LIBERTY POINT

Ok. The joke is over. Bring back the Constitution.

GOP tax fairness plan is unfair

by J.J. Summerell
Chair, Libertarian Party of North Carolina

The tax reform plan announced by state Sen. Phil Berger is just another charade designed to make citizens think Republicans are actually reducing taxes. Calling it the Tax Fairness Act and claiming it’s the largest tax cut in state history is misleading at best.

In fact, it isn’t fair and it isn’t a tax cut. Senator Berger and the other Republican leaders at their press conference last week probably used the word “fair” hundreds of times.

No tax is fair. Taxes are inherently unfair. Every tax hurts someone. The only difference between taxes proposed by Republicans and Democrats is which special interest group is going to benefit and which is going to pay.

Continue reading →

Libertarian Party state convention June 7-9 in Flat Rock

The Libertarian Party of North Carolina will hold its annual state convention June 7 to 9 at the Mountain Lodge and Conference Center in Flat Rock.

The official business of the convention will be to amend the bylaws and elect new officers. However, convention organizers announced that most of the convention will be spent on learning the special skills that are essential to any social or political movement.

“Millions are waking up to finding their freedoms and liberties being encroached upon and smothered by the monstrous growth of government,” said Kevin Innes, convention chairman.

“Many no longer feel that their government is theirs but has instead become an insatiable monster that looks for every opportunity to grow bigger and more powerful.”

Continue reading →

Libertarians oppose welfare for (Met)Life

RALEIGH (April 18) – The awarding of nearly $100 million in “corporate incentives” to MetLife, one of the largest insurance companies in the world, is a classic example of state and local governments playing the game of Reverse Robin Hood, robbing from the rich to give to the poor, a state Libertarian Party spokesman said in a statement today.

J.J. Summerell, Libertarian Party of North Carolina chair, said the party denounces all such corporate welfare as fiscally irresponsible and the practices should be stopped immediately.

Continue reading →

Vote Freedom Act of 2013 filed in N.C. House

Rep. Jason Saine (R-Lincolnton) introduced House Bill 794 Voter Freedom Act of 2013 today to dramatically lower the ballot access barrier for new political parties and unaffiliated candidates.

House Bill 794 has bipartisan sponsors, Representatives Paul Luebke (D-Durham), David Lewis (R-Dunn), and Rodney Moore (D-Mecklenberg). A broad and diverse coalition of political parties and public policy groups from across the political spectrum also backs the bill.

The Voter Freedom Act of 2013 would reduce the number of signatures a new political party must collect to qualify for the ballot from nearly 90,000 to about 11,000. The bill would also make it easier for new parties to retain ballot access, by reducing the number of votes they must get to about 11,000 votes.

Continue reading →

More election laws introduced

Several more election laws bills have been introduced in the General Assembly, including two that would eliminate straight-party voting.

HB185, called the Ballot Reform Act, would end straight-party voting. But it would also reinforce the preferential treatment given the Democratic and Republican parties when listing candidates on the ballot.

The bill would provide for the party that won the governorship to be listed first on the ballot, followed by other parties with more than five percent of registered voters, in an alphabetic order starting with the first letter of the governor’s last name.

All other political parties would then be listed in alphabetical order by party. Independent candidates would be still be listed last, using the alphabetical order formula based on the governor’s last name.

HB185 sponsors are Representatives Bert Jones, Susan Martin, Debra Conrad and Bob Steinburg, all Republicans.

In contrast, Senators E.S. Newton and Thom Goolsby have filed SB82, which simply eliminates straight-party voting.

Continue reading →

Libertarian columnists launch Libertarian Party News outlet

As the Raleigh Libertarian Examiner, I’m proud to join a coalition of libertarian news reporters as we launch America’s newest independent political news outlet LibertarianPartyNew.com.

examiner_mugTwenty-three experienced and established columnists, all self- proclaimed libertarians, from across the nation have come together to help level the playing field for Libertarian candidates and to promote the cause of liberty. Independent and opposition party candidates often complain of unfair news coverage or no coverage at all. Libertarian Party News intends to change that.

“Most independent and third party candidates are portrayed in the corporate media as aliens with five arms and three heads, if they’re covered at all,” explained Libertarian Party News founder and editor Mark Wachtler, “But then look at where the news is coming from – for-profit, multi-national corporations whose only priority is raking in ever-higher profits.”

Giving a glimpse of things to come from the new news outlet, Wachtler asked, “After three decades of war, debt, corruption and ever-increasing American poverty, why would anyone want to be either a Republican or a Democrat anymore?”

LibertarianPartyNews.com proudly proclaims itself the itself the premier place for Libertarian Party news, candidates, announcements and more. An independent news outlet and not part of the party itself, the site’s sole mission is to assist the Libertarian Party, its members and candidates in getting their message of liberty to the American people.

Continue reading →

Free the Vote NC calls for an end to straight-party voting

Eliminating straight-party voting will be a step toward ending the two-party duopoly that controls North Carolina’s electoral process and discriminates against alternative parties and independent candidates, a spokesman for Free the Vote North Carolina said in a statement today.

“The straight-party voting system tends to perpetuate this cycle of individuals going to the polls and casting votes based simply on party label in the hopes of voting for someone that shares their common values,” said Jordon Greene, founder and president of Free the Vote NC.

Two bills ending straight-party voting have been introduced in the General Assembly. Free the Votes opposes one, HB185 and supports the other, SB82.

“Straight-party voting encourages uneducated voting and demeans the value of the individual’s vote,” Greene said. “The manner in which the device is used in North Carolina also is confusing to voters, since it doesn’t apply to the presidential race.”

Continue reading →

N.C. Libertarians set another record

The North Carolina Libertarian Party has achieved another historic milestone in state politics. It now has the highest share of registered voters than any other third party in modern history, according to an analysis by Richard Winger of Ballot Access News.

Although the actual number, 0.31 percent, is very low, the Libertarians have steadily increased their portion of voter registrants despite having to overcome North Carolina’s draconian ballot access laws every four years.

“Although our numbers are still small, the fact that more and more people are registering either as unaffiliated voters or Libertarians makes these numbers significant,” said state party chair J.J. Summerell. “It’s evidence that more and more people think the Republican and Democrats have failed to effectively manage our government.”

Continue reading →