{"id":540246,"date":"2018-03-11T11:00:20","date_gmt":"2018-03-11T17:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=540246"},"modified":"2018-03-12T06:36:25","modified_gmt":"2018-03-12T12:36:25","slug":"liberating-new-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/03\/liberating-new-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"Liberating New Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_540257\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-540257\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/DSC_1132-771x514.jpg\" alt=\"Blair Dunn's bow tie and Libertarian pin.\" width=\"771\" height=\"514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/DSC_1132-771x514.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/DSC_1132-336x224.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/DSC_1132-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/DSC_1132.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Andy Lyman \/ New Mexico Political Report<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blair Dunn&#8217;s bow tie and Libertarian pin.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Blair Dunn always knew he was a Libertarian, but instead registered as a Republican. Like Hermey the Elf in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Blair has found solace on his own island of misfits. Blair\u2019s island is the Libertarian Party of New Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>At almost seven feet tall with his signature cowboy boots and bow tie, Dunn will never be mistaken for an elf. He\u2019s easy to spot, even in the most crowded room. And almost as easy to spot in the state\u2019s legal community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m litigious even amongst lawyers,\u201d Dunn said.<\/p>\n<p>Not one to miss an opportunity for party exposure, Dunn positioned himself as a ringleader of the Libertarian Party of New Mexico over the last several weeks, helping to organize meet and greets for the party\u2019s candidates as the Libertarians planned their wider step into the spotlight.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article comes from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmpoliticalreport.com\/811766\/liberating-new-mexico\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Mexico Political Report<\/a>,\u00a0a nonprofit news organization\u00a0focused on promoting a greater public understanding of politics and policy in the state of New Mexico.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>In the 2018 race so far, the Libertarian Party pulled candidates from both major political parties. Blair\u2019s father, Aubrey Dunn, was a Republican until about six weeks ago, and former state Rep. Sandra Jeff was a longtime Democrat.<\/p>\n<p>Last Saturday in the lounge of a downtown Albuquerque hotel, Blair Dunn, who is also running for New Mexico attorney general, was shaking hands and brokering introductions between party members and candidates hours before the Libertarian Party of New Mexico pre-primary convention.<\/p>\n<p>Before 10:30 in the morning, Blair Dunn was coordinating plans with his dad, the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate, and Lloyd Princeton, the candidate for New Mexico\u2019s 1st Congressional District.<\/p>\n<p>The conversation couldn\u2019t have been more Libertarian.<\/p>\n<p>The Dunns wanted to take Princeton to his first gun show, and the question was whether to go that day or the next. Princeton said he was concerned a trip to the gun show on Sunday \u00a0might interfere with church and also his scheduled speaking obligation at a medical cannabis conference.<\/p>\n<p>It was finally settled \u2014 the three would head to the gun show before the party\u2019s business meeting and the official vote on the party\u2019s candidates.<\/p>\n<h3>Primed for liberty?<\/h3>\n<p>The cast of Libertarians in the show that is the 2018 elections is relatively small compared to the Republican and Democratic troupes. It\u2019s putting forward candidates for six of the 11 statewide positions up for election this year \u2014 but has no candidate at the top of the ticket for governor.<\/p>\n<p>The son of a former Democratic state senator, Aubrey Dunn presents himself as a no-nonsense, southern New Mexican rancher. He doesn\u2019t always volunteer his thoughts in casual conversation \u2014 but doesn\u2019t hold back when asked his opinion.<\/p>\n<p>Less reserved than his father, Blair Dunn earned his reputation as an eager litigator over the past few years. Blair Dunn recently represented the bail bond industry in a federal lawsuit against the state Supreme Court over new bail rules that stem from a voter-approved constitutional amendment. He lost that case, then a federal judge deemed the lawsuit frivolous and ordered Blair Dunn to personally pay a fine.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_540259\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 336px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-540259\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Dunn-Blair.jpg\" alt=\"Blair Dunn\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Courtesy photo<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blair Dunn<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Blair Dunn is also suing the state Attorney General\u2019s office, the office he hopes to head, alleging it has violated the Inspection of Public Records Act.<\/p>\n<p>Blair Dunn, along with state and national party officials, hope voters in New Mexico want an alternative to the Democratic and Republican parties \u2014 and want candidates who aim for fewer government restrictions and privatization of government functions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think New Mexico is primed for it,\u201d Blair Dunn said.<\/p>\n<p>He believes young voters will favor a third party in the November general election. He\u2019s basing that on polls like one from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/genforwardsurvey.com\/assets\/uploads\/2017\/11\/NBC-GenForward-November-2017-Toplines-Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NBC and the University of Chicago<\/a>\u00a0that showed millennials are unhappy with both major parties.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat indicates that even if millennials aren\u2019t going to join the [Libertarian] party, they\u2019re going to vote for third parties,\u201d Blair Dunn said.<\/p>\n<p>Becoming a major party is just the first step for third parties in New Mexico. Now the party has to focus on keeping its major party status, which will likely prove difficult without a Libertarian gubernatorial candidate.<\/p>\n<p>In New Mexico, parties earn major party status when a candidate from that party \u201creceived as many as five percent of the total number of votes cast at the last preceding general election for the office of governor or president of the United States,\u201d and retain party member numbers of at least one-third of one percent of registered voters.<\/p>\n<p>According to New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver\u2019s interpretation of the statute, Libertarians will not have major party status for the 2020 election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSecretary Toulouse Oliver interprets the statute to mean that in order for a party to qualify as a major party, they must receive at least five percent of the vote for the office of governor or president only during the last general election,\u201d Toulouse Oliver\u2019s spokesman Joey Keefe wrote in an email to\u00a0<i>NM Political Report<\/i>. Not surprisingly, Blair Dunn is ready to defend his alternate reading of that language, which he interprets to hinge on the \u201cor\u201d between governor and president. In other words, he thinks the state Libertarian Party should be considered a major party through the next presidential election in 2020, not just through the 2018 election.<\/p>\n<p>For now, Blair Dunn is doing his best to spread the gospel of the \u201cparty of principle.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Gary Johnson\u2019s impact<\/h3>\n<p>Many of the candidates now embracing the Libertarian Party said they feel slighted by their old parties. Aubrey Dunn hasn\u2019t hidden his dissatisfaction with both Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and the state party as a whole. Jeff has also publicly spoken about her contentious relationship with state Democrats. Blair Dunn said he\u2019s using the institutional knowledge from both his dad and Jeff to assemble a task force of sorts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs corny as this sounds, kind of what I feel like we\u2019re doing is building a team of Libertarian superheroes,\u201d Blair Dunn said.<\/p>\n<p>More specifically, The Justice League.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would say I\u2019m the Batman of the bunch,\u201d Blair Dunn said. \u201cI don\u2019t really have any special skill sets but I can find other people with, what I would call, some superstar talents in certain things.\u201d<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>For example, Jeff, who Blair Dunn compared to Wonder Woman, is a member of the Navajo Nation and can explain the principles of libertarianism to tribal members.<\/p>\n<p>As for Aubrey Dunn, arguably the most recognizable name on the Libertarian ticket?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s kind of the Superman of the group,\u201d Blair Dunn said.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice, the national Libertarian Party has New Mexico on its radar as a possible stepping stone into a larger, national movement. But party officials admit any sort of expected surge in New Mexico did not and cannot happen in a vacuum.<\/p>\n<p>Former Republican N.M. Gov.-turned-Libertarian-presidential-candidate Gary Johnson received more than nine percent of the vote in New Mexico in 2016 \u2014 his highest percentage in any state in the country \u2014 and checked off a significant requirement for the Libertarian Party to hit major party status.<\/p>\n<p>The way Libertarian National Committee Chair Nicholas Sarwark sees it, Johnson definitely opened a door for the party in New Mexico. But speaking in \u201cbroad strokes,\u201d he says Western states seem to be more prone to agree with Libertarian values than Eastern states.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve been looking at New Mexico as a place where there is a real opportunity for growth &#8212; and so far, so good,\u201d Sarwark said.<\/p>\n<p>Andy Craig, a former Libertarian congressional candidate from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and former Johnson presidential campaign staffer, agrees western voters seem more likely to vote for candidates who push for and run on libertarian ideas of free market principles and fewer government regulations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is definitely something about the West, the sort of frontier spirit of rugged individualism, that makes the region more receptive to Libertarians than the rest of the country,\u201d Craig said.<\/p>\n<p>The Libertarian Party also has major party status in Michigan and Iowa. According to the Libertarian Party website, there are about 150 elected officials, ranging from advisory board members to mayor, across the country who registered Libertarians, including one member of the Nebraska State Legislature. (Nebraska\u2019s unicameral Legislature is officially nonpartisan.)<\/p>\n<p>According to the New Mexico Secretary of State\u2019s Office, about 23 percent of voters in New Mexico are not registered with one of the three major parties. Those are the voters Blair Dunn hopes to attract in November.<\/p>\n<h3>That Libertarian<\/h3>\n<p>The national Libertarian Party is barely 46 years old, but it was founded on principles much older. It\u2019s not uncommon, for example, to hear the terms \u201cbig L\u201d and \u201clittle l\u201d in conversations amongst Libertarians, members of the political party, and libertarians, adherents to the ideology. The spectrum of beliefs is expansive.<\/p>\n<p>For years, the national Libertarian Party had to address identity issues related to high-profile names or groups that may dissuade newcomers from joining. Former U.S Rep. Ron Paul once ran for president as a Libertarian, and before him, David Koch, the conservative billionaire donor, ran for vice-president on the Libertarian ticket.<\/p>\n<p>As with any large political party, the Libertarian Party has factions and caucuses that push policies that are partially rooted in libertarian ideology. For example, paleolibertarians, who generally incorporate socially conservative views into their political beliefs, are on one end of the libertarian spectrum. On the other are those who advocate for a total dissolution of the federal government.<\/p>\n<p>Libertarian Party of New Mexico Vice-Chair Helen Melinski insisted most Libertarians agree on about 90 to 95 percent of issues. She said the state party\u2019s goal is to focus on those major points of agreement and move forward in a more pragmatic way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s all get under the same umbrella,\u201d Melinski said. \u201cLets find and focus on the 95 percent we agree on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those disagreements often cause larger arguments between long standing party members and newcomers. Sarwark says that\u2019s normal, however.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think there\u2019s some need to be careful about making sure the vision we have as a political party stays focused on all of our freedoms all of the time,\u201d Sarwark said. \u201cBut I think it\u2019s also important to be gracious and welcoming to people who have come to a point where they\u2019ve decided to leave a political party they may have been in for years or decades.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2016, the late Dr. Marc Feldman, who was vying for the party\u2019s presidential nomination, coined a phrase the national party still uses for marketing. Feldman, who once called on Kanye West to be his vice-presidential running mate, made his mark on the party with his \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/video\/?c4600865\/dr-feldman-libertarian\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">I\u2019m that Libertarian<\/a>\u201d catch phrase.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Armed with major-party status this year, Libertarians hope voters in New Mexico want an alternative to the Democratic and Republican parties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":540257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[2238,3310,107],"class_list":["post-540246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2018-election","tag-libertarian-party","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/540257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}