More Libertarianism

In 2ooo I ran for elected office. Yes, really. I signed up to run for the state senate as the candidate for the Libertarian Party. I was not committed to doing anything to win, mind you. I viewed the whole thing as a sort of civic duty - so that there would at least be a Libertarian candidate on the ballot.

After registering as a candidate, I subsequently took a one-year leave from BYU, and moved to Nanjing, China for a year. I was not even in the US when the election was held. I wrote a letter to the county registrar and withdrew my candidacy and I don't believe I was actually on the ballot. However, if you Google my name and look hard enough you can find the official vote tally with my name listed and no votes cast for me. That's right, I didn't even vote for myself.

During the course of my brief candidacy, I received the following email and made the attached response. It may be of some interest to someone.


Original Email

Candidates --

After finding on the Internet that you are running for an office that I am concerned about and have interest in, I am seeking information about you.

What are your concerns that have prompted you to run, especially to oppose an incumbent? (Please note that I would be willing to vote for a non-incumbent!)

What are specific issues that you would promote, sponsor, encourage, etc?

Without getting too personal or mean, what haven't you liked about the incumbent?

What different viewpoints do you have?

Basically, I'm asking "Why are you seeking public political office?" and "Why should I vote for you?"

Sincerely,
XXX, very concerned citizen/voter
American Fork


My Response

Dear XXX:

Thank you for your interest in my candidacy. I am running for the state senate as a Libertarian. Libertarians in general and I personally believe in a limited role for government. We basically believe that the government should not interfere with anyone without overwhelmingly good cause. I believe that there are a few legitimate roles for the government to play in society - enforcing contracts and enforcing laws against violence, theft & fraud, for example. I am very uncomfortable when the government, be it state, local or federal, steps beyond these bounds. I am aware that there are many cases where free individuals acting together may make socially poor choices. Some people will argue that in most of these cases there is a legitimate role for the government to play in correcting the situation. Laws against monopoly behavior are one example. While I agree that there may be the potential for the government to correct such problems, I do not agree that the government necessarily has the know-how or the incentives to properly solve such problems. Experience has shown that such arguments are used time after time to promote expansion of the government, without really solving the problem and in many cases making it worse.

Despite the fact that Republicans talk of small government, I see no evidence, especially at the state & local level, that they really do anything to make government small or limit its control. I have nothing personal against our current state senator, John Valentine - I am sure he is a nice person and votes as he sees best - I do think the current state legislature generally passes poor laws. If elected, I would not vote to increase taxes for any reason. I believe the state government already tries to do too many things and generally does them poorly. I would oppose any law that placed unnecessary constraints on the behavior of businesses or individuals.

Ultimately the government uses coercion of various types to enforce the laws it passes. If I break a law, the government may arrest and detain me in jail. If I try to escape from jail they may use deadly force to stop my escape. I believe that we should be very careful about the use of such coercion. Very few of the things the government does are worth killing someone for.

I am not so naive to think that I will win the upcoming election. Utah county will most likely continue to elect Republicans to the state legislature for the foreseeable future. What I hope to accomplish by running for office is let people know that there are alternatives to the status quo. I believe that most people in Utah county are sympathetic with libertarian viewpoints, indeed it probably matches their political preferences better than the Republican Party. However, they may not realize that the Libertarian Party exists as an alternative.

I hope the above comments have adequately answered your questions. If I have not done so, or if you have further questions please feel free to contact me at this email address. I will try to respond promptly.