[jyl]

I went to his website and looked at his platform. I don't agree with most of his ideas, but but some are interesting. I've pasted in excerpts of his platform in case others are interested.

War In Iraq

"The War on Iraq has been a colossal failure—first under the guise of "an imminent threat" later found to be based on erroneous evidence, and subsequently "liberation" - a monumental bait-and-switch the American people have not forgotten about. . . . exit strategy to bring our troops home and prevent further imperialism . . . By promoting national defense rather than international offense, Badnarik would bring home our troops from the over 130 countries . . ."

I agree with his views on the Iraq War. I don't agree we can bring all overseas troops home. The world economy doesn't stop at our borders and we can't make it so. If N. Korea destabilizes Asia, a nuclear Iran threatens the Middle East oilfields, etc, we'll feel it here. As in, we'll lose our jobs.

Homeland Security

"Americans' civil liberties are in danger. . . through such legislation as the PATRIOT Act and the continuing wars on terror and drugs, the American people are once again at a crossroads in the fight to retain their very rights under the Constitution."

I might agree. Although the devil's in the details - how you balance civil liberties with fighting crime and terrorism. I get the sense he might lean too much to one extreme.

The Economy

". . . Republicans and Democrats think that larger, more elaborate government jobs programs are the solution to your problems. However, since these programs must be funded by taking money from the private sector, even more jobs are destroyed . . . The answer is too much regulation and too much government spending. More government regulation and spending translate to more unemployment and less wealth creation. . . "

I don't understand the belief that eliminating regulations will solve many large problems. There are surely lots of dumb regulations, but there are also surely many regulations that are desirable (prevent waste dumping into rivers, make cars protect occupants in crashes, restrict companies' ability to sell and use consumer's private data, require sanitary conditions in food production, etc etc). Has anyone actually studied what % of existing regulations and what % of the cost of regulations are for the dumb regulations versus for the desirable regulations? Or is this just a slogan?

I think this sounds like the standard claim that any budget can be magically balanced by "eliminating government fraud and waste". Ahnold used to say that, when he was running for governor - after he got into office, he found it wasn't true and his budgets have been just as full of smoke. mirrors, and red ink as his predecessor's.

Crime

" Yet robberies, rapes, and homicides go down when states permit civilians to carry concealed weapons. . . Michael also proposes a refreshing, but tested and proven way of ensuring justice is served—restitution"

I'm inclined to agree.

Health Care

". . . ending excess regulation of pharmaceuticals, health care providers, and insurance companies, while slashing costs across the board and saving taxpayers billions in the process".

Another claim that eliminating "excess regulation" cures all ills. Sounds like bullpuckey.

Immigration

" . . . immigration is not just beneficial to the American economy but indispensable to the goal of a nation of freedom and opportunity. . . supports the entry of peaceful immigrants at conveniently located Customs and Immigration stations, subject only to brief vetting to ensure that they are not terrorists or criminals. . . . eliminate the Border Patrol and treat border issues as what they are: defense issues coming under the mission and scope of the armed forces."

A healthy amount of immigration is important but I wouldn't want the borders thrown wide open. And I don't see why you need to use the very expensive high-tech military to patrol the borders.

Minorities

". . . empower minorities by championing the elimination of excess regulations and licensing laws . . . "

Give me a break with this "excess regulations" stuff.

Gay Marriage

"Should gay marriage be permitted?. . . you, and only you, have the freedom to choose your partner for life."

Okay.

War On Drugs

"Badnarik supports ending the insane "War on Drugs"—and drug prohibition entirely."

Gun Control

". . . In 1999, 824 people died from firearm accidents, while the defensive use of guns saved approximately 400,000 lives, in most cases without even wounding the aggressor. It's time we as Americans stand up for our right to arm ourselves . . . "

Basically agree. I'm all for civilian gun ownership, with appropriate controls (licensing, safety training, etc). Not sure about his statistics - I would like to see the evidence.

Anyway, I won't be voting for him but I did think it was interesting to read his platform.