Oh, That Libertarian Revolution
A group of Libertarians wants to take over a state government. They figure if 20,000 of them move into one of 10 sparsely populated states, they can do it:
The Free State Project (FSP), a small group of libertarian activists, is trying to make a big difference in state politics by recruiting 20,000 like-minded people to move en masse to a small state and flex enough political muscle to shrink the government.
“The government has gotten too big, and [project members] want to return to a lifestyle pre-PATRIOT Act and pre-Roosevelt…New Deal kind of nanny statism,” FSP Vice President Elizabeth McKinstry explained.
Specifically, the loose-knit group of activists wants to do away with many taxes, as well as laws regulating home schooling, marriage, controlled substances, small businesses and the Second Amendment.
According to McKinstry, the group now boasts 5,000 members who are this month voting via mailed-in paper ballots to select a state, using an “instant runoff” voting method called Conder sets. The winning choice is scheduled for an Oct. 1 unveiling.
Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Maine, Delaware, Vermont and New Hampshire are the 10 states on the short list. Low population is the top consideration. “The numbers indicate that any state under about 1.5 million population could be significantly affected by a group of 20,000 political activists,” said McKinstry.
In an Aug. 9 release, the FSP boasted N.H. Gov. Craig Benson (R) as having “signed on as a supporter,” something the governor’s office politely suggests is overstating the situation.
Does Jeff know they may come to his state?
August 14th, 2003 at 9:12 am
Well, that’s all we need. What, are they going to rename the state Ruby Ridge?
August 14th, 2003 at 9:28 am
This would at least show initiative. I’ve never been impressed with the anarcho-syndicalists who sit around coffee shops and claim they know how to build a better society. Talk is cheap. Put your ideas to the test.
The Shakers had the guts to build communities according to their ideals. Ultimately, they failed because some of those ideals (universal celibacy, abolition of the family unit, and collective property) were terrible, but they at least tried. In the process of trying they created their own culture and even came up with some new inventions, like the whisk broom and mechanical clothes washer.
The Mormons likewise struck out on their own to Utah, though in their case they were highly motivated, having been run out of town in most places.
August 14th, 2003 at 9:38 am
I’m not a big fan of the Capital L Libertarians, but I’m all for any third party becoming a force in this country.
August 14th, 2003 at 9:41 am
Oh and if you follow the link barry, the states listed are vermont, alaska, maine, deleware and some more.
Ruby Ridge? An incident best forgotten, oh wait, the public already has.
August 14th, 2003 at 9:58 am
Well, that’s one approach. If that many people are willing to pick up and move like that, they are at least guaranteed to have an active political base.
The problem with the libertarian philosophy as a political force is that the libertarian emphasis on individual liberty results in an inherently unorganized group, a la the Confederate Army during the first years of the war.
I hope they succeed in the move. It will be interesting to see how such a group of staunch individualists fare.
August 14th, 2003 at 2:48 pm
Oh, I can’t wait to see this. 😉
There’ll be arguments about which laws to tackle first. When the newly elected legislators start in, they’ll be vilified for not going far enough when they don’t completely try to dump all the bad laws at once.
And when the poor folks who didn’t sign on to this, the ones who were already living there, see all their Federal dollars go bye-bye there will be hell to pay. The backlash will be interesting.
I imagine the papers will also scream “Alien invasion!!” and paint all this in the blackest of terms.
Yeah, should be fun….