Liberty in an Election Year: An Interview w/Michael Badnarik
~

Jonathan David Morris: Some in the libertarian community view voting as an act of violence, so to speak --

Michael Badnarik: An act of violence?

JDM: The idea being that because the government collects your taxes by use of force, it's an act of violence to actually participate in the political process.

MB: How, then, are you supposed to alter or abolish your government?

JDM: That's what I want to ask you.

MB: There are a number of ways to change the government, if you don't like it. The first and most civil way to do that is by participating in the political system. The purpose of the government is to protect your life, your liberty, and your property. Most of what our government does is unconstitutional. The Patriot Act is the most egregiously unconstitutional piece of paper ever to leave Congress since the Alien and Sedition Acts. We have 20,000 gun laws in the United States that prevent you from defending yourself. At the Democratic Convention in Boston, they established a "free speech zone," which is a chain link fence surrounded by razor wire. To me, that is a prisoner's compound. It has nothing to do with freedom of speech. I am absolutely appalled. I have freedom of speech because I am brave enough to exercise that freedom, not because the government grants me that privilege. If Americans do not wake up and take charge of the government that they are responsible for, then, ultimately, the government will become so tyrannical that the only way to correct it will be through violent revolution.

JDM: You mentioned the Constitution. What makes you think a constitutional republic can ultimately be restrained from the kind of growth that even ours eventually stumbled into?

MB: We, the people, ordained and established the Constitution. We invented our government in 1789. Therefore, they work for us -- not the other way around. We, the people, remain responsible for the actions of our government. The best way to do that is by legislative reform. We are the land of the free and the home of the brave. If you want to be free, you must also be brave. And you must be brave enough to vote your conscience and vote for liberty. If you vote for the lesser of two evils, you're taking the coward's way out.

JDM: In an ideal libertarian society, what happens to the people who can't help themselves?

MB: First of all, welfare is theft. If you take money out of my wallet for your healthcare, your education, your housing -- that is theft. And if you encourage the government to take that money from my wallet and give it to you, that is government-assisted theft. Libertarians are adamantly opposed to both forms of theft. The best way to protect Americans is to stimulate the economy. Libertarians plan to do that by dramatically reducing the size of the federal government, pushing all that money back into the hands of Americans so that they can spend their money. This will not only raise our standard of living, but the economy will grow exponentially. Furthermore, Americans are the most generous culture on the face of the Earth. We will never allow our elderly or disadvantaged to starve to death, as demonstrated by the fact that we contributed $5 billion to the city of New York within one month of September 11th. There is never an excuse for theft.

JDM: In 1992, Ross Perot won 19 percent of the popular vote, but he probably could've won more if people thought he could win. In 2000, Ralph Nader barely won any of the popular vote, but people still thought he "beat Gore." How did we become entrenched in the two-party system to the point where the best a third-party candidate can do is to win 19 percent but still not be thought capable of winning?

MB: There are a number of things. First of all, the fact that we are only allowed to vote for one candidate. Mathematically, if you only have one candidate as your choice, you ultimately narrow things down to two parties. We can correct that by changing to an instant run-off voting system (where people can rank their preferences), or going to approval voting (where they simply identify all the candidates they approve of). The second thing that we can do is to eliminate this idea that only the Democrats and Republicans can participate in the debates. And the third thing that we need to do is to eliminate this misconception that voting for a third party is "wasting" your vote. The only wasted vote is when you vote for a candidate that you do not respect. The only wasted vote is when you vote for a candidate that is going to raise your taxes, that will continue the war in Iraq, that will restore the draft, that will continue to pass unconstitutional legislation like the Patriot Act. The only wasted vote is when you do not vote for the candidate who will best represent you in Washington.

JDM: Based on your last answer, I would assume you're not content with the spoiler role. People probably say to you all the time, "Do you think you can win?" What do you think when people ask you that?

MB: If the question is, "Can I win?", the answer is yes. I am on the ballot in 48 states and have more than enough possible electoral votes that I could win the White House. The Democrats and Republicans want to restore the draft. I think the draft is immoral and constitutes involuntary servitude. So millions of young people, many of whom are voting for the first time, and their concerned parents, could vote for me. The Democrats and Republicans want to pass rational gun control. I think that all gun control laws are unconstitutional. So 80 million gun owners could vote for me. The Democrats and Republicans want to raise your taxes. I want to eliminate the IRS. If everybody in the United States who hates the IRS voted for me, I could not only win but I could win by a landslide. So if the question is, "Can I win?", yes. Am I packing my boxes, getting ready to go to Washington? No.

JDM: How are you working to change that perception?

MB: I am working as hard as I can to present the Libertarian message. I get four hours of sleep a night. I do six to twelve interviews a day. I've traveled to 41 states since January. Do I have a difficult job? Yes. Can Democrats and Republicans outspend me 10,000 to 1? Yes. However, George Washington only had 2,000 regular troops. The rest of his army were undisciplined militia. He was fighting against the most powerful army on the face of the world. I am sure there were people who were telling George Washington, "You just can't win. Put out the campfires and go home." I am very glad that he continued in his fight for liberty. And while my job may be difficult, I will continue lighting the fires of liberty one at a time, as long as I am capable of drawing a breath.

JDM: Bush and Kerry seem to be campaigning more on Vietnam than Iraq. Is there a reason for that?

MB: Yes. They're trying to avoid the issues. They figure if they can confuse the population by talking about things that have no relevance to this election, then perhaps people will go to the polls and vote for them anyway. I am desperately trying to get into the presidential debate. Henry Ford once said that you can have your car painted any color you want, as long as it's black -- that is not a legitimate choice. Democrats and Republicans are trying to tell you that you can have any president you want, as long as it's Bush or Kerry -- that is also not a legitimate choice. We recently selected Miss America from over 50 contestants, and the presidency of the United States is a far more important position. I believe that American voters have a right to hear all of the issues in this election, so that when they go to the polls in November they can make an educated choice.

JDM: You wrote that, "In reality, homeland security is the only legitimate goal of U.S. military policy," on your website.

MB: When American lives and property are attacked, we have every justification to use our military to bring the perpetrators of that crime to justice. With regard to September 11th, the perpetrators of that crime -- to the best of my knowledge -- were Usama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. We are not pursuing them. They're difficult to catch. So the current administration has chosen to attack Iraq, apparently because it has a defined border. Ninety-two percent of the people in Iraq consider us occupiers. There are two ways we can solve this problem. One is to go into Iraq and kill everyone, so that we can legitimately say that no one in Iraq hates us. The other solution is to bring our sons and daughters home as safely and quickly as possible.

JDM: How will we do it? What's the exact plan, step-by-step, to make it happen as quickly as possible? Because if we don't withdraw soon, it is fathomable that, under Bush or Kerry, there is going to be a draft.

MB: Yes, there is going to be a draft under both the Democrats and Republicans, and Americans are going to be shocked after the election when they discover that's true. However, the issue here is bringing our troops home. The closest I ever got to being in the military was being in the Boy Scouts for 12 years. I am not a military expert. But I do know the laws of physics prevent us from bringing 150,000 troops home in two days. It's just not possible.

JDM: It's not going to happen by Super Bowl Sunday?

MB: It's not necessarily going to happen by Super Bowl Sunday. If I have to stay there just a little bit longer to make sure that they are all alive and healthy, then I will do that. But I will give my military leaders the instructions to bring them home as quickly as possible. I don't know how long that's going to be. Three months? Six months? I'm not sure.

JDM: What about the troops in South Korea, Germany?

MB: The Constitution allows us to do national defense. It does not allow us to do international offense. I will bring our troops home from around the world. We are currently using our military to influence other governments, influence other economies, and poke other countries in the eye, politically, with a sharp stick.

JDM: Is our presence in 130 countries why 9/11 happened?

MB: It is our meddling in the Middle East the last 50 years that has caused this hatred for America. I don't know why they call it "common sense" when there's such a blatant lack of it. Apparently, when George Bush says they hate us for our freedom, people are willing to abide by that. They feel safer knowing our soldiers are bombing buildings and killing innocent civilians somewhere else. That is not a moral justification.

JDM: Okay, one last question. Did you hear Saddam Hussein is running for president in Iraq next year?

MB: No, I did not hear that.

JDM: Do you think he'll win?

MB: No.

Jonathan David Morris writes a weekly column on politics and personal freedoms. His website is www.readjdm.com, and he can be reached at jdm@readjdm.com.