I am still in shock that O.C. Libertarian Party Chairman Bruce Cohen has personally endorsed O.C. Supervisorial candidate Carlos Bustamante. Cohen still hasn’t told us why – but his colleague, Andy Favor, admitted, on Red County/OC Blog, that he is also supporting Bustamante because he thinks Carlos can win, and he is afraid of the “looming pension crisis.”
The bottom line is that it is unconscionable for Cohen to absolutely betray the principles of his party by backing Bustamante. To make matters worse, I understand that Cohen has been bragging about “getting John Campbell, Wendy Leece and Alan Mansoor elected.” Huh? Those are Republicans. Why is this guy congratulating himself for electing Republicans?
My first impression was that Cohen was paid off by the Bustamante campaign – but I looked up his congressional campaigns and quickly found that a) he doesn’t get many votes, and b) he never raises any money. Interesting. Cohen realizes he cannot win – but instead of fighting for what his party espouses he has turned into a tool for the OC GOP. His apparent strategy is to take enough votes away from the Democrats to give the Republicans an edge. That is what he was trying to do with Bustamante last Sunday.
Of course, as all know by now, Cohen dropped the ball on Sunday. Bustamante was NOT endorsed by the O.C. Libertarian Party. So Cohen decided to give him a personal endorsement. Here are the reasons that Cohen opted for Bustamante, according to a response he posted on this blog:
1. He is the best candidate (in Cohen’s opinion)
2. He is the best and most Libertarian candidate
3. He is not perfect but he’ll do
4. He is trustworthy and honest
5. He has sworn allegiance to the U.S., our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the concept of minimal government
6. He returned Cohen’s calls
7. He spoke to Cohen many times
8. He spoke to Thomas Gordon
Let’s recap what Bustamante is all about – and you tell me if any of his beliefs/actions indicate even a slight Libertarian bent:
1. He is for higher taxes (the $600 annual cigarette tax and most likely the upcoming Ream assessment)
2. He is for eminent domain abuse
3. He is against medical use of marijuana
4. He is for higher minimum wages
5. He is for union-only project labor agreements
6. He is for making it easier to unionize workers in the workplace
7. He has utterly failed to reduce crime in Santa Ana, where gangs and graffiti are out of control
8. He is against immigration reform – which is a concept usually embraced by Libertarians. In fact he is supported by Lupe Moreno, a Minuteman.
9. He backs Sheriff Carona’s policy re checking immigration status in the jails – again a violation of Libertarian philosophy
10. He lied about Rob Richardson replacing him. I know of at least two council members who are not supportive of that idea.
11. Bustamante is backed by every anti-choice group in Orange County – something that would rub most Libertarians the wrong way, as most of them are pro-choice
So tell us again Bruce why you endorsed Bustamante?
It is high time for the O.C. Libertarians to dump the GOP shill that is their chairman, Cohen, and find someone who will fight for their beliefs and for their party. Their leader ought to speak out against both the Democrats and the Republicans, instead of cozying up to the Reeps. They will never grow their party in this county if they bend knee to the Reeps instead of battling them, as they should.
If you would like to give Cohen a piece of your mind, go to his contact page.
Art,
You are supporting a Democrat socialist for Supervisor. Who the hell are you to tell the Libertarian Party who their Chairman should be?
art you post “The bottom line is that it is unconscionable for Cohen to absolutely betray the principles of his party by backing Bustamante” WHAT ABOUT YOU “betray the principles of YOUR party” AND ENDORSING A DEMOCRAT IN THIS RACE? A little hypocritical.
Posters 1 and 2,
I don’t know how many times I have to say this – I am supporting Janet, and encouraging Republicans to vote for her. But I am also encouraging Democrats to vote for Benny instead of wasting their votes on Umberg.
And please don’t forget that Bustamante IS NOT endorsed by the OC GOP.
And he is not endorsed by the Lib party either…..as you so gloriously posted yesterday or over the weekend or whenever….it’s all a blurr of BS anyway. He has every right to support whome he wants just as you do. I just found it ironic that you would blast him for the very same thing you yourself are doing. And yes I have seen you blog that you endorse Benny Diaz….in fact you have his sign in your front yard remember?
I believe he also has a Janet sign in his front yard as well.
Funny.I did not see Timothy Whitacre lift a finger or offer an endorsement to Bruce Cohen when he was running. Are the Realtor dudes being unethical somehow? Timothy Whitacre is getting paid by Carlos Bustamante so he will say anything. Bruce Cohen appears to have attempted to fool the voters with a phony endorsement.Makes one wonder if the Gen Next or Hispanic 100 or Lincoln Club endorsements are real? And why don’t they all put their money where their endorsement is? Why have few of his endorsers given cash to his campaign? And why does Carlos Bustamante not list the endorsement of Lupe Moreno?
Art,
Your track record of sliming anyone with the audacity to stand up to you speaks for itself.
That I dared point out where you were incorrect in your original article has you on tilt. Especially since I was correct in every way.
The joke is on you, Pedroza, my boy.
I was right, you were wrong.
Your videotapes prove it, and we are still waiting for tape #3.
PS why does it need to be ‘edited’?
As far as your numbers 1-10, they are a smokescreen. You lost the first few battles, so you are throwing anything at the wall, hoping it will stick.
Mister Pedroza is someone I would call a ‘small l’ Libertarian. He is big-picture in favore of what I believe in.
As well, like your video so clearly pointed out, he is OPEN MINDED.
Unlike you.
I’m used to people like you. I have my very own homegrown Libertarians who are used to bullying people and making things up.
The funny thing is that Carlos and Tim EXPECTED you to be there, and if not, someone working for you. They were prepared.
And the best part is that Tim and Carlos both offered you and Thomas to repeat the entire thing on video so you would have something better than your salad cam.
Next time, just set up cam.
We have nothing to hide.
We welcome publicity and the truth.
Unlike you.
PPS Where’s the apologies for the inaccurate first report, dude?
Well all I can say is thank god we all are “allowed” to get Art’s advice on whom to vote for. What would we all do without his guidance? We would all be so lost! We in Orange county are truly honored!
Just walk away, Bruce.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.
All of you have been played. Instead of letting a useless endorsement go to the wayside many of you have elected to keep it alive on the blogs where a small percentage of the voters actually read on regular basis.
This is an example why many of you will never play with the big dogs in politics. Because you can never see the bigger picture.
The right course should have been to let it go. Don’t give it legs. Don’t make it personal and dont’ air damn videos of an event that only serves to sooth a personal conviction that will not have effect on a campaign.
It’s those that learn this fast that excel. I know many twenty year olds that have worked on a few campaigns that have more knowledge and wisdom than some forty year olds that have worked on several campaigns. It’s what you take out of campaigns (and by all means this is a campaign webblog) that matters most.
I would suggest most of you first mature, secondly look in the mirror at your adult face and lastly make a decision am I going to let this story consume me?
Posters 10 and 11,
I can understand why you are torqued. I have taken away a heretofore secret weapon of the OC GOP machine. From now on, every time Bruce endorses a Republican, we will be blogging about it.
I suspect the OC Libertarians will be replacing Bruce before too long.
Actually, It is Bruce Cohen who made sushi out of Pedorza. As usual everyone else reading this can see that except for Pedroza.
What a surprise…
Poster 13,
Really? And here I thought Bruce had yet to explain himself…
Whatever, he won’t be chair of the OC Libertarians for much longer.
Bruce Cohen is a moderate pro-defense libertarian. But his heart isn’t really in the battle for an extreme level of individual freedom.
If your heart is in the battle for individual freedom, then you can do better things for it than giving Bruce your time. The outcome of a race in which two non-libertarians are running against one another shouldn’t really concern people who are dedicated libertarians. Why argue about which mixture of morally-confused statism is better?
Art Torrey has a lot of energy. He is a very active poster on libertarian blogs. I think his time would be better spent by talking to the general public, than to the LP membership. A good place to do this is outside of his local courthouse, once per week, handing out FIJA or ISIL pamphlets, like the people in Keene New Hampshire sometimes do. (And just as John Lilburne might have once done, to snowballing public success, as detailed in Jim Powell’s “The Triumph of Liberty”.)
Quasi-libertarians like Bruce Cohen only become a waste of time if you prioritize them as a concern. Otherwise, they are actually slightly better than completely toxic Republicans. They become threatening only if you feel they are misrepresenting your personal beliefs. This is a common misconception: Noone speaks for anyone else. (When people get offended at misuse of a word that also describes them, there is no dampening of the misusers of that word that is as effective as reaching people who have never heard it before. Those who are interested in correct definitions will eventually find the Nolan chart, and will figure out the true definition. Most people are less philosophically-inclined, and will not bother to seek out the answers.)
I agree with Art that it would be best if libertarian-Republicans like Bruce were not in LP leadership positions. Then again, Bruce is there because other people would not take the minimal necessity of winning election to the post –as well as its minimal job functions– seriously. I believe Bruce does take these things seriously, even if he is often misguided in his approach and branding of the LP. That said, as long as he occupies the position, it is senseless to oppose him from a position of weakness. It is a waste of time…
The optimal solution, of course, is to find someone who is both strongly principled and consistent, and dedicated to Libertarians winning office. Until the public is fairly libertarian, this means compromise (speaking in generalities, and addressing local issues as much as possible, without making philsophical comments on controversial issues).
A good way to broach this problem is to associate the LP with a popular libertarian side of a local issue. This requires activity levels that most libertarians are not willing to give. It means showing up to every single city council meeting, and taking active part in the public debate.
If you spend enough time at sea, sooner or later you can imagine a way to build a better boat. If you never attend city council meetings, opportunities for libertarian victories will be uninformed with ‘real world’ knowledge.
Rather than criticize Bruce, your time would be better spent showing up to city council meetings in a suit and tie, and speaking in calm and complete sentences when asked for, or allowed to give, your opinion.
Until true libertarians can show that their focus on marginal (but morally correct) political ideas has not made them into fringe lunatics, the LP will remain a political nonentity.
It should be pretty obvious who wrote this, but I prefer to spend no more time here, and will not answer responses. It is a serious waste of my time.
Good luck, libertarians.
Lee Bing, Las Begas