Michael Badnarik

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Michael J. Badnarik (born August 1, 1954) is an American software engineer, political figure, and radio talk show host. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2004 elections, and placed fourth in the race, slightly behind independent candidate Ralph Nader. He was recently a Libertarian candidate in the 2006 Congressional elections in Texas for the 10th district seat near Austin.^[1] He finished in third place with 4.3% of the vote.

Contents 1 Personal life 2 Political career 2.1 2004 U.S. Presidential campaign 2.2 2006 U.S. Congressional campaign 2.3 Recent events 3 Issue positions 4 Arguments for limited government 5 Views on taxes 6 Positions on personal identification 7 Other positions 7.1 2004 Ohio recount 8 Good To Be King 9 References 10 See also 11 External links

[edit] Personal life

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Michael Badnarik was born in Hammond, Indiana. He is the oldest son of John and Elaine Badnarik and the grandson of Slovak immigrants. Michael Badnarik attended Indiana University Bloomington, but left one semester away from earning a degree in chemistry. He worked as a computer programmer at the Zion Nuclear Power Station beginning in 1977; from 1982 to 1985, was a senior software engineer for Commonwealth Edison.

In 1985, he relocated to Montebello, California, to work on the Stealth Bomber simulator project. In 1987, he moved to San Luis Obispo, California to work as a system administrator and computer trainer at the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant.

In 1997, unhappy with gun laws enacted by the California legislature, Badnarik moved to Texas, where he began work as a senior trainer for Evolutionary Technologies International. He currently resides in Austin, Texas.

Badnarik worked as a Red Cross volunteer during the 1970s. He has been a volunteer leader in several Boy Scout troops (Badnarik relates that he came just short of attaining Eagle Scout.) He is also a certified scuba diving and skydiving instructor.

[edit] Political career

Badnarik's political philosophy emphasizes individual liberty, personal responsibility, and adherence to what he considers to be an originalist interpretation of the US Constitution. All of his positions arise from this foundation. In economics, Badnarik believes in laissez-faire capitalism, a system in which the only function of the government is the protection of individual rights from the initiation of force and fraud. He therefore opposes institutions such as welfare, and business regulation.

Badnarik first ran for public office in 2000 as a Libertarian, earning 15,221 votes in a race for the Texas legislature; he ran again for the same seat in 2002. Badnarik is a participant in the libertarian Free State Project.^[2]

[edit] 2004 U.S. Presidential campaign

In February 2003, Badnarik announced his candidacy for the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination, and spent the following 18 months traveling the country, teaching a course on the United States Constitution to dozens of libertarian groups. He has written a book, Good To Be King: The Foundation of our Constitutional Freedom (ISBN 1-59411-096-4) on the subject of constitutional law; the book was first self-published by Badnarik, but was released in hardcover in October 2004.

Badnarik was viewed as unlikely to win the Libertarian presidential nomination, facing challenges from talk-show host Gary Nolan and Hollywood producer Aaron Russo. At the 2004 Libertarian National Convention, Badnarik gained substantial support following the candidates' debate (broadcast live on C-SPAN). In the closest presidential nomination race in the Libertarian Party's 32-year history, all three candidates polled within 12 votes of each other on the first ballot (Russo 258, Badnarik 256, Nolan 246). When the second ballot placed the candidates in the same order, Gary Nolan was eliminated and threw his support to Badnarik; Badnarik won the nomination on the third ballot 417 to 348, with None of the Above receiving 6 votes. Richard Campagna of Iowa City, Iowa, was elected separately by convention delegates as his vice-presidential nominee.

Not all libertarians were happy with Badnarik's nomination. Some felt Badnarik would be unable to draw media attention that many had felt Russo would have.^[3]

Badnarik's capture of the nomination was widely regarded as a surprise by many within the party; both Nolan and Russo had outpaced Badnarik in both fundraising and poll results prior to the convention. Badnarik commented following his success at the national convention, "If I can win the nomination, there's no reason I can't win this election."

Badnarik and Green Party candidate David Cobb were arrested ^[4][5] in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 8, 2004, for an act of civil disobedience. Badnarik and Cobb were protesting their exclusion from the presidential debates of the 2004 presidential election campaign. They were arrested after crossing a police barricade in an attempt to serve an Order to Show Cause to the Commission on Presidential Debates.

By the end of the election cycle, Badnarik's presidential campaign had raised just over one million dollars (US), obtained ballot access in 48 states plus the District of Columbia (the Libertarian Party failed to obtain ballot access in Oklahoma and New Hampshire, although Badnarik was a qualified write-in candidate in New Hampshire), and placed nationwide political advertisements on CNN and Fox News in addition to local advertising buys in the important swing states of Wisconsin, New Mexico, Nevada, plus Arizona.

No national polls including Badnarik had put him above 1.5%, though one poll put him at 5% in New Mexico and another at 3% at Nevada.^[6] A Rasmussen Group poll on October 26, 2004 put Badnarik at 3% in Arizona.^[7]

Badnarik polled just under 400,000 popular votes nationwide, in the November 2, 2004 election, taking 0.34% of the popular vote and placing fourth, just behind Ralph Nader. Badnarik spent much of early 2005 touring the country speaking and teaching the class on the U.S. Constitution which he developed during his presidential campaign.

[edit] 2006 U.S. Congressional campaign

In August 2005, Badnarik announced that he would run for the U.S. House of Representatives in the elections of 2006. He ran for the 10th Congressional District of Texas, which is currently represented by Republican Michael McCaul.

He raised nearly $450,000 for his campaign and received the Libertarian Party's nomination for its 10th district Congressional candidate.

He received 7,603 votes, or 4 percent in the November election, losing to Republican incumbent Michael T. McCaul, who received 55 percent of the vote, and Democrat Ted Ankrum, who got 40 percent.

Although, shortly after 2004, Badnarik refused to rule out another presidential run in 2008, a December 2006 letter from his campaign manager, Alan Hacker, states that Badnarik has "retired from political candidacy" and is now working as an account representative for a political and novelty bumpersticker mail-order business.^[8]

[edit] Recent events

Badnarik delivered a keynote speech at the 2007 New Hampshire Liberty Forum, where he announced his endorsement for Ron Paul, U.S. Congressman from Texas 14th district, in the 2008 presidential election.

In April 2007, he began hosting a talk radio program, "Lighting the Fires of Liberty" on the We the People radio network.^[9]

[edit] Issue positions

• Abortion: Badnarik personally opposes abortion, but believes that decisions regarding abortion rights should be made at the state and not the federal level. He recognizes that there is significant controversy surrounding when life begins, and argues that therefore the state should not legislate against abortion, since a fetus is arguably not a human life in and of its own.
• Broadcast regulation: Badnarik opposes government regulation of "offensive" content. "I find it very offensive when the government tells me what I can and cannot watch. [...] Individual people should decide what is or is not obscene and they will make that decision by watching or not watching reality TV."
• Campaign finance reform: Badnarik supports eliminating public matching funds and contribution limits for political campaigns.
• Civil rights: Badnarik supports all of the Bill of Rights unequivocally, a position which he claims contrasts with most political candidates. Badnarik says government does not grant rights but rather acknowledges them, that they exist independently of government as part of who and what we are, and that, as Jefferson noted in the Declaration of Independence, the only legitimate function of government is to secure them.
• Economic policy: Badnarik would eliminate the federal income tax and drastically reduce government spending. He advocates the elimination of the Federal Reserve and the restoration of a commodity-based currency.
• Education: Badnarik supports the elimination of the federal Department of Education, claiming that it is both unconstitutional and ineffective. Badnarik has called for the privatization of education, which he believes would result in both more effective and affordable alternatives due to free market competition.
• Energy: Badnarik opposes government regulation of the energy industry, instead arguing that the free market is more effective in controlling prices and maintaining stability.
• Free trade: Badnarik would withdraw the United States from NAFTA and GATT. "NAFTA and GATT have about as much to do with free trade as the Patriot Act has to do with liberty," he has said. "We need to get the government out of regulating trade, so that American workers can do what they do best and that is to create wealth."
• Family: Badnarik is opposed to the current Family Law which punishes children to the financial gain of a few. In his opinion, if Family Law presumed equal custody, a lot of divorce problems would go away.
• Gay marriage and Civil Unions: Badnarik believes that marriage, as a contract between two individuals, should not be a government concern and supports the right of individuals to associate in whatever ways they see fit.
• Gun control: Badnarik opposes restrictions on gun ownership as restrictions on an individual's right to self-defense. Badnarik is an enthusiastic gun owner, and strongly supports the Right to keep and bear arms.
• Health care: Badnarik opposes government involvement in health care and drug regulation, as he contends that the current drug approval process raises costs for consumers.
• Illegal drugs: Badnarik supports the decriminalization of marijuana and other illegal drugs, citing the restrictions on personal freedoms as a result of the War on Drugs. See also: Drug legalization.
• Immigration: Badnarik believes that, "Peaceful immigrants should be allowed to enter the US at conveniently located Customs and Immigration stations, subject only to brief vetting to ensure that they are not terrorists or criminals, and reasonable consideration of the nation's ability to assimilate them." Badnarik calls for the elimination of the so-called social 'safety net' and artificial "free trade" back-door subsidies that have encouraged illegal entry by foreign nationals.
• International relations: As president, Badnarik would avoid "entangling alliances" and would initiate "a rapid recall of our troops from around the world." He supports the reduction and eventual elimination of government-funded foreign aid programs. His platform also calls for withdrawal from the United Nations and the eviction of the UN from the United States.^[10]
• Iraq War: Badnarik supports a rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, while providing for repair to infrastructure damaged by U.S. action.
• Military draft: Badnarik opposes any reinstatement of a military draft.
• 9/11 Truth: Badnarik has signed the 911 Truth Statement calling for new investigations of unexplained aspects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including the failure of US intelligence to act on warnings of upcoming attacks, the breakdown of military air defense, and the nature of the investigations.^[11] The Statement has also been signed by the other 2004 Presidential candidates Ralph Nader and David Cobb. Badnarik has also mentioned that he would fight Al-Qaeda if he was elected president.

[edit] Arguments for limited government

Like many libertarians, Badnarik believes that the federal government has exceeded its Constitutional bounds and should be scaled back in favor of a laissez-faire capitalist (or, in other words, free market) society. This belief comes from years of research into the Founding Fathers writings, his study of Objectivism, and his disdain for the growing Empire at the expense of a Constitutional republic that he claims has occurred in the USA. In this sense, his beliefs are quite close to that of United States Congressman Ron Paul and are influenced by the writings of both Ayn Rand and L. Neil Smith. Austin Libertarian activist Alan R. Weiss gave Badnarik a copy of Smith's book Hope, which seemed to have greatly influenced Badnarik's campaign in 2004.

[edit] Views on taxes

Badnarik believes that the U.S. Constitution does not provide for a federal income tax and argues that the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was never legally ratified.^{[12] [13]}

Badnarik also argues that the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as "non-positive law," applies to only certain groups, and states that the only types of income susceptible to taxation are "the domestic income of foreigners, certain foreign income of Americans, income of certain possessions corporations, and income of international and foreign sales corporations"^[14] He has also cited^[15] the Supreme Court decision Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad, which concludes that the Sixteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution did not give congress any power that it did not have already. (Before passage of the Sixteenth Amendment, Congress could presumably levy an income tax law so long as it met the apportionment requirement.) He also argues that the Sixteenth Amendment was not properly ratified, citing the two-volume work The Law that Never Was co-authored by William J. Benson^[16]

One of his key statements on Income Tax is that the United States grew to be the most powerful nation on Earth without requiring an income tax, and that it began to falter when the government began to intervene massively in the economy and individuals' lives. In the past, he has stated^{[citation needed]} that refusing to file a tax return is justifiable until the Internal Revenue Service provides a legal reason for doing so (see Federal statutes imposing obligations to pay income taxes and file returns). However, in his book Good to Be King he writes, "I do not know if Americans are liable to pay income taxs." In an August 2004 interview with Liberty journal, Badnarik admitted to not having paid his income taxes for several years, stating "I've been unemployed for about three years. I'm not sure exactly when the last [time I filed an income tax return] was."^[17]

[edit] Positions on personal identification

When he moved to Texas, he did not obtain a driver's license, due to that state's requirement that an applicant provide a Social Security Number and fingerprint, and has been therefore convicted in court several times for driving without a license.^{[citation needed]}

Badnarik also believes that ZIP codes constitute federal territories, and because of this he places the ZIP code before the state when he writes some mailing addresses (though his own business card places the ZIP code at the end of the address in the conventional manner). ^[18]

[edit] Other positions

On his website, prior to receiving the Libertarian Party's nomination, Badnarik has proposed that in order to make prison guards have safer jobs, violent felons should not be allowed to exercise for their first month, so that their muscles will atrophy.^{[citation needed]} Because he feels the United Nations has become an intrusive force for World Government that seeks to violate the US Constitution and specifically the Bill of Rights, Badnarik also suggested that if he were elected president he would re-establish America as a sovereign nation, by removing and bulldozing the United Nations headquarters in New York. Badnarik has also commented that if elected president "I would announce a special one-week session of Congress where all 535 members would be required to sit through a special version of my Constitution class. Once I was convinced that every member of Congress understood my interpretation of their very limited powers, I would insist that they restate their oath of office while being videotaped." His point was clear: violators of the US Constitution should not, and could not, hold office. The U.S. Constitution does not expressly give the president the power to require that all members of Congress attend special sessions.

In a July 2004 interview with the San Antonio Current, Badnarik explained some of these statements, commenting "It was intended to be hyperbole." They were removed from his website after winning the nomination at the Libertarian Convention. Still, his insistence that politicians who swear an oath to uphold the US Constitution should act as if they read it, understood it, and would abide by it galvanized his libertarian supporters, doubtlessly contributing to his victory at the 2004 Libertarian National Convention.

[edit] 2004 Ohio recount

After the 2004 election, Badnarik, working with Green Party candidate David Cobb, sought a recount of the Ohio vote. This caused a great deal of controversy within the Libertarian Party, as 2nd place candidate John Kerry had not contested the vote in Ohio, and a recount would cost the state an estimated $1.5 million of tax-payer money. Some party members were concerned that a recount would damage the public perception of the Libertarian party. [3]

Badnarik said that he decided to push for a recount after receiving "about two dozen passionate requests to do so from Libertarians in various states."

[edit] Good To Be King

In his book, Good To Be King, Badnarik suggests that it is unnecessary to have a driver's license to drive,^[19] the IRS has no Constitutional authority to collect taxes,^[20] and common law marriages are valid in all 50 states.^[21]

[edit] References

• Bradford, R. W. "An Interview with Michael Badnarik," Liberty. Retrieved October 11, 2004.

[edit] See also

• Full list of candidates in the U.S. presidential election, 2004

[edit] External links

• Michael Badnarik's official campaign website
• LP Press Release on Badnarik's nomination
• from www.devingreaney.com Article written in Summer 2003 when Badnarik was seeking the nomination from the Libertarian Party
• Liberal Institute interview with Michael Badnarik from April 2005
• Connecticut Conservative Interview with Badnarik
• Website for Michael Badnarik's class on the Constitution
  • An eight hour recording of Badnarik's Constitution class

Party political offices
Preceded by Harry Browne	Libertarian Party Presidential candidate 2004 (1) (4th)	Succeeded by Bob Barr
Notes and references
1. Most recent presidential election as of 2005

v • d • e United States Libertarian Party Presidential nominees Hospers • MacBride • Clark • Bergland • Paul • Marrou • Browne • Badnarik • Barr