LPIN

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Club for Growth released its 2007 annual scorecard, awarding the Defender of Economic Freedom award to six senators and forty-nine representatives who scored a 90 or above on the Club's scorecard (see here).

"These top-scoring members of Congress are staunch defenders of American taxpayers," said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. "Their votes are critical to lowering taxes, cutting wasteful spending, and promoting economic growth for all Americans. The Club for Growth scorecard allows taxpayers to see how their senators and representatives are performing in Congress and find out who is truly fighting for pro-growth, limited-government policies. We hope that support for pro-growth principles will continue to grow, allowing more members to earn this award and more Americans to benefit."

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- At the time Travis Cross chartered the first libertarian Meetup in Indiana, Ron Paul was a little-known congressman from Texas and the Meetup forum had not begun its explosion into political circles.

Cross, the former District 7 representative to the LPIN State Central Committee, created the group meeting four years ago this month. The discussion group was only the 42nd libertarian club in the country and quickly grew to become a fixture in the top ten largest libertarian groups within the online community.

Today, over 300 groups exist within the libertarian category, with group membership eclipsing 18,000. While much of the interest grew as the Ron Paul phenomenon took over the communities, these groups are not alone in experiencing the growth.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- In 2006, the Libertarian Party of Indiana lost one dozen candidates from the general election ballot due to a technicality in election law. The party leadership is not going to allow that to happen again in 2008.

"We took a real hit in 2006," LPIN State Chairman Todd Singer noted. "We lost a lot of momentum with some great new candidates that year. It's taken some time to get that momentum back. This year looks great for us."

In 2006, the Indiana State Election Division disallowed the libertarian candidates' filings stating that the LPIN did not meet the requirement to file an intent to fill a vacancy ten days prior to the deadline to fill the vacancy."

"We met the filing deadline," Singer continued. "We just didn't tell them we were going to meet the deadline. It was a change in election law in 2005 that caught us off-guard. We know now."

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- Photos from the 2008 LPIN convention are available online at:

LPIN - 2008 Convention Photos

Photos courtesy of Allison & Tim Maguire, Libertarian Party of Marion County

Photos provided by Allison & Tim Maguire.

LPMC candidates Tim Maguire and Steve Keltner	Greg Noland (Anderson) talks with Jenny Elkins-Angleton (Indianapolis)
Former LPIN Chairman Mark Rutherford talk with Ray, Beth and Jeff Duensing of Lake County.	Dr. George Phillies and Sam Goldstein converse at the Friday night reception.

CROWN POINT, IN - “If the 2008 fall election were to take place today, Republicans would have their lunch handed to them in an empty bag. How do we Republicans ensure that the liberal secular regressives do not sweep the White House and Congress and use this unified power to install their activist, living constitutionalists?”- Republican Congressional Candidate Tony Zirkle, April 18th, 2008

Just when you think this already-too-long primary election fiasco can’t get anymore bizarre……

With the presidential spotlight now shining on Indiana while the Clintonistas and the McPainites continue to shred Obama about his “guns and religion” comment, Republican Congressional Candidate Tony Zirkle raises the bar to an entirely new level with his campaign appearance at a National Socialist Workers Party event in Chicago

RUSHVILLE, IN - George Holland of Rushville, an Air Force veteran, announced he will seek Indiana's 6th District congressional seat as a member of the Libertarian Party.

He is challenging U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., the incumbent, and Democrat Barry Welsh.

Fixing the economy by ending deficit spending, ending the war in Iraq and saving Social Security are his main concerns.

"President Bush's tax cuts, endorsed by Rep. Pence, have continued to create enormous budget deficits but also an enormous concentration of wealth for the top 20 percent of income earners and an ever increasing tax debt burden for America's families," Holland wrote in a release. On the web: georgehollandforcongress.com.