When the 112th Congress comes to an end, it will also mark an end to the political career of Ron Paul, who represented the 22nd Congressional District in Texas from 1979 to 1985 (after serving a one term stint from 1976 to 1977) and the 14th Congressional District from 1997 through 2012. I’ve had made [...]

As Quincy notes below, the Supreme Court upheld the Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act today by relying upon an argument that most people had not been paying attention to: WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday left standing the basic provisions of the health care overhaul, ruling that the government may use its taxation [...]

Gary Johnson’s Presidential campaign has released a new web ad, and it may be their most effective to date: Johnson has managed to get some top-notch political advisers behind him, and he has experience running for office in somewhat hostile territory so things seem to be going well for him right now. The question is [...]

The Libertarian Party held its convention over the weekend in Las Vegas and, as many had been expecting, overwhelmingly nominated former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson as their Presidential nominee: Aside from the muscular gentleman in the slinky party skirt and halter top, a delegate wearing a Guy Fawkes mask and a prominent speaker sporting [...]

You may remember Wayne Allyn Root as the sports betting “expert” cum political commentator who ended up being Bob Barr’s running mate on the 2008 Libertarian Party Presidential ticket. In 2010 he was elected to a position on the Libertarian National Committee and, while many had figured he’d be running for the Presidential nomination this [...]

Earlier this week, Brad Warbiany started out the latest in our occasional series of Point-Counterpoint exchanges by arguing that the Supreme Court will ultimately uphold the Constitutionality of the Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. I’ll start off by saying that this is not an all implausible. Indeed, I’ve argued myself in the [...]

For the first time in four months, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson will get to participate in a nationally televised Republican debate: Gary Johnson, the Republican presidential candidate who has labored in obscurity, is about to get his moment in the spotlight—for one night, at least. Johnson will be included in Thursday’s Fox News [...]

Brian Doherty notes that The Washington Examiner’s Byron York seems to have had a pair of ideological blinders on when he watched last night’s Republican debate: Byron York, in the game of reporting about right-wing and Republican politics for a very long time, delivers a bravura performance of ignoring what’s in front of his own [...]

National Journal is reporting that Ron Paul will announce the formation of a Presidential Exploratory Committee tomorrow in Iowa: Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, whose outspoken libertarian views and folksy style made him a cult hero during two previous presidential campaigns, will announce on Tuesday that he’s going to try a third time. Sources close to [...]

The field of candidates for the GOP nomination for President got a little more palatable to libertarians today when former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson announced his candidacy for President at an event in New Hampshire: Gary Johnson is running for president. The former New Mexico governor — who favors legalizing marijuana — on Thursday [...]

Via Jason Pye, I’m passing along news that many of you may already be aware of: Stephen Gordon, a very good friend of mine and fellow libertarian, was involved in a serious car accident on Tuesday evening in his hometown of Hartselle, Alabama. From what I’ve been told, a truck crossed over into his lane [...]

Sounds good to me

Gary Johnson, the former Governor of New Mexico and a likely candidate for President, addressed the crowd at CPAC this morning in what was a well-delivered and fairly well-received speech: I spoke briefly with Governor Johnson last night at a meet and great that was attended by a large number of people. He strikes me [...]

Rand Paul’s speech yesterday at CPAC was very well received. and while Donald Trump may have thought that the Standing Room Only crowd in the ballroom was for him, it was actually for the guy who was speaking after him, the Senator from Kentucky: Of course it probably wasn’t a good idea to follow up [...]

Via Jacob Sullum, here’s a truly bizarre comment from Hillary Clinton during an interview with Mexican media: Maerker: In Mexico, there are those who propose not keeping going with this battle and legalize drug trafficking and consumption. What is your opinion? Clinton: I don’t think that will work. I mean, I hear the same debate. [...]

Rand Paul’s maiden speech before the U.S. Senate was an interesting look at one of his home state’s most famous Senators, and the future of the Tea Party:

This girl really, really, really likes Frederich Hayek:

To paraphrase the sign on Ron Paul’s desk, don’t break into someone’s email account that’s the government’s job: A former University of Tennessee student who was convicted of hacking into Sarah Palin’s e-mail during the 2008 presidential election has been sentenced to a year and a day in custody. A federal judge recommended Friday that [...]

Only a few days after Mike Huckabee dissed libertarians on Fox News Channel, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint did the same thing: One doesn’t expect excessive amounts of wisdom from Sen. Jim Demint (R-SC), the troglodyte who recently told an audience, according to the Spartanburg Herald, that “if someone is openly homosexual or if an [...]

Over at Liberty Pundits, Melissa Clouthier argues that libertarians and conservatives are natural allies: Libertarians want the government to bug out. Conservatives want the individual to empower himself. Libertarians believe in rational self-interest. Conservatives believe help and charity come from a giving heart–not from the government’s pointed gun. Their motivations might be different, but their [...]