New Jersey Libertarian Party
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NNeeww JJeerrsseeyy LLiibbeerrttaarriiaann VOLUME XXVIII, Issue 9 Septtember,, 2002 © 2002 New Jersey Libertarian Party Page 2 – So you want to Vote Republican? by Pat Bontempo Page 3 – The Great Libertarian Mystery by Bob Hull Page 4 – Libertarians Gain 3rd Column in Camden Col., Conklin Campaign Update; Student Outreach Event Page 5 – From the Chair Page 7 – Libertarians in Print Monmouth and Ocean County Libertarians had a booth for the five-day Monmouth Page 8 – To the Editor County Fair in July. In addition to their traditional distribution of literature, imprinted balloons and bags plus free copies of the Constitution, they registered five new Libertarians. Above, activists Lou Elwell and Pat Bontempo set up; below, fairgoers stop by the booth. Photos by Bob Hull Page 9 – NJLP Members in Public Office Page 10 – County Info Page 11 – Membership Form Correction In our report on the Indianapolis Convention, we made an error. The 2004 National Nominating Convention is slated for Atlanta, over the Memorial Day weekend (not the July 4 time frame, as reported). So You Want to Vote Republican? by Pat Bontempo Editor's Note: One of the objections I've heard to registering Libertarian is: "I won't be able to vote in the Primary Election." I guess I was naive but it After receiving your truly surprised me to hear this coming from NJLP members. request your I thought we had decided there was no realistic hope to working county election within the Republican Party (or Democratic, but the objection so far has come from those wanting to vote for the GOP) that's why we formed a board will send you libertarian party. But apparently some members feel a vote on Primary Day can do some good and they want to retain that option. a letter acknowledging Well, registering Libertarian does not close that option for all time. As the party affiliation form indicates, on the rare occasion when your switch and you may want to help, say, a Republican primary candidate all you'd need do is switch your affiliation to the GOP at least 50 days prior to the telling you that you Primary. can't vote in the Then you could vote for a Murray Sabrin, a former libertarian Primary unless you pushing a strident, repressive conservative agenda. Or a vaguely libertarian-sounding Brett Schundler and his pro-War on Drugs agenda. switch back to the Republican or OK, you get my point. What you'd be doing on Primary Day would be voting for "the lesser of two evils" -- the very thing we criticize Democratic parties. voters for doing in the November General Election. Most of us who do so are confident that in the Fall there will be a LP candidate so we won't Voter information? have to vote for "evil" twice in the same year. Or a last-ditch In fact you'd be perpetuating the ill-founded hope that somehow effort to get you to the GOP can be salvaged or converted to a libertarian position. And in the process it continues to marginalize the Libertarian Party here in change your mind? New Jersey. In my view: 90% of the time there is no fundamental difference among the contenders for the Republican (or Democratic) nomination. The last Republican primary was typical. Can you honestly say Save $200 and Help any one of the three GOP US Senate hopefuls was more libertarian the NJLP! than the others? If Liz Macron had failed to get on the ballot would you have felt relieved knowing, "Well at least I can vote for Diane Allen in Save $200! Become a November.”? $300 Lifetime Member today! Over 90% of the time the person you vote for in the Primary will Lifetime Membership in lose. the N.J. Libertarian Party Talk about a "wasted vote" or "token protest vote." Your will rise to $500 starting Libertarian vote in November at least sends a clear message whereas October 1. But if you the meaning of your protest vote in June is lost. Were Sabrin's primary upgrade your votes from libertarian Republicans or conservative, pro-life membership to Lifetime Republicans? Does anyone know? Does it matter? before October 1 you'll only pay $300. The Again, if there's someone running locally you feel compelled to increase is the first in 30 vote for you can switch your registration to do so. If that's too much years, so take advantage effort you should ask yourself how much do you really support that on this limited time offer candidate. while it lasts. Save $200! Become a But after the election switch back to the Libertarian Party. After $300 Lifetime Member all, you're presumably a Libertarian who wants to vote for the today! occasional Republican and not a Republican who is left with no alternative but to cast a Libertarian ballot in November. New Jersey Liiberttariian 2 Septtember 2002 The Great NJ Libertarian Mystery Perhaps the greatest unsolved mystery in the Garden State is the continuing disappearance of NJLP members. One day they're here then a year later they've vanished. It's happened literally thousands of times. Why? There's probably no single answer. Tough economic times certainly cause some members to lapse, and even in prosperous years some might feel they're not receiving a sufficient return on their investment, i.e., membership dues. Other times a member takes serious objection to a particular NJLP action or candidate. Allowing your membership to lapse becomes a way of expressing displeasure. But in all these cases the member's beliefs have not fundamentally changed. He or she is still a libertarian. He may be a libertarian who is short of cash or really peeved about something, but he's unquestionably a libertarian. Currently memb ership dues are a major revenue source for our party so joining or rejoining even at a lower membership level is a great help. But for those who truly can't afford it or who feel alienated from the party there's an alternative. For the expense of a stamp you can now register with your county election board as a Libertarian. There's no pledge to sign. There's no implied endorsement of any particular candidate. There's no consent being given to a specific party action or position. What is there? There's you. You taking a stand. You being counted. Most registered Democrats disagree to a greater or lesser extent with parts of their party's platform. Not every registered Republican votes for the GOP in every race. It should be no different for Libertarians. If you consider yourself a libertarian, then register Libertarian. Use the form and addresses below, or simply send your name and address to [email protected] and we'll have a voter affiliation form and pre-addressed envelope out to you ASAP. Thanks. Robert Hull, Chair Libertarian Party of Monmouth and Ocean Counties Atlantic County 1333 Atlantic Ave., 4th Floor Atlantic City, NJ 08401 Bergen County 1 Bergen County Plaza, Room 310 Hackensack, NJ 07601 Burlington County P.O. Box 6000 Mount Holly, NJ 08060 Camden County P.O. Box 1066 Camden, NJ 08101 Cape May County 10-12 W. Mechanic Street Cape May Courthouse, NJ 08210 Cumberland County 60 Broad St. W., Suite 210 Bridgeton, NJ 08302 Middlesex County 777 Jersey Avenue Essex County New Brunswick, NJ 08901- Salem County 90 Market Street 33 Washington Street 3605 Newark, NJ 07102 Salem, NJ 08079-9856 Monmouth County Somerset County Gloucester County 300 Halls Mill Road 20 Grove Street P.O. Box 352 Freehold, NJ 07728 Woodbury, NJ 08096 Somerville, NJ 08876-1262 Morris County Sussex County Hudson County P.O. Box 900 18 Church Street 595 Newark Avenue Morristown, NJ 07963-0900 Newton, NJ 07860-9965 Jersey City, NJ 07306 Ocean County Union County Hunterdon County P.O. Box 2006 P.O. Box 2900 Toms River, NJ 08754-2006 271 North Broad Street Elizabeth, NJ 07207 Flemington, NJ 08822-9952 Passaic County Warren County Mercer County 311 Pennsylvania Ave., 413 Second Street P.O. Box 8068 Room 103 Belvidere, NJ 07823 Trenton, NJ 08650 Paterson, NJ 07503 New Jersey Liiberttariian 3 Septtember 2002 Conklin Campaign Update We hope everyone has been enjoying their summer. Now that autumn is approaching, campaign activities will be on the increase. 1. We have been invited to the Monmouth County County Chapters to Participate Freeholder debates! The debates will be held October 16 at 7 pm at in Student Outreach Event the main branch of the Monmouth County Library. More information will be posted on our website as it becomes available. The local LP chapters in Somerset, 2. We also have been invited to speak to the Ocean Grove Homeowners Association on September 28th. All other Freeholder Middlesex and Hunterdon are teaming candidates have been invited. This will be our first chance to go up to participate in a student outreach head-to-head with the incumbents, so it should be a very exciting event at Raritan Valley Community event. College at noon on Thursday, 3. Our photos are now online and will be integrated into the September 19th. Raritan Valley next batch of campaign materials. Many thanks to Bill Vandever for using his valuable time and experience to help out the campaign. Community College serves Hunterdon 4. The bio for Kelly Thompson, our campaign material and Somerset Counties. Anyone designer, is now online. Check it out at: interested in participating in the event http://www.voteconklin.com/bio.htm should contact John Paff at 732-873- 5. A fundraiser is still in the works! The date and location is TBD!! 1251 or [email protected].