In 1776, William Floyd signed the Declaration of Independence, marking America’s secession from the British Empire. Yet his descendant William Weld (shown), now the vice-presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party (on a ticket led by former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson), was once part of a plan that would greatly diminish America’s national sovereignty, if not eventually abolish it completely.
In what a 2004 WorldNetDaily article called a plan to virtually eliminate the national borders of North America, the scheme envisioned a continent-wide, customs-free zone with a common approach to trade, energy, immigration, law enforcement, and security. The model for this effort to integrate the United States with Canada and Mexico was the European Union (EU). Under this plan, for example, illegal immigration among these three nations would end, because all such movement of people would be legal.
The 2004 panel, the Independent Task Force on North America — a project of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), of which Weld is a long-time member — was co-chaired by former Liberal Party Deputy Prime Minister John Manley of Canada; Pedro Aspe, a former Mexican finance minister; and former Massachusetts Governor William Weld.
Other panel members included Canadian Finance Minister Michael Wilson and Nelson Cunningham, the latter an associate of the (Henry) Kissinger-McLarty consulting firm.
WorldNetDaily labeled the plan “NAFTA on steroids.”
As one would suspect, the Libertarian Party has long claimed to be the party of liberty; however, its selection of William Weld to run for vice president should certainly throw that idea into question.
Weld supports continued U.S. membership in the United Nations. Noteworthy is that Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson dodged that very question (should the United States withdraw from the UN?) during the presidential debate. The Liberty Conservative website noted that Weld was a “vocal proponent of the Iraq War,” and signed a letter in support of the PATRIOT Act in 2005.
Weld even backed Democrat Barack Obama for president in 2008, although he supported fellow Republican Mitt Romney in 2012. In the Republican primaries this year, Weld backed Ohio Governor John Kasich. Matt Welch, editor of the libertarian magazine Reason, expressed amazement, calling Kasich’s foreign policy views an “interventionist nightmare.”
While Weld’s willingness to discuss the integration of the United States into a proposed North American Union, functionally eliminating American national sovereignty in the process, is of concern enough for Americans who believe in limited government and individual liberty, surely the Libertarian Party could cite some pro-liberty positions of Weld?
Hardly.
Weld is a supporter of expansive environmental regulations — a stance that fits well with Johnson, who has called the draconian Environmental Protection Agency an example of good government.
When questioned about his past pro-gun control positions, Weld offered Libertarian convention-goers the lame response that he is a “lifelong hunter.” Of course, whether Weld has gone hunting is irrelevant to the issue of the Second Amendment, since it was not included in the Constitution in order to protect deer hunting, but in the end, to protect the people from their own government. This reminds one of Senator John Kerry arranging a photo opportunity of himself buying a hunting license during the 2004 presidential campaign, in which Kerry lost to George W. Bush.
Apparently, Weld’s version of “libertarian” is almost indistinguishable from what most conservatives would call “liberal.”
Both Johnson and Weld are pro-choice. While Johnson would leave the issue of abortion to the states, in 1991 Weld actually favored states establishing their own pro-choice laws, in case Roe v. Wade were overturned. In August of 1997, Weld admitted that while partial-birth abortion was terrible, he still would not ban it.
Weld has been a long-time supporter of same-sex “marriage,” and even contributed to an amicus curiae brief in favor of that position to the Supreme Court in 2013.
Weld launched his political career as a lawyer on the House Judiciary Committee Watergate impeachment inquiry, where he was a colleague with Hillary Rodham. Later, he was U.S. attorney for Massachusetts. In 1990, Weld defeated Boston University President John Silber for governor of Massachusetts, promising to reduce the state deficit and cut taxes.
He was later defeated by Senator John Kerry in the 1996 Senate race, although he took 45 percent of the vote. The next year, Democrat President Bill Clinton nominated Weld to be U.S. ambassador to Mexico; however, Senator Jesse Helms, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, killed the appointment, citing Weld’s support for gay rights and abortion rights.
Weld then ran the Manhattan office of an international law firm, before working for the New York Equity firm Leeds, Weld and Company.
Weld’s first wife, Susan Roosevelt Weld, was a great granddaughter of progressive Republican President Theodore Roosevelt. They had five children before they divorced after 27 years of marriage. His second wife, novelist Leslie Marshall, was previously married to the son of Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee.
The Libertarian Party ticket of Johnson and Weld is expected to be on the ballot in all 50 states, claiming to offer Americans an alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties.
(The New American never endorses candidates. Our purpose is to inform the electorate and enable them to draw their own conclusions.)
