12JEFFREY SANCHEZ& ROYA. CHILDS,jR.AS THE <strong>1980</strong> CAMPAIGNheats up, and the Republicanand Democratic partieshold their first primaries, the<strong>Libertarian</strong> Party has scoreda major triumph in the keystate of California. On December28, 1979, CaliforniaSecretary of State <strong>March</strong>Fong Eu announced that theLP had finally qualified forpermanent ballot status inthat state. After more thanfive months of work, hundredsof men and womenacross the state succeeded inregistering more than92,000 voters as <strong>Libertarian</strong>s,giving them a cushionof 21,000 over the required71,000 registrants. Threeof the most successful countiesin the state were SanDiego (4300), San Francisco(15,900) and OrangeCounty, which brought inthe astonishing. total of52,000. Special cheers fromlibertarians across the countryshould go to Jack Sandersin San Diego, JamesSkalican and Bob Costello inSan Francisco, Jack Deaneand Dyanne Petersen inOrange County, and to asingle dedicated activist,Eileen Langenfeld, whobrought in an astounding5000 registrants on her ownin San Francisco.<strong>The</strong> success of this hotlydisputed race for ballot statusin California marks animportant milestone for the<strong>Libertarian</strong> Party, and maywell mean the end of ballotdrives in one ofthe nation'smost influential states.Henceforth, the LP onlyneeds to receive two percentof the vote or better in anystatewide race once everyfour years to stay on the ballotpermanently. But Californiaisa pivotal state forlibertarians in another way:in 1978, Ed Clark, now theLP's candidate for President,ran a well-managed campaignfor Governor of Californiaagainst one ofAmerica'smost popular politicalfigures,Jerry Brown (and hisinconsequential Republicanopponent, Evelle Younger),and piled up nearly 400,000votes, more than 5.5 percentof the total votes cast. Thatgave the LP visibility in Californiaand across the nation,for it became clear that theLP was soon to reach balance-of-powerstatus in electionsacross the country.With this threat in mind, thepolitical establishment inCalifornia made every effortto block the LP from gettingballot status. It had forcedEd Clark to run officially onthe ballot as an "Independent,"despite his LP affiliation,and subsequently usedthat fact as an excuse toplace the California LP in aCatch-22 situation: the LPcouldn't claim ballot status,the Secretary of State said,because Clark had not beenon the ballot as a <strong>Libertarian</strong>and, in turn, Clark couldn'tbe on the ballot as a <strong>Libertarian</strong>,because the LP was notballot qualified! A veritablemaze of court battles resulted,with every legal trickbeing used against the LP.California libertariansdecided then to confront theproblem head on: to get the71,000 registered <strong>Libertarian</strong>sthey needed to put anend to the manipulations ofthe State government. But asthe registration drive woreon, the government showedthat it was not finished withits harassment. One or twohired workers around thestate had turned in fraudulentregistrations and hadbeen duly reported by theLP. <strong>The</strong> government sawthis as a golden opportunity:it began leaking informationto the media about alleged<strong>Libertarian</strong> "voter fraud,"attempted at one point tocall a halt to the drive completely,and, when that dirtytrick failed, began threateningthe libertarians 'Yho ranthe drive with legal action.But they refused to cave inbefore these threats, and thecontinual harassment onlyincreased their determinationto shove more and moreregistrations down the government'sthroat. This theydid in style.<strong>The</strong> result is almost certain;the LP will soon be perceivedby the national mediaTHE LIBERTARIAN REVIEW
to be just exactly what it is:the biggest threat to the twoparty monopoly in a generation.LPC Executive DirectorEric Garris is soberinglyrealistic about the meaningof this for libertarians, however.He points out that theLP could easily decline unlessthe party grows substantiallyin grassroots communitysupport."What isneeded is to increase dramaticallythe level of commitmentto activism on thepart of <strong>Libertarian</strong>s everywhere,"he says. Garrispoints out that the LP hopesto field as many as 100 candidatesin California in<strong>1980</strong>, and that these campaignscould serve as an excellentmeans toward thatend, if <strong>Libertarian</strong>s will dothe hard work that isneeded.While the excitement ofthe registration drive's successin California dominatedthe news for <strong>Libertarian</strong>s atyear's end, several otherstates had also achieved ballotstatus. By the end ofJanuary,16 states had met ballotrequirements: Hawaii,North and South Carolina,Idaho, New Mexico, Vermont,Nevada, Alabama,Utah~ Michigan, Kansas,Iowa, NewJersey, Kentuckyand Wisconsin. In otherstates registration drives arenow underway, and it is expectedthat the LP will ultimatelybe on the ballot in asmany as 45 states-far morethan any other "minor"party. Most of these statesalready have plans to runfull slates of candidates forstate and local offices as wellas for the House and Senate.Many of these local electionswill have a significantimpact by exposing the publictolibertarian ideas for thefirst time. <strong>The</strong> growth potentialof the LP during thenext year is great indeed.<strong>The</strong> crisis in Iran has stirredup harsh anti-Iranian feelingsin much of the Americanpublic. <strong>The</strong>re have beencries for war ("nuke Iran"has been seen on more thanone banner) and calls for theexpulsion of Iranian studentsfrom the UnitedStates. <strong>Libertarian</strong>s acrossthe country have leaped intothe fray, opposing suchblatant jingoism.In Virginia, Republicanlegislator Warren Barry hasproposed that all Iranianstudents attending all publiccolleges and universities besuspended. Fellow Virginianand veteran libertarian EricScott Royce has respondedto Barry, accusing him ofengaging in "the worst sortof racial stereotyping," andpointing out that many Iranianstudents are membersof ethnic minorities withinIran which are very muchopposed to Khomeini andthe embassy seizure.<strong>The</strong>' major libertarian <strong>org</strong>anizationfighting Carter'sorder to deport Iranian studentsis Students for a <strong>Libertarian</strong>Society, under the directionof National DirectorMilton Mueller and Eastcoast field coordinator JeffFriedman. SLS has formedcoalitions with a wide rangeof groups, including socialistsand pacifists, and hasworked to keep the Immigrationand NaturalizationService (INS) off campuses.<strong>Libertarian</strong>s, who believe infree, movement of peopleseverywhere and opposeboth immigration and emigrationcontrols, have thustaken the lead in dramatizingthe cruelty of such arbitrarygovernment power.Jeff Hummell, SLS coordinatorat the University ofTexas, has written three articlesfor <strong>The</strong> Daily Texandiscussing the United States'responsibility for the Shah,and opposing both militaryintervention in Iran and thedeportation of Iranian students.With other Universityof Texas groups, SLS hasformed CRIME, the Committeeagainst Racism andIntervention in the MiddleEast, and has sponsored arally against the INS.<strong>The</strong> Board of Supervisorsat Louisiana State Universityhas considered a resolutionto expel all Iranian students.But SLS coordinatorDavid Cole has successfullylobbied the Board againstthis resolution and contrib-'uted several importantanti-deportation articles tothe student newspaper.At Stanford University,, <strong>Libertarian</strong>s have mountedpressure which resulted inthe campus administration'srefusal to allow the INS toconduct interviews on thecampus.<strong>The</strong>se and other peopleworking on college campusesaround the countryhave helped quell the racistand bellicose hysteria surrounding,this unfortunateCrISIS.SLS is stepping up its actionsagainst the Carter-INSassault on Iranian students.<strong>The</strong> current issue of its studentnewspaper, Liberty,devoted largely to Iran, isnow being distributedacross the country. Copiescan be obtained from Studentsfor a <strong>Libertarian</strong> Society,1620 MontgomeryStreet, San Francisco, CA94111. Tel.: (415) 7815817. <strong>The</strong> cost, in quantitiesof25 or more, is 5¢ per copy.Our readers might be interestedin knowing thattwoimportant periodicals haverecently become available inbound editions. Ayn Rand,now virtually retired fromwriting, has over the pasttwo decades edited threepublications, largely centeredaround her own politicaland cultural views. <strong>The</strong>Objectivist Newsletter haslong been available in abound volume ($12.50),and most of the issues of<strong>The</strong> Objectivist have beenavailable individually aswell. But Ayn Rand's thirdpublication has, until now,been difficult to obtain. <strong>The</strong>Ayn Rand Letter was publishedfrom 1971 to 1974, afour-to-six page fortnightlywhich in the main consistedof "letters" from Rand oncurrent events and importantissues of the day. Sheeviscerated B.F. Skinner,pummelled John Rawls,pounded away at the NixonAdministration (all' thewhile, strangely, endorsinghim for reelection and callingherselfan "anti-Nixonitefor Nixon"), resoundinglyupheld the "Americansense of life," and in generaldefended her views like aswashbuckler. While someof these views will infuriatemany libertarians and en~chant others, all 81 newslettersare now available in abound volume from PaloAlto Books, 200 CaliforniaAvenue, Palo Alto, CA94306. <strong>The</strong> price is $29.9~.<strong>The</strong> other bound volumebrings us the first full year ofInquiry magazine, publishedby the!Cato Institute.That magazine began incontroversy in 1977, andhas since developed arichly-deserved reputationas a journal of high·quality.Its overall quality andoriginality are more evidentthan ever in this bound volume.<strong>The</strong>re are articles onhow the International MonetaryFund underwritesApartheid, the secret diaryof a Polish dissident, andwhy people secede from thepublic schools; there are defensesofProposition 13 andassaults on government regulationsand spending.Never before have these issuesbeen looked at as Inquiryhas looked at them.It's a different perspectiveon the political world, and itdoesn't always work. Butwhen it works, it makes Inquiryone of the best politicalmagazines in the country,especially in the area offoreign affairs, where itscoverage and insight havebeen matchless. <strong>The</strong> boundedition ofVolume 1 is availablefor a mere $25 fromInquiry, 747 Front Street,San Francisco, CA 94111. Itis a veritable reference workon political events. DMARCH <strong>1980</strong>13
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