The Alabama Libertarian Party made it official on April 8, naming Loretta Nall as their candidate for Governor in the 2006 election.
Here’s her acceptance statement:
“I am deeply honored to be given the official sanction of the Alabama Libertarian Party to run for the office of Governor. I am committed to doing everything in my power to make this a successful election with progressive political victories on many fronts in addition to being victorious in my bid for the Governor’s seat. My candidacy heralds the dawn of a new era in Alabama politics in which the common people will once again have a voice in their government and common sense will rule on Goat Hill.”
Her platform includes support for initiative & referendum, drug policy and prison reform, tax cuts for private and home school families, repealing sales tax on food, non-compliance with the Patriot and REAL ID Acts, calling for Alabama National Guard troops to be brought home from Iraq, separation of religion and government, legal lottery and casino gambling run by private enterprise, and the promotion and development of alternative fuel sources so that Alabama can begin to decrease its dependence on foreign oil.
I’m happy that the people of Alabama can choose between three candidates who didn’t end up fired or indicted based on their performance in previous government positions. It’s also good to have an outspoken woman in the race. Who else would have a link on her campaign website entitled, “Boobs & Panties…Who Knew??” and have the chutzpah and good humor to ask everyone who clicks that link to contribute $1 to her campaign?
Thanks to Don at Dr. IQ.
Speaking of chutzpah, this is posted today on Nall’s Group blog @ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nallforgovernor/:
I have to be back in court this morning at 9 am.
I would like to state for the record that neither I nor my attorney have received our summons from the Tallapoosa County Circuit Clerks office for todays appearance.
My lawyer isn’t coming once again due to the court system here giving NO NOTICE!!!
I am so disgusted with the incompetent scrotum bags running this court system. It’s been almost 4 years now and little progress has been made on my case. Every year it is the same $%&*!
1. Show up in court
2. Have the judge get pissed because my attorney isn’t there.
3. Explain to judge that my attorney is from another county, is the premiere capital punishment defense attorney in Alabama and that one week or less notice time simply isn’t enough.
4. Have the judge rule on the motion to continue.
5. Go home and wait for my next notice to arrive and then we start this neverending, circular, maddening process all over again because somehow I can’t get these assclowns to understand ONE MONTH’S NOTICE!!!
I am seriously considering not showing up today. I did not receive my required notice in the mail and neither did my attorney. I’d love to see them try and arrest me for that.
Repealing sales tax on food? I’m down with that (3 growing kids to feed!). How does she propose to replace that lost revenue, I wonder?
Legalize and tax marijuana? That’s got at least as much chance of passing as property tax reform!
Well, Jeff, if those “small farmers” (read huge agribusinesses) could have a new, highly profitable cash crop, maybe they wouldn’t object so much to an increase in property taxes. Yeah, yeah, I know — they’ll be sharpening skate blades in hell before that happens.
Most people I talk to be they young, old, Democrat, Republican, Christian or whatever feel that it is wrong to lock people up for using marijuana as long as they aren’t hurting anyone else.
Some people support a decrim policy with a fine. Some support outright legalization. But the majority of Alabamians support making the marijuana laws in this state more reasonable.
The problem is no other candidate has ever given them the opportunity to vote on it before and they are afraid to bring it up themselves because they don’t want to go to jail.
Certainly a regulated market would create a new tax base for the state and that would be a tax that consumers are willing to pay as opposed to raising property taxes or whatever other taxes those in office dream up.
I also support legal lottery and casino gambling run by private enterprise as we are losing millions to our neighboring states. That would also create a new tax base.
And most importantly I vow to make Government smaller and less intrusivse into our lives so they won’t need so much money to begin with.
Loretta
I’m interested in the idea of the bold new tax frontier of legalizing marijuana. Mississippi got into the game of resting the tax base on “vice” with the casinos; maybe we can be the first state to make marijuana pay the bills.
However, wouldn’t any legalization efforts be futile, since they would immediately be overridden by federal law?
I wasn’t trying to be ornery. I’d seriously welcome a debate on tax reform in Alabama. SOMEONE’S got to move the debate along, and I applaud Loretta for doing it.
I recall sitting in the dorm in my college days, saying a lottery would do us good, and have a much better chance of actually happening. That was 1984.
“However, wouldn’t any legalization efforts be futile, since they would immediately be overridden by federal law?”
I expect so, Del. The US government has a huge stake in the “war” on drugs, and I don’t see it letting some rogue state step out of line. Somehow I can’t see Roy Moore demanding that the state defy that federal court order.
Too bad. Imagine what we could do with all the money we’re wasting putting non-violent drug offenders in prison.
Jeff, we absolutely need a real debate on tax reform here, and not one that is immediately drowned out by the screams of “no new taxes”. Our structure is so upside down it’s ridiculous. The rich people in this state are not overtaxed, no matter how much they moan. I know there are those who support a “fair” tax that would charge everyone at the same rate, but there is a fixed cost to feeding, clothing, housing, and educating a family, and no one can tell me that a 10% tax on a family earning $20,000 a year doesn’t hurt them a lot more than a 10% tax on a family making $2 million a year.
It would help if those who are big on “original intent” would look at the structure of the first income tax levied in Alabama. It was incredibly progressive for its time. We need to find a way to fund needed government services (and in my mind that certainly includes public education and a social service safety net) in ways that don’t disproportionately target low-to-middle-income families. And I wish I could come up with a realistic, politically viable plan.
[...] You know, I am no Libertarian, but that party’s nominee for the Alabama Governor’s race is really growing on me. Loretta Nall (slogan: “Vote Nall, Y’all) has a great platform, in which I haven’t yet found anything to disagree with with (but probably would if I dig deep enough in to gun territory). I do have some disagreements with her ugly campaign website, but I’ll let those be. [...]
Back around the time Riley and the legislature were sending us Amendment One with it’s tax reforms among other things, and Rep. John Knight was saying new revenue sources were needed to keep state services from going down the toilet, I emailed him a long list of suggestions to consider if the state actually needed additional funding (although I really had doubts because even I could browse through the business pages and see that the economy was turning around), but like so many Ivory Tower inhabitants on Goat Hill, he didn’t even acknowledge receipt of it.
A couple of sources I mentioned were:
[1] Changing our tax code so that it doesn’t exempt the retirement income, etc., of so many groups, with me being included in one of them. Take a look at “Examples of Income You DO NOT Report” in an Alabama FORM 40 BOOKLET, to see what I mean
[2] Making any and all property owners not presently subject to property tax start having to pay it. I’m not anti-religion, but just consider how much revenue would be generated by taxing the property of churches
Very impressive web page. Very few comments are off the mark if any at all. I set your site as one of my favorites.Great job.
If I am not mistaken Libertarians are opposed to almost ALL taxes and no amount of revenue from marijuana will make that up. I sympathize with the LP on privacy issues such as non-compliance with the REAL Id Act, but we can’t just ignore federal law. I support a repeal or a ruling from the court system, but without laws we would have anarchy. As long as the law is passed Alabama should comply or lose all federal funds or services. I don’t like it, but that is the way it is. It is good to have an outsider running in any elections to help stimulate debate, I hope Mrs. Nall will rise to that challenge and try and force the major party nominees to come out of their shells and answer some real questions.
Good luck to her and her endeavours, I can’t honestly say I wouldn’t want to see our political system break out of the two party stronghold that has embraced it for so long. I try to actively support the “other” parties, as a multitude of choices is a far better way to run an effective democracy!