Advice to Libertarians who wish to run for City Council:

You may or may not follow my path.  It’s a change of life and a lot of work.

Find a leadership area in your community that’s of interest to you.  Seek a volunteer or appointed position in a community organization such as PTA, charity, local committee, city board or commission.  Attend City Council and commission meetings regularly.  Know the agenda topics. Write and speak to the City Council. Write letters to the editor.  Establish name recognition.

After you have a community resume and some name recognition, start a city council campaign 6-12 months before the election.  Know approximately how many votes it takes to be elected and focus on getting those votes.  Votes are all that matter.

Form an organizing committee.  Recruit campaign committee members to coordinate volunteers, manage a bank account, file state forms, and prepare your printed material (brochure/door hanger, signs, newspaper ads, campaign mailer).  You the candidate must do fund raising (about $15,000 for my successful re-election campaign for the Nov 2012 election).  You also must develop your campaign priorities and platform to reach voters, answer questionnaires, attend press interviews, attend candidate forums and walk precincts to meet voters.

Those are the essentials.  As an elected official you do not need to preach everything that is contained in the Libertarian Party Platform. There are enough bad policies and squandered taxpayer dollars to reasonably argue against.   You must have complete command of the facts involving a wide range of Council agenda topics and just use common sense in policy making.

Email all of your supporters and remind them to vote.  Don’t just assume they know the election is Tuesday, or that they will even remember to vote for you.  Your supporters are intelligent, but they are also busy people with families, jobs and businesses.

Prepare your election night speech and press statement for three potential outcomes: a win, a loss and an inconclusive result.

Use your email, Twitter account and Facebook to post updates and tweets throughout the election day.

The minute the race is called, post a thank you note on your website, and any social media feeds, thanking your volunteers and donors.

Prepare list of people you must call after the results are announced.  The first should be your opponent to either congratulate (should he or she win) or thank (should you win.)   The next on the list should be your biggest donors.

BEFORE Election Day, contact an attorney experience in election law.  Let him know you may need his services should your voters or poll workers need assistance.

Speaking of which, if your race is called, and the margin is close enough to be in doubt, DO NOT CONCEDE!  Simply tell the press and your supporters very politely and professionally you will wait until all the votes are counted AND VERIFIED before declaring victory or defeat.  Immediately contact an attorney experienced in election law.

No matter the result, be gracious and professional.  Remind your supporters of the same.

Thirty-one percent (31%) say “the economy” is “the most important problem facing this country today.”  The second most pressing issue is “jobs,” coming in at 26 percent.

Combined, 57 percent of Americans cite jobs or the economy as the issue most in need of attention.  Immigration garnered only three percent.  Drugs, war and climate change did not even register on voter’s list of concerns.

The poll also found:

* “Seniors as well as Americans in households earning less than $30,000 annually join blacks in putting the greatest emphasis on unemployment and jobs as the nation’s top problem. By contrast, middle- and high-income Americans and those aged 18 through 64 are more likely to name ‘the economy.’”

* “Blacks focus more than either whites or Hispanics on unemployment as the nation’s top problem. However, whites worry more than blacks or Hispanics about the federal budget deficit…”

* “About 10% of adults in every major age group mention the federal budget deficit as the top problem, but it is of particular concern to Republicans (16%), adults earning $75,000 or more (12%), whites (11%), and men (11%). Relatively few blacks, Hispanics, low-income Americans, or Democrats mention the issue.”

And what did they find?

“My firm, Public Opinion Strategies, in conjunction with Democratic firm Momentum Analysis, has been listening to an important group of voters since the 2008 elections: Walmart Moms. These are women defined as voters with children age 18 or younger living at home and who shop at Walmart at least once per month…

“These moms opted for Obama in 2008 but pulled the lever for Republicans in 2010.  Our various projects over the years have shown these women to be truly swing voters. Six months away from the election, we decided to take their temperature again to hear what they have to say and what they’re going to be paying attention to as the presidential candidates vie for their vote in November.

“It’s clear there is a disconnect between what matters to these moms and what they see and hear coming out of Washington, their elected officials and candidates running for office. (emphasis added)

“These moms aren’t focused on ‘women’s issues,’ they’re not fighting about whether working moms or stay-at-home moms have it tougher.  Instead, they are concerned with the big stuff that’s affecting the whole nation and having a real impact on their daily lives, being able to care of their families and manage the household budget.  Those issues are the economy, jobs, gas prices and education. (emphasis added)

“As you might have guessed by now, these moms are somewhat jaded by the political process.  However, they tell us they are planning to vote in November and they are still very much undecided in how they plan to vote.  They’re open to hearing from candidates on both sides of the political aisle.

“BUT, these candidates must come to the table prepared to have the right conversation.  That means connecting with these women on their terms and what matters to them and their families.  These women aren’t interested in a conversation about “women’s issues” right now.  They’re too busy sweating the big stuff, and think their elected officials should be, too.“

As a Libertarian, what are YOU doing to speak with these voters about what practical, realistic steps you will take to address the economy, jobs, gas prices and education?

Mitt Romney has spent months selling himself to the Republican base. Now, Barack Obama is working overtime trying to re-sell himself to his base of voters age 18-29.Team Obama knows that hard times and the growing libertarian leanings of young voters will make them a more difficult target than four years ago…

…Very few of Obama’s young supporters from 2008 are likely defect to Romney. Some may not vote, and I see the possibility of others abandoning both parties and instead choosing the Libertarian candidate…

…Last week, Harvard’s Institute of Politics released an online study of more than 3,000 U.S. adults ages 18-29. This exhaustive look at the policy priorities of First Globals finds the economy and jobs are far and away their highest concern. That data point and others show why support for Obama has slipped since 2008. They favor Obama over Romney, 43%-26%. There is an 11-point difference in Obama’s margin between those 25-29 (23 points) and those 18-24 (12 points.) Congressional Democrats have a higher approval than Republicans, 39%-25%.

However, on some key issues, majorities of First Globals are not doctrinaire liberals. The poll found less than majorities agree with liberals on   some of their most cherished beliefs.  For example: 44% agree health insurance is a right government should provide for those who can’t afford it, 43% agree with the same statement about food and shelter, 37% agree government should spend more to reduce poverty, 20% agree government spending is an effective way to economic growth and 28% agree government should do more to curb climate change even at the expense of economic growth. (That last number has to hurt environmentalists.)

Lest Republicans get too giddy at those findings, they should also know less than majorities agree with these conservative and neo-con ideals: 22% agree it’s sometimes necessary to attack potentially hostile countries rather than waiting until we are attacked, 23% are willing to give up some personal freedoms for the sake of national security, 39% agree cutting taxes is an effective route to economic growth, 24% agree we should eliminate all barriers to trade, 25% agree recent immigration has done more harm than good, 21% agree religious values should play an important role in government and 25% agree homosexuality is morally wrong.

These attitudes betraying both the traditional left and right fall generally within the bounds of libertarianism. Live and let live.  Individual responsibility is as important as collective responsibility. Avoid military interventions. Distrust both government and corporations. Protect civil liberties.

• 65 percent overall worry a great deal about gas prices; 63 percent of Republicans and 69 percent of Democrats agree.

• 60 percent overall worry a great deal about the budget deficit; 84 percent of Republicans and 42 percent of Democrats agree.

• 60 percent overall worry a great deal about the affordability of health care; 46 percent of Republicans and 69 percent of Democrats agree.

• 55 percent overall worry a great deal about unemployment; 61 percent of Republicans and 55 percent of Democrats agree.

• 46 percent of Americans overall worry a great deal about the size and power of the federal government; 71 percent of Republicans and 31 percent of Democrats agree.

Source: A Gallup poll of 1,024 U.S. adults conducted March 8 to 11, reported by The Washington Times Jennifer Harper.

Here’s what voters want to hear from you on.  So what is your campaign talking about?

According to Gallup and based on 20,000 interviews from 20 polls taken throughout 2011, “a record-high 40 percent of Americans identify as Independents.” To put that in perspective, consider that self-identified Democrats roll in at a historic low of 31 percent while just 27 percent of us are willing to admit being Republicans…

…In its summary of 2011 attitudes toward government and political parties, Gallup concluded that the surge in independents stems from the “sluggish economy, record levels of distrust in government, and unfavorable views of both parties.” Indeed, a “historic” 81 percent of Americans overall are “dissatisfied with the way the nation is being governed” and 53 percent of us have negative views of the Republican Party and 55 percent of us have negative views of the Democratic Party.

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Matt Welch looks at the growing phenomenon of independent voters backing libertarian candidates in this month’s issue of Reason.

He writes, in part:

But even after the initial Iowa caucuses, exit polls showed something extraordinary: Independents are making up for the enthusiasm gap created by the declining rolls of Republicans, and they are breaking hard for the only libertarian in the race, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).

The Iowa Republican caucuses had virtually the same voter turnout this year (122,000) as in 2008 (119,000), leading to many headlines like “Why the GOP Still Has an Enthusiasm Problem” (as Talking Points Memo put it). If anything, the problem for Republicans is worse than those numbers suggest.

In 2008 exit polls showed that 86 percent of Iowa caucusers self-identified as Republicans. In 2012 that share was down to 75 percent. The difference? Again, independents, whose ranks grew from 13 percent to 23 percent. And who did they favor? By more than 2 to 1, Ron Paul.

Paul received 43 percent of the independent vote, compared to 19 percent for runner-up Mitt Romney. He also led the field among those who had never previously voted in an Iowa Republican caucus (33 percent, compared to Rick Santorum’s 23 percent) and dominated among voters under 30 (48 percent to Santorum’s 23 percent)…

…The bad news for this legacy GOP is that voters have fresh memories of what big-government conservatism looks like, and they disdain it. The good news for those of us who share that disdain is that our numbers are growing.

“Registered voters in Burke County have steadily moved away from the Democratic and Republican parties since November 2008, joining the Libertarian party or going unaffiliated,” the Morganton News-Herald reports.

The paper reports “(t)he number of Libertarians has quadrupled.”

“Those numbers reflect similar trends on the state level, which have also seen increases in voters registering Libertarian or unaffiliated…”

That also follows a national trend.

“More than 2.5 million voters have left the Democratic and Republican parties since the 2008 elections, while the number of independent voters continues to grow,” USA Today reported in December.

“The pattern continues a decades-long trend that has seen a diminution in the power of political parties, giving rise to independents as Ross Perot and Ralph Nader and the popularity this year of libertarian Republican Ron Paul.”

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It seems to us that the most interesting political development of the year has been the rise of the independent voter. Since the 2008 elections, more than 2.5 million voters have left the Democrat and Republican parties, surely a reflection of the growing dissatisfaction with both the performance of Congress and the performance of Barack Obama…

…This is not something new, of course; it’s been going on for decades, and is confirmation, in our eyes, that U.S. citizens in general are becoming more and more individualistic in their tastes, their thinking and their opinions. That, in our view, is very good news indeed, because it also confirms our view that freedom is basic to human desire. It’s part of our DNA, and it translates into a libertarian view of government, to wit: leave me alone.

That’s why capitalism has proven to be the most efficient, successful form of economic system. It thrives on individual choice, thus allowing society at large to give thumbs up — or more relevantly, thumbs down — to pretty much everything. Only when government becomes involved in deciding who, or what, fails or succeeds does capitalism creak…

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