Michael Badnarik

Badnarik campaigning in July 2004.

Michael J. Badnarik (born August 1, 1954) is an American software engineer and political figure. He was the Libertarian Party (a third 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 is presently a Libertarian candidate in the 2006 Congressional elections in Texas for the 10th district seat near Austin.

Personal life

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 plant beginning in 1977, and 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 and in 1987 moved to San Luis Obispo, California, 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 and 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, and has been a volunteer leader in several Boy Scout troops (Badnarik claims he came just short of becoming an Eagle Scout). He is a certified scuba and skydiving instructor.

Political career

Badnarik is a Libertarian, believes in the Non-Aggression Principle, and his political philosophy emphasizes individual liberty, personal responsibility, and adherance 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 initation of force and fraud. He therefore opposes institutions such as taxation, 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.

2004 US Presidential Election

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.

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[1][2] 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. A Rasmussen Group poll on October 26 2004 put Badnarik at 3% in Arizona.

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.

Badnarik, wearing a "Badnarik for Congress" jacket

2006 US Congressional Election

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Badnarik campaign sticker

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

He has currently rasied over $300,000 for his campaign and has received the Libertarian Party's nomination for its 10th district Congressional candidate.

Badnarik has not ruled out another presidential run in 2008.

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 not unarguably a human life.
• 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."
• 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 believes strongly in 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 enouraged 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.
• 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. The Statement has also been signed by the other 2004 Presidential candidates Ralph Nader and David Cobb.

Political controversies

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.

Badnarik believes that the U.S. Constitution does not provide for a federal income tax, despite the fact that the Sixteenth Amendment states, "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration." The reason he gives as to why the Sixteenth Amendment does not provide for a federal income tax is because it was never legally ratified (for more information see the book The Law That Never Was by Bill Benson).

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 individual's lives. In the past, he has stated that refusing to file a tax return is justifiable until the IRS provides a legal reason for doing so. For several years, Badnarik did not pay income tax. 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.

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Badnarik for Congress businesss card

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 reflects proper syntax).

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. Because 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. However, the Constitution does not 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.

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."

Good To Be King

Badnarik's book, Good To Be King contains some controversial assertions, in which Badnarik suggests that it is unnecessary to have a driver's license to drive, the IRS has no Constitutional authority to collect taxes, the Federal Reserve Bank is a private company, and common law marriages are valid in all 50 states.

References

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

See also

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

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
• Website for Michael Badnarik's class on the Constitution
  • An eight hour recording of Badnarik's Constitution class

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