Mediaboss Marketing

Langston Newsome|Columbia Daily Tribune

Glenn Nielsen had no intentions of runningfor the 45th District legislative seat in the most recent general election.

Former state Rep. Kip Kendrick, D-Columbia, ran unopposed for the second consecutive time before stepping down to become the chief of staff for state Sen. Greg Lazor, D-Kansas City, in November.

Kendrick's absence left an opening in the 45th District a seat that Democrats have controlled since the latest redistricting. Nielsen, a member of the Missouri Libertarian Party for over two decades, saw this opportunity and decided to do something.

A Republican hadn't run for this legislative seat in over a decade, and the last non-Democrat to run for office was William Lee in 2016.

Lee ran as an independent and secured only 28.81% of votes.

More: Kendrick leaving Missouri House to join Senator-elect Razer as chief of staff

Nielsen believed the district's constituents deserved to have a second option in April's special election, so he joined Democrat David Tyson Smith on the April 6 ballot.

Based on the events of last year, I felt it was necessary to have more of a voice in the direction Missouri is going, Nielsen said. When I saw the opportunity, I decided it was time to give it a shot.

Nielsen credits the death of George Floyd last summer and the economic response to the pandemic for pushing him to run for office.

One issue is criminal justice reform based on all of the things that occurred over the summer since the incident with George Floyd, Nielsen said. Second is the economic impact of the actions taken to reduce the spread of COVID. ... Its only after the accumulation of events in the past year that I really decided that it was time for me to run and get my voice out there.

Nielsen served in the U.S. Navy for eight years before working as a computer programmer for the University of Missouri. He has lived in the Columbia area for 37 years. He joined the Missouri Libertarian Party in 2000 and served as the state chair from 2007-10.

More: David Tyson Smith could be Columbia's first Black state representative. He doesn't take the distinction lightly.

Nielsen was appointed to a special committee formed by then-Secretary of State Matt Blunt to provide recommendations on the Help America Vote Act in 2002 and was a vocal member of the Boone Liberty Coalition's push against the city's implementation of a smoking ban.

Nielsen will now engage in the upcoming campaign against Smith.

He will rely on his experience testifying at state legislature committee meetings as the Missouri Libertarians Chair for guidance moving forward.

I would say my life experience over time, Nielsen said about what prepared him to run for the state legislature, "as I became familiar with the principles that I feel should be used to govern, such as the non-aggression principle, choice those types of things.

Read more from the original source:
Libertarian Glenn Nielsen enters the race for the 45th District legislative seat vacated by Kip Kendrick - Columbia Daily Tribune

Editor's note: Dr. Payne has taught political science at Yale, Wesleyan, Johns Hopkins, and Texas A&M University, and is a research fellow at the Independent Institute. His book on libertarianism, The Big Government We Love to Hate, was released this month.

In the accounts about the Trump supporters who attacked the US Capitol, the media have sometimes alluded to supposed libertarian connections. The Wall St. Journal calls Parler, the social-media network which, it says, served as a hub for people who organized, participated in or celebrated the storming of the Capitol a libertarian-leaning social-media site.

In the same story it reported that one of the participants (Rosanne Boyland) joined at least two libertarian-leaning Facebook groups. A New York Times story reported that some people arrested in the riots have been linked to the Oath Keepers. This organization was founded by a man who, the Times noted, once worked as an aide to the former Representative Ron Paul, the Texas libertarianas if this fact helped explain his riot-inspiring role.

Of course, terms referring to political beliefs are rather broad, incorporating a range of views, but this connection is implausible. To call an ardent, violent Trump supporter a libertarian departs substantially from the traditional meaning of the term.

The confusion stems from two very different conceptions of what it means to be against government. In the typical partisan battle, the agitators are against the particular people in charge of the current government: they are challenging King George, Tsar Nicolas II, Nancy Pelosi. They do not question the idea of government itself. They believe that when controlled by people with good intentionsnamely themselvesthe government solves problems and improves the human condition. Once they displace the incumbents, the dissenters will set up their own government, giving it large, and growing, responsibilities.

The other conception of being against government is the position that government itself is not a moral, rational, and responsible problem-solving agency, no matter who tries to run it. Therefore, we shouldprudently and thoughtfullymove away from our dependence on it. This is the libertarian perspective.

Libertarian philosophers arrived at their skepticism from an examination of governments basis of power. This is its use of physical force, its use of policemen, jails and gallows to (try to) fix social problems. They asked, is force a healthy foundation for reform? Is the initiation of force a healthy way to deal with problems like economic inequality, substance abuse, or the lack of education?

Almost as soon as these early thinkers raised this point, they realized that a negative answer was indicated. As William Godwin, one of the first libertarians, put it in 1793, the calling in of force as the corrective of error is invidious. This led him to the observation that government, even in its best state, is an evil. This theme was echoed by a number of 19th-century libertarians including the English philosopher Auberon Herbert. Do you not see, said Herbert, that of all weapons that men can take into their hands force is the vainest, the weakest? In the long dark history of the world, what real, what permanent good has ever come from the force which men have never hesitated to use against each other?

Another 19th-century libertarian was Henry David Thoreau. The State, he said, is not armed with superior wit or honesty, but with superior physical strength. I was not born to be forced.

Over the past two centuries, the number of activists questioning government because of its basis in force has grown, leading, in recent times, to the formation of dozens of libertarian think tanks, and a Libertarian party in 1971. The partys Statement of Principles, adopted in 1974, incorporates this concern about force: We support the prohibition of the initiation of physical force against others.

In a two-century tradition, then, libertarians have established themselves as singularly opposed to the initiation of force as a method of achieving social or political aims. Of all people, they would be the last to participate in, or approve of, any kind of violent attack for political purposes.

At bottom, libertarians are a patient community, all too aware of the myths and excitements that swirl the masses into each new wave of big government involvement. And aware, too, of the vast complexity of human society, a complexity that tends to make centralized, coercive approaches to social problems dysfunctional.

Quietly, thoughtfullyand of course, peacefullylibertarians are trying to persuade their friends and neighbors that the path to healthy social relationships cannot lie in any kind of march on the US Congress.

See the article here:
Were the Capitol Rioters Really Libertarians? - Foundation for Economic Education

Join the Manchester City Library for an evening of virtual entertainment via zoom on Thursday, April 1, 2021, at 7 p.m. Author Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling will talk about his book, A Libertarian Walks into a Bear.

Once upon a time, a group of libertarians got together and hatched one of the most ambitious social experiments in modern American historythe so-called Free Town Project: a plan to take over an American town and completely eliminate its government. In 2004, they set their sights on Grafton, NH, a flyspeck town with only one paved road, buried in the woods of New Hampshires western fringe.

When freedom-focused libertarians across the USfrom as far as California to as near as Massachusettsdescended on Grafton, state and federal laws became meek suggestions. Soon the wilderness-thick town lost public funding for pretty much everything: fire dept, the schoolhouse, library, and perhaps most importantly wildlife services. As the people were ignoring laws and regulations on hunting and food disposal, their newly formed off-the-grid tent city caught the attention of some unruly neighbors: the bears.

Armed with a pen and journalists notebook, Matthew Hongoltz-Hetlinga seasoned journalist who has covered everything from Maines stately Governors Mansion to the mud hut of a witch doctor in Sierra Leonewas drawn to Grafton in hopes of uncovering the truth behind this fantastical tale of bear vs. libertarian. In this book, Hongoltz-Hetling details how this tiny town became a radical social experimentuntil the bear attacks started.

For questions, call Susan Harmon at 603-624-6550 x3320 or email sharmon@manchesternh.gov

Signup for this program is required! You can sign up through our Library Calendar and receive a link to the zoom event after registration.

Related

See the article here:
April 1: 'A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear,' chat with author Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling - Manchester Ink Link

According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE), the Constitution Party and Green Party are no longer recognized political parties in North Carolina.

Both parties failed to turn out the required 2% of the total vote for their candidate for governor or for presidential electors in the 2020 general election, as stated in a press release from the NCSBE.

Prior to this decision, North Carolinas 7,379,363 registered voters had been divided up between five political parties (Republican, Democrat, Constitution, Green and Libertarian) with the balance being unaffiliated.

There were 3,833 voters registered with the Green Party and 4,928 registered with the Constitution Party of North Carolina. They made up about .12% of all registered voters in North Carolina. By comparison, Democrat, Republican and unaffiliated registered voters make up approximately 99.24% of registered voters in the state.

The affiliation of voters who were registered with the Constitution Party of North Carolina or Green Party is expected to change to unaffiliated status.

Karen Bronson Bell, executive director of the NCSBE, has stated that the parties may be recognized once again if they meet the requirements for a political party as specified in state statute.

The Libertarian Party has also requested continued recognition as a political party in North Carolina. And, according to Katelyn Love, General Counsel for the NCSBE, their request may be deemed sufficient.

The State Board of Elections is scheduled to meet on Feb. 23 to discuss the continued certification for the Libertarian Party as well as changing affiliation for Green Party and Constitution Party registered voters to unaffiliated.

Visit link:
North Carolina Board of Elections no longer recognizing Constitution Party and Green Party - UNCW Seahawk

To the editor I was once a Democrat, but not anymore; they are too mean and vindictive for me to support. The Republicans are such a cowardly bunch that I cannot support them either. I consider myself an independent leaning more toward libertarian.

I see all the Democrats are cheering Dan Newhouse for his decision to impeach Trump. Dans always been a Democrat in my opinion and should run as a Democrat next time.

I never cared for Trump's rhetoric, but his policies were good and helped America. Trump was never given a fair chance; the Democrats and the news media hated him from the start. He was constantly harassed by them.

The Democrats have nothing to offer but hate and will create a deeper divide in the citizens of America. And the Republicans are too big of wimps and afraid to speak up for fear that the news media might say something bad about them. It would be great to have a strong third party in this country that we could support.

See the article here:
Letter: America needs a strong third party | Letters To Editor | yakimaherald.com - Yakima Herald-Republic