"Lincoln was a master politician, which means that he was a consummate conniver, manipulator, and liar."
--Murray Rothbard, "Just War"

As the Party of Lincoln's Utah affiliates gather this month to pay tribute to their murdered -- and murderous -- namesake, local corporate statists will genuflect before one of their own who employed political means to enrich himself, Larry H. Miller.

Propagandists reinforce illusions that keep the powerful in power with monuments, holidays, official proclamations, and the "party line."

What are some of the myths perpetuated by the political class that empowered Lincoln, empowers Miller, and will empower future crony capitalists until they are widely debunked by a free people?

Utah's political class convenes to divide up the loot

"Government is a broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale of stolen goods."
--H.L. Mencken, Minority Report: H.L. Mencken's Notebooks

The Utah Legislature's 45-day general session runs from January 15th to February 28th.

Special interests -- which contributed 95.7 percent of all campaign donations made to incoming state legislators -- will be lobbying for a healthy return on their investments in the form of the kind of privileges that can be conferred only by the State of Utah.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Who will be Salt Lake City's next mayor? The Libertarian Organizing Committee's chairman Rob Latham announced the launch of an online demonstration election to illustrate how voters might narrow the field of ten announced candidates for the mayor of Utah's capital city down to one majority winner -- in just one election.

Voters can "Mock the Vote" for the 2007 Salt Lake City mayoral race by clicking here.

The demonstration election launched and administered by local Libertarians uses the ranked-choice voting method, which allows voters to indicate their preferences among several candidates instead of being limited to choosing just one.

"Ranked-choice voting has a track record of promoting positive campaigns and saving election administrators, participants, and taxpayers the significant costs associated with a separate primary election," says Latham.

State of Utah’s single member district electoral scheme yields greatest representational disparity since decennial redistricting

SALT LAKE CITY – The Libertarian Organizing Committee released its post-general election analysis comparing the partisan allocation of seats in the State of Utah’s Senate and House of Representatives.

In all contested races for the Utah House of Representatives, Democrats received three fewer seats under the winner-take-all, single member district system than had the seats been allocated proportionally per the number of votes received, according to an analysis of data from the State Elections Office performed by Rob Latham, chairman of the Libertarian Organizing Committee.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Despite the unethical bipartisan bigotry practiced by some local news outlets and journalists, the Libertarian message reached many Utahns in 2006.

For the benefit of Utah liberty-lovers, their friends and supporters, the list below highlights some of the news coverage that included Libertarian candidates, members, registered voters, and the Libertarian Party of Utah during the 2006 election season.*

March 2006

• Bob Bernick Jr. and Josh Loftin, Campaign season opens in Utah, Deseret Morning News, March 7, 2006

The warden says 'The exodus sold.'
If you want a way out...
Silver and gold, silver and gold.
-- U2, "Silver & Gold"

"Nothing restrains a central government like sound money."
-- Thomas DiLorenzo

News Item: U.S Mint bans melting pennies, nickels

The motivation for the melting and export ban of U.S. pennies and nickels is the reality that the market value for the coins' metal exceeds the faith-based denomination value stamped into them by the federal government. "In God We Trust," indeed.

Why is the federal government in the money business?

SALT LAKE CITY – In the wake of the 2006 midterm election, the Libertarian Organizing Committee is releasing the following analysis of data from the State of Utah Elections Office related to the historical performance of Libertarian candidates.

In the 2006 midterm election, Utah voters cast 41,622 votes among 14 Libertarian candidates. Among all 14 Libertarian candidates, the average percentage of votes received was 5.25 percent. And more than half of all 14 Libertarian candidates received more than 2.99 percent of the vote.

The Libertarian candidate in Utah receiving the highest percentage of the vote was Iron County Sheriff candidate John Martineau, with 15.35 percent of the vote. Martineau was less than 200 votes and two percentage points behind the Democratic candidate.

“Kudos to John for running a strong campaign and congratulations on a remarkable election result for a non-incumbent party candidate in a three-way race,” said Libertarian Organizing Committee chairman Rob Latham.

SALT LAKE CITY -- In Utah, all ballot-qualified political parties can nominate candidates for partisan office. But thanks to the single-member district plurality system used to decide most political contests, some candidates are more equal than others.

To promote its state and local candidates, while bringing attention to the disparities between incumbent political parties and non-incumbent political parties, the Libertarian Party of Utah reprised the cast of caricatures featured in its full-page advertisement in the 2006 Football Preview in a new ad for the 2006 Utah Election Guide published October 25, 2006 by the Newspaper Agency Corporation.

According to mid-2006 voter registration data compiled by Ballot Access News, most Utah voters aren't registered with either of the two incumbent parties (900,784 are unaffiliated, 376,096 are registered Republican, and 117,958 are registered Democrat).

Several Utah Libertarian candidates are advocating for the adoption of more competitive and representative electoral systems in their campaigns.

Dear Abby:
My father is a businessman who travels.
Each time he returns from one of his trips,
his shoes and trousers
are covered with blood—

but he never forgets to bring me a nice present;
Should I say something?
Signed, America.

--Tony Hoagland, "Hard Rain"

Unless you count yourself among those who own stock in or are employed by the companies that federal, state, and local governments pay to fight the War on Drugs, -- in places such as Afghanistan -- you're a loser in that war.

"The war on drugs is really a war on people -- on anyone who uses or grows or makes or sells a forbidden drug."

--Ethan A. Nadelman, Drug Policy Alliance

What has the rest of America lost, aside from the tens of billions spent at all levels of government to fight the Drug War?

SALT LAKE CITY -- In Utah House District 24 Libertarian Eric Hamilton and another non-incumbent party candidate face incumbent Democrat Utah House Minority Leader Ralph Becker. There is no Republican candidate in the race.

In an Associated Press article profiling Libertarian Hamilton and the incumbent, Utah Republican Party Executive Director Jeff Hartley says “My guess is most Republicans would side with a Libertarian over Ralph Becker – although they might have a hard time swallowing the legalization of polygamy and marijuana.”