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AMANDA GOKEE| New Hampshire Bulletin

Brodie Deshaies saw unions give a voice to his family members, helping them negotiate a fair contract at work. So when he was elected to represent Wolfeboro in the New Hampshire House, he knew he would vote against right-to-work legislation, a perennial attempt to prevent private-sector unions from requiring non-union members to pay dues. For Deshaies, that no vote also aligns with his free-market Republican values: The government shouldnt meddle in private-sector contracts.

There have been at least 30 attempts to pass a right-to-work bill in New Hampshire, none of which have succeeded. Even with a 50-seat Republican majority in 2017, the measure failed, with 32 party members voting with Democrats. In 2021, the bill wasvoted downby 24 votes. Proponents have argued that more businesses would come to New Hampshire if their workers werent forced to pay union dues. Opponents have countered with predictions that weaker unions would cost workers needed protections.

But the libertarian conservative group Americans for Prosperity, founded in 2004 by conservative billionaires David and Charles Koch, disagrees. The organization wants New Hampshire to become a right-to-work state, and in the last two years it has spent over $1 million promoting candidates who share that view. Both Americans for Prosperity and the Republicans it has ousted agree: Theyre succeeding.

Of the 21 Republicans who voted against right-to-work legislation in 2021, fewer than half have a shot at returning to the State House. Eight decided not to run again, and four were defeated in the primary, including Deshaies, who blames his defeat on Americans for Prosperitys involvement. He believes outside money in campaigns could continue to shape the states stance on right to work moving forward.

There are a lot of outside groups and this is true in both parties that are realizing how inexpensive it is to buy a seat, he said. I use that term very directly: to buy a seat in the state Legislature. And they realize how effective it can be in changing the states policy.

With a dwindling percentage of the Republican caucus opposing right-to-work legislation, this session could yield a different outcome. Gov. Chris Sununu, a right-to-workproponent, would not stand in the way. And the Legislature is poised to take up the issue in 2023 if preliminary legislation seeking to reintroduce the bill moves forward.

In an article for the Guardian, three university professorswrotethat Americans for Prosperitys focus on anti-union legislation is both in line with libertarian free-market ideology and a strategy for building conservative power. AFP has recognized that to make lasting change in US politics, the Koch network would need to permanently weaken the organizations that support liberal candidates and causes and above all, the labor movement, they wrote in 2018.

According to campaign finance filings, Americans for Prosperity spent $6,750.45 to support Deshaies opponent, Katy Peternel. Her successful bid for the Republican nomination was aided by thousands of dollars in paid canvassing and eight mailers, according to the filings. Peternel raised $7,934.03 on top of that. Thats $14,684.48 between what Peternel raised and what AFP independently spent to support her campaign. Theres no search function on the Secretary of States campaign finance website that shows whether other groups also independently supported Peternel. Deshaies outspent her, spending $24,652.92, but still lost.

He wasnt the only anti-right-to-work Republican to lose his primary to a candidate supported by Americans for Prosperity.

Certainly my right-to-work stance brought Americans for Prosperity after me, said Rep. Dennis Acton, a Fremont Republican. Im getting absolutely bombarded right now, he said ahead of the primary.

He lost to Emily Phillips, who was endorsed by Americans for Prosperity. The organization reported spending $6,399 on mailers, paid canvassing, and digital ads to support her.

You cant beat that, Acton said. He had not filed his campaign expenditures with the Secretary of State at the time of publication but said he raised around $2,250, enough for one limited mailing to 750 households.

Some Republicans say these efforts are not only reducing Republican opposition to right to work but changing the identity of their party.

It used to be the Republicans were the working mans party, said Rep. John Klose, an Epsom Republican, who voted against right to work last year. Things have changed.

Klose lost his primary to Dan McGuire, who was endorsed by Americans for Prosperity.

Rep. Jim Allard, a Pittsfield Republican who opposed right to work and was also ousted in the primary, believes outside money is pushing the party further to the right. Allard was targeted by an anti-abortion group, Cornerstone Action, which paid for negative mailers against him.

Assuming the current majority is maintained, I think we will see increasingly radical legislation, said Allard, who sees this effort as an outgrowth of whats happened with the libertarian Free State Movement. The number of Free Staters occupying seats in the House has grown steadily, and its now a significant block that can both generate legislation and certainly can pass or defeat legislation.

When you look at how many other very experienced legislators opted not to run this time, it just opened the floodgates of opportunity for more radical views to come to the fore, Allard said.

Replacing moderate Republicans with those who are further right would also affect other policy fights.

Allard had supported an exception to the states 24-week abortion ban, while Acton advocated for state spending and programs for mental health and addiction, as well asmore state action on climate change. Both were defeated in the primary. Allard blamed campaign spending, which sponsored negative mailers targeting him. He wasnt entirely sure who was footing the bill, and campaign finance is difficult to track.

Americans for Prosperity state director Greg Moore said the organization did not pay for any negative mail.

Unprecedented amounts of money were spent in this small New Hampshire rural district in order to unseat me, Allard said. Were talking major expenditures.

Americans for Prosperity has roughly doubled the $79,588 it spent on the 2020 primary, spending $171,505 in 2022 so far. In 2020, Americans for Prosperity reported spending a total of $847,217 between the primary and general election.

Were willing to try any idea as far as whats going to help us achieve our policy goals, Moore said. We felt as though candidates and elected office holders were more responsive with the prospect of an endorsement and thats true. Its working.

While Americans for Prosperity has had a presence in New Hampshire since 2010, it was only in 2020 that the organization began endorsing candidates and spending money on campaigns. Prior to that, the organization endorsed policies, not candidates, according to Moore.

Our view is, OK, what is it going to take to get this person elected? Moore said. So the amount of money we put in is what we think we need to spend in order in to be successful.

Twenty-one of the 25 candidates Americans for Prosperity endorsed won their primaries, according to Moore. Moore said the organization does not believe right to work is union busting, but rather makes unions more representative by forcing them to earn members.

Twenty-seven states have right-to-work laws, according to Moore. Five have adopted right-to-work legislation since 2004.

This story was originally published byNew Hampshire Bulletin.

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Campaign spending in support of 'right to work' paying dividends for conservative group - Seacoastonline.com

What does Wisconsins secretary of state do?

Wisconsins secretary of state oversees the acts of the governor and the state Legislature, manages public records and serves on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands. The SOS would act as governor if the current governor and lieutenant governor were removed from office or unable to serve.Whats at stake?

The race for secretary of state could determine the future of the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Governed by six commissioners shared evenly between the Republican and Democratic parties, the WEC was created by Republicans in 2016. This commission provides support to local clerks and monitors compliance with election laws and accuracy. The WEC chairperson is responsible for certifying state and federal election results, excluding the presidential race, which follows a different set of rules. The commission faced heightened criticism after the 2020 presidential election. If a Republican SOS is elected, they may attempt to abolish the WEC and potentially seek to transfer its duties to the SOSs office.

Who are the candidates?

Neil Harmon

Biography: Neil Harmon joined the Libertarian Party in 2016 and is a former Democrat and Republican. He has worked in health care for over 25 years. Harmon serves as the vice chair of the state Libertarian party.

Party: Libertarian

Links: Facebook

Select endorsements: Libertarian Party of Wisconsin

Article worth checking out: Meet The Candidates For Secretary Of State: Neil Harmon (WORT)

Doug La Follette

Biography: Doug La Follette has served as Wisconsin's secretary of state for 44 years. La Follette started Clean Wisconsin and has focused on renewable energy since the 1970s. He helped Gaylord Nelson, a former Wisconsin governor and U.S. senator, organize the first Earth Day in 1970. La Follette was also appointed by President Jimmy Carter as the assistant director to the Mid-American Solar Energy Complex. He earned a PhD in organic chemistry from Columbia University and later became an assistant professor of chemistry and ecology at UW-Parkside.

Party: Democrat

Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Select endorsement: Our Wisconsin Revolution

Article worth checking out: What to know about Doug La Follette, the Democrat seeking another term as Wisconsin secretary of state (Journal Sentinel)

Amy Loudenbeck

Biography: Amy Loudenbeck was first elected to the Wisconsin state Assembly in 2010. Loudenbeck has served as vice co-chair of the Joint Committee on Finance, chairman of the State Capitol and Executive Residence Board, and is a member of the State Fair Park Board. She graduated from UW-Madison in 1991 with degrees in political science and international relations. In 2020, Loudenbeck attended the White House Summit on Human Trafficking and served on a panel to discuss human trafficking in Wisconsin.

Party: Republican

Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Select endorsements: Former Gov. Tommy Thompson, U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, state Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu. Additional endorsements listed on Loudenbecks website.

Articles worth checking out: Wisconsin SOS hopeful wants election control, won't say how much (Associated Press), What to know about Amy Loudenbeck, the Republican running for secretary of state in Wisconsin (Journal Sentinel)

Sharyl McFarland

Biography: Sharyl McFarland is a decades-long advocate for social justice and human rights. Her work focuses on such issues as voter suppression, racial inequalities, mass incarceration and homelessness.

According to the Wisconsin Green Party, McFarland rallied to close down the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility, sharing an anecdote about the mistreatment of her at-the-time 17-year-old son.

Party: Green

Links: Website | Facebook

Select endorsements: Wisconsin Green Party

Where do the candidates stand on the issue of election oversight?

Harmon: Harmon says elections oversight should be taken away from the Wisconsin Elections Commission and given to an elected, non-partisan body, according to an interview with WORT 88.9 Madison. He also believes the number of commissioners on that panel should be reduced from six to four, with the secretary of state serving as its leader.

I think if theres any kind of shenanigans or people having problems with access to voting that, thats where the secretary of state should be the overseeing figure of that, he told WORT.

La Follette: La Follette says the secretary of state's office is coming into focus as the newest battleground to save democracy.

On his website, La Follette writes: Far-right politicians have proposed stealing power over elections in the hopes that they can use it to overturn any result they don't like. The state of Wisconsin has been a pivotal battleground in several of the past presidential elections.

He hopes to keep the Wisconsin Elections Commission intact to continue its electoral duties.

Loudenbeck: Loudenbeck wants to abolish and replace the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

This isn't a power grab, Loudenbeck told the Associated Press. "The Legislature should explore a wide range of policy options to utilize this constitutional office that is directly accountable to voters and look at what other states are doing and talk about restoring some traditional responsibilities, including election oversight, if appropriate, to the office.

According to the AP, Loudenbeck has been vague about her views on election fraud and whether she believes President Joe Biden is the legitimate president; however, she did say that the government is obligated to ensure a secure elections system conceding that decertifying Biden's victory is not an option.

McFarland: McFarland says the integrity of elections is being questioned and people demand answers.

The only way to have free and fair elections is to have hand-counted paper ballots, with routine post-election audits to ensure that every vote is counted equally and fairly, she told the Wisconsin Green Party.

McFarland supports a non-partisan election commission to end the WEC rampage of discrimination against independent politicians. She also says the electoral college is a system that does not represent the people and that a winning candidate should be determined by the top vote-getter.

Wisconsin's midterm elections are Tuesday, November 8, 2022. If you have a question about voting or the races, submit it below.

Excerpt from:
Wisconsin secretary of state: Your guide to the 2022 election & the candidates - WUWM

SPRINGFIELD For the first time in a quarter century, Illinois voters wont be seeing the name Jesse White on the ballot for secretary of state this November.

Instead, voters will choose from Chicago Democrat Alexi Giannoulias, State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, and Libertarian Jon Stewart from Deerfield.

Listen to this story here.

Despite 88-year-old White announcing in 2019 that he wasnt running again, some voters across the state may still be surprised not to see him on the ballot. He had been a regular favorite, winning by large margins, including two-thirds of the vote in 2018.

This is the first time in a long time where its an open seat, Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois Springfield, said. [Replacing White] is a daunting task.

White is stepping down after six terms as secretary of state, the longest anyone has served in that office in Illinois history. He is endorsing his fellow Democrat, Giannoulias, who served a term as Illinois state treasurer from 2007 to 2011.

Giannoulias left electoral politics after he narrowly lost a bid for the U.S. Senate to Republican Mark Kirk by 59,220 votes.

Giannoulias said it was his three young daughters who inspired him to get back into Illinois politics.

Seeing whats happened to our country, to our democracy, to our planetWe need people to step up and lead, Giannoulias said. I know it sounds cheesy and idealistic, but the only reason Im running is because I want to help people in any way I can.

He said the top complaint hes heard from people out on the campaign trail is how long the wait lines at the Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles are.

Hes proposing a skip the line plan, an online appointment booking system, as well as an app for secretary of state services, which would allow users to upload documents and receive reminders on upcoming renewals.

In addition, Giannoulias wants to create digital drivers licenses to make it more convenient for residents to update their information remotely and avoid an in-person visit.

We can cut foot traffic at our DMVs by 50 to 75%, which again, eliminates wait times and eliminates the time tax that people are paying, Giannoulias said.

Giannoulias said modernizing the office is a top priority, but when asked what set him apart from his opponent, he brought up abortion rights. If elected, Giannoulias said he would continue to advocate for abortion access in Illinois.

Theres a fundamental difference between myself and my opponent, Giannoulias said. I think that the Dobbs decision was dangerous and turned back the clock in a bad way.

Republicans look to win back the office

His Republican opponent, Dan Brady, hasnt been talking about abortion on the campaign trail. He voted against the Reproductive Health Act in 2019.

Brady is a veteran lawmaker, serving as a state representative since 2001 and deputy minority leader since 2017. He was also the McLean County coroner in the 1990s.

Brady says that working in the legislature for so many years has taught him how to work with the Democratic majority to pass bills, and he touted his working relationship with Jesse White.

This is an individual I have worked with on legislation, human organ and tissue donation in particular, distracted driving, driving, defensive driving for seniors, Brady said of the politically popular White. So I have a good rapport with the secretary.

Brady did get the endorsement of former Republican governor and former secretary of state Jim Edgar. During a press conference last month, Edgar said Brady has respect on both sides of the aisle.

Similar to his Democratic opponent, Brady also has his own ideas for trying to reduce foot traffic to the DMV.

Hes proposed converting libraries and community college spaces into hubs for some remote services, like drivers license and sticker renewals.

We can replace some of the older, outdated facilities versus putting good taxpayer money after bad facilities that we just simply need to renew, Brady said. Community colleges might help us be able to do that in a way that taxpayers are already paying for.

And to cut down on wait time, Brady also said he wants to make sure each DMV facility is fully staffed.

Any senator or representative would tell you probably the largest office they deal with for constituent services is a secretary of states office, where the greatest red tape may occur, where the greatest logjams could occur, Brady said.

Before White held the office for 24 years, Redfield said the secretary of state position was seen as a political stepping stone to higher statewide positions like governor. He said time will tell if Whites replacement will use the office as a springboard for more political power down the line.

It does give you a position of authority, name recognition, chance to make a record and then create options in the future, Redfield said. I think its reasonable that both Brady and Giannoulias probably do have progressive ambitions.

Mawa Iqbal covers the Illinois statehouse for WBEZ. Follow her @mawa_iqbal.

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Tired of long wait times at the DMV? Candidates for secretary of state pitch how they would cut lines - Illinois Newsroom

Only a few years after its greatest triumph, the Libertarian Party is collapsing, torn apart by an insurgency of alt-right sympathizers with racist tendencies. Libertarianism, the idea that state power must be absolutely minimized, relies on ideas of individual rights that seem flatly inconsistent with racism. And yet libertarian rhetoric has always had powerful attractions for those who wanted to resist racial equality. How is that possible?

There is in fact a connection, but it is one of psychology and political history rather than logic.

I just published a history of libertarianism. The book is a critical introduction to this ideology, which has done so much to shape American politics. I focused on its major thinkers Hayek, Friedman, Epstein, Rothbard, Nozick and Rand and sought to address their strongest arguments. None of them were racists, and most rejected racism vehemently, so I largely ignored the linkage with racism. Yet now it presents itself.

In May, the party was taken over at its national convention by the so-called Mises Caucus, a far-right group, some of whose members have been associated with racist and antisemitic ideas. The caucus is named after the libertarian economist Ludwig von Mises, whose philosophy was pretty crude (as I explained in the book) but who firmly condemned racism.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire tweeted (in a later deleted post) that America isnt in debt to black people. If anything its the other way around. Caucus members have called for violent repression of antifa and Black Lives Matter protesters. The new leaderships first and most prominent decision was to remove from the party platform language declaring, We condemn bigotry as irrational and repugnant.

As a result, the party is facing mass defections. In 2016, Gary Johnson was the most successful Libertarian presidential candidate in history. He got almost 4.5 million votes (3.3 percent of the votes cast, three times more than any previous Libertarian candidate, including Johnson himself in 2012).

The crackup is in part the result of crass political machinations. The insurgents are funded by donors who have been close to former President Trump, suggesting that the takeover is part of a coordinated Republican stratagem to destroy a party that has been draining away Republican votes. If Trump had gotten every Libertarian vote in 2020, he would have won. The chairman of the New Mexico Libertarian Party wrote that the leadership has adopted messaging and communications hostile to the principles for which the Libertarian Party was founded, serving no purpose other than to antagonize and embarrass. That may indeed be the purpose. Battles for control of the state party are also happening in Virginia and Massachusetts.

This stratagem would not be possible unless the alt-right people were available for recruitment. There is a reason why they joined the Libertarians instead of the Greens, another third party whose principles are equally antithetical to them.

The connection between libertarianism and race dates back to 1964. After he had the Republican presidential nomination, Barry Goldwater (himself no racist) voted against the Civil Rights Act on libertarian grounds: In a speech co-authored by future Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, he said that the freedom to associate means the same thing as the freedom not to associate. In so doing, he transformed the Republican coalition. Eisenhower had gotten about 40 percent of the Black vote in 1956; Nixon in 1960, about a third; Goldwater, 6 percent. Goldwater was the first Republican ever to win in Georgia and the first since Reconstruction to carry Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina. Richard Nixons eagerness to woo the voters who had supported George Wallace in 1968 consolidated the racial polarization of American politics.

Racism seems to be part of libertarianisms appeal to some Americans. It is easier to oppose government power if you dont like what that power will be used for. Some of the libertarian leadership noticed that and has made racist appeals for decades. Some libertarians even dream of abandoning the state for clusters of self-governing enclaves, some of which could be all white. Ayn Rand called racism the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism. But her condemnation of unproductive, parasitic moochers has more resonance when you think you know who those people are.

Libertarianism offers a peculiar vision of the heroic solitary individual who sustains himself without any external support. It says, I dont depend on anybody. I can take care of myself. This fantasy of autarky can also involve the capacity to separate from people one doesnt like. It denies any obligation to them that might be based either on shared membership in a community or on a history of wrongs that one has involuntarily benefited from. The fantasy is easy to swallow if it means that one gets to keep more of what one has. Here as elsewhere in libertarian thought, there is an active partnership between delusion and greed.

Andrew Koppelman, John Paul Stevens Professor of Law at Northwestern University, is the author of Burning Down the House: How Libertarian Philosophy Was Corrupted by Delusion and Greed (St. Martins Press).Follow him on Twitter@AndrewKoppelman.

Read more:
The Libertarian Party is collapsing. Heres why - The Hill

By Ron Paul

Sunday was an historic election day for Italy. A conservative alliance with a populist flair absolutely trounced the technocrats who had been running the country into the ground for the past several years.

The previous prime minister, former Goldman Sachs banker Mario Draghi, implemented one of the most restrictive and inhuman Covid shutdowns, which, along with supporting economically suicidal sanctions against Russia, have left Italy an economic basket case.

Replacing the bland banker will likely be Giorgia Meloni from the right-wing Sons of Italy party. Meloni will be a first for Italy: the first female prime minister. But dont expect the Left to celebrate it: her name cannot be mentioned in the mainstream media without reference to Mussolini.

Ironically, the democratic victory of Meloni and the rest of the Italian right likely owes a great deal of gratitude to one of Europes most undemocratic and anti-democratic leaders: European Union Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen.

On the eve of the Italian elections, the unelected von der Leyen warned Italians that if they voted for the wrong parties they would be punished. Asked about the surge of the political opposition in Italy on the eve of the elections, she warned Italian voters, we will see the result of the vote in Italy. If things go in a difficult direction and Ive spoken about Hungary and Poland we have the tools.

In other words, her message to Italian voters was yes you can vote, but if you vote in a way I do not approveof, you will be punished.

Italians rushed to vote in a way she did not approve of. It will be interesting to see what happens.

How does any of this relate to the United States as the US moves closer to the midterm elections? Americans have also been given warnings by the political elites that they dare not vote for the wrong candidates or parties.

On September 1st, President Biden issued a warning similar to that of Europes von der Leyen. In one of the most bizarre speeches in political history, Biden warned that Trump supporters are determined to take this country backwards backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love. They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country.

He spoke on a frightening, red-lit stage with US Marines serving as props on either side of him. This was no Checkers speech with Nixon speaking wistfully about his cocker spaniel. No, it was a declaration of war against half of the country.

A few weeks ago Sweden threw its left-wing government out and Sunday the Italians did the same. While the political differences in Europe seem more cosmetic than substantive for example Italys presumptive new prime minister supports weapons to Ukraine just like her predecessor there is still a strong feeling of popular revolt against political elites in the air.

That doesnt mean things will easily go our way, as there is no automatic libertarian surge. But we must study hard and take advantage of every single opportunity. People are sick of the elites? That means they are likely open to the concepts of non-interventionism and sound money. Lets help educate them!

Originally published by the Ron Paul Institute on 9/26/22

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Ron Paul: Will Italys Election Foreshadow US Midterms? - Libertarian Party