Dear Friend of Liberty,

Happy New Year!

Could 2012 be the year that everything comes together for Libertarians?

Former Governor Gary Johnson’s announcement last week that he’s leaving the GOP and running for president as a Libertarian brings a high-profile candidate to our Libertarian primary. Thousands of news stories and political commentaries were published and aired nationwide since his announcement where LP Chair Mark Hinkle signed him up to be a Life Member of our party.

Video Coverage:

Announcement video, http://www.yowie.com/videochat/5jz-gary-johnson-big-announcement

CNN Interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsBntPTui9I

Fox News, http://www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/cavuto/index.html#/v/1350961141001/gar...

Articles:

http://www.mediaite.com/online/gary-johnson-exits-republican-race-seeks-...

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70727.html

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/dec/28/gary-johnson-announces-l...

Dear Friend of Liberty,

Wes Benedict has resigned from his position as Executive Director of the Libertarian National Committee to move back to his original home state of Louisiana where he’s getting married at the end of this month.

We wish him every happiness in this new chapter of his life.

On behalf of everyone here at the Libertarian Party Headquarters, I want to thank Wes for his contributions to our party since he started as our Executive Director in July 2009.



"The most extraordinary thing about Ron Paul is his integrity," noted Carla Howell, executive director of the Libertarian Party, which embraces many of Paul's philosophies. "The Ron Paul you see on stage or on camera is the same Ron Paul you see in a meeting of a group activists or walking down the hall with them. He's the real deal.  He's very genuine."

Dear Friend of Liberty,

It has been a pleasure serving as your Executive Director for the past 2 1/2 years. I feel like we've accomplished a lot over this time, and I thank you all for your support of the LP.

However, in September I gave 90 days notice that I was leaving the job of Executive Director at the national headquarters in Washington, D.C. at the end of the year because I'm getting married and moving back home to Louisiana.

"So if you actually ask people about immigrants in their communities, they say they're good. But when you ask them about if they're good for the country, they say they're bad."

"Ultimately, marijuana should be put into the 'Free Market' in a sense that there should be a legal way to sell it, package it, export it, etc." - Rob Kampia, Executive Director, Marijuana Policy Project.