Date: October 5th 2008

Lone Star Liberty newsletter:
the monthly newsletter of the Libertarian Party of Texas, www.LPTexas.org

October 2008
Almost 2000 subscribers

Please donate at http://lptexas.org/membership.shtml

1. LIBERTARIANS OPPOSE BAILOUT
2. STATE IGNORES ELECTION LAW
3. LIBERTARIAN CANDIDATES IN THE NEWS
4. LIBERTARIANS DRAW DEMOCRATIC VOTERS
5. PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL GROWS LIBERTARIAN SUPPORT
6. JEFF DAIELL FOR GOVERNOR CAMPAIGN
7. SLECT MEETING OCT 11
8. YVONNE SCHICK IN DEBATE
9. TARRANT ELECTION NIGHT PARTY
10. TRAVIS ELECTION NIGHT PARTY
11. ANNUAL REPORT
12. PAT DIXON INTERVIEW OCT 5
12. MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
13. SCHEDULE OF IMPORTANT DATES

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1. LIBERTARIANS OPPOSE BAILOUT

The Libertarian Party of Texas formally issued the following press releases, which are posted at http://lptexas.org/officialreleases.shtml

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AUSTIN - October 1, 2008 - Wes Benedict, Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Texas (LPT), made the following statement today.

"Texas Libertarians oppose this horrible bailout plan. Now the Senate is apparently planning to add some tax breaks and other items to buy off some Republicans. That does not change the heart of the matter, which is the purchase of $700 billion of bad debt with taxpayers' money. The senators from Texas should vote against this bad bill.

"What part of 'No' can't Congress understand? It's like the night of the living dead up there. The bailout gets killed, only to rise from the grave days later.

"If Senator John Cornyn votes for this bill, then fiscal conservatives in Texas should punish him by voting for Libertarian Yvonne Adams Schick this November.

"From a legal point of view, this bailout is totally unconstitutional. From a practical point of view, it will create tremendous moral hazard, and it will attempt to relieve short-term economic pain at the cost of serious negative long-term consequences.

"Bad companies should be allowed to fail. That's how the free market is supposed to work."

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AUSTIN - October 3, 2008 - Many Texas Libertarian candidates for Congress have confirmed their opposition to the massive bailout bill that was passed in the U.S. House this morning.

Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Yvonne Adams Schick has stated her opposition to the bailout bill. Both her Republican opponent, John Cornyn, and Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison voted for the bill.

District 8 candidate Brian Stevens said, "I oppose the bailout as proposed because it does not assign responsibility to the culpable parties nor does it remedy the root causes of the problem." (District 8 congressman Kevin Brady voted for the bill.)

District 15 candidate Gricha Raether commented, "This is absolutely ridiculous." (District 15 congressman Ruben Hinojosa voted for the bill.)

District 17 candidate Gardner C. Osborner confirmed his opposition. (District 17 congressman Chet Edwards voted for the bill.)

District 21 candidate James Arthur Strohm said, "I condemn [Lamar Smith's] vote FOR this bill on its first round in the House, as I condemn the vote of any Congressman who thought it was a good enough idea to vote for." (District 21 congressman Lamar Smith voted for the bill.)

District 27 candidate Robert E. Powell confirmed his opposition. (District 27 congressman Solomon P. Ortiz voted for the bill.)

District 28 candidate Ross Lynn Leone said, "This is the beginning, make that the middle, of the path to socialism, and the fact both parties backed this scheme shows there is no real difference in the Dems and Reps." (District 28 congressman Henry Cuellar voted for the bill.)

Libertarian candidates for Congress in districts 3, 5, 22, 23, 24, and 25 also confirmed their opposition to the bill.

District 11 candidate John R. Strohm said, "I have no formal comment until I've had time to read the actual bill." (District 11 congressman Michael Conaway voted for the bill.)

Other Libertarian congressional candidates have not been reached for comment.

The Libertarian Party of Texas (LPT) has nominated candidates for U.S. Senator, and for 29 of the 32 congressional districts in Texas.

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Libertarian candidate for Congress district 3 Chris Claytor (http://www.claytorforcongress.org/) was quoted on the bailout plan in the Plano Courier Star:
“It’s absolutely ridiculous that we would be doing this,” Chris Claytor, Libertarian candidate for U.S. Representative said. “This isn’t what the Constitution says the government should do.” (http://www.planostar.com/articles/2008/09/25/plano_star-courier/news/78.txt)

MySanAntonio News contained the following excerpt from Libertarian congressional candidate Lani Connolly (http://www.laniconnolly.com/): Libertarian Lani Connolly, also seeking the 23rd Congressional District, said she is opposed to the “government bailing out private industry. Our government is dangerously close to essentially nationalizing a large sector of our economy.” (http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/state/29779504.html)

All news postings are found at http://lptexas.org/news.shtml

State chair Pat Dixon posted background information about the bailout on his city council website WWW.PATDIXON.ORG

Please donate at http://lptexas.org/membership.shtml

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2. STATE IGNORES ELECTION LAW

Last month we informed you of a lawsuit filed by the Libertarian Party of Texas and the Bob Barr for President campaign regarding the failure of the Democratic and Republican parties to file required notifications to place Barack Obama and John McCain on the ballot by the deadline mandated by state law. The Texas Supreme court rejected the case without comment.

It is noted that Bob Barr has been removed from the ballot in Louisiana due to hurricane Gustav closing the state offices where the forms were to be filed. The Libertarian Party of Louisiana was unable to file the papers until the offices reopened, which was past their deadline.:
http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/09/27/louisiana-libertarian-party-submits-powerful-brief-to-us-supreme-court-to-get-barr-back-on-the-ballot/
http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/09/29/us-supreme-court-asks-louisiana-to-respond-to-barr-appeal/

The state party issued a press release following the rejection of the case. State chair Pat Dixon stated:
"Unfortunately, rather than answer questions, the Supreme Court's action raises new questions. To what extent are parties bound by the Texas Election Code? Is there now a grace period for deadlines? How long is the grace period? Does it apply to the Libertarian Party as well as the Republicans and Democrats? Which deadlines should the Libertarian Party ignore? Does the Secretary of State have the power to enforce the law against people she doesn't like, and waive the law for people she does like? Unfortunately, these questions will have to be tested in the future."

The full press release is found at http://lptexas.org/release-20080923.shtml

Please donate at http://lptexas.org/membership.shtml

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3. LIBERTARIAN CANDIDATES IN THE NEWS

Several Libertarian candidates, in addition to presidential candidate Bob Barr (www.BobBarr2008.com) received coverage from the media recently. These media mentions as well as others are posted to http://lptexas.org/news.shtml:

US Congress district 27 candidate Robert Powell was featured in the following article:
http://www.recordstar.com/articles/2008/10/02/local_news/local05.txt

Candidate Richard Cross participated in the State Senate district 10 debate:
http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/944348.html

Libertarian candidate for US Congress district 15 Gricha Raether (http://www.gricharaether.com/) has been featured in interviews on the Spanish speaking television network Univision. These interviews have been posted on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI50HxHwVf8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ud6LW9ayVA

Matt Finkle's campaign for US Congress district 10 got the attention of the Austin Chroncicle:
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:681362

Libertarian candidate for state representative district 45 Tom Gleinser was included in this article:
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/09/30/0930hd45.html

State representative district district 52 candidate Lillian Simmons was included in this article:
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/09/29/0929hd52.html

State representative district 50 candidate Jerry Chandler was included in this article:
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/10/02/1002hd50.html

Williamson County commisioner's court candidate James Atwell Andrews was included in this article:
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/10/02/1002willco.html

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4. LIBERTARIANS DRAW DEMOCRATIC VOTERS

Recent polling suggests the Libertarian Party attracts as many Democratic as Republican voters. The poll conducted by Public Policy Polling states:
"The bottom line? It looks the Libertarians are taking roughly equal numbers of voters from Republicans and Democrats, and if there is any lean toward them taking from Republicans it's a small one."

The article can be found at http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2008/10/challenging-cw-on-libertarian-votes.html
The Public Policy Polling website is http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/

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5. PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL GROWS LIBERTARIAN SUPPORT

Volunteers from the DFW conducted political outreach at the Plano Balloon Festival Sept 19-22. The popular World's Smallest Political Quiz was used. They had 66 individuals provide contact information for more information about the Libertarian Party.

Candidate Chris Claytor reported:
"Briefly, we gave the World's Smallest Political quiz to about 450 folks and we have contact information for 65 individuals that want to learn how to get involved in the LP. Thousands walked past the booth (and stopped for pizza right across from us), and at a minimum saw our signs... Bob Barr for President, Yvonne Schick for Senate, and Christopher Claytor for Congress. It was a great success and many, many thanks to everyone who made it out to work the booth!"

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6. JEFF DAIELL FOR GOVERNOR CAMPAIGN

The campaign of Jeff Daiell (http://www.jeffdaiell.com/) for the 2010 Texas governor's race visited the DFW area recently. The visit was mentioned in an article in the Ellis County Press (http://www.elliscountypress.com/news/132/ARTICLE/2537/2008-09-23.html)

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7. SLECT MEETING OCT 11

The Sept 13 meeting of the State Libertarian party Executive Committee of Texas (SLECT) was cancelled due to hurricane Ike.

The meeting will held Saturday Oct 11 starting at 12 noon in Austin. Some items on the agenda will be:
- A discussion of an offer for replacement of the executive director
- A discussion of National Party's bylaws related to selection of a Vice Presidential nominee
- Organizing for the 2009 state legislative session
- Adoption of the annual goals for the state party

The meeting is open to the public and will be held at the following location:

Pok-e-Jo'S
4109 S Capital of TX Hwy
Austin, TX  78704
512-440-0447
http://www.pokejos.com/4960299_38938.htm

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8. YVONNE SCHICK IN DEBATE

Libertarian Party of Texas US Senate candidate Yvonne Schick will be included in a televised debate with John Cornyn and Rick Noriega on Thursday Oct 9 in Houston. You are encouraged to contact your local public television station to request they broadcast this debate.

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9. TARRANT ELECTION NIGHT PARTY

The Tarrant County Libertarian Party (http://www.tarrantlp.org/) will host an election night party in Grapevine. See the message below:

I wanted to let you know that we're having a BLOWOUT of an Election Night Returns Watching Party in Grapevine (by DFW Airport) at the most appropriately named venue I could find -  "Love and War in Texas".  So, on Tuesday, November 4th starting at 6:30 we'll have the run of the venue and the use of their stage, lights, theater sized screen and projector, PA system, multiple flat screen TVs - (they're set up for nice sized country music concerts).  We would be honored for you to attend!
 
For $20, each attendee will get some great food at the 'Fajita and Tex-Mex Buffet', be eligible for some incredible donated doorprizes and will enjoy great music, videos, live news feeds, awards (!) - and I would like to try to get a hookup (via internet video chat - most likely) between Bob Barr's campaign party - AND Yvonne Schick's, if she doesn't come here!!!  Yvonne - I may have to chat with you you to set things up - all you need is a video camera, laptop and a high speed internet hook up. 
 
Of course, we'll have candidate speeches too - mostly acceptance speeches :)   - as well as cheers and boos and friendship in liberty all around. 
 
The name of the party is "You Can't Stop Freedom!" - and you can get more information here.  http://libertarian.meetup.com/388/calendar/8654306/
 
I just put it on the meetup about a day ago and we're getting a lot of RSVP 'Yes' replies.  We'll have the ability to purchase tickets online very soon - but in the mean time, you can purchase/reserve tickets by calling 817-416-6897!!!  If you know of folks in the area that are in surrounding counties (I'm going to be clobbering Dallas, Denton, Collin - and of course, Tarrant) that may like to attend please pass them the word!!!
 
Lastly, I needed to let Wes and Art know that the new Tarrant LP website is up and going!!  It's really incredible so far and is the result of a few really talented folks in the Tarrant LP!  http://www.tarrantlp.org. ; If you could change references on the TXLP website to link to this, I would really appreciate it! 
 
Thank you in advance for passing this along to interested party-goers and for changing the info on the Texas LP website!
 
John Spivey
Chair, Tarrant County LP
 
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10. TRAVIS ELECTION NIGHT PARTY

The Travis County Libertarian Party (TCLP) had selected The Third Base as its location for the election night party, but then recently received a call from The Third Base stating that they had booked another party for 1,000 people on that same evening. The TCLP will meet Tuesday Oct 7, 7 PM at the Old Quarry library to determine a new location. Pat Dixon and Wes Benedict visited Paradise Cafe on 6th St (http://paradiseonsixth.com/) to see if it would be acceptable. Stay tuned for an announcement after the TCLP meeting.

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11. ANNUAL REPORT

The Libertarian Party of Texas Annual Report has been posted to www.LPTexas.org.

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12. PAT DIXON INTERVIEW OCT 5

Libertarian Party of Texas state chair will be interviewed on KLGO radio on Oct 5 at 4 PM. Below is a description of the show:

Do you believe that the U.S. Congress is operating outside the boundaries of our Constitution? Should the federal government be involved in everything from healthcare to teacher pay and business subsidies?

There are a number of fundamental reforms that have been proposed to restore the balance of power in our Nation's Capitol. Which reforms do you think are the most important? Register your opinion on our poll, and join the show this Sunday at 4 pm.

Bryan Malatesta is the Director of Development for the Constitution Party of Texas. Pat Dixon is the State Chairman for the Libertarian Party of Texas. Pat & Bryan are our guests for October 5, 2008. They have both worked hard in their respective third party groups for several years, and will help us address the Role of Federal Government, possible Federal Reforms and the Presidential Race.

You can join us live on air or by internet every Sunday at 4pm. You can hear us on The Word 98.5 & 99.3 KLGO FM Radio in Austin, or listen on-line ... http://www.theword993.com/

We need your calls. Pick up the phone and join the discussion every Sunday at 4pm. The call in numbers are ... (512) 637-9673 (WORD) - or - (888) 860-9673

Past interviews with Executive Director Wes Benedict and Libertarian State Representative district 48 candidate Ben Easton are archived at:
http://www.americablessgod.tv/main/video_gallery.htm

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12. MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

We are nearing the last days before the election. In recent years we have demonstrated that our hard work and your support has resulted in higher numbers on election day. It is hard to predict what our numbers will be on Nov 4.

We have candidates all over the state doing good work and representing themselves and our party favorably. Our staff is fielding lots of inquiries.

What can the rest of us do?

We have been well prepared for the past 2 years to supply you with outreach material. Yard signs, bumper stickers, and door hangers are available for anyone that wants them. I can personally attest to the value of going door to door. The door hangers are a great way to get the message out there. I recommend getting a few people together and covering a few neighborhoods over the next few weekends. It can be fun and gets you out of the house. If you are like me living in a small town, you can still be a one-person army marching down the street putting door hangers on front doors.

Consider that the vast majority of people disapprove of being made responsible by Democrats and Republicans for the bad loans that have put our economy at risk . They don't like their taxes being used to bailout the ones responsible. It is also obvious that Republicans and Democrats don't accept any responsibility for creating this condition. They blame greed and lack of more government bureacracy and regulation. They attack the free market instead of recognizing the the creation of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Community Reinvestment Act have promoted bad lending practices. This is a repeat of attacks on the free market after the Great Depression, despite Dr Milton Friedman proving that the shrinkage of the money supply by the federal government created the depression. Voters have been outraged by this development and want to know what they can do.

When they see a door hanger from the Libertarian Party with the World's Smallest Political Quiz, they have the answer. If they don't get informed about the Libertarian Party, they may stay home on election day.

Though we are well prepared to provide yard signs, door hangers, and bumper stickers, we do not have an endless supply. We can only supply what we can afford. Your donations can ensure that our volunteers have what they need to get our message out.

In these last few days, let's get that message out there while voters are wondering who they can turn to.

We need your support as we get closer to Nov 4. We want to get you the yard signs, bumper stickers, door hangers, and other materials to help you get record results on election day. Please consider making a donation at http://lptexas.org/membership.shtml.

Pat Dixon
Chair, Libertarian Party of Texas

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13. SCHEDULE OF IMPORTANT DATES:

Thursday Oct 9 US Senate debate with Yvonne Schick, John Cornyn, Rick Noriega

Sat Oct 11, starting at 12 noon: Texas LP State Committeee (SLECT) meeting:
Pok-e-Jo'S
4109 S Capital of TX Hwy
Austin, TX  78704
512-440-0447
http://www.pokejos.com/4960299_38938.htm

Tuesday November 4: General election date, get out and vote!
Tarrant County Election night party, http://libertarian.meetup.com/388/calendar/8654306/
Travis County election night party, 7 PM, Location to be determined