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Libertarian Group Aiming for U.S. State Takeover
Reuters ^ | June 04, 2003 | Kristin Roberts

Posted on 06/05/2003 3:36:35 AM PDT by Pern

MIAMI (Reuters) - Libertarians who hope to take control of a U.S. state's government and then do away with most of it are looking at 10 states as possible targets and aim to make their selection by October.

Leaders of the almost 2-year-old Free State Project say membership is nearing a magic 5,000 mark, the number that the group has set as the trigger point for an internal vote on which U.S. state they should call home.

Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming are all in the running.

Under a plan by a Yale University political scientist, seen as a long shot by experts, the group will move to the chosen state, recruit at least 15,000 more people who share the libertarian vision of less government in citizens' lives and get elected to state offices including the legislature and ultimately the governorship.

Once in power, they intend to dramatically slice the state's government and its budget, perhaps by 75 percent. On its Web site (http://freestateproject.org), the group says it does not promote secession from the United States.

With government scaled back dramatically, state officials will have the sole job of protecting "life, liberty and property," according to Jason Sorens, the group's Yale-educated founder and president, who expects a vote this fall.

"The original idea was simply to concentrate the number of activists in a single state," Sorens said. He had observed the ineffectiveness of previous libertarian actions, highlighted by the failure of Libertarian Party presidential contenders to win more than 1 percent of the vote.

By moving to one state, the group expects better odds, but history and political science experts disagree.

"It's not very likely at all" that the group will succeed, said David Gillespie, political science professor at Presbyterian College in South Carolina.

The movement will suffer, experts said, from obstacles facing all minor parties in the two-party dominated American political system as well as the fringe nature of libertarians.

RADICAL IMAGE

"The Libertarian image within the country is a radical image," Gillespie said, noting libertarians and the Free State Project fall into a category of movements based on doctrine rather than pragmatism needed to form coalitions and win elections.

"They find their reality not in election victory but in being right."

Libertarians have not been alone in America's history in their quest for less government. Classical liberals of Thomas Jefferson's bent say the nation's founders had no intention of creating a country whose government was so deeply involved in citizens' lives.

Other groups have looked to break from the federal government altogether. South Carolina seceded from the union of states in 1860 to advance the conflict that resulted in the Civil War. In 1990, Alaskans elected an Alaskan Independence Party candidate for governor.

CANADIAN EXAMPLE

The Free State Project, however, derives its hope from Canada where Quebec's separatist Parti Quebecois in 1976 won a provincial election with 41 percent of the popular vote despite having just 100,000 members in a population of 6.2 million.

Based roughly on those figures, the Free State Project expects that by moving to a state with fewer than 1.5 million people and developing a base of 20,000 members, the group can win election to state offices and begin chopping the budget.

Membership in the Free State Project, which involves a pledge to pack up and move, topped 3,700 by the end of May.

The states under consideration meet requirements of a small population and relatively low average spending by the Democratic and Republican parties during recent election cycles.

Rhode Island and Hawaii were eliminated because of their "hopelessly statist political cultures," the group's research committee decided.

Three of the ten -- Alaska, North Dakota and Maine -- have all had third-party governors. In U.S. history, only eight third-party candidates have won state gubernatorial elections, according to the National Governors Association.

But the last third party to have enduring success was the Republican Party, solidified by President Abraham Lincoln's 1860 win six years after the party's first official meeting.

Free State Project leaders say they recognize the problems facing minor parties. Sorens, in fact, hopes the group will act more as a voting league to support any candidate who endorses libertarian ideas.

Still, even supporters of minor party movements say the Free State Project is a long shot.

"It's fun to theorize but then it gets to selling your house," said Richard Winger, a libertarian and editor of Ballot Access News, a publication on ballot laws and regulations.

"I can't see mass migration," he said.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; US: Alaska; US: Delaware; US: Idaho; US: Maine; US: Montana; US: New Hampshire; US: North Dakota; US: South Dakota; US: Vermont; US: Wyoming
KEYWORDS: dream; freedrugs; fsp; libertarian; libertarians; utpoia
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To: Lefty-NiceGuy
The Free-Staters have already taken over San Francisco.


21 posted on 06/05/2003 6:51:28 AM PDT by Cultural Jihad
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To: Pern
Yes, some of their ideas do sound good; but I can't
stomach the open borders idea or the idea to legitimize
drugs. Also, I think they have a sophomoric concept of
human nature. People, if left to their own devices, will
not do the right thing. They need some control.
22 posted on 06/05/2003 6:51:28 AM PDT by upcountryhorseman
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To: Pern
"They find their reality not in election victory but in being right."

What little reality they find is polluted by Libertarians electing Democates when they can't have someone 100% pure...

They are worse than the Green Party.

23 posted on 06/05/2003 6:57:29 AM PDT by Drango (A liberal's compassion is limited only by the size of someone else's wallet.)
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To: Impeach the Boy
50. Ting / The Caldron
above: Li, The Clinging, Fire
below: Sun, The Gentle, Wind, Wood

Nine in the fourth place means:

The legs of the ting are broken.
The prince's meal is spilled
And his person is soiled.
Misfortune.

A man has a difficult and responsible task to which he is not adequate. Moreover, he does not devote himself to it with all his strength but goes about with inferior people; therefore the execution of the work fails. In this way he also incurs personal opprobrium.

Confucius says about this line: "Weak character coupled with honored place, meager knowledge with large plans, limited powers with heavy responsibility, will seldom escape disaster."

24 posted on 06/05/2003 7:05:22 AM PDT by Cultural Jihad
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To: 50sDad
If it becomes necessary to escape, I will never stop to pose dramatically and toss off a one-liner.

Anyway, in real life, you never think of those great zingers until hours later.

25 posted on 06/05/2003 7:05:41 AM PDT by P.O.E.
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To: Cultural Jihad
I sometimes wonder if California would be happier without Washington. If they did leave the Union it would tip the balance toward the conservatives in the remainder of the country. I wonder if it has the right to leave the union like Texas, since it entered with Texas and that was one of the conditions for joining.
26 posted on 06/05/2003 7:11:29 AM PDT by Lefty-NiceGuy (Ok)
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To: Pern
The libertarian snowplow riddle:

Here in Libertopia, we pay no property taxes; therefore, we have no local services. Instead we contract with private firms for such matters as security, trash pickup, tree removal, etc.

Oh, oh. Here comes mean Old Man Winter and he dumps 37 inches of snow on Libertopia. No problem. We just call Mr. Snowplow Man, Inc. and he clears the road, right? But wait a minute. There are ten houses on this deadend street and Mr. Liberty lives waaaaay on the end.

The other nine people on the street discover that Mr. Snowplow Man, Inc. must plow his way through the entire road to get to the end and clear the road for Mr. Liberty. These nine get their sections of the road plowed for free so the contract owed to Mr. Liberty can be filled.

How does Mr. Liberty prevent himself from getting screwed by paying for snow removal while the other nine people get free service?
27 posted on 06/05/2003 7:33:41 AM PDT by sergeantdave
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To: sergeantdave
How does Mr. Liberty prevent himself from getting screwed by paying for snow removal while the other nine people get free service?

Gee, that sounds like health care reform.

28 posted on 06/05/2003 7:51:39 AM PDT by P.O.E.
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To: sergeantdave
Yep. Which is why we have local tax supported fire services instead of private fire companies, which is how fire companies were originally set up. It didn't work very well.

Like some other political philosophies, Libertarianism has some good ideas at the big picture level but must compromise at the granular level, or it will fail. Since they refuse to compromise, they have been relegated to the nut case area of the political spectrum.

29 posted on 06/05/2003 8:12:23 AM PDT by dark_lord (The Statue of Liberty now holds a baseball bat and she's yelling 'You want a piece of me?')
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To: sergeantdave
How does Mr. Liberty prevent himself from getting screwed by paying for snow removal while the other nine people get free service?

Mr Liberty would get his .38 and go over and beat the ever lovin' crap out of the other 9 people till they paid for the service? (I donno, this is hard)

30 posted on 06/05/2003 8:37:11 AM PDT by Drango (A liberal's compassion is limited only by the size of someone else's wallet.)
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To: Kewlhand`tek
Good story...thanks
31 posted on 06/05/2003 8:39:46 AM PDT by Moby Grape
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To: upcountryhorseman
People, if left to their own devices, will not do the right thing. They need some control.

It really makes me sad to come to a site called Free Republic and see many people with this attitude.

32 posted on 06/05/2003 9:15:25 AM PDT by jmc813 (After two years of FReeping, I've finally created a profile page. Check it out!)
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To: Cultural Jihad
Confucious also say, "He who puts hands in pocket feel cocky all day" :-)
33 posted on 06/05/2003 9:17:32 AM PDT by jmc813 (After two years of FReeping, I've finally created a profile page. Check it out!)
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To: Pern
I'm willing to give it a shot.............................

My state OH (which is controlled by the gop) has been heading in the wrong direction for years now.



34 posted on 06/05/2003 9:22:07 AM PDT by WhiteGuy (MY VOTE IS FOR SALE)
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To: Lefty-NiceGuy
While you're at maybe you we can let a state go communist too.



I thought most of them already were.
35 posted on 06/05/2003 9:34:27 AM PDT by thrcanbonly1 (Socialism is Facism for the stupid.)
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To: Pern
Libertarian Party platform in a nutshell:

* Abortion on demand
* Rampant Illegal Immigration
* Severely Weakened U.S. Military
* Streets where drugs, crime, & prostitution rein supreme
* So-called "vigilantes" committing unspeakable crimes

36 posted on 06/05/2003 9:39:03 AM PDT by BlkConserv
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To: BlkConserv
Libertarian Party platform in a nutshell:

* Abortion on demand

Sure as long as you pay for it

* Rampant Illegal Immigration

Illegal Immigration already out of control under Jorge Bush

* Severely Weakened U.S. Military

Military would defend U.S. borders instead of Japan/SK/Germany/Taiwan

* Streets where drugs, crime, & prostitution rein supreme

Already crime, drugs, and prostitution on the streets

* So-called "vigilantes" committing unspeakable crimes

How can they when potential victims are more likely to be armed after an LP adminstration eliminates all the unconstitutional gun-control laws?

37 posted on 06/05/2003 9:48:56 AM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist
Libertarians are split on abortion like many parties........one is goverment has not right to tell you , you can or cant have an abortion. the other is abortion robs the baby from the persuit of life, liberty and justice and should be protected. http://www.l4l.org/ is libertarians for life. Open borders doesnt necessary mean illegal aliens leaching off the country.
38 posted on 06/05/2003 10:41:25 AM PDT by Kewlhand`tek
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To: BushCountry
And of course, the Other Lists as well.
39 posted on 06/05/2003 11:13:25 AM PDT by 50sDad (OK, I'm a GEEK!)
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To: upcountryhorseman
...Who, then? Are you doing something someone doesn't approve of? Do you need some control???

...I think not...

40 posted on 01/04/2004 12:58:13 PM PST by gargoyle
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