By Roger Stone

The New York Libertarian Party fell short of the 50,000 votes required for official ballot status again in this years Governor's race as a direct result of the thuggish and undemocratic tactics used to strong-arm the nomination of Albany Lawyer and perennial candidate Warren Redlich, a non-libertarian, registered Republican and former Green Party Candidate and egomaniac at the Parties convention last spring.

Kristin Davis who ran a libertarian, issues-based campaign had a serious interest in the Libertarian nomination back in April but pro-Redlich thugs Eric Sundwall and Chris Edes conspired to deprive any candidate but Redlich access to a list of those "delegates" eligible to vote, exclude from any influence those New York voters who has actually taken the time to register as Libertarians and required a poll tax to vote. Scott Lieberman, an affable National Libertarian Party leader tried to broker a fair convention to no avail. Redlich was thus nominated and the seeds of his defeat were sown.

Davis petitioned her way onto the ballot anyway and ran a positive campaign based on a true libertarian agenda; legalization of marijuana, legalization of gay marriage, legalization of casino gambling and decriminalization of Prostitution. Redlich's response was to call Davis a "whore" in the Albany Times Union.

In the closing days of the race a First Amendment group People for Safer New York exposed Redlich's weird writing defending sex with under aged girls in a carefully lawyered piece of literature that exposed Redlich as Sexual predator in his attitude. Redich can huff and puff all he wants but the claims fall squarely within the bounds of the First Amendment. Liberal reporters found Redlich's writing acceptable as they saw it a sophisticated, erudite and cosmopolitan. It wasn't. It was vile. I'm a libertine but I limit myself to consenting adults.

Buffalo Tea Party leader Rus Thompson who writes a widely read blog Albany Insanity, blasted Redlich accurately for trying to practice law before a Town Court while he was on the Town Board overseeing the Court - you're typical sleazy Albany conflict of interest and criticized the "family man" for owning and profiting from a website CristineO'Donnellnude. O'Donnell was the Tea Party candidate in Delaware. Thompson's readership is 158,000 subscribers on the right.

Kristin Davis did offer one criticism of Redlich's proposal to raise gas taxes to "discourage consumption" a classic case of accepting the liberal argument that we should punish free behavior though taxation and without regard to the current price of gas. The man's a mischkeit.

Sam Sloan, a long time Libertarian who was similarly cheated out of a chance to compete for the Libertarian gubernatorial nomination first made me aware of Redlich's "exotic" writings and I gladly passed them on to People for a Safer New York and their lawyers. People for a Safer New York reportedly mailed 150,000 households the notice. Did the revelations cost Redlich the roughly 5000 votes he fell short by? Most likely.

Davis scored a respectable 22,000 votes- considering the "draw" of the Board of Elections placed her in a different row on the ballot than all but one of the other candidates for Governor. She will be back.

The Libertarians scored 44,761 votes. Just short of the magic 50,000. Pity. Paybacks are a bitch.