libertarianism

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Yes, Rand Paul Could Be the GOP Frontrunner

Steve Kornacki warns us not to count out the a libertarian shift for the GOP

(Newser) - Don't look now, but Rand Paul is becoming a serious contender for the GOP's 2016 nomination , libertarian views and all. When Paul won CPAC's straw poll , he didn't get the chorus of boos that his dad got when he won. Whereas the elder Paul was an...

Eastwood Signs GOP's Gay Marriage Brief

'We're making a big deal out of things we shouldn't,' he's said in past

(Newser) - Add Clint Eastwood to the growing line of Republicans throwing their weight behind an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court in support of gay marriage, reports Breitbart . The empty-chair whisperer and longtime Libertarian/Republican is perhaps the biggest name yet to sign the brief, and he hasn't exactly been...

What's Up With Ron Paul's 'Austrian' Ideas?

Republican candidate trumpets strict libertarian philosophy

(Newser) - Just what did Ron Paul mean when he finished third in Iowa and said, "We are all Austrians now"? Republican candidates don't often celebrate European economic policies, but this is different, Matthew Yglesias writes in Slate . Those familiar with the inside baseball of libertarianism know that Paul...

How Ron Paul Could Win Nomination

 How Ron Paul 
 Could Win 
 Nomination 
OPINION

How Ron Paul Could Win Nomination

Although it's a long shot and maybe not his ultimate goal: Matt Welch

(Newser) - Ron Paul scoffers, consider this: It's possible he could follow the same path to the GOP nomination John McCain did in 2008, writes Matt Welch in Reason . Like McCain, Paul has lots of support in the early states among independents and non-Republicans in general. That's precisely how McCain...

Is This Ron Paul's Moment?
 Is This Ron Paul's 
 Moment? 
OPINION

Is This Ron Paul's Moment?

Gail Collins admires Paul's consistency, but still concludes he has no chance

(Newser) - Most experts have written off Ron Paul's chances of getting the Republican nomination, but the steady libertarian candidate is "definitely having a moment," writes Gail Collins in the New York Times . Frank and up-front about his beliefs, Paul rarely dodges questions, even about hot-button subjects. "Paul...

Koch Bros, GOP Fatcats to Plot 2012 at Secret Huddle

Billionaires urging rich movers and shakers to join libertarian network

(Newser) - Billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch and their secretive network of wealthy Republican donors are planning a meeting first thing next year to forge their strategy for the 2012 elections. The bros—who finance libertarian causes and are accused of secretly funding the Tea Party movement , though David denies it...

Hey GOP, Government Isn't Always Bad
Hey GOP, Government Isn't Always Bad
DAVID BROOKS

Hey GOP, Government Isn't Always Bad

Party's reflexive small-government views will hurt US

(Newser) - Tea Partiers and other critics of government largesse have made the Republican party ascendant just two years after its cause seemed hopeless. A clear purpose helps, and Republicans have it: stop the expansion of government. Return the country to its free-market roots. But this is a dangerous oversimplification of American...

Supreme Court Likely to Uphold Alabama Sex Toy Ban

Justices unlikely to make a rights issues out of sex toys

(Newser) - An Alabama statute criminalizing the sale of sex toys will probably be upheld as constitutional if it is challenged in the Supreme Court, Eugene Volokh writes at the Volokh Conspiracy. The statute—which was upheld by the state's Supreme Court Friday and bans the distribution of  "any device designed...

Republicans Take Page From Libertarian Book
Republicans Take Page From Libertarian Book
Analysis

Republicans Take Page From Libertarian Book

From tea parties to budget proposals, GOP changes tune

(Newser) - It looks as though the GOP is turning libertarian, says Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com. The tea parties it championed last week take their cue from libertarian movement shindigs, and participation was high in libertarian-leaning states like New Hampshire. The GOP’s alternative budget was a like-minded proposal, "dramatically...

Bob Barr Tosses Hat Into Presidential Ring

Ex-GOP rep., now Libertarian, could be McCain's Nader

(Newser) - Bob Barr is running for president as a Libertarian, the former Republican congressman announced today. Once a conservative superstar who headed the impeachment crusade against Bill Clinton, Barr grew into a vocal Bush critic, and left the GOP in 2006. Barr says America wants a choice outside the two parties—...

Paul Concedes, More or Less
Paul Concedes, More or Less

Paul Concedes, More or Less

Victory 'in the conventional sense' not possible, urges voters on anyway

(Newser) - John McCain’s last standing competitor for the Republican presidential nomination is stepping down—in a way. Texas congressman Ron Paul released a video today saying victory wasn’t possible “in the conventional sense,” but that supporters should still pull his lever. “We must remember elections are...

William F. Buckley Jr. Dies at 82
William F. Buckley Jr. Dies at 82
UPDATED

William F. Buckley Jr. Dies at 82

Influential conservative columnist founded National Review

(Newser) - Conservative columnist and editor William F. Buckley Jr. died today at age 82; he suffered from diabetes and emphysema. Buckley founded the opinion magazine National Review, hosted the show “Firing Line” and wrote 45 books. The author of God and Man at Yale and defender of Joe McCarthy was...

Guess Who: Ralph Flirts With Bid
Guess Who: Ralph Flirts With Bid

Guess Who: Ralph Flirts With Bid

Kucinich exit might just make room for third-party presidential try

(Newser) - Well, hello again: Ralph Nader has revealed an exploratory presidential website, telling Politico that Dennis Kucinich’s exit leaves an electoral niche that might just fit him. Said the consumer advocate-turned-third-partier, "We’re testing the waters on the overriding issue of corporate control, of our political economy, and anything...

Paul Momentum Builds
Paul Momentum Builds

Paul Momentum Builds

Libertarian maverick causes stir; supporters say candidate is bigger than his politics

(Newser) - Ron Paul’s quixotic campaign for the Republican nomination isn’t really under his control anymore, Salon writes, but rather in the hands of a cult of ardent supporters who have independently flocked to fundraise and canvass for him. For them, Paul isn’t a libertarian outsider—the Texas Congressman...

Brothel Owner Backs Paul
Brothel Owner Backs Paul

Brothel Owner Backs Paul

GOP hopeful gets some X-rated support

(Newser) - Ron Paul found himself on the respectable side of a brothel last week, when the Republican presidential hopeful earned the endorsement of the owner of Reno's Moonlite BunnyRanch. MSNBC anchor Tucker Carlson surprised Paul by engineering the nod, arriving in a limousine with Dennis Hof and two “celebrity prostitutes,...

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