Revenue Service and the likely GOP primary voters have a favorable view of Department of Education. He said he could cut 43 returning the US monetary system to the gold percent of federal spending and would institute a standard — a reflection of how much Paul has national sales tax of about 23 percent. He also backs championed this idea. He's also brought to the fore gay marriage and supports legalizing marijuana. more scrutiny of the Federal Reserve. Carla Howell, executive director of the In the long run, the question is whether Libertarian Party, said Johnson would compete with those Republican voters who support his views about half a dozen other candidates at the leave the party, or "does the party have a way to nominating convention. Americans Elect, accommodate them?" Richie says. The meanwhile, will have completed paperwork to get Republican Party should be careful not to on 30 state ballots by the end of this week. The alienate Paul and his supporters, because "in a group's process will let registered voters pick unique way he's attracting new people to vote in independent candidates via internet voting and an Republican primaries or caucuses that otherwise online convention in June. wouldn't ... or might go to a third party," or not participate at all, says Wayne Lesperance Jr., a Liberty Pledge Newsletter - January 2012 Libertarian Party in the News political science professor at New England College in Henniker, N.H. New and renewing Liberty Pledgers Another dynamic down the road could be Douglas S. Adams Robert Lempke Sebastian Aguilar Ann S. Livingston Paul throwing his support to a Libertarian Scott E. Alpert Cooper Long candidate. He has dismissed suggestions that he Kenneth 0. Archbold Tyson C. Marshall David J. Bauer Glenn Mcguire himself might mount a third-party campaign, Rex Bell Jason McWhorter though speculation on that front still abounds. But if Larry A. Bever Darren C. Murphy Michael Blum Lemuel M. Nash he were to support Gary Johnson, who left the Jason P. Busby Winford Nettles Republican race in December to contend for the Paul Carlson Justin R. Niceswanger Adam B. Childress Justin Nusunginya Libertarian nomination, that could potentially Fredric D. Cohen Eric C. Odem influence the outcome of the general election, Jason Dalichau Austin Petersen Edgar Davis Jeff D. Pizanti Richie of FairVote says. Deborah Dean Paul A. Rainbow Paul is playing an important role in the Mark Eads Kevin Redding Christopher A. Eaton Philip Ripley election cycle because "he's giving American William Ely Charles M. Rolison voters a choice — for much smaller government, James Ferrero John J. Romano Brett Gladish Mark A. Selfridge much lower taxes, eliminating government debt, Dennis Glover Jeffrey S. Skinner bringing our troops home — choices the Michael L. Guin Gilbert H. Snow Andrew Gunderman Charles J. Sommer Republican and Democratic Party have refused Mark Hackman Byron Steinman to give them," says Carla Howell, executive F. W. Hayes Tamela L. Supchak Brent M. Heist Timothy J. Swenson director of the Libertarian Party. Paul Herbert Timur Tabi Not only is he inspiring voters, she says, Michael J. Herzberg David F. Teacher Ken D. Ho1pp Richard H. Timberlake but he's also inspiring people with libertarian Stanley G. Howard Doris A. Tusch views to run for office. Stephen Hutchens Brad Watson Benjamin C. Jarvis Joy Waymire Matthew Juszczak Heidi M. Wellman Paul F. Kelley Bruce A. West Jon Kines Charles W. West Louis J. Krasovic James A. Wilson Bruce A. Landers Lawrence E. Zimbler

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said. "We've got a Washington, D.C., full of career Libertarian Candidate R. politicians and that doesn't seem to help." Lee Wrights Attracts Voters are "totally fed up" with Democrats and Republicans, he said. International Attention Also, by using social media venues on the Internet, such as Facebook and Twitter, candidates R. Lee Wrights, a candidate for the can recruit and stay in touch with supporters at Libertarian nomination for president, has taken the relatively little cost compared with earlier times libertarian message international. He was featured when contenders needed money for travel and in an article on Al Jazeera "The 'other' political advertising to get their views known, said Harris, of parties of the US" as well as other international Norman. media. U.S. Rep. James Lankford, R- "The interviewer was impressed with my City, a political newcomer elected last year in a `stop all war' stand, as well as my long-running crowded field for Oklahoma's 5th Congressional libertarian blog, Liberty For All," Wrights District seat, pulled out a surprise victory as the commented. "Libertarians have an immense reach GOP nominee after a relatively low-budget these days. I've received e-mails from young people campaign that relied heavily on social media, such overseas who want to learn more after reading the as Facebook and Twitter. press releases, my blog or information on my Social media programs make it possible "for campaign website. individual citizen statesmen to get out there and R. Lee Wrights, editor of compete in the arena of ideas," he said. www.LibertyforAll.net, is one of several candidates "This is definitely a David and Goliath vying for the Libertarian Party presidential story, but it can be done," Harris said. nomination, which will be determined in convention Harris, 38, a 20-year Oklahoma Army on May 2-6, 2012 in Las Vegas, NV. National Guard officer, faces a struggle just getting his name on Oklahoma's ballot for the November 2012 general election. Norman, Oklahoma Man The Libertarian Party needs to get 51,739 signatures of registered voters, which amounts to at Seeks LP's Presidential least 5 percent of the total votes cast in the last general election. The deadline is March 1. Nomination Signature collection efforts have been under way since May. About 20,000 signatures have been Taken from NewsOK, October 1, 2011 collected so far, Harris said; he expects they will be gathered at a faster clip now that cooler weather is The time is right for a third-party candidate here and more people will be attending events, such to occupy the White House, an Oklahoman seeking as football games. the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination says. LP Presidential Candidates (as of January 20th) Many Americans are frustrated with federal spending and are looking for someone with Roger Gary common sense to save the country from economic R. J. Harris turmoil, R.J. Harris said. Gary Johnson "The republic is in one of the most dire straits it's been in since before its founding," he Bill Still Lee Wrights