Frustrated freedom lovers

It isn’t easy being a third political party in America.

When the Libertarians of Northern California held their annual “Freedom Fest” at the Chico Holiday Inn last Saturday (July 8), complete with its candidates for some of the top state offices, the event didn’t even get an announcement on the motel’s marquee.

Besides the candidates, there were speakers galore, ranging from AM radio talk show hosts to groups representing gun interests, those fighting for the legalization of drugs, and others interested in protecting the Bill of Rights.

Unfortunately, they composed most of the audience as well.

You have to give the Libertarians credit, though. In the rich history of American third parties, they’ve lasted longer than most. Ordinarily political parties outside the Republicratic mainstream exist only briefly, one to four years being the norm. From the Free-Soilers to the Know Nothings, the Greenbacks to the Bull Moose Party, third parties have died out quicker than a Ross Perot quip, usually because the mainstream parties absorb some or most of their platforms.

And yet for 35 years the Libertarians have slugged away at the entrenched two-party system, with their unique appeal to a fundamental insistence on personal freedom and responsibility that manages to attract both gun lovers and the drug-legalization crowd.

So how are they doing? As measured by offices held, darned poorly. Not a single federal elected office is occupied by a Libertarian, and in California not a single member of the state Legislature is a card-carrying member of the party, either.

“The party itself is part of the problem,” said Jim Eyer, who is from Alameda and is running for Congress. “Quite simply, the party has not provided a vehicle in which to run successfully.”

But part of it is the Libertarian message, a credo that asserts there’s no government like no government.

“We say no to big business,” explained Kent Hinesley, of Chico, who’s running against local Republican incumbent Congressman Wally Herger. “We say no to special interests, we say no to wealth distribution—this is why we’re not making inroads. We tick everyone off that has a current say in the system.”

“Yet, on a scale of one to 10, we are a nine in terms of growth,” insisted Casey Aplanap, also from Chico, who in addition to being a Libertarian represents FIJA, the Fully Informed Jury Association, which argues that jury members can vote their consciences when they believe a law is unjust. “We’ve been active and growing in Butte County for the past 2 1/2 years.”

Indeed, several former Republicans and Democrats were in the conference room Saturday. Steve Wood, a Chicoan and president of the Butte County Libertarian Party, put it this way: “Whether it’s Democratic or Republican, there comes a point in life that sooner or later they both see that it’s the same old story.”

This may explain why the party attracts such a curious mix of adherents. The guest list at Saturday’s Freedom Fest included the Gun Owners of California, the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, an anti-anti-drug group), and more. From gun nuts to Fourth Amendment protectors, civil libertarians to drug-legalization advocates, the people attracted to the Libertarian Party have come from the fringes of both major political parties.

What they haven’t been able to do is achieve tangible results. Winning and Libertarianism seem to be at odds.

“I run because hopefully my congresswoman [Barbara Lee, D-Oakland] will hear me,” explained Eyer. “She will be exposed to the Libertarian values she wouldn’t hear otherwise. I mean, sitting around doing nothing is not very satisfying.”

Lynette Shaw, a former Democrat, is running for lieutenant governor. She makes no bones about being a single-issue candidate—medical marijuana, in her case. Shaw worked for years in Marin County promoting the Marijuana Peace Plan. For her, the federal government was just awful when John Ashcroft was attorney general, but the Democrats’ refusal to stand up to Ashcroft’s war on medicinal marijuana was even worse.

“That’s when I switched to the Libertarians,” she said. “We need to make medical marijuana legal in this state.”

Tony Munroe, a big and charismatic Shasta County man sporting a cowboy hat, is running against state Sen. Sam Aanestad. He’s high on marijuana too—figuratively speaking, of course. “Hemp is the answer,” he said. “It’s what Northern California is noted for. Get the government off our backs, allow farmers to grow it, then there’s an endless list of products one can turn hemp into. Imagine the economic engine unfurled, and the numerous jobs, if only the government would allow us to grow hemp.”

The two-party system was a constant source of consternation at the Freedom Fest.

“Bush is proof that the Constitution can be abused,” said Hinesley. “If the American people don’t wake up, they are on the road to a soviet system. If we allow the Fourth Amendment to be eroded we will live in pain.”

Libertarians know their history, too. Nearly everyone in the room agreed that the people of the United States rightly expect government to address corporate malfeasance or find solutions to great social problems such as pollution, unemployment and poverty.

“Government does have a role to hold people that harm others more accountable,” stated Eyer, “but oftentimes government solutions are just as bad as the original problem. And the only way to solve this is for the people to stop being ‘sheeple.’ They must own the government. They must become the board of directors.”