Individual liberty inspires presidential hopeful

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGQ28BFNL1.DTL

Voters looking for change aren't going to get it by voting for George Bush or John Kerry, Michael Badnarik, the Libertarian candidate for president, told a San Francisco audience Thursday.

"If you continue doing what you've always done, you're going to get what you've always got,'' Badnarik said.

The U.S. government, whether it has been run by Republicans or Democrats, has always sought more power and influence, usually at the expense of the voters, said the 50-year-old computer programmer from Austin, Texas. The national government has to be smaller, cheaper and much less intrusive.

"Much of what the federal government now does is unconstitutional,'' Badnarik told about 70 people at the Commonwealth Club of California. "Its purpose is to protect your life, liberty and property. Any time the government does anything more, they're exceeding their authority.''

Libertarian policy calls for most government services to be turned over to private companies, leaving only very limited authority for the federal government. "Coining money, national defense and the post office, and that's about it,'' Badnarik said.

The Libertarian platform ranges from the outer reaches of the political left to the hardest of conservative positions, but all follow from the party's overriding concern for individual liberty.

Badnarik, nominated by Libertarians this spring in Atlanta, for example, supports same-sex marriage, legalization of drugs, withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and an end to the Patriot Act, which he described as "the most egregiously unconstitutional piece of paper to leave Congress since the Alien and Sedition Acts.''

But he also wants to end most drug testing by the Food and Drug Administration, eliminate regulations on business and overturn all gun control laws.

Halfway measures are impossible when it comes to individual freedom, Badnarik said.

If people have an absolute right to bear arms, that means they must be able to have not only hunting rifles and registered pistols, but also concealed handguns, assault rifles and even an F-16 fighter jet without government approval or interference.

"If I concede that the government can stop you from having an F-16, I'm conceding the right of government to regulate,'' Badnarik said.

Government should only be involved when there's a clear and present danger of harm, he said. "You can have a gun under your coat, you can pull it out of the holster, but you can't point it at someone."

Police wouldn't be as busy if more people were carrying guns, Badnarik said. In Florida, for example, the crime rate plunged when people were allowed to carry concealed weapons, he added.

The Libertarians' goal is to get Badnarik invited to the presidential debates, even though he doesn't have the 15 percent support in the polls the debate commission requires. That rule has been challenged in court.

The opportunity to challenge Kerry and Bush in the three televised debates would be a major coup for the party, even though no one believes it would boost the Libertarians into the heart of the race for the White House. For third parties, national elections are more about issues than votes.

"Even if I get 10 percent of the votes, the people who go to the White House will be dusting off their copies of the Constitution,'' Badnarik said.

E-mail John Wildermuth at [email protected]