Speech by the Chair of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina

Delivered March 11, 2025

Good evening. I’m Ryan Brown, Chair of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina. I want to thank you for being here with me.

Tonight, I’m here to offer a different perspective—one that cuts through the noise of the last two speeches you just heard by the Democrats and the Republicans, with the same old polished promises and finger-pointing. You can switch the scripts, and no one would notice a difference.

Instead, let’s talk about what’s really happening in our state and our nation. Let’s talk about the failures, the hypocrisy, and the solutions neither of these parties will touch. Most importantly, let’s talk about hope—real hope—for a future where people, not politics, come first.

First, let’s address the elephant (pun intended) in the room: the Republicans’ failure on the budgetary continuing resolution. In Washington, our GOP leaders had a chance to stand for fiscal responsibility, to demand transparency and restraint in a bloated federal budget. Instead, they caved like they always do. They supported a stopgap that keeps the government’s spending spree alive, piling more debt on our children’s backs while dodging tough choices. This isn’t leadership—it’s cowardice. North Carolinians deserve representatives who fight for principle, not just uniparty loyalty.

True to form, our U.S. Senators, Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, are expected to vote for the spending bill, virtually a carbon copy of Biden’s spending bill from last year. The Liberty Index—a measure of how well lawmakers protect our freedoms—came out last week for U.S. senators. Budd scored an underwhelming F with a 65% while Tillis scored an abysmal 15%. 

These numbers reflect votes that expand government overreach, erode privacy, and prop up corporate welfare. If they truly valued liberty, they’d reject warrantless surveillance, end crony handouts, and stop the war on our rights. Instead, they’re playing the same old Washington game.

Thom Tillis and Ted Budd represent the interests of big government and big spending. We deserve better.

Our new Democratic Attorney General, Jeff Jackson, voted for the reauthorization of FISA 702—a law that lets the feds spy on your calls, emails, and texts without a warrant. He’s all for government intrusion when it suits him, yet the so-called straight shooter is auspiciously silent on the ActBlue money laundering scandal right here in North Carolina, like AG Stein before him. Reports have surfaced of suspicious donations funneled through this Democratic fundraising platform—potentially millions in untraceable cash influencing our elections. Where’s the outrage, Jeff? Where’s the investigation? It seems his principles bend when it’s his party on the line. That’s not integrity—that’s fraudulence.

Governor Stein talked about our law enforcement officers being heroes and introduced several during his speech. If he is serious about protecting law enforcement officers, then it’s time for him to publicly support real body camera reform. We pay for the body cameras to see how our public safety is handled. Let’s make that information public. I have seen personally, firsthand, how rogue officers violating their oaths, are able to manipulate the restrictions on body camera access and use them to hide evidence of their crimes. SHaring the truth is good for everyone, all the time.

Further, if Governor Stein is serious about tackling the opioid epidemic, then it’s time for him to end the costly, violent, and destructive war on drugs. The War on Drugs has not only failed but it has led to the largest attack on our civil liberties in recent decades. Let’s not escalate the War on Drugs in North Carolina. Opioids are a problem because of government support for their corporate donors for decades. Turning victims into criminals and empowering drug lords is not the way to solve this problem. 

We have two parties that love to yell about how important our democracy is, but then work as hard as they can to disenfranchise anyone who doesn’t support them. Beyond partisan gerrymandering at the state and local levels, absurd lead times for elections, ballot harvesting, unclear ID rules, and all the other games the uniparty plays to try and rig elections in their favor, North Carolina has the dubious distinction of owning the only non-certified race in the country, 4 months and 7 days after the election ended. 

The Board of Elections is strictly partisan, despite our state now having more unaffiliated voters than republicans or democrats. In fact, just a few short years ago, governor Roy Cooper went to court to make sure it stayed that way. Tonight, I am calling on the legislature to make a bold move that reflects the population of North Carolina and change this structure. It’s time to put a Libertarian on the Board of Elections, and to add at least three unaffiliated representatives. We need to restore confidence in the Board of Elections and have elections the people can trust.

The fight over education has gone on in North Carolina for decades, from suing to prevent bussing children to decades of lawsuits with Leandro, the only two things that have remained consistent are partisan bickering and declining education outcomes for children. We have wide disparities, where some students receive a wonderful education and others graduate without being able to read. The teachers’ union has undue influence, and bloated budgets, top-heavy with administration, ensure that education in our state remains a financial tarpit where students don’t see much benefit from the vast sums intended to support their education. 

Republican voucher programs have been wildly popular, though funding was apparently not adequately considered, and the government continues to pick winners and losers to stay within budget. Meanwhile, the Democrats, true to form, just demand more money to throw at a broken system, now calling for free community college, which would ensure another layer of education to fail the people who need it the most, among so many other free things. I have a question for you Governor Stein, when you say “free” where do you think that money comes from? Government has been in charge of education for decades. It hasn’t worked and throwing more money at it won’t solve the issue.

The Libertarian party has a different way, where all students have access to quality education in a safe learning environment where things like cell phone usage, mental health, and bullying are solved by simple incentive structures, instead of sure-to-fail government interventions. We call for true differentiated education, where all students have access to equal state funds to be spent in the manner best suited for them, allowing for a system where all children can thrive, where we attract the best teachers because they can make the highest salaries in the country, not because we waste more money on unproductive classrooms and bloated administration.

Further, it is time to remove draconian occupational licensing laws and zoning restrictions that stifle our economy, increase transportation time and costs, prevent entrepreneurship and hinder generational wealth building. Governor Stein claims to support small business and be concerned about housing costs, but his policy choices suggest otherwise. We are told that too many parents can’t afford to work, but the reality is that policy has created that situation. If removing red tape is good now, it’s good all the time. We call for a dramatic reduction, with a chainsaw, not a scalpel, in the regulatory environment, including occupational licensing laws and zoning restrictions that are choking small businesses and pricing North Carolinians out of their homes.

Finally, let’s talk about a storm that’s still raging in our state: the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Governor Roy Cooper botched the recovery in an almost incomprehensible fashion, and Governor Stein appears primed to continue that ignominious legacy, despite tonight’s lip service. Helene hit us hard—over 100 dead, $60 billion in damages—but their response was virtually nonexistent in many places. Governor Stein bragged about the accomplishments of government workers, and we are thankful for their contributions, but the massive efforts of volunteers and concerned citizens has dwarfed the state response, where organizations like FEMA were seemingly more concerned with who someone voted for then how to help that person. We don’t think you should be paying taxes, but, if you must, we demand that you get the services you were promised. 

In particular, we call on the legislature to act immediately and pass legislation removing property taxes from the people who lost everything in Western North Carolina. Governor Stein said the people need a hand up, not a handout. Let's get the government boot off their neck. You shouldn't be paying taxes on your property anyway; if you are, you don't own your property, you're renting from the government. But the people who have lost everything on their property deserve special consideration and immediate relief from the albatross of property tax.

Of course, this isn’t new—it’s a rerun of eight years ago when Hurricanes Matthew and Florence slammed Eastern North Carolina. Cooper’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency botched that job so badly they ran out of money, leaving over 1,000 families in limbo, still, after eight years. Now Stein’s doubling down with no sense of irony, creating a new office—GROW NC—that’s already drowning in bureaucracy. Western North Carolinians need homes, roads, and hope, not more promises from Raleigh that wash away with the next rain. Both parties point fingers, but neither delivers. It’s a failure of leadership that keeps punishing the people.

Here’s the good news: there’s a way forward, and it starts with the Libertarian Party of North Carolina. We trust you—the individual, the dreamer, the doer—to live your life without a nanny state or a corporate puppet pulling strings. We are the only party that has your back. We are the only party that actually cares about you and trusts you to live your life, keep your earnings, and make your choices without a bureaucrat breathing down your neck.

Imagine a North Carolina where your rights aren’t up for debate—where you’re free to speak, work, defend yourself, and live as you see fit. Imagine a government that exists to protect, not to plunder. Governor Stein talked a lot about investment tonight. Government doesn’t invest. It takes from the people and redistributes. It chooses winners and losers. The Libertarian Party of North Carolina believes in the individual.

That’s our vision. We’ve been fighting for it since day one—ending the drug war, reforming our education system in a way that actually educates, welcoming peaceful immigrants, defending the absolute right to self-defense, slashing the chains of overregulation, and preserving your God-given rights. We believe in the people of North Carolina. We don’t care about power grabs or photo ops. We care about people—you, your family, and your future.

The Democrats will tell you the state can solve everything. The Republicans will claim they’re your saviors while selling you out behind closed doors. But we Libertarians know the truth: the power lies with you. Join us. Stand with us. Together, we can build a state where innovation thrives, justice reigns, and liberty isn’t just a word—it’s a way of life.

This isn’t a pipe dream—it’s a movement. Across North Carolina, people are waking up, rejecting the tired old script, and choosing freedom. Be part of it. We start local, we change local, and then we change the state. 

Visit lpnc.org, sign up, and let’s make history together. Because in the end, it’s not about red or blue—it’s about you. Thank you, now let’s get to work.

Watch Ryan's response here.