The Freedom Bulletin

The second Republican debate is over, this one featuring (in alphabetical order) Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum. In an exciting (but not totally shocking) moment near the beginning of the debate, Bachmann made her presidential bid official.

But the winner, in my opinion, was Paul. He was the only candidate who, for almost every answer, articulated his actual beliefs in simple language instead of saying what he thought voters wanted to hear. He stood up for the pro-liberty position on a wide range of issues, from the economy (opposing government aid to private companies), to our wars overseas (supporting ending them as soon as possible), to health care (“There was a time when we didn’t depend on the government for everything”), to marriage (the government should stay out of it entirely), to gays in the military (“Rights don’t come in groups, rights belong to individuals”), to eminent domain (big surprise, he opposes it).

The worst thing about the debate was what was missing: Gary Johnson. The former New Mexico governor and libertarian-leaning Republican was left out because he did not have the required poll numbers. I know that CNN had to narrow down the field somehow, but mere popularity is not the right way. Depriving the least popular candidates of a platform to express their views creates a vicious cycle, making it even harder for them to gain popularity. Little-known candidates like Johnson have the greatest need to be in debates, and their views (in my opinion, at least) often make them the most deserving. The debate would have been better with Johnson there.

Today Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) officially announced that he is running for president of the United States. He joins former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson as the second libertarian-leaning Republican to officially declare himself a candidate. He made the official announcement on Good Morning America (above) and in a speech later today in Exeter, New Hampshire, he outlined his major policy positions (below).

From the Tea Party movement, which took off in a big way in 2009, to the South Carolina debate last Thursday, it’s clear that the Republican Party is becoming more friendly to libertarian ideas. Watching Paul, Johnson, Tim Pawlenty, Herman Cain, and Rick Santorum speak about their views was much more inspiring than the platitudes uttered by the frontrunners (and eventual nominee John McCain) in the 2008 election. Although I like Paul and Johnson the best, all five candidates had some truly good things to say.

This is exactly the direction that the GOP should be heading in. Although Paul is criticized for being too “radical” and “extreme,” if you believe that things in America are off on the wrong track, then you should support someone who differs strongly from the status quo. Being moderate might be easy and prevent people from getting mad at you, but standing up for the principle of individual liberty, even if many people in today’s world call that radical, is the right thing to do.

In case you missed it, as an added bonus, here are some highlights of Ron Paul and Gary Johnson in last week’s debate:

It looks like pro-liberty Republicans may have two great candidates to be excited about in the 2012 primary. Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) did not quite declare himself a candidate, but today he announced the creation of an exploratory committee, as well as an Iowa leadership team:

“The Texas congressman named longtime Republican activist Drew Ivers as chairman of Paul’s Iowa campaign. Ivers served the same role for Pat Buchanan in 1996 and 2000, as well as for Pat Robertson in 1988.

Paul has also chosen David Fischer and A.J. Spiker to serve as his Iowa campaign co-chairs. Fisher is an active member of the Polk County GOP, currently serving on the group’s executive committee. Spiker meanwhile is a former chairman, co-chairman, and treasurer of the Story County Republican Party, and a resident of Ames.”

Read the rest at Politico.

Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson is officially running for president. The libertarian-leaning Republican made his announcement yesterday on the steps of the New Hampshire state house.

I, for one, am excited about this news. In addition to being a pretty cool guy, Johnson is a true fighter for liberty. Although he may not yet have as much name recognition, he would make a better president than Donald Trump or Mitt Romney.

Some fun facts about Gary Johnson:

• He is an avid triathlete and cyclist who successfully climbed Mt. Everest in 2003.
• He built his own house.
• He his divorced and has two adult children.
• He used medical marijuana after a near fatal paragliding accident in 2005.
• He has served on the boards of Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Students for Liberty, and founded the Our America Initiative in 2009.

Some highlights of his views on the issues:

• He supports repealing Obamacare.
• He supports auditing the Federal Reserve.
• He wants to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and opposes US military action in Libya.
• He wants to end the Department of Education.
• He supports legalizing marijuana.

Sources: Gary Johnson 2012, Wikipedia

Young Americans for Freedom, which proclaims itself to be the nation’s oldest conservative/libertarian activist group, expelled Ron Paul from its advisory board in the wake of his victory in the CPAC straw poll. Aaron Marks, its senior director, said that Paul was “off his meds,” bragged that YAF is “more aligned with Obama” on national security,” said that Pual’s pro-liberty beliefs “border on treason,” and laughably accused him of “failure to uphold his oath to the United States Constitution.”

Aside from the utter preposterousness of an organization called Young Americans for Freedom expelling Paul for not being authoritarian enough on security, it is utterly demeaning and classless to suggest that a person’s beliefs, even if those beliefs are wrong, which Paul’s aren’t, are due to a physical abnormality in their brain.

Earlier, Donald Trump bashed Paul, saying at CPAC that he has “zero chance of getting elected.” Paul shot back that he has won elections 11 times, while he doesn’t know how many elections Trump has won.

And Kevin McCullough at Fox News wrote one of the most offensive editorials* I have read in a while, in which he writes of “disrespectful libertarians” who “hijack CPAC poll”  and “immoral libertarianism that actually advocated for legalized pot and the redefinition of marriage to include homosexual unions.” He calls libertarianism “radically disrespectful,” “libertine,” “uber-disrespectful,” “animalistic,” and even “the worst form of political affiliation in the nation.” Additionally, he characterizes libertarianism as “combining the desire of economic greed, with the amoral desire to promote any behavior regardless of the cost to our culture” and calls it a “strange combination of policies that add up to anarchy without moral limits.”

First of all, Mr. McCullough, yes, libertarians do advocate for legalized pot. God forbid that people be allowed to decide what substances they want to put into their own bodies. And many libertarians, actually, advocate for getting the government out of marriage altogether so that all people, straight, gay, bi, and asexual, are treated equally under the law.

Libertarianism is based on the belief that people have the right to do whatever they want, as long as it does not violate the rights of anyone else. Anyone who does not recognize this as a moral theory has serious problems. So does anyone who considers freedom over one’s body, freedom from surveillance, economic freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of travel to be a strange combination. Is paying lip service to private property and individual responsibility while taking away civil liberties, telling people what they can and cannot do with their bodies, and forcing them to conform to arbitrary social norms a more sensible combination?

Yes, some libertarians may have said that President George W. Bush considers the Constitution a mere “piece of paper.” Some may have expressed support for gay rights groups such as GOProud. Some may have called security measures that trample on privacy and liberty “illegal.” And some libertarians may have criticized Vice President Dick Cheney. I don’t see anything wrong with any of that. As for the alleged “pornographic calendar” handed out by libertarians at CPAC 2010, I attempted to find evidence of its existence, but the first page of results in both Google and Bing for “CPAC 2010 pornographic calendar” was filled entirely with copies of this very editorial on various websites.

If McCullough considers himself a conservative, all conservatives should be ashamed to be associated with him.

Shame on YAF, shame (at least a little) on Donald Trump, and major shame on Kevin McCullough!

Check out some good opinion pieces from Reason, the Atlantic, and LewRockwell.com.

* To be fair, McCullough does criticize Mitt Romney for supporting an individual mandate in Massachusetts, which I appreciate. But that is the only thing in this editorial that I appreciate.

Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) won the straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) for the second year in a row! The reaction of numerous media outlets, politicians, and even the speakers announcing the results of the poll, was to dismiss its validity and minimize its importance. But personally, whenever Ron Paul wins something, I’m happy. If nothing else, it shows that among the most enthusiastic conservative activists, Paul has a lot of support.

Another good sign was that former New Mexico governor and fellow libertarian-leaning Republican Gary Johnson came in third, tied with New Jersey governor Chris Christie. However, the second place finisher was Mitt Romney. Romney, in my opinion, is almost exactly the opposite kind of potential candidate as Paul.

Ron Paul has a consistent set of beliefs that he articulates well in TV interviews and speeches and fights for in Congress, as evidenced by his voting record and the bills he introduces. His beliefs are a departure from the status quo, and they alienate some people, but he is okay with that because he knows that he is right. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, is one of all too many politicians who are so moderate and eager to compromise that they don’t seem to stand for anything at all. Romney flip-flopped on abortion as he moved from Massachusetts politics to the national stage, and he signed into law the same individual mandate in Massachusetts that Democrats enacted nationally, and that most Republicans have finally realized is wrong. He does not come across as particularly passionate or even sincere in his beliefs. In short, he appears to do whatever he thinks will make him popular.

I hope the Republican presidential nominee in 2012 is someone like Paul, not someone like Romney.

The House of Representatives voted against extending some portions of the Patriot Act which were set to expire at the end of the month. The provisions include “court-approved roving wiretaps, granting the FBI access to library archives and anything else considered relevant to a terrorism investigation, and the ‘lone wolf’ provision, which approves surveillance of suspected terrorists not linked to a specific terrorist organization.” Thirty-six Democrats and twenty-six Republicans voted “no,” including some veterans and some Tea-Party-affiliated newbies.

I applaud all the representatives who voted against the extension. What I find funny is that the media has been calling this a “defeat” and a “failure” for Republicans. Speaker Boehner even said, “We’re not going to be perfect every day.” Yes, Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor wanted the extension to pass, but I think this is a good sign for Republicans. The GOP is known as the party of conservatism, which ought to mean limited government and respect for the constitution. After all, as Ronald Reagan said, “Libertarianism is the heart and soul of conservatism.” Yesterday’s vote showed that at least some Republicans are standing up for privacy and civil liberties, and returning to their libertarian roots, which is exactly what the GOP should be doing. If only Speaker Boehner and the rest of the GOP would join them…

Edit: Above, watch an awesome speech by Congressman Ron Paul before yesterday’s vote. Favorite quote: “Perfect safety is not the purpose of government. What we want from government is to enforce the law and to protect our liberties.”