Libertarian Party of Arkansas

Looking for a Few Good Candidates (Actually, more than a few)

Elections Committee — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:31:16 +0000

Thanks to our successful petition drive last summer, candidates of the Libertarian Party of Arkansas will be on the ballot in this November’s general election. We can nominate candidates for any partisan office around the state — Justice of the Peace, General Assembly, U.S. House of Representatives . . . they’re all up for election.

The LPAR welcomes applications from all prospective candidates
who offer to bring the Party’s message of
Maximum Freedom and Minimum Government
to the voters of Arkansas this November.

As a “new political party,” Arkansas election law specifies that the LPAR “shall nominate candidates by convention for the first general election after certification.” Therefore, we’ll be selecting all Libertarian candidates for the November election via State Convention—which will be held in Little Rock on April 14, 2012.

We ask all candidates seeking the Party’s nomination to fill out an Application Form as a way of introducing you and your candidacy to the Convention. If you’re interested in being considered for nomination, please complete and return the form to the LPAR Elections Committee* before the Convention date.

Application Fees: The Executive Committee of the LPAR has established the following application fees for candidates:

Local or County Office — $25;
State Office (Arkansas General Assembly) — $50;
Federal Office (U.S. House of Representatives) — $100.

Fees may be paid in advance or at the Convention, and will be designated to a special fund for the LPAR Promotions Committee to use during the campaign.

Download Application Form HERE

*Return completed form to: candidates@lpar.org, or by mail to: Elections Committee, Libertarian Party of Arkansas, P.O. Box 46730, Little Rock, AR 72214.

My thoughts 10 years later

Mark Young — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:41:04 +0000

I still vividly remember being at work on 9/11/01 and watching the news feeds from my computer in my office as they replayed the planes crashing into the World Trade Center towers and thinking of the horror that must be going on within those structures. I, like most people across America, sat and felt utterly helpless as those towers fell to the ground. I was nearly reduced to tears thinking of the possible staggering loss of life and of the family’s of those affected by this attack. Ten years later I still have a feeling of great sympathy for those family’s and all the family’s since that have suffered through this deep grief as the nation went to war. It was, truly, one of those moments in the history of this country that we can all look back on and say, precisely, “This was the day it all changed.”

I consider myself an “amateur” historian so I rarely, if ever, look at anything as a singular instance. So as we mark the tenth anniversary of that day, we all need to reflect upon those tragic events, some of the reasons for the attacks and all that has transpired from that day to this. For nothing exists in an historical vacuum and this is usually where I end up being the “odd man out” of any discussion in such matters.

Recently, I’ve read several opinion pieces and letters to the editor which called these attacks “unprovoked”. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was our meddling in the affairs of the nations of the Middle East, it was our propping up of despots and then “throwing them under the bus” when they no longer served our needs, it was the fact that we had military troops stationed within their borders, it was for all kinds of reasons, some real some imagined, that these attacks occurred. There is no such thing as something “just happening”, ever. There is always a reason, even though Americans in their glorious hipocracy, fail to admit to it or just blatantly ignore it. When Americans talk about “ancient history” we are usually talking about 30 or 40 years ago, whereas the Arabs are still fuming over The Crusades. This is the main difference between “us” and “them”, our “timeline of thought” is much more relative to our present, rather than our past. Oh, we like to talk about our past but most folks look upon the past as “push pins” rather than as a stream of history where one event leads to another. That’s also the reason that Americans like to “one off” history. We need simple, “one reason fits all” explanations. The “they hate us for our freedoms” mantra was taken up by the war hawks and peddled to the masses and we soaked it up like a sponge. Most Americans didn’t know why “they” attacked so this fit our need for singularity of historical point and became the “push pin” needed to ramp us into war.

That’s a very brief look back to the reasons for the attacks, but what about what has happened since?

Since that day we have become a nation which believes that we have the right, even the moral authority, to invade sovereign nations as a “preemptive” measure to stop perceived threats of terrorists attacks.

Since that day we have become a nation which believes we need to kill hundreds of thousands of civilians in order to stop these perceived threats of attack. This is quite possibly the most heinous results of 9/11. We have killed mothers, children, toddlers and infants and report them as “collateral damage” in news reports. It is this sanitation of information that is most insidious.

Since that day we have become a nation which believes that in order to stay safe, we need to have security personnel in our airports that make 92 year old great-grandmothers in wheel chairs suffer the humiliation of taking off their adult diapers so it can be searched.

Since that day we have become a nation which believes that “no-knock” warrants are necessary and allow our federal police agency’s the authority to write their own warrants “on the fly” so they can protect us from “the terrorists”.

Since that day we have become a nation which doesn’t even blink an eye when it is reported that the President has, and uses, the authority to have US citizens assassinated, without any form of trial or civilian oversight, because someone in an intelligence agency says he might be planning a terrorist attack.

I could go on, but I think you get my point. Since September 11th, 2001 the people of this nation have willingly surrendered some of their most precious rights just so we can believe we are being made safe from “the terrorists”. So in the end, I guess all of this had made us safer if you believe the premise of “they hate us for our freedoms”. Now that we have willingly surrendered a host of our freedoms and rights “they” no longer need to attack us. But doesn’t that mean the terrorists have won?

LPAR Promotions Committee

Rodger Paxton — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 18:04:39 +0000

A couple of months ago, the LPAR Executive Committee approved a motion to create a Promotions Committee that will be responsible for finding ways to promote the Libertarian Party of Arkansas through advertising, direct mail or other ways. As we move into the election season with Libertarian candidates on the ballot, it will be important for people to know who Libertarians are and what we stand for.

The Chairman of this committee was selected to be Dr. Thomas Carpenter of Hot Springs. If you are interested in joining this committee, you can email either Dr. Carpenter at fourth@lpar.org or Rodger Paxton at chair@lpar.org.

In discussing the possibility of this committee to various people, an LPAR member made an anonymous donation of $2000.00 to be used specifically by the Promotions Committee! This is an incredible start, but we certainly could use even more. Please consider giving to this special committee so we can spread the message of liberty to Arkansas! If you would like to give, go to the LPAR Donations Page. After you make a donation selection, please make sure you choose “LPAR Promotions Fund” under Fund Information so we know this money should be earmarked specifically for the promotions department.

Thank you all for your support of the Libertarian Party of Arkansas!

The Wasted Vote Lie

Rodger Paxton — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:30:39 +0000

by R. Lee Wrights

“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual – or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”

- Samuel Adams, in the Boston Gazette, 1781

Every election Libertarians are invariably confronted with the charge that a vote for a Libertarian candidate is a wasted vote. The accuser claims that if you really wanted limited government you should vote for the candidate who has a chance of winning – the Republican. In some rare cases, the assertion may be that if you really wanted to protect civil liberties you’d vote for the candidate who has a chance of winning – the Democrat. And yet, our liberty goes unprotected as government grows unimpeded.

To my utter astonishment, this bogus argument invariably causes some genuine freedom-loving people to betray their stated beliefs. Why do they leap from the Ship of Principle into the stormy Sea of Compromise at the very moment their strength, courage and resolve are needed the most? Only one thing makes a person abandon everything they’ve ever believed in and fought for – desperation, the feeling that all is lost and the best one can do is choose the lesser of two evils. Even telling them that voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil doesn’t seem to dissuade them from their decision.

Little do they realize that they have once again been duped by the Wasted Vote Lie. It is a deliberate, carefully crafted fable concocted and perpetrated by the Democratic and Republican duopoly to maintain their stranglehold on power. They cleverly employ the propaganda trick of tyrants throughout the ages; if you repeat a lie loud enough and often enough eventually people will believe it.

The worst thing about voting for the “lesser of two evils” is that it actually has the opposite effect of what it’s intended to do. Winning candidates don’t know, they don’t want to know – and frankly don’t care – why people vote for them. They certainly don’t know and don’t care how many of the votes they got were so-called protest votes. All they want is enough votes to win. They’ll consider all the votes they get as an endorsement of their campaign promises or past performance to claim a “mandate from the people.”

The news media aid and abet in this subterfuge when, with a Cheshire cat smile, they ask Libertarian candidates, “You know you can’t win, so why are you running?” They don’t want a meaningful response because their intent is to divert the conversation away from any discussion of substantive issues. Their purpose is to marginalize the Libertarian so they can justify treating the campaign as a sideshow to be covered only for the entertainment value.

The Wasted Vote Lie is often accompanied by another big lie, that your vote for a Libertarian “takes away” votes from the Republican or Democrat. Let’s call this allegation what it is – pure and unadulterated arrogance. The ruling elites believe your vote belongs to them and that you’re too ignorant, or too stupid, or too uninformed to use it wisely. The Wasted Vote Lie and all its variations is an obvious and clear symptom of the condition Republicans and Democrats fear the most – an independent thinking voter.

Let me be clear: there is no such thing as a wasted vote. Your vote belongs to you, and no one else. It doesn’t belong to the Republican or Democratic Party, or any party or candidate for that matter. Your vote is your voice; it is one of your unnamed, inalienable rights, the ultimate expression of your right to free speech and self-government. Your vote is the most precious and meaningful gift you can give to any candidate. Your vote is worth more than any amount of money or any number of volunteer hours you may give, which is why politicians lust after it so hungrily. Your vote cannot be wasted, or stolen, or lost – unless you make a decision to do so.

There is no such thing as a wasted vote; even a vote you refuse to cast is not wasted. Restrictive ballot access laws are another device created by the reigning political parties to stifle competition and maintain their grip on power. Your decision not to give the gift of your vote to either of the “two evils” you’re given to choose from is in effect casting a vote for free choice. Just as millions of people fled Communist tyranny in Eastern Europe following World War II, many people who choose to stay home on Election Day are “voting with their feet.”

Win or lose, voting isn’t about picking a winner. Voting is about exercising your conscience. Elections aren’t generally decided by one vote. Giving your vote to a candidate you don’t agree with in the hope that he will do something you like, just because you like his opponent even less, is like giving money to a drunk on the street who asks for money for something to eat. You know he’s just going to buy more booze; he can’t help himself.

While one vote usually won’t decide an election, if enough people vote for a principle the effect will be much greater and will be cumulative election after election. One person can’t clean up the environment, or even clean up a highway alone. But if a number of people each pick up one piece of trash along the road, they can make that highway, a small portion of the larger environment, significantly cleaner.

In the same way, if enough people vote for a candidate on principle they can make a difference even if their candidate doesn’t win. They can send a clear message to the establishment, to the ruling elite, that “Enough is enough.” In the 1984 presidential election, Libertarian presidential candidate David Bergland gave this response to the “wasted vote” question, “If everyone who is fed up with what the Democrats and Republicans have been doing to them for the past several decades were to vote for me, I would win in a landslide.” The same can be said about every Libertarian presidential candidate since.

The goal of this campaign is to offer people the opportunity to cast their vote for something, not against something; to vote for what they want, not against what they don’t want. We want to give people the chance to present the gift of their vote to a party and a candidate who represents their principles, their ideals, their aspirations and their hopes. We want to empower people to send a clear and simple message to Democrats and Republicans that they will no longer tolerate deception and deceit, arrogance and power-grabbing. This campaign is dedicated to the goal that in 2012 every person who sincerely believes in liberty and freedom, and who is outraged by the perpetual and infinite wars fabricated by Republicans and Democrats for the sole purpose of instilling fear and expanding their power, will reject the Wasted Vote Lie and send a loud, clear and unequivocal message to both parties to stop all war.

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”

- John Quincy Adams

R. Lee Wrights is a writer and political activist living in Texas. He is currently seeking the Libertarian Party presidential nomination. He is the co-founder and editor of the free speech online magazine Liberty For All. Contact Lee atrleewrights@gmail.com.

Do you want to help shape the State of Arkansas and the LPAR?

Rodger Paxton — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 17:37:59 +0000

The Executive Committee last night authorized the creation of an Elections Committee. This committee is much needed and will have many responsibilities that have the potential to make big changes in the LPAR and in the State of Arkansas.

The main responsibilities of this committee will be to help find, coordinate and train candidates for the LPAR. This is hugely important, especially over then next 16 months until the November 2012 elections. This will potentially be the most important committee the LPAR has ever had.

This is your chance to help! If you have ever wanted to help the LPAR and never knew how you could, this is a perfect opportunity! This committee will need lots of people to help with all of the tasks, no matter what your qualifications or experiences are. Please consider helping out.

If interested, please email info@lpar.org and we will contact you right away!

LPAR in the News

Rodger Paxton — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 17:03:25 +0000

The LPAR has been in the news a lot recently, and here are a couple of places.

NWAHomepage.com with a two-minute video that ran on the local Fox News station. Click the link to watch the video!

KUAF 91.3 Ozarks At Large public radio program. Once on the Ozarks at Large page, search for “libertarian” and it will bring the radio spot to the top. This interview was nearly 8 minutes long and ran several times on KUAF in it’s entirety.

LPAR Becomes an Official Political Party

Rodger Paxton — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 20:13:17 +0000

For Immediate Release: Thursday, June 16, 2011

The Libertarian Party of Arkansas is Official

(Little Rock, AR) The Libertarian Party of Arkansas (LPAR) is officially a recognized political party for the first time in history and will now be able to run candidates for office in 2012.

Last month the party submitted signatures to the Secretary of State’s office in order to fulfill the requirement of collecting at least 10,000 valid signatures from registered voters in the state. According to Martha Adcock at the Secretary of State’s office, more than 12,000 of the 16,000 submitted signatures were valid. This count was confirmed by an independent auditor.

The party placed presidential candidates on the ballot for more than 30 years but never met the more difficult requirement to run candidates for other offices. The LPAR’s success marks the first time in recent history that a third party has been able to run a partisan candidate for office in all 50 states for offices other than the president.

“This achievement is monumental for Arkansans who want more choice on their ballot,” said LPAR Chairman Rodger Paxton of Marion. “Now we won’t have to choose between big government and bigger government, but can vote for minimum government and maximum freedom.”

Libertarians advocate lower taxes, more personal freedom and less government intervention.

“In the voting booth, Arkansans will now be able to say that we want the government out of our pockets, out of our businesses, out of our homes and out of our personal lives,” said Paxton. “We are honored to have spent the last year working towards ballot access to give Arkansans the chance to tell the government to ‘back off’.”

The LPAR is now seeking candidates to run for office in 2012. “Whether running for city council or congress, we want liberty-loving Arkansans to take advantage of our efforts and represent true freedom on the ballot,” says LPAR Vice Chairman David Pangrac of Van Buren.

If the Libertarian presidential nominee earns three percent of the vote in the 2012 election, the party will automatically retain ballot access for 2014. If less than three percent is earned, the party will have to again submit 10,000 signatures to the Secretary of State’s office for verification, a process that cost the LPAR almost $40,000. In 2010 the Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr received 0.44 percent of the vote.

In a statement given on Thursday, Libertarian National Committee Executive Director Wes Benedict said:

“This is an historic achievement. We are especially proud of the Libertarian Party of Arkansas for accomplishing this. And, the icing on the cake, from my perspective, is that they did this without funding from our national headquarters! A special thanks goes out to our new state chairman, Rodger Paxton, for leading this effort towards a successful conclusion. Based on this success, we’re expecting great things from the LPAR. The people of Arkansas, who love liberty, will have a new voice at the table.”

The Green Party of Arkansas is suing the state over the requirements to retain ballot access, which they feel are cumbersome. At this time, no other third party has achieved the requirements to run candidates in 2012.

###

The Libertarian Party of Arkansas is a state affiliate of the National Libertarian Party. The LPAR has been active since the mid-1970′s and has consistently placed a Libertarian presidential candidate on the ballot since 1980.

In 2002 the LPAR helped successfully placing “Axe the Food Tax” on the ballot. The amendment was defeated in the general election but was later adopted by other parties and a proposal to reduce the tax on groceries became law in 2007.

For more information please visit www.lpar.org or find us on facebook.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Jessica Paxton
501.570.6542
media@lpar.org

Press Conference Prepared Remarks by Casey D. Copeland

Rodger Paxton — Thu, 19 May 2011 20:54:51 +0000

Prepared remarks by Casey D. Copeland, Treasurer, Libertarian Party of Arkansas

Ballot Petition Signature Turn-In Press Conference, May 18^th, 2011

The Libertarian Party of Arkansas will be the party for those Arkansans who believe in “Minimum Government, Maximum Freedom.” Arkansans will see that slogan when they visit our web-page, and they will hear it whenever they speak with us about the issues of today, yesterday, or tomorrow.

Many Arkansans may ask, “What is libertarianism?” or “What is a Libertarian?” Only to find, after a little study and self-examination, that they are a libertarians; or at least they live their lives like libertarians. And, they will find that America was founded as a libertarian country.

In his book Libertarianism in One Lesson, Mr. David Bergland says, “Libertarianism is grounded in the ‘natural rights’ tradition in western culture.” That tradition was known and espoused by our Founding Father, and expressed to the world and handed down to us through the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States of America, and the Bill of Rights.

It is the idea that each person has rights that government should not interfere with. “Among these rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” as Thomas Jefferson called them “unalienable rights,” in the Declaration of Independence.

Today we would recognize and acknowledge that these rights include the right to worship as we choose, or not worship at all; the right to speak our minds on any issue without fear; the right to protect ourselves and our property; the right to maintain and care for our bodies according to our determinations; and generally the right to live and do as we see fit, without government, or anyone else, forcing us to live as they deem proper. This is not, of course, an exhaustive list, and libertarians would not say that there is a finite list of individual rights. Instead, we believe, as our Founders did, that the limit was put on government, not on the people.

The Libertarian philosophy is often presented in the form of the “non-aggression principle.” According to this cornerstone of libertarianism, the initiation of force to achieve social or political goals is not proper, should be avoided, and, in the end, only leads to more force, more aggression, and less liberty for both sides. Aggression leads to, and tacitly approves of, the aggression of retaliation and revenge. Force is only appropriate in defense of self and others; and on a personal level, the defense of family, or those to whom such a duty is owed.

This “good neighbor” ideal, leads Libertarians to leave others to live and do as they choose, and only ask in return to be left to live and do as we choose. Sometimes those around us may make decisions that we disagree with, or believe are harmful to them, but we must respect their right to do so, so long as they are not harming us or our property. If those bad decisions lead to dire consequences, our neighbor must respect our right and the rights of others not to be forced to bail out those bad decisions. With the exercise of rights comes the responsibility for consequences; one without the other would be meaningless.

Of course, there is so much more to libertarianism and being a Libertarian than can be said in this brief setting. Those who are interested in Minium Government, Maximum Freedom should contact the Libertarian Party of Arkansas by our web-page and on Facebook. There they can find out where the Libertarian Party of Arkansas stands on issues, and more specifics on our principles. Thank you.

KARK Television Coverage of LPAR Press Conference

Rodger Paxton — Thu, 19 May 2011 01:53:56 +0000

KARK out of Little Rock ran a news story on the LPAR Ballot Access petition today on their nightly news at 5pm.

It was also pointed out to me that KATV Channel 7 had a short segment on their 6pm news. KUAR FM 89.1 ran short segments on their radio station at 4 and 5 this afternoon and had an article on their website.