Category: Bob Small

Libertarian Matt Hackenberg In His Own Words

By Bob Small

We can be pretty sure that Nov. 8 won’t begat Libertarian Governor Matt Hackenberg.

Pennsylvania’s next governor will either be Republican Doug Mastriano or Democratic Josh Shapiro and few, if any of Hackenberg’s Libertarian positions will be adopted.

So here is a chance to see them.

All quotes from his campaign tweets.

As long as you’re not hurting anyone, you have the right to choose how you live.

In Pennsylvania, even if you own your house, you’re still always renting from the State.

As parents know best how to raise our kids, and the State shouldn’t come between us.

We must end the theft of taxation and restore our prosperity.

We are not free if we don’t have bodily autonomy.

(I) don’t want to see our men and women sent overseas to die.

(I) won’t stand for our kids being muzzled and abused”. 

And more than anything, he wants individuals be the ones that decide how (they) live our lives.

Matt describes himself as “a veteran against war”, married to “a nurse against medical tyranny”. 

He is a computer engineer.

Matt will not be our next governor but, hopefully, like many of those we have profiled this fall, some of his ideas will be heard beyond the rarefied walls of Alternative Party politics.

Tweets by matthackenburg

There are numerous discussions of his campaign.

Just a few are listed below  (both print and online);  

 https://www.butlereagle.com   ・libertarian-candidates-for-gov-lt-gov-meet-voters

 https://www.youtube.com   Take Human Action PA Ep 14 w/Matt Hackenberg – LPPA Candidate for Governor

 https://www.youtube.com   The Race To Liberate Pennsylvania | With Matt Hackenberg

 https://news.yahoo.com   libertarian-candidate-governor-brings-campaign-100700318.html

Richard Weiss Is Green Party Senate Pick

By Bob Small

Richard Weiss is an attorney who has the Green Party nod for Pennsylvania’s U.S. senate seat.  He ran before for attorney general and a judge.

He has a number of issues for which he proposes green solutions.

One solution he proposes for the Covid controversy is that “we could have hours of operation for those who want masking”.  Further on, he proposes that we could have “mask-only buses and mask optional buses”. 

These may or may not be practical solutions, but they’re at least possible solutions.

He believes that we should seek to negotiate peace in the Ukraine and revoke the authorization for use of military force (AUMF) instituted on Sept. 18, 2001 in response to the 9/11 attacks.

He wants to reduce overseas bases to pre-911 levels, bring troops home and spend that (my italics) money at home. He supports the Stop Arming Terrorists Bill proposed by Tulsi Gabbard”, and wants to free Julian Assange.

He wants to end civil asset forfeiture and qualified immunity, and ban fracking

During an extensive electronic interview he said supports approval voting which he says would eliminate any spoiler effect, backed criminal justice reform and single payer healthcare, and explained why he is running as a Green.

“The Green Party is in favor of ending forever wars, closing oversea bases, and bringing troops back home,” he said.

His campaign email address is RichardLeonardWeiss@gmail.com.  He can be followed on Twitter @RichardLWeiss

Full disclosure. I’ve been affiliated with the Pennsylvania Green Party for almost a quarter of a century.

They represent enough of my values that I continue to support them. If I wanted a party that supported all my values, I’d have to form one. 

Richard Weiss Is Green Party Senate Pick

Libertarian Seeks Fitzpatrick Seat

By Bob Small

Caroline Avery is a Libertarian who is running for the US House of Representatives in Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District. The incumbent is Republican Brian Fitzpatrick. The Democrat candidate is Ashley Ehasz.

Caroline, like too many independent Democrats and Republicans, had her petitions challenged in court, and was not permitted to run as a Republican. However, she secured the Libertarian endorsement to continue her battle against Fitzpatrick.

She is strongly endorsed by the Gun Owners of America (GOA).

“Caroline earned GOA’s support because of her high marks during her rigorous candidate endorsement process, and she earned a 100-percent score on our 2022 gun-rights candidates’ survey,” says the GOA.

And she enthusiastically accepts the endorsement.

“In a time of skyrocketing lawlessness and crime, the far left calls for defunding the police and attacks the rights of law-abiding gun owners. As a strong supporter of our Constitution and the Second Amendment, I won’t stand for it, and I’m proud to be endorsed by Gun Owners of America,” she says.

Gun rights are not her only issue. In a  fiery posting on Facebook, she issues a challenge to Covid treatment orthodoxy, discussing how friends in Australia and Finland were punished for  denying this orthodoxy.

On her website,  she describes herself as a  “world explorer , not a vacationer” and claims to have been in every state except Alaska. She says she is “the daughter of a mastery Gunnery Sergeant who served in WW2, Korea,  and Vietnam”. She goes on to say “I am my father’s daughter” and “I’ve lived a big life”. She cites here work experience as including bartender, a forklift driver, a sales representative for gold and silver smithing industries, and a worker in various jobs in the equine industry.

Her current job is a “buyer of fine antiques and artifacts.”

She and her longtime husband, Joe, live in Bucks County.

The 1st Congressional District has a storied history.

The first man to hold the seat was Federalist Thomas Fitzsimmons, one of the signers of the Constitution, in 1789.

Democratic godfathers Bob Brady and Tom Foglietta served the 1st District when it included South Philadelphia and the Delaware County waterfront.

Of course, so did Michael “Ozzie” Myers of Abscam infamy, (no relation to the slasher in the “Halloween” films), who was one of the few to actually be expelled from Congress.

On June 6th  of this year, he plead guilty to a vote fraud conspiracy.

He was also quoted saying “money talks and bullshit walks” but appears to have stolen that line,  too. 

Also the representing the district was the fictional and hapless Peter Russo, who was suicided by Kevin Spacey in the first season of the House of Cards.

Libertarian Seeks Fitzpatrick Seat

Ron Johnson For Pennsylvania Senate Seat

By Bob Small

Ron Johnson is a write-in candidate for the US Senate from Pennsylvania, with the support of the Pennsylvania Constitution Party.   

No, not the incumbent senator from Wisconsin. This Ron is a disabled veteran of the Iraqi War who has worked in construction and for Walmart, until his disability caused him to quit.

He is a self-described Constitutionalist.

The Pennsylvania Constitution Party was unable to secure enough signatures to  place him on the ballot hence the write-in campaign.

Johnson’s issues include the  border wall, immigration, opposition to Covid mandates, support for parental rights in education, and  the weaponization of federal agencies.

Johnson says that he has been at the Convention of States   and at the signing of the Liberty Pledge  in New Hope    

Johnson says he’s running to “keep our freedoms intact”.

He appears to be the only write-in candidate associated with an established political party.

Ron Johnson For Pennsylvania Senate Seat

New Keystone Party Has 3 State-wide Candidates

By Bob Small

The brand new The Keystone Party of Pennsylvania has on this year’s ballot candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, senator, and State House 93^rd District. 

Joe Soloski, one of the founders, is the gubernatorial candidate. 

“I did not leave the Libertarian Party, the Libertarian Party left me,” Soloski said. 

The breakup  occurred at The Libertarian Party Convention in March. 

“The Libertarian Party became anything but an inclusive organization promoting personal liberty”, he said. “. . .Keystone was formed to promote the ideals of personal liberty, human rights,  and to be a potential new home for those independent voters that have not been able to feel at home with any party”

Their platform includes alternative currency, ending qualified immunity, an independent redistricting commission, jury nullification,  a part-time legislature, reduction of non elected and overreaching authority, and term limits and gun rights.

There has been some opposition to their formation from within their former party, The Libertarians.

“They’re a small  group of disgruntled Libertarians who ran the party for the last few years but were handily tossed out of power at the 2022 State Convention, ” said Libertarian Ken Krawchuk. “The Keystoners were more interested in playing political shenanigans on fellow libertarians than on the old party candidates.”

Krawchuk did see a bright side though.

“There are now TWO  political parties in  Pennsylvania that are pushing the Libertarian agenda,” he said.

The Keystone Party of Pennsylvania is not to be confused with Keystone United, a skinhead group.

New Keystone Party Has 3 State-wide Candidates

Nicole Missino Takes On Incumbent Jen O’Mara In 165th

By Bob Small

Nichole Missino is the Republican taking on Democrat incumbent Jennifer O’Mara to represent the 165th District in the Pennsylvania House.

The district has been reconfigured to include Swarthmore that had been part of the 161st District represented by Democrat Leanne Kruger, and Media Borough, which had been part of the 168th District represented by Republican Christopher Quinn.

Mrs. Missino got on the ballot in an uncontested primary write-in campaign. .

Pennsylvania election law allows candidates to win an uncontested campaign if he or she receives a number of write-ins on Primary Election Day equal to the number of signatures required by that party.

This policy would mean that a Republican running for the office of Mayor of Swarthmore would need only 10 signatures.

Maybe I should switch parties and consider a run myself!

Mrs. Missino, by the way, got 2,300 write-ins above the required number

Mrs. Missinio is the co-owner of Giovanni’s Barber Shop in Media, which got in the news two years ago when it reopened in defiance of Gov. Tom Wolf’s extremist order for businesses to stay shut down. In hindsight, she was right. She explains her reasoning in this CBS interview from May 2020.

Mrs. Missinio says she recognizes everyone’s humanity and has flown a rainbow flag in front of their barber shop at various times.

She lives in Springfield with her husband Johnny and her son Giovanni.  Her platform is freedom.

Nichole said in regard to pending Pennsylvania Constitutional Amendments that she would would definitely back 2021-2, which would extend the duration of prosecution for those found guilty of child abuse but still needs to review some of the sections of 2022-1. She ays she would definitely support election audits and limits on abortion funding.

Nicole Missino Takes On Incumbent Jen O’Mara In 165th

2 New Alternative Parties For Election Day 2022

By Bob Small

For many years in Pennsylvania the three active alternative parties were the Constitution Party, the Green Party, and the Libertarian Party.  All presented alternative views, from left to right.  All would frequently be challenged by either Democrat of Republican parties, so the years where three alternative gubernatorial, lieutenant gubernatorial, and senatorial candidates were on the ballot were rare but did happen.  During those years, Greens (including myself) might also help the Libertarians in their challenges while Libertarians might also help the Greens, and the Constitution Party would be in there also.

This year, there are four alternatives on the ballot albeit the Constitution Party is not one of them as they are in the process of reforming. 

So joining the Greens and the Libertarians are the Keystone Party and the Socialist Worker Party, formed by expelled Trotskyites in 1938.   

In the states adjacent to Pennsylvania, only Republicans and Democrats are seeking major statewide offices in Delaware, New Jersey, and New York albeit the New York Dems have the support of their minor league team, the Working Families Party; an SWP senate candidate is on the ballot in Ohio while Maryland has Greens, Libertarians, and Working Class Party candidates on their ballots. Lastly, the Americans Coming Together (ACT) Party has a Candidate on their ballot in West Virginia. The ACT website quotes Plato “If you do not take an interest in the affairs of government, then you are doomed to  live under the rule of fools”.  Luckily, we live in Pennsylvania.

 See Politics1.com for the other 43 state wide candidate listings.

The phrase “vote your hopes, not your fears”, comes into play here.  During the last election, my Swarthmore Democratic neighbors told me I had to vote against Donald Trump because Trump will (fill in the blank here).  However Joe Biden and his “machine”, and his family, also scared me.   As I’ve previously posted, there were policies where Donald Trump would have done no worse, and sometimes better, than the Delawarean now in office.  The Afghan withdrawal is one prime example.

In future articles we will discuss the alternative candidates, none of whom have a snowball’s chance in Hades, of winning in Pennsylvania.

2 New Alternative Parties For Election Day 2022

Religion An Issue In Pennsylvania Races

By Bob Small

On June 14, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the law  adding “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.   This aligns with the widely held belief –backed up by history — that most of the Founding Fathers were Christians. They led the first successful rebellion of a colony against the British Empire.

Christianity aside, the Founders were fallible. They were adulterers, duelists, slave owners, and you name it. Most though professed to being Christians even those who didn’t believe in Jesus’ divinity.

Religion is playing a huge role in Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial and senatorial Races. Both Doug Mastriano (Christianity) and Josh Shapiro (Judaism) have included their religion in their campaign ads.

Neither John Fetterman nor Dr. Oz have made his Muslimism a feature of their campaigns, though I expect the Democrats to enter that territory at some point.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) was founded in 1978. Their purpose is to promote “the constitutional separation of church and state”.  According to the June-July 2022 issue of their publication, Free Thought Today,  they try to do this through legal challenges and pointing out the crimes of various religions. See the publication’s “Black Collar Crime” section.  

If you search under DuckDuckGo — or use any  search engine but Google — with Freedom from Religion Foundation, there are six pages of links.

Free Thought Today reaches 30 pages and there’s a lot in there to read and agree and disagree with.

For arguments against, a good place to start is Conservapedia.