Candidates and Elections

Patrick McKnight

Patrick McKnight is a Libertarian Candidate for Assembly in the 16th District. See mcknight1776.com.

The United States Constitution is a formal agreement between a free People and their chosen form of government. As such it is the most important type of binding legal contract. The wisdom of the Constitution is in the establishment of a limited government with clearly-articulated individual freedoms. The adoption of this system and the accompanying Bill of Rights represented a singular historical triumph for civilization, as for the first time a government was established in liberty and reason rather than in plunder and force. Our Constitution, though not perfect nor a panacea, remains the bulwark of our freedom and the source of our national greatness.

This contrast is written in the blood of Patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice so that their children could live in a free, solvent United States of America. Only the Libertarian Party realizes that freedom requires constant struggle because the nature of government is to always revert backwards into illegal tyranny.

Not so long ago the American people suffered under the unlimited power of a feudal monarch. Today the monarch has been replaced by federal bureaucracy but still we are not free. Lest we forget that in an empire the individual is nothing more than government-property with legal rights essentially equivalent  to an animal or inanimate object. Likewise, in an empire there can be no justice because there is no rule of law, only the arbitrary whim of monarchs and despots. In an empire human beings exist only to be exploited, sacrificed in military adventures and oppressed politically. This is the essence of the imperial-feudalism our country was founded to oppose.  In America We the People are the Constitutional Sovereigns and first branch of government.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEWS RELEASE  from KENNETH KAPLAN, Libertarian Party Candidate for Governor

A long-time supporter of marriage equality, Kenneth Kaplan, Libertarian Party candidate for Governor, applauded the two Supreme Court decisions on that subject today. "This is a great day for Americans of all sexual orientations. It is a civil rights victory that we should all celebrate together!" He went on to say, "Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have established marriage equality in New Jersey, and voters should remember that in November."

See Ken testifying before the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission in 2008 in this video.

I am proud to be the Libertarian candidate for New Jersey Assembly in the 16th District. It is my honor and privilege to represent the cause of freedom here in the Crossroads of the American Revolution. I am not a career politician. I am a fourth-generation Skillman, New Jersey farmer. I graduated from Rutgers University with highest honors, a 3.96 GPA and degrees in Philosophy and Sociology. I have taught US History and Economics at Camden Academy Charter High School in Camden, NJ. My band has performed 80 shows, received airplay on over 200 radio stations and recorded four studio albums in Hillsborough. My 2012 Libertarian run for US House in the NJ-7th earned 4,078 votes.

By: Sean O’Connor, Libertarian Candidate for the New Jersey General Assembly, District 14. Originally published at We Are 1776,

Here in the United States of America, most of us take pride in following the laws passed by our politicians. Even laws we disagree with. There are certain cases when, out of protest against laws violating individual liberty, some people practice civil disobedience, but most of us are nonviolent and take that moral and legal standard as a given, most of us pay our taxes despite some of us disagreeing with how our tax dollars are spent and most of us adhere to regulations even despite some of us disagreeing with regulations imposed on us. In this sense, although many of us dislike the politicians- the ones who write and execute our laws- and although many of us do not respect them, we do respect the rule of law; we do respect the democratic process by which our politicians are either elected or subsequently appointed by those we elected; we do respect the fact that we are, for better or for worst, under their leadership.

We Americans are fortunate to live in a country where we can practice the religion of our choice, say whatever we want, own private property, keep a lot of our money, spend a lot of our money how we choose, vote for our politicians, persue our dreams, and generally, enjoy the luxury of feeling safe.

On May 18th, Don DeZarn, joined a group of speakers and peaceful protesters at Independence Hall for the Smokedown Prohibition V event. This is a monthly event sponsored by Philadelphia National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (Philly NORML) and The Panic Hour. The event featured music, speakers, and 4:20 celebrations.

The police were peaceful at the four previous events, but they decided to initiate violence this time for unknown reasons. The gang members in blue rushed the stage and arrested six to ten individuals. They focused on the speakers and organizers. During the arrests the crowd chanted 'No Victim, No Crime!" In addition to Don, Adam Kokesh and N.A. Poe were also arrested. Don was charged and released. Adam and N.A. are still being held at the time of this writing. They have a hearing on Thursday and hopefully will get released then.

Don DeZarn is running for NJ State Assembly in the 14th District under the Libertarian banner.

Question one authorizes the state to take on additional debt for the purpose of upgrading our state colleges. Let us not forget the recent state college spending scandals.

In 2007 State Senator Wayne Bryant was indicted for a kickback scheme involving the state University of Medicine and Dentistry. In exchange for taxpayer funds Bryant was given a no-show job with the University. R. Michael Gallagher, the former dean was convicted of bribery. A 2007 study characterized the NJ public college and university system as lacking "meaningful and effective oversight, accountability and transparency" which "renders the system eminently vulnerable" to waste, fraud, and abuse of the public trust. Nothing has substantially changed since then.

A May 2012 report has found that Rutgers Football runs the largest money losing program in the nation. The Rutgers Football program costs each student an average of $1,000 each.

New Jersey debt burden is the fifth highest in the nation. I urge you to vote No on Question One.

Question two amends the NJ State Constitution to require judges to pay more towards their pensions and healthcare. In 2011 a pension reform law was passed that increased the contribution state employees must make towards their pension. A court decision challenged this for some judges because it amounted to a salary decrease which is not allowed by our constitution to avoid retribution for decisions judges may make. This question amends the constitution to allow for changes to benefit contributions for judges and justices. I recommend voting Yes on Question Two.

7-eleven-election-cups

7-11 is running a Coffee Cup poll of presidential candidates. However they only allow the choice of Obama or Romney.

Next they will stop selling all soda's except Coke and Pepsi. They wll sell only two flavors of coffee - regular  and decaf. Consumer choice is limited in their decision.

In an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. she defends her choice of limiting voter choice by claiming that I can take a "green cup". However on their website the count of those who have taken the green cup is completely disregarded.

I'm going elsewhere for my coffee.

On Wednesday October 17th at 4:00 PM, Ken Kaplan, our U.S. senate candidate will be participating in a debate at Mercer Community College in Trenton.

Watch the debate here or on the debate website.


Video streaming by Ustream

Sponsors of the upcoming snoozefests have been under pressure not to support the debates unless Gary Johnson and Jill Stein are invited to participate. As a result Phillips Electronics, Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) New York, and YWCA have decided to drop their sponsorships of the debates.

As a nonpartisan organization dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all, we have decided to withdraw our sponsorship effective immediately.
    - Dara Richardson-Heron, M.D., CEO YWCA

We still have petitioning to do to get Gary Johnson on the ballot!

Petitions are posted at http://njlp.org/uploads/petitions

A guide to petitioning is posted here.

Gary has downladable flyers available at his website.

Once your petition is complete contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (848)-525-0578 for instructions on getting me your petition.

In May of 2012 delegates from each of the 50 state Libertarian Parties will be convening in Las Vegas, Nevada. The delegates will be deciding on the future of the party and will be picking who our candidate for President shall be.

Candidates who have made statements that they are running to date include:

One of the few quibbles that many libertarians have against the positions taken by Gary Johnson is his support for the Fair Tax. Libertarian Presidential contender, R. Lee Wrights has written the following essay about The Fair Tax.


The Fair Tax Isn’t Fair; It’s a Farce

R. Lee WrightsBy R. Lee Wrights

Saturday, January 7th, 2012

“There cannot be a good tax nor a just one; every tax rests its case on compulsion.” – Frank Chodorov

BURNET, Texas (Jan. 7) – The so-called Fair Tax is not fair; on the contrary, it is a farce based on fallacies and falsehoods. Sadly, some libertarians have fallen for the bogus arguments uttered by proponents of this national sales tax and bought into the idea that this is the “best we can hope to get.” This is a justification very similar to the flawed reasoning that induces some people to vote for the “lesser of two evils.”

The Texas Harris County Libertarians hosted a debate among three of the potential Libertarian Party Presidential nominees. Present was Roger Gary, R. J. Harris, and  R. Lee Wrights.

GJ_Full_Shot_2_Low_Res Gary Johnson will quit the Republican primaries and seek the Libertarian Party nomination instead, POLITICO has learned.

The former two-term New Mexico governor, whose campaign for the GOP nomination never caught fire, will make the announcement at a press conference in Santa Fe on Dec. 28. Johnson state directors will be informed of his plans on a campaign conference call Tuesday night, a Johnson campaign source told POLITICO.

The move has been expected for weeks -- Johnson had run a New Hampshire-centric effort that never got him past a blip in the polls. He appeared at only two nationally televised debates, and only one in which other major candidates took part.

Johnson expressed deep disillusionment with the process as his libertarian message failed to catch fire and he received almost no attention for his bid. He soon began flirting with the Libertarians when it became clear that he was gaining no traction in GOP primaries.

"I'm still in the race," Johnson told POLITICO last month. "I'm registered in New Hampshire and the intention would be, hope against hope that I would be able to be heard. But there is not much hope."

Read the full story...

Starting in 2009, I have distributed American Jury Institute pamphlets at courthouses informing juries of their right to judge the law as well as the facts. This is a well established duty of British and American juries. But judges keep it secret from the juries. Along with the pamphlets, I distribute a flyer that reads:

The Judge will instruct the jury that it must uphold the law as he gives it.

He will be lying.

I guess that if you want to be rich and still well-liked, you need to be the iconic head of a well known brand that people have an emotional attachment to. In all the (well deserved) tributes to Steve Jobs, including from the redistributor-in-chief, I never heard one person say that Jobs didn’t pay his “fair share” of taxes (except for my tongue-in-cheek rant below). In Jobs’s case, just bringing us neat gadgets and movies was enough.

By Carl Person, Candidate for Presidential Nomination of Libertarian Party

New York, NY, September 8, 2011. Carl Person, who is seeking the Libertarian Party’s nomination for President, viewed the Republican Presidential Debate held on September 7th at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and states that “the candidates offered no new insight or specifics into creating new jobs for the nation’s unemployed.”

Person went on to say that “Three main candidates (Governors Romney, Perry and Huntsman) gave statistics on new job creation during their period as Governor as claimed proof of their ability to create jobs, without explaining what actions they took as Governor which resulted in the alleged new jobs.”

“Many of the 8 candidates,” according to Person, “wanted a reduction in regulation without stating what specific regulations they would terminate. Also, many of the candidates wanted a reduction in taxes. Some of the candidates recognized that small business was over-regulated, without stating in what specific respects.

Note: the following is the title as of April 26, 2010. 8h and 9a have been updated to reflect 2014 changes. You may want to verify the current law on the state website.

 

19:27A-1 Short Title
19:27A-2 Power to recall elected Officials
19:27A-3 Definitions
19:27A-4 Recall; vote required, service of term, statements, procedures
19:27A-5 Recall petition; signatures required
19:27A-6 Notice of intention
19:27A-7 Review of notice of intention; approval; publication; answer
19:27A-8 Format of recall petition; requirements
19:27A-9 Circulator of recall petition
19:27A-10 Filing of petition by recall committee; time
19:27A-11 Review of petition by recall election official
19:27A-12 Contesting decisions of recall officials
19:27A-13 Issuance of certificate as to sufficiency of petition; scheduling of recall election; notice
19:27A-14 Recall election, conduct
19:27A-15 Ballot used at recall election; filling of vacancy
19:27A-16 Results of recall election
19:27A-17 Recall committee, recall defense committee; regulation of contributions; reports
19:27A-18 Statutes inoperative