Vote Libertarian!
Friday, October 31, 2008
While Hamilton County is among Indiana's most prosperous, these declining economic times are a matter of grave concern. If you think government hasn't been doing right by you or by your country, now is the time to cast a vote for real change. After all, this mess has been brought to us largely by the Republicans, but no thanks also to the Democrats.
Wanted justice for the bad actors in the financial crisis? You got bailouts that punish us and reward the same bad actors, and their bad decisions instead
Wanted smaller government? You didn't get it.
Wanted lower taxes? You got shell games.
Wanted an end to an over-reaching foreign policy? It still over-reaches.
Wanted greater civil liberties? You're joking, right?
The best way to vote pro-liberty is to cast a straight ticket vote for the Libertarian Party. Do this by pushing the button opposite the Libertarian Party name, in the third position from the top, on the first page.
Here are the Libertarian Party candidates on the ballot in Hamilton County:
President - Bob Barr
Vice President - Wayne A. Root
Governor - Andy Horning
Lieutenant Governor - Lisa Kelly
Indiana Senate, District 30 - Steve Keltner
This is no time for the argument about the Wasted Vote Syndrome. If you want socialism, don't waste your vote. Vote McCain or Obama. The only difference is the speed by which you get socialism- tomorrow or next week. If you favor capitalism, individualism, and justice, vote for Bob Barr and his fellow Libertarian candidates, because these are the only ones who will do everything to deliver.
Labels: Andy Horning, Bob Barr, election, Hamilton County Libertarian Party, Libertarian Party, Lisa Kelly, Steve Keltner, vote, Wayne A. Root
posted by Mike Kole @ 4:00 PM,
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One Candidate Was Against The Bailout
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Yes, that was Bob Barr. He was consistently against any bailout, from the onset.
Bad decision making must not be subsidized. Barr has the right solution: Prosecute those engaged in fraudulent lending, and privatize Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac.
posted by Mike Kole @ 5:05 PM,
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Barr Polls Well in Ohio
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Bob Barr is taking a big chunk of votes away from McBama in our neighbor state to the East. From the Sandusky Register Online:
Libertarian Barr close to double digits in Ohio
Friday August 29 2008, 11:08am
A Zogby International poll released Aug. 22 showed Libertarian Bob Barr is drawing support from 8 percent of the Ohio's voters. (The poll placed Barack Obama at 41 percent and John McCain at 36 percent, Ralph Nader at 1 percent and "Not Sure/Other" at 13 percent.)It's just one poll, but members of the Ohio Libertarian Party are pleased and hope the poll numbers show they can become a player in state politics.
8 percent is going to be about 4 times the margin of victory. It suggests that McCain and Obama are failing to win over Americans, and are off-base on some keys issues with voters.
Can't wait to see how Barr's doing here in Indiana!
Update: Barr is currently polling at 7% here in Indiana, with McCain at 40%, Obama at 39%. Zogby shows both Ohio and Indiana as undecided right now. Here's a link to Zogby's 50-state daily polling map.
Labels: Barack Obama, Bob Barr, John McCain, Libertarian Party, Ohio, Zogby International poll
posted by Mike Kole @ 5:25 PM,
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Barr Says We Should Create Private Social Security Accounts
Sunday, August 17, 2008
President Bush dipped his toe in the Social Security reform waters a few years back, but at the first sign of political difficulty, he retreated and then gave up. Nary a peep from McBama on the reforms Social Security desperately needs. Enter Bob Barr. He would promote private accounts, and the option for young people to opt out!
August 14, 2008 11:27 am EST
Atlanta, GA - “The U.S. is facing a financial tsunami as the Baby Boomers retire,” warns Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president, on the 73rd anniversary of Social Security being signed into law. “The total unfunded liability for Social Security and Medicare is more than $100 trillion—that is ten times the official national debt! The longer we wait to act, the harder it will be to reform the system,” says Barr.
“Social Security was sold to the American people as a system of social insurance, but that was merely a polite fraud to win their votes,” notes Barr. “It is a pay-as-you-go system. If it was run by a private company rather than the government, the managers would be jailed for running a Ponzi scheme, one of the classic investment swindles. The so-called trust fund doesn’t exist: in reality, it is a file cabinet full of IOUs rather than a vault full of cash,” he explains.
“The system is headed towards financial collapse,” Barr adds. “It starts running a deficit in 2017 and the red ink piles up fast. In essence, to keep the system afloat we will either have to double taxes or halve benefits. Neither is an appealing option.”
“Moreover, the rate of return for beneficiaries keeps falling. Many Americans are now losing money. Over the long term the most the majority of people can hope for is to make a percent or so—compared to 5.5 percent a year on average for a private investment in a mixture of bonds and stocks,” Barr observes. “The U.S. government is literally stealing people’s retirement from them.”
“I am proposing a system of private retirement accounts,” explains Barr. Younger workers will be able to put increasing amounts of their tax payments into individual accounts. New workers entering the system will be able to exit Social Security entirely. The transition will be paid for in part through savings from adjusting benefits to account for the erroneous use of a wage rather than price index for setting payments and the fact that beneficiaries are living longer. Other savings will be achieved by cutting nonessential programs throughout the government, including corporate welfare,” he adds.
Just more evidence that the "Maverick" candidate and the "Change" candidate are both Status Quo candidates, while Bob Barr is the one who would shake things up for the better.
Link to full statement.
Labels: Bob Barr, Social Security
posted by Mike Kole @ 10:39 PM,
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Paying For The Opposition
Thursday, August 14, 2008
If you are a Libertarian, you are still paying to subsidize the Republicans and Democrats, and their conventions. Where are the moral objections, from either of those parties, on the grounds that it is wrong to be forced to fund one's political opponents? Where are the small government Republicans? Where are the Jeffersonian Democrats? Crickets.
Bob Barr comments:
August 13, 2008 9:35 am EST
Atlanta, GA - “My party has already held its convention without a single taxpayer dollar in its support,” notes Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party presidential nominee. But the Republican and Democratic conventions live on federal subsidies. Each party is receiving $16 million for operating expenses and another $50 million for security. But even this might not be enough in the view of some people. Colorado officials are talking about trying to pry some additional money from the feds.
“It probably doesn’t surprise a lot of people that Sen. Barack Obama’s party is trying to pry more money out of government. After all, Democrats have perfected the art of using a political crowbar to bust open the Treasury’s doors. But why is Sen. John McCain, supposed maverick and reformer, going along with the raid? How is he any different than any of the other people who fill Washington clamoring for a bailout?” Barr asks.
“Unfortunately, too many people spend too much time prying money from the feds,” observes Barr. “And both parties are to blame. It’s easier to list the groups that don’t get federal handouts than those that fill their pockets every year. With a half-trillion dollar deficit and a $9.5 trillion national debt, we obviously can’t afford to have all of these people breaking into the Treasury all the time,” says Barr.
“But what can be more obnoxious than forcing taxpayers to underwrite other people’s political opinions? As Thomas Jefferson told us: to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions that he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical. You’d think someone who postures as an opponent of special interests and government pork wouldn’t expect the taxpayers to subsidize his own very special interest political campaign,” notes Barr.
The Libertarian Party staged its' national convention in Denver earlier this year, where it nominated the ticket of Bob Barr and Wayne Root. The convention was staged strictly with private money.
Labels: Barack Obama, Bob Barr, Democratic Party, Denver, John McCain, Libertarian Party, Republican Party
posted by Mike Kole @ 3:38 PM,
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Barr on Real ID
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Labels: Bob Barr, National ID, Real ID
posted by Mike Kole @ 9:45 AM,
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Barr Says No National ID
Yet another way Obama and McCain agree- instituting a National ID. Bob Barr opposes a National ID, and other expansion of government data collecting, unlike the Republican and Democrat.
Atlanta, GA -- “’September 11’ has become the catch-all excuse for virtually every proposed expansion of government power,” notes Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party nominee for president. “One example is a national identification card and data base, long desired by some in government, and which was mandated by legislation passed by the Congress in 2005 with the support of both Senators McCain and Obama. Although I was no longer in the Congress when this bad legislation was passed, I had vigorously opposed it in the years since it became law, just as I led the successful effort to rescind a previous mandate for a national ID card.”
Unfortunately, he explains, “the Real ID Act establishes a new and privacy-invasive national ID card program. By forcing states to standardize their driver’s licenses and creating a vast national data base of private information on the citizenry, the law establishes through the back door something Americans would never have accepted directly—a National Identification Card.” In fact, “there was no open and honest vote on Real ID. The mandate was slipped into a supplemental appropriations bill, discouraging any real debate over the issue.”
Link to entire statement.
Labels: Barack Obama, Bob Barr, John McCain, National ID, Real ID
posted by Mike Kole @ 7:33 AM,
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President Barr Would Veto This
Monday, July 28, 2008
The bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac appears set to happen. What does it mean to every taxpayer in the US and their share of the national debt? About another $1,300.
The bill passed the House of Representatives and will be taken up in the Senate and once through that pork factory, President Bush has said he will sign it. If I were your President I would veto it so fast, heads would spin.
The bill - and that’s exactly what it is - is a bill you are going to be expected to pay! It’s for an estimated $400,000,000. That is, of course, $400 Million that we don’t have, so more borrowing is ahead. Your share of this expense? About $1,300.
And that’s on top of the more than $31,000 you already owe!
McCain and Obama have tip-toed around this. Barr is plain: No bailout for failed lenders!
Link to full Barr statement.
Labels: bailouts, Bob Barr, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
posted by Mike Kole @ 9:32 AM,
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Barr Says DC Should Respect Heller Decision
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
July 21, 2008 3:25 pm EST
Atlanta, GA -- “Citizens of Washington, D.C. and firearms rights organizations must be prepared to file a quick and clear challenge to the new Washington, D.C. gun control law designed to keep them disarmed,” says Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president. “The City Council is attempting to flout the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Heller that explicitly affirmed an individual’s right to own firearms. The Council is disingenuously doing this by appearing to legalize gun ownership while restricting the right into ineffectiveness.”Link to full post.
For instance, explains Barr, “the District of Columbia will continue to ban semi-automatic weapons, the most common kind of handgun in America. Moreover, residents will be required to keep their guns unloaded and either disassembled or disabled with a trigger lock. Unfortunately, most criminals aren’t going to give homeowners the courtesy of waiting for them to make their weapons operational before striking.”
The right to bear arms is correctly an absolute. Heller was a 'mostly good' decision, but fell short of ensuring this most basic liberty.
Dick Heller is considering a run for office as a Libertarian candidate.
Labels: Bob Barr, Dick Heller, Heller vs DC, Libertarian Party
posted by Mike Kole @ 10:07 AM,
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Bob Barr Says Privatize Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Bob Barr isn't talking about bailing out bad decisions, like some other candidates are. He's talking about ending a disaster:
Oklahoma City, OK -- The latest financial crisis involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guarantee home mortgages, demonstrates yet again how government intervention in private markets almost always comes to grief. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are nominally private, but were created by Congress and enjoy significant advantages over truly private companies, including cheaper borrowing, lower capital requirements, and an implicit federal guarantee.Link to Barr's full statement on Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac.
As a result, the two organizations behaved irresponsibly, confident that they were “too big to fail.” They own $5.1 trillion in mortgage debt, almost half of the nation’s total. With the sub-prime lending crisis in full swing, their losses are up, their capital is down, and their ability to borrow is falling. Immediate privatization is difficult because the markets doubt the organizations can survive without government support. Insolvency and a forced asset sale would roil both the housing and financial
markets.
These problems are almost entirely the fault of the federal government. Congress created programs to artificially inflate the housing market, established Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be exempt from normal scrutiny, oversight, and competition, and expanded their activities in response to the sub-prime lending meltdown. Government must get out of the mortgage business, but must do so in a way that least harms taxpayers and the economy.
Update: McCain & Obama campaigns have ties to Fannie Mae & freddie Mac. That could explain their interest in bailouts.
Labels: bailouts, Bob Barr, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
posted by Mike Kole @ 9:42 PM,
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