Libertarian "In This Corner" statement on the recall

Discussion
1

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

[Sent to sfpolitics.com, at their request.]

Chris Maden
Chair, Libertarian Party of San Francisco
www.lpsf.org

Given the standards and threshold requirements, is a recall an inclusive
and proper means to elect a Governor?

Absolutely. The Libertarian Party of California was the first political
party to endorse the recall effort.

One criticism levelled against the recall is that it's a "hijack" of some
sort. The recall process has been law since 1911, and it's not a simple
matter to get a recall ballot certified. Complaints of this sort sound
like a baseball manager complaining about the infield fly rule only after
his batter is called out. It's just that none of Davis's supporters
thought he could really be bad enough to provoke a successful recall petition.

Another criticism is the cost of the election. The Libertarian Party is
the party of small government, but running an election is one of the few
legitimate functions of government. Critics of the cost should ask
themselves what Davis did to incur this cost, as with so many other items
in the state budget.

Moreover, a ballot with over 125 candidates is demonstrably more inclusive
than one with seven. Is this confusing to voters? Somewhat. But once
upon a time, every ballot was write-in. Somehow the country muddled
through without petitions, fees, and certifications for candidates.

The chaos could be alleviated with different voting methods, such as
instant run-off voting; I could vote for Ned Roscoe, Jack Hickey, and
Father Guido Sarducci without having to worry about voting against Cruz
"more of the same" Bustamante and Arnold "more of the same, but it's for
the children" Schwarzenegger.

But let's not lose sight of the reason that the Libertarian Party first
endorsed the recall, and the reason that it garnered so many signatures so
easily: Gray Davis. If you're a hardcore Democrat, jettison this baggage
and vote for Bustamante. If you're a socialist, ditch Davis and vote for
Camejo. If you value freedom, smoke Davis and pick Roscoe.

2

Chris,

  Great commentary. Who's running sfpolitics.com, anyway? Heard anything else from them?

          <<< Starchild >>>

3

Dear Anyone;

What are Ned Roscoe's positions on " THE ISSUES " facing Californians on the budget fiasco, high revenue taxes and out of control spending and how he plans to solve them.

Other than being for the repeal of the cigarette tax what does he stand for and against? Also does he have a Roscoe for Governor web site somewhere?

Ron Getty

"Christopher R. Maden" <crism@...> wrote:

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

[Sent to sfpolitics.com, at their request.]

Chris Maden
Chair, Libertarian Party of San Francisco
www.lpsf.org

Given the standards and threshold requirements, is a recall an inclusive
and proper means to elect a Governor?

Absolutely. The Libertarian Party of California was the first political
party to endorse the recall effort.

One criticism levelled against the recall is that it's a "hijack" of some
sort. The recall process has been law since 1911, and it's not a simple
matter to get a recall ballot certified. Complaints of this sort sound
like a baseball manager complaining about the infield fly rule only after
his batter is called out. It's just that none of Davis's supporters
thought he could really be bad enough to provoke a successful recall petition.

Another criticism is the cost of the election. The Libertarian Party is
the party of small government, but running an election is one of the few
legitimate functions of government. Critics of the cost should ask
themselves what Davis did to incur this cost, as with so many other items
in the state budget.

Moreover, a ballot with over 125 candidates is demonstrably more inclusive
than one with seven. Is this confusing to voters? Somewhat. But once
upon a time, every ballot was write-in. Somehow the country muddled
through without petitions, fees, and certifications for candidates.

The chaos could be alleviated with different voting methods, such as
instant run-off voting; I could vote for Ned Roscoe, Jack Hickey, and
Father Guido Sarducci without having to worry about voting against Cruz
"more of the same" Bustamante and Arnold "more of the same, but it's for
the children" Schwarzenegger.

But let's not lose sight of the reason that the Libertarian Party first
endorsed the recall, and the reason that it garnered so many signatures so
easily: Gray Davis. If you're a hardcore Democrat, jettison this baggage
and vote for Bustamante. If you're a socialist, ditch Davis and vote for
Camejo. If you value freedom, smoke Davis and pick Roscoe.

Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
lpsf-discuss-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

4

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

        Great commentary. Who's running sfpolitics.com, anyway? Heard
anything
else from them?

It's a company called Reputation LLC, but the main guy behind it has done
some other local activist stuff, too, though I don't remember the
details. I contacted them after the site launched, and this was the first
(and so far only) thing I've heard.

~Chris
- --
Conservative, n. A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as
distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others.
~Ambrose Bierce / Freelance text nerd: <URL: http://crism.maden.org/ >
PGP Fingerprint: BBA6 4085 DED0 E176 D6D4 5DFC AC52 F825 AFEC 58DA