shrinking BIG government • advancing liBerty WWW.LP.ORG Libertarian candidates make bold pledges Page 6 July 2016 The Official Newspaper of the Libertarian Party Volume 46, Issue 3 In This Issue: Two governors fill Libertarian presidential ticket LP Convention 2016 ....1, 4, 5, 9, 16 fter three and a half days of debates, convention began. Credentialed delegates LPspeeches, News and high drama, delegates and alternates numbered 1,018, up from GOP defectors .......................1, 3 to the Libertarian Nominating Con- 648 in 2012 and 440 in 2014. Avention in Orlando, Fla., narrowly chose Chair’s Corner ...........................2 A real convention, where high-profile candidates — New Mexico gov- Candidates make pledges .....6–8 ernor Gary Johnson, the party’s 2012 nomi- delegates decide Televised presidential debates ...9 nee, for president and Massachusetts gover- No one knew who would emerge as the nor William Weld for vice president. Libertarian Party’s nominees — in stark Libertarian award winners .......10 Intense interest in this year’s conven- contrast to the predictable outcomes of tion drew record attendance and swarms Democratic and Republican conventions, Ballot access update ..................11 of media to a packed convention floor which have been dubbed “coronations.” at the Rosen Centre Hotel over Memo- Campaigning was in full swing by the start LNC leadership ........................12 Governors William Weld, Gary Johnson rial Day weekend. The hotel was forced to of the Welcome Reception, held the night be- Dr. Marc Allan Feldman ..........12 direct visitors to park on the grass to ac- up for the 2012 convention, this year the fore the convention was called to order. Later LNC meeting highlights ............12 commodate the overflow crowd. Satellite party fielded requests for more than 270 that evening, presidential and vice-presiden- trucks sending live feeds to their respective press passes. The country’s largest media out- tial candidates appeared in pre-convention LP West Virginia growth ...........13 TV networks lined the convention hall. lets were there, including CNN, ABC, NBC, debates organized by Kentucky Libertarian LP Speaks Out ..........................13 The LP has received far more media cov- CBS, Fox News, Reuters, Associated Press, Ken Moellman before a standing-room-only erage leading up to, during, and since the the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, crowd. Delegates got their first chance to hear Affiliate Updates ................14–15 convention than at any other time in its 45- the Washington Post, One America News from all of the party’s recognized candidates. year history. Libertarian National Committee Network, and C-SPAN, plus a half-dozen in- Each delegate was allotted two tokens, LP membership spike ...............16 Chair Nicholas Sarwark, Johnson, and Weld ternational outlets. to be used in qualifying candidates for the What Have You Missed? ............16 took media interviews and held press confer- Whereas many delegate seats remained presidential and vice-presidential nomina- ences at every possible break from the action. unfilled in past conventions, this year’s va- tions, as well as for determining inclusion Media Buzz ...............................16 Whereas about a dozen reporters showed cancies were scooped up days before the in the convention debates. Throughout the convention, and espe- cially between rounds of balloting, pas- Prominent GOPers turn to the LP sionate supporters electioneered intensely By Christopher Goins ernment out of people’s business,” she said, for their favorite candidates. according to the Omaha World-Herald. state legislator and two notable Ebke is the first Libertarian to serve Presidential nomination media personalities have switched in the Nebraska state legislature. She had Delegates chose to nominate six candi- their voter registration from Re- helped to found the Nebraska Republican Apublican to Libertarian, while prominent dates for president: Gov. Johnson, media Liberty Caucus. producer Austin Petersen, software entre- Republican politicians consider voting for Sen. Ebke is one of only 49 senators the Libertarian ticket this year. serving in Nebraska’s unicameral, nonpar- continued on page 4... Nebraska State Senator Laura Ebke tisan legislature. She was elected for the switched her lifelong affiliation from the first time in November 2014, for a four- Republican Party to the LP in May. The de- year term ending in January 2019. cision wasn’t made overnight; rather, it had During her 1–1/2 years in office, Ebke been in the making for months, she says. has introduced a bill to prohibit local gov- “I got frustrated with some of my col- ernments from having more stringent re- leagues who don’t recognize civil liberties quirements for gun possession than the and don’t seem to agree with getting gov- State Senator Laura Ebke (L–Neb.) continued on page 3... Page 2 The liberTarian ParTy — www.lP.org July 2016 Chair’s Corner Donor appreCiation The following individuals became Chairman’s Circle contributors: The following individuals became Beacon of Liberty contributors: Libertarian Party takes center stage Michael by Nicholas Sarwark, Chair Chastain or the long Memorial Day weekend, the center this election cycle; and no matter what the results in of the American political universe was the Rosen November, the Libertarian Party will emerge bigger Chris Rufer Centre Hotel in Orlando, Fla. It was quite pos- and stronger than ever. Fsibly the largest national con- This is not the time to let up. It’s a time to redouble vention in Libertarian Party our efforts. Get out there and gather petition signatures The following individuals became Select Benefactors: history and, with hundreds to get our candidates on the ballot. Run for office; or if of reporters from around the your personal situation makes it difficult to run yourself, Dan Fylstra world, definitely the most volunteer or donate to help someone who is running. watched. The competition Getting included in the presidential debates would for the presidential and vice- put our candidate on equal footing with the old par- presidential nominations was ties. If our two lawsuits are not successful, the only fierce, and the delegates took other way into the debates is for a candidate to poll at John Stagliano their responsibility seriously. or above 15 percent. Gary Johnson was polling at 10 With the selection of Gov- Nicholas Sarwark percent before his nomination, so 15 percent is within The following individuals became Beacon of Liberty contributors: ernors Johnson and Weld striking distance—but we need your help. Talk to your to be our standard-bearers, the Libertarian Party has friends and family about our presidential candidate. Lee Ann Burgess nominated the most experienced and sensible candi- Use social media to talk about him. Because so much Mikel Dillon dates who will appear on the ballot in November—a of polling is name recognition, we need your help to sharp contrast to the bullies in the old parties. For 45 make sure Gary Johnson is a name everybody knows. Lawrence Stanback years, the Libertarian Party has been preparing for this Regardless of whether you believe in a higher pow- Drury Vinton moment, building up ballot-access victories, organiz- er, a time like this, when all of our hard work is paying Phil ing local and state affiliates, changing hearts and minds off, makes you want to fall to your knees and exclaim, Harvey one at a time. In 2016, we have an opportunity to break “Thank you. My dreams have come true.” As members through all of our previous records and give every of the Libertarian Party, you and I are working toward single American an opportunity to vote for a political a goal of “nothing more nor less than a world set free party that stands for them—not for special interests in our lifetime.” We’re not there yet, but we’re getting and corporate cronies. closer, faster than at any time in my memory. We Libertarians are playing a long game. We know Yours in liberty, that victory may not be this year, or next year, or even in two or four years. We keep working anyway, build- ing up state and local parties, running candidates, and James Gil Robinson John doing what is necessary to move the Libertarian Party McNeel Taylor, M.D. forward. Those decades of hard work are paying off in Keller libertarian party newS www.LP.org (ISSN 8755-139X) is the official LP News newspaper of the Send newS, articleS, Libertarian Party® of the United eSSayS, or photographS: States. Opinions and articles The Libertarian Party (LP) and its state affiliates work to advance the right E-mail: [email protected] of individuals to be free, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the published in this newspaper do not addreSS changeS: equal rights of others. The party runs candidates for public office, elects necessarily represent official party Libertarians, supports and opposes ballot measures, lobbies, and takes Phone: (202) 333-0008 positions unless so indicated. positions on public policy aimed at removing, reducing, and nullifying government E-mail: [email protected] laws, regulations, prohibitions, taxes, spending, debt, and foreign interventions. poStal mail: national chair: Nicholas Sarwark 1444 Duke St. E-mail: [email protected] Alexandria, VA 22314 Editor: Carla Howell AssiStant Editor: Elizabeth C. Brierly Phone: (202) 333-0008 CONTRIBUTORS: Christopher Goins, Bob Johnston, Sandra Kallander, Alicia Mattson, Nicholas Sarwark, David Keith Photography, state affiliates Vol. 46, issue 3 The liberTarian ParTy — www.lP.org Page 3 Mar Unified District School Board, changed his regis- While she has registered with the LP only recently, tration from Republican to Libertarian on June 8. Matalin insisted that she’s “always been a libertarian.” Donor appreCiation “I thought libertarianism was a sound and solid and “I got frustrated with some of my eternal element of conservatism,” she said during the colleagues who don’t recognize Bloomberg interview.