Ready To Vote!

I'm up early and ready to vote. I hope you will be voting too! The votes we cast are crucial in getting policies that will grow our economies, or our governments. In my Fishers precinct I will be voting for:

Rebecca Sink-Burris, US Senate

Chard Reid, US House of Representatives, District 5

Mike Wherry, Indiana Secretary of State

Eric Knipe, Indiana Auditor

Mike Kole, Hamilton County Council, District 2

The rest will largely be a lot of blanks. Why? I won't vote for a candidate who doesn't represent my views in a high percentage. I don't expect 100% agreement. I know that isn't possible. But nor will I vote for someone I agree with less than half of the time, just because they are 'the lesser of two evils'. The lesser of two evils? Now that's a wasted vote!

The Grown-Ups In The Room

I've been watching the debates for Congress across Indiana and one thing keeps striking me: The Republicans and Democrats sling mud at each other and dance around the questions, and the Libertarians are the grown-ups in the room. From Indiana Public Media, on the first US Senate debate:

Both Democrat Brad Ellsworth and Republican Dan Coats were on the offensive during last night’s Senate debate in Indianapolis… while Libertarian Rebecca Sink-Burris remained more focused on questions and responses.

Absolutely, I'm going to prefer the Libertarian candidate's answers 95 times out of 100, and Rebecca is a friend. But the glaring difference in demeanor gets me. I can understand the Democrats going negative. They're trailing in the polls by and large. I don't get the Republicans taking the bait. When you're in the lead, you dismiss the negativity and go on about what you're about. For all the money these guys spend on their campaigns, precious little goes towards training and solid advice.

But hey, their idiocy is our gain. I love the coverage Scott Wise got on a Fort Wayne TV station along these lines:



Rebecca Sink-Burris will debate two more times with fellow candidates for US Senate. Well, she will debate. The others will sling mud. I hope she tells them to knock it off and behave.

Fri Oct 22, at Fort Wayne
Mon Oct 25, at Vincennes

These should be widely televised again. If you missed the first US Senate debate, see it by clicking here.

Wherry & Sink-Burris on Radio Wednesday Morning

Be sure to tune in to WXNT 1430-am, and the Abdul In The Morning Show to hear Libertarian Secretary of State candidate Mike Wherry, and Libertarian US Senate candidate Rebecca Sink-Burris.

When: Wednesday, 8am
Where: 1430-am in Central Indiana
Web: www.wxnt.com

Mike Wherry needs at least 2% to maintain automatic ballot access for The Libertarian Party of Indiana and its' candidates through 2014.

To think- In 2006, this would have been my interview. I'll listen from the comfy confines of my home!

www.mikewherry.com
www.electrebecca.com

LPIN Convention Notes

I had the pleasure and privilege of serving as a Delegate from Hamilton County to the annual convention of the Libertarian Party of Indiana this weekend. I was honored by State Chair Sam Goldstein's personal request that I should open the convention with a reading from the Declaration of Independence. I had to stave off the emotion when I got to the phrase,

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

The important business of the convention was to nominate candidates for the ballot. I am happy and a bit relieved to pass the baton to Mike Wherry, who was nominated our candidate for Secretary of State. As was the case when I ran, Mike will have to achieve a minimum of 2% statewide in order to retain automatic ballot access for the Libertarian Party through 2014.

Mike Wherry's campaign website.
My podcast interview with Mike Wherry.

While all the races are important, the Secretary of State race is crucial to the Libertarian Party. The difference between having ballot access and not is the difference between real political party and supper club. It's huge. All Indiana Libertarians need to line up behind Mike Wherry and promote him. We need to plan to be at our home polling places on election day to hand out Wherry literature. The 2% result cannot be taken for granted.

Rebecca Sink-Burris won the nomination for US Senate, defeating Tamyra D'Ipolito in the contested race. When Evan Bayh announced he wasn't seeking re-election, it changed the thinking about that US Senate seat from 'safely blue' to 'up for grabs'. No doubt there will be much scrutiny paid the US Senate race. Rebecca has been an excellent Libertarian candidate in the past, and I am confident that she will do a great job once again.

Rebecca Sink-Burris' campaign website.

In the 5th Congressional District, high school economics teacher Chard Reid won the nomination. I had the opportunity to sit down with him for several hours prior to the convention to vet his views on Federal issues, and was very satisfied that he will be a solid candidate. He already has students that wish to walk door-to-door for him, which excites me a great deal.

I interviewed Rebecca and Chard for the podcast, and will post those as they are completed.

The Party has a candidate for all nine Congressional Districts, plus the Senate seat. Not all of the Indiana House & Indiana Senate positions were filled, which was a bit disappointing, but the Part leadership will continue to recruit candidates to fill vacancies.

Indiana's delegate count at the convention made the event the largest such in the USA. Indiana had more Libertarians in the room than even California or Texas had! A very good show of growing strength in every way this weekend!

Excellent Convention

I spent Saturday in Clarksville, Indiana (north of the Ohio River of Louisville) for the joint conventions of the Libertarian Party of Indiana, and of Kentucky. I was rather impressed.

Right off the top, I liked the cost savings made available by working jointly. Rather than having two sets of expenses, one set allowed for more money to be allocated for speakers, and I have no doubt that the quality of them had a great deal to do with the record attendance for an off-year, where not a single candidate for office was nominated. I also enjoyed the opportunity to discuss regional differences with our neighbors to the south.

I suspect the attendance growth also can be explained by the sense I get of growing dissatisfaction with the two older parties. There were many new faces among the Indiana delegates.

But due to my 2006 campaign for Secretary of State, it was terrific to be with so many of the people who worked alongside me, and in support of me. I only wish I could have stayed an extra day.

On to business, the convention was a gold mine of interview subjects for the podcast. In no particular order, I interviewed:

Al Cox, Brown County
Ed Coleman, Indianapolis
Ryan Liedtke, St Joseph County
Doug Horner, Fort Wayne
Rebecca Sink-Burris, Bloomington
Sam Goldstein, Chair, Libertarian Party of Indiana
Ken Moellman, Chair, Libertarian Party of Kentucky
Luke McKellar, Ohio Central Committe Chair
Wayne Allyn Root, candidate for President 2012

I also recorded the speeches of:

Daniel Williams, on drug policy
Goldstein, acceptance speech
Radley Balko, Senior Editor, Reason Magazine
Root, on the media and his campaign

Look for much to come from the convention on the podcast in the next several weeks!