Harmon, Bean, And The Liberty Double Standard

There has been much discussion within the Maine liberty movement over the last month regarding the endorsement of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney by prominent businesswoman Linda Bean. Bean was one of the members of the National Delegation, a body that became a grassroots vs. establishment tug-of-war match. A Ron Paul supporter and major donor to the Defense of Liberty PAC, she recently came out endorsing Mitt Romney. While there is understandable outrage over the endorsement, some are excusing the endorsement. Bean, who has given over $11 thousand to DOLPAC to help launch an organization for electing candidates, is not being held to the same standard another member of the liberty movement was. State Representative Ryan Harmon essentially did the same thing in May, when he urged Ron Paul supporters to unite behind Mitt Romney. Many however, still harbor a grudge against Harmon, whereas Bean seems to be getting a free pass. Why?

In an e-mail sent out just before the State Convention in May, Representative Harmon urged unity against Barack Obama, stating:

We are making incredible strides in our effort to restore liberty and fiscal responsibility to America.  Over the past few months Dr. Paul has been an exemplary advocate for our shared commitment to the Constitution. I am sincerely grateful for his contributions and I am honored to have had the opportunity to support him.

With the General Election in sight, I believe that we can best advance our shared ideals by uniting with our fellow Republicans to challenge Barack Obama.  Mitt Romney is a proven leader in the movement to restore prosperity and freedom to America and there is no doubt in my mind that he will be a principled President.

In an e-mail sent out a month ago, Linda Bean urged unity against Barack Obama, stating:

But right now we do not have either of them on the ballot at hand.  And we are on the precipice of losing our country!  4 years from now we may not even have a ballot:  OBAMA is HITLERIAN in his course, and he is closing in VERY FAST to eliminate totally our liberty rights and heritage.

Romney/Ryan will have my vote this time.  I hope you will not feel I have failed you.  My late husband Verne Jones was born on a Maine farm on the Jones Road in Windsor and worked it his whole life,  his grandfather Cunningham before him.  Before he died in 1985, he asked me to never to let it grow back to woods, and my sons and I never have.  My photos below show you how it looked last Sunday morning, thanks to neighboring dairy farmer, hardworking Danny Tibbetts who has 168 cows and grows his hay and corn here to feed them.  Do I want OBAMA to take that away from him?  NO!    This article gives us, in an agrarian state,  real reason to pause and think very hard about how to vote.  Here is a compelling difference between Obama and Romney that affects our Maine farmers and, indeed, all American farmland.

The only real difference between the two e-mails, is Representative Harmon takes a positive approach, whereas Bean takes a negative one. The difference between the two people? It would seem to be money and who they know. Representative Harmon, while a principled leader in Augusta who will advance legislation for the liberty movement, does not have the same friends Bean has, or the money. This is not to diminish Bean’s contribution, but a question still lingers. Why the double-standard by some within the liberty movement? If we are opposed to any establishment and favoritism in general, and are in favor of integrity, then shouldn’t we hold all individuals within our movement to an equal standard?

Chris Dixon

About Chris Dixon

Chris Dixon is a libertarian-leaning writer and managing editor for The Liberty Conservative. In addition to his political writing, he also covers baseball for Cleat Geeks and enjoys writing on a number of other topics ranging on Medium.