Dave Ridley of RidleyReport.com was outside a primary voting location in Bedford where he encountered slimeball mayor of Manchester Ted Gatsas being interviewed by WMUR-TV reporter Amy Coveno. Ridley at one point steps into the shot of the WMUR camera and Coveno responds by nervously shifting her position before actually physically assaulting Dave by grabbing his camera.
As she does it, she says “Hey, you’re distracting me from my job, thanks.”, then lets go. As though him being a distraction in a public place gives her the right to commit assault against him. Here’s the video evidence:
The real shame is that you’d think reporters would respect and understand the freedom of the press, but clearly Ms. Coveno believes there are a special set of rules that apply to mainstream media. And, she’s probably right. WMUR-TV is licensed by the FCC and that licensing scheme keeps out potential competitors from the marketplace. WMUR is literally paying a criminal gang for protection. (more…)
Libertarians Had Major Successes in NH 2016 Elections
The national election is just a sideshow. Nothing of substance in DC will change in the next four years and I predict Trump will ultimately disappoint those who think he’s somehow an “outsider” or “anti-establishment”. Meanwhile, the left is MAD and secession will grow into a serious idea for many of them as they begin to see the value in breaking away from the United States. Indeed, Californians already held a #CalExit rally on the Sacramento statehouse grounds today!
Many watching the libertarian migrations to New Hampshire are probably wondering how the libertarians did here in the Shire, specifically both the Libertarian Party candidates and those libertarians running as Republicans and Democrats for state house and senate.
First, Libertarian candidate for NH governor Max Abramson got a higher vote percentage than every other Libertarian Party candidate for governor across the United States in 2016’s election. He did better than Gary Johnson did in NH, in fact. Beyond the feather in his cap, the 4.3% of the vote he received is significant because it qualifies the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire for equal ballot access with the Republicans and Democrats for the first time in 20 years! That means Libertarian candidates no longer have to worry about petitioning to gain ballot access – a costly and time-consuming process. Now we can pay the same affordable filing fees ($2 for state rep) that the Rs and Ds pay.
Why has it been twenty years since we’ve had this status? In 1990, the LP gained official party recognition for the first time. They held it until 1997 when the state legislature (specifically a group of Republicans) decided to raise the vote threshold from 3% to 4%, disqualifying the LP from official party status. Their candidates for governor since that time were unable to reach the new, raised bar.
Darryl W Perry, Chairman of the Libertarian Party of NH
Until now. Riding on a national wave of frustration with the big parties, Libertarian candidate for governor Max Abramson managed to score 4.3%, (30,959 votes). This despite being excluded from the debates and also after making headlines for being a peaceful felon for defending his property with a gun.
The news couldn’t come at a better time for the LP of NH, which for many years has been languishing under a do-nothing chairman. That chair was replaced at a special convention called just weeks beforehand, where Free Keene blogger Darryl W Perry was unanimously elected chairman by those attending the convention. In addition, principled former Arkansas LP chair Rodger Paxton was elected vice-chair along with former independent candidate for governor Jilletta Jarvis taking the secretary position – much-needed new blood was transfused into the NH Libertarian Party, just in time for this epic win by Abramson. The gates are now open for libertarians to storm the ballots in 2018 with candidates statewide.
Granite State Progress did the same thing in 2014. They thought they were going to hurt the Free Staters, but all they really did was inadvertently promote the libertarians’ campaigns! The haters are publishing attack blogs and spending who knows how much money to mail hitpiece flyers to households in various towns. For a recent example, check out this year’s attack on incumbent state representative and Free State Project early mover Keith Ammon. They try to make the liberty-loving family man look like he hates families. Of course, anyone who knows Keith knows that’s not true. He loves liberty and the freedom to choose.
Former Free State Project President Carla Gericke Calls Out the Haters
In their 2016 blog expose, Granite State Progress outs dozens of alleged “Free Staters”, but as with the previous year they miss some and misidentify others. Technically, a Free Stater should be defined as someone who moved to New Hampshire as a participant in the Free State Project, but over the years the people who want to protect the status quo have turned it into a pejorative meaning anyone active at reducing government. No matter. The candidates who were named should thank GSP for the free publicity for their campaigns. They’ve effectively published a handy voter’s guide for liberty! (more…)
On Wednesday & Thursday nights NH1 held a pair of debates for the Gubernatorial & Senatorial candidates from the Republican & Democratic Parties. The Libertarian Party nominees for those offices as well as independent US Senate candidate Aaron Day were not invited to the debates. The Ballot Access Fairness Coalition in conjunction with the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire held a pair of protests outside the NH1 studios to protest these closed debates.
Despite ballot retention requiring 4% in the general election (i.e. the vote threshold needed for a party to retain ballot access without needing to collect a burdensome number of petitions), Libertarian Gubernatorial nominee Max Abramson polling between 4-6% and Libertarian US Senate nominee Brian Chabot polling at 4%, NH1 only invited candidates polling over 10%. In short, NH1 set the threshold at a level that only the Republican & Democratic Party nominees could meet.
The protests – including one on a cold rainy Thursday night – served to bring awareness, not only to the candidates excluded from these debates, but also to the media bias that often serves to protect the ruling duopoly.
Rain and cold didn’t keep these hardcore activists from coming out to support NH Exit!
Despite temperatures in the mid-forties and constant rain, over half-a-dozen supporters of New Hampshire independence showed up in Keene’s Central Square this afternoon to demonstrate in favor of secession!
The NH Exiters have been in the news multiple times since this summer’s historic “Brexit” vote, where voters in Great Britain voted to exit the European Union. Today’s event in Keene featured all-masked participants holding various secession-related signage.
One masked man took the event to a new level with a double flag display featuring the NH state flag on top of an upside-down United States flag. While one woman shouted at us something about “people died for you” out her window, the supermajority of responses to today’s demonstration were positive. We received plenty of honks, cheers, and waves and of course people in cars and on foot had to take pictures, including an amateur photographer from Chicago who was very excited to see people out supporting secession. (more…)
Many libertarians are sharply divided over the national Libertarian Party’s nomination of two former republicans, Gary Johnson and Bill Weld for president and vice-president, respectively. Some, like me, say it’s a continued betrayal of the party’s principle of non-aggression, as Johnson and Weld are not taking principled stands on the issues. Nor are they even broaching the subject of non-aggression, the principle to which they signed their names in order to join the party in the first place, which says, “I do not support or advocate the initiation of force to achieve political or social goals.”
To others, like Free Keene blogger Rich Paul, the watering down of the message is seen as a way to promote libertarianism in the hopes that people will see Johnson and Weld’s campaign and learn more about the principle of non-aggression on their own.
It’s a disagreement that has split the libertarian party for much longer than just this campaign season. Sadly, the pandering pragmatists have been winning for a decade-or-so, and have nominated unprincipled people like Bob Barr, Bill Weld, and Gary Johnson, when the party used to put forward principled, true libertarians like Harry Browne and Ron Paul. Browne and Paul explained the principles and ideas of liberty, whereas Johnson and Weld won’t even broach the subject. Their campaign is about them, not libertarianism.
Thankfully, the tide is turning in the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire. First, the party’s delegates to the national convention this year were some of the only delegates to NOT vote in favor of Johnson/Weld. Then, more recently the party overwhelmingly voted in principled doers Darryl W Perry and Rodger Paxton into the chairman/vice chairman roles.
Now the LP of NH’s executive committee has made an unprecedented move and voted to censure Weld for donating money to Chris Sununu, the republican candidate for governor here in New Hampshire:
Since the gubernatorial race is pivotal to ballot access retention in New Hampshire for the Libertarian Party, it is a betrayal for Bill Weld to give money to our direct competitor, money that will be used in direct contravention to the money spent by the national Libertarian Party and the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire to achieve and retain our ballot access.
It’s refreshing to see the long-languishing Libertarian Party of New Hampshire finally getting active again and making a stand for the principles that have been long lost on the national LP. Kudos.
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On Wednesday & Thursday nights NH1 held a pair of debates for the Gubernatorial & Senatorial candidates from the Republican & Democratic Parties. The Libertarian Party nominees for those offices as well as independent US Senate candidate Aaron Day were not invited to the debates. The 
and Libertarian US Senate nominee Brian Chabot polling at 4%, NH1 only invited candidates polling over 10%. In short, NH1 set the threshold at a level that only the Republican & Democratic Party nominees could meet.
