The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin will field 10 candidates on this fall’s ballot. Signatures for ballot access were submitted to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission, and officially approved.

“We have focused on promoting good candidates across the state,” says Phil Anderson, Chair of LPWI. “I’d say we did better: we have GREAT candidates across the state.”

Today, Democratic Gubernatorial candidate and founder of Blue Jean Nation Mike McCabe joined Libertarians in calling out the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association regarding the clear conflict of interest of their gubernatorial debate criteria.

From McCabe’s Twitter account: “Broadcasters that profit so greatly from selling political advertising say money and polls rather than ideas and vision for the future should determine whose message is worthy of being heard. Do they know a flagrant conflict of interest when they see one?”

“Mike McCabe is absolutely right,” says Phil Anderson, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin and candidate for Governor. “The WBA criteria are clearly meant to favor those interests, namely establishment Democrat and Republican campaigns, that pour money into WBA members’ pockets during campaign season. The voters deserve to hear all sides in the debates- and qualifying for the ballot should be enough.”

The WBA criteria require, among other hurdles, that a candidate have raised at least $250,000 to qualify for their debate.

“$250,000 is an excessive amount. Campaigns that try to remain free of outside influence from special interests are disadvantaged. The WBA is not only not serving the public interest, they are putting the interests of actively corrupt candidates, campaigns and parties above the interests of the people of Wisconsin,” finishes Anderson.

“With another record year of opioid overdose deaths, Wisconsin eyes fixes” (Wisconsin State Journal headline, 5/9/2018) So, Wisconsin still needs a “fix” after all these years? 

Does the State Journal (and other papers) simply re-write press releases put out by the Governor’s office or does a reporter actually have an opportunity to ask challenging questions so a news article provides some facts which might be useful for a reader to put the Governor’s words in perspective?

Governor Walker is, ironically, quite proud of his “Fight” on this government induced “health emergency.” His office has published lists of numerous bills he has signed, executive orders issued, and cites millions of dollars spent. There is a campaign television ad focusing on how he has fought opioids coming to a station near you.

Keep in mind that, last year there was only a 7% increase in fatal opioid overdoses over 2016 in Wisconsin. Emergency room visits for suspected opioid overdoses increased by only 109%, the greatest rise among sixteen states closely tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Wisconsin is #1!) Undeterred, the Walker Administration prescribes more of the same; more laws, more bans, more record keeping, more prisoners, and more spending.

Unfortunately, simply banning or restricting opioid prescriptions has had some unintended negative outcomes, namely increased use of heroin or other drugs with uncertified purity and potency. The Journal of Internal Medicine published two studies that conclude that medical marijuana (or medical cannabis) laws have the potential to reduce opioid prescriptions.

“Reducing the supply of legal prescriptions for opioids is pushing people into black market heroin/fentanyl abuse,” pointed out Dr. Jeffrey A. Singer, a Phoenix surgeon and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. “The number one cause of drug deaths is drug prohibition. We need to change our focus to harm reduction. We need to change from a war on drugs to a war on drug deaths.”

Even though legislation was introduced in 2017 to permit Wisconsin doctors to prescribe safe, non-addicting medical cannabis, the bills never got out of committees. Wisconsin is almost surrounded by states where patients can get safe medical cannabis. “Wisconsin is open for business;” the pharmaceutical business.

Madison, WI, May 3rd, 2018 – Libertarian Party candidates are ready to accept Bitcoin donations, pending WEC guidance.  

“We’ve set up a BTC donation portal, using FEC compliant BitPay,” stated Phil Anderson, Libertarian candidate for Governor. “We won’t use it until the WEC gives guidance, but we are ready, and confident that Wisconsin government can keep up with technical and financial innovation.”

Things in our state capitol are not always what they seem to be. April has been no exception.

A bill described by opponents as an assault on free speech, democracy, and on our constitutionally protected rights passed the Legislature, barring the state from contracting with companies that participate in an economic boycott of a repressive, apartheid government, Israel. Opponents argued at a public hearing that the bill was dangerous and anti-democratic. [Note: Norwegian MP Bjørnar Moxnes has nominated the international protest movement for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions for the Nobel Peace Prize!]

On the Easter weekend, following passage of the Wisconsin bill, a thousand unarmed Palestinian protesters were shot, injured, or killed by Israeli soldiers in Gaza. Where was the outrage? 

There was no outrage. On the following  Monday, Governor Walker signed legislation making it illegal for Wisconsin companies to participate in an economic boycott of what South Africa calls, “the only state in the world that can be called an apartheid state”

Further doubling down on the anti-democratic theme of the law, it also prohibits state agencies and local governments from establishing their own policies on boycotting Israel.

“As governor, I will restore local control to counties and municipalities.”
Gov. Scott Walker on the campaign trail.

In contrast to his campaign rhetoric, time and again, Governor Walker has signed legislation into law which has either restricted the authority of local elected officials or imposed  burdensome mandates on local governments.

The right to organize boycotts, to marshal economic pressure to effect political change, is protected under the First Amendment,” explains the National Lawyers Guild.

The American Civil Liberties Union has argued that a similar Arizona law violates the First and Fourteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution by forcing contractors “to disavow their participation in political boycotts.” Wisconsin taxpayers must now be prepared to pay to defend restrictions on civil rights in Wisconsin!

Human Rights Watch reports that fifty years after Israel illegally occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip, “it controls those areas through repression, institutionalized discrimination, and systematic abuses of the Palestinian population’s rights.”

Madison, WI, April 17th, 2018 – Libertarian Party candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor call for elimination of the Wisconsin personal income tax.  

“As Governor, I will do everything in my power, including wielding the line item veto, to get rid of the state income tax,” stated Phil Anderson, Libertarian candidate for Governor. “For too long, Wisconsin government has overtaxed and overspent, rewarding cronies and mismanaging funds. It’s time for the gravy train to end.”

"All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor. We call for the repleal of the income tax, the abolishment of the internal Revenue Service and all federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution."~ LP.org/Platform

  “Clearly, the United States does not have a revenue problem,” said Libertarian National Committee Executive Director Wes Benedict. “It has a spending problem. The Democrats and Republicans refuse to address this addiction to spending. The best they can do is blather about waste, fraud, and mismanagement. Only Libertarians are willing to name exactly what kinds of federal government spending should be cut.”

WAUSAU 4/8/2018  ~ Last week Governor Walker said he is willing to send OUR Wisconsin National Guard to the Mexican border. That is not what they signed up for. They are willing to be activated in cases of a state or national emergency, not political stunts. 

Activating members of the Guard has many undesirable and disruptive consequences; on individuals, families, communities, and businesses, not to mention local Guard units themselves. Libertarians are concerned for the men and women members of the Wisconsin Guard being snatched away from classes, jobs or families to serve on the U.S. southern border.

Ed Thompson, former Libertarian candidate for governor once said, “The governor of Wisconsin has a responsibility to watch out for our citizens and the Guard members for which he is responsible.” In the interests of Wisconsin’s ‘homeland security’, Wisconsin Guard members belong in Wisconsin.

The use of the Armed Forces for law enforcement inside the United States would be legal only if authorized by Act of Congress or the President determines that the use of the Armed Forces is required to fulfill the President's obligations under the Constitution to respond promptly in time of war, insurrection, or other serious emergency."

If the President needs troops on America’s southern border, we remind him that there are thousands of Americans who remain stationed all over the planet as a result of past conflicts dating all the way back to the Spanish-American War. Bring them home.

Jim Maas, Chair
Marathon County Libertarians

Madison, WI, March 20th, 2018 – Libertarian Party candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor denounced recent responses to the renewed school shooting debate from Governor Scott Walker and leading Democrat challenger Tony Evers.

"Scott Walker proposes to address school safety by spending $100 million and expanding State bureaucracy," said Phil Anderson, candidate for Governor. "New reporting and policy requirements would be imposed on local schools; we oppose both the spending and the expanded reach of State government. Local schools should decide if and how they want to improve student safety. And they should pay for it."

"Where is Scott Walker getting this money?" asked Anderson. "This follows more campaign year giveaways in the recent budget; what's next?"

Lt. Governor candidate Patrick Baird called out Tony Evers’ proposal. "The State Superintendent of Schools also wants more spending; $50 million for mental health programs and programs for climate and culture. Neither Scott Walker or Tony Evers mentions allowing schools to arm teachers, a common-sense improvement in school safety with little financial impact."