Another Johnson/Weld SuperPAC Announced, Run By Weld Associates and GOP Operatives
The Boston Globe, from Massachusetts where William Weld governed as a Republican in the 1990s, reports on a bunch of Weld pals and former GOP operatives planning to support his Libertarian campaign for the vice presidency (along with Gary Johnson as president).
The folks running this new "Socially Liberal and Fiscally Conservative" PAC (named after the favorite way that Johnson/Weld like to explain libertarianism) are from Weld's own Boston lobbying firm. They plan to raise money for TV ads for the Libertarian Party campaign. Their founder is R.J. Lyman, the senior v-p from Weld's old firm ML Strategies. Lyman used to work in Weld's gubernatorial administration. They have not yet announced any specific money sources or goals.
Major advisers to the PAC include former John McCain general counsel Trevor Potter and Matt Sanderson, who has worked in the past for McCain, a Romney PAC in 2012, and as counsel to Rand Paul's Republican presidential bid this season. (They also both helped Steven Colbert with his comedic SuperPAC in 2011.)
Weld, the Globe reports:
began working through his contact list last week, reaching out to potential donors and eyeing the hiring of fund-raising consultants. He said he enjoys the work, describing himself as "back in my briar patch."
The Globe also highlighted a policy gap on taxes between top and bottom of the L.P. ticket:
Johnson believes in the "fair tax," a national consumption tax that would replace federal income and payroll taxes. Weld, for his part, believes in the "flat tax" and called Johnson's preference "an awfully regressive way to run a railroad."
I reported on two previously announced SuperPACs intending to help Johnson/Weld, Matt Kibbe's AlternativePAC and Ed Crane's PurplePAC.