It's Time for Liberty to be the Key Issue of the Day

The election is less than three weeks away as I sit down to write this article/post. The two sides are clearly defined in Obama and McCain. Or are they really?

I watched the last debate between the two of them and I was not happy with either candidate. But then I guess I was not happy with either of them in the last two debates. Nor was I happy about the one and only Vice-Presidential debate. Although, Gov. Sarah Palin did make it a point to say a few times that she was going to Washington, D.C. To shake it up and put government back on the side of the people.

That is when it hit me. I knew this long before Gov. Palin said it but I did not really think it until that debate. This is supposed to be government by the people, of the people, for the people. That is what our Constitution says.

Yet, not one candidate, not even Gov Palin, said they would go to Washington to fight for the Constitution. Not one of them said they would go to Washington to roll back the illegal confiscation of our rights under the Constitution. That is what I am mad about.

So I began shaping my arguments to others. I began holding both sides accountable as it pertained to the Constitution. I asked people if they believed in the Constitution. Of course no one said they were against it. Well then I asked how does Obama's or McCain's ideas fit the Constitution. Most sane people had to admit the ideas both candidates espoused were not Constitution friendly. But Obama was far more detrimental to that document than McCain.

This lead me to a question. Do we have candidates out there that stand for truth, liberty, justice and the Constitution? And that is when I found a man I just had to interview. His name is Ken Blevins and he is a candidate for US Senate from the State of NH. He is running against former NH Gov Jeanne Shaheen and current US Senator John Sununu.

This was an interview with a man that was scheduled to last about 15 minutes. Instead it lasted more than 45 minutes. Everything he said rang true and smacked of a man who knows the Constitution and the intent of the Founding Fathers.

Liberty Cafe': You are a member of the Libertarian Party. What does the Libertarian party stand for?

Ken Blevins: We believe in upholding the Constitution. It is the law of our land. We believe in individual rights to the point that as long as what you do does not interfere with your neighbor then you probably should be free to live your life as you see fit.

LC: Do you believe in gay marriage because both candidates have said they are against it.

KB: I believe that marriage is between that of a man and a woman but that gay should have the rights to have equal opportunity under the Constitution.

LC: Would you be in favor of a Constitutional amendment against gay marriage?

KB: No. I don't think we should use the Constitution as a weapon to dictate religious or moral values.
We have to be careful about using the Constitution as a way to force people to fit certain molds. That is not what the Founding Fathers had intended.

LC: What would you do about our energy problems?

KB: The free market can and should take care of this issue. We have always found ways to get things done in our country and government is not the answer to this problem. The free market has proven ideas right now, but government is getting in the way of those ideas coming to market.

LC: Do you think we should drill for more of our own oil?

KB: Yes. Listen, the environmental impact for drilling in the US is far less than it is on most foreign lands. Most oil producing countries don't have the strict environmental laws that we have and they do far more harm to the environment than we would do if we drilled here. How can environmentalist defend the notion its bad for us to drill but seek to let other countries with weaker laws drill more in their lands? It doesn't make sense. They (environmentalist) should be wanting us to drill more here because we would do far less damage to the environment.

LC: How about education.

KB: The notion that the more you pay the better you get is a myth. Regulations and government intervention have done nothing but raise the cost of education while delivering less quality. If it were a private business, it (education) would have gone out of business long ago.

LC: Traditional the Republican Party has been the party of smaller government. Why not become a strong wing of that party?

KB: Conservatives are against the basic principles of the Libertarian Party and would only seek to water down our position as they have done to the conservative position. Take for instance the Constitution gives felons the right to bear arms but we now have laws that ban them from having guns. Now you may think that is not a bad idea or law but you have to ask, where do you draw the line? Washington, D.C. Went to far in its ban on all guns obviously. But our Founding Fathers knew that guns in the hands of citizens should be a protected right.

LC: What is the major difference between you and Shaheen and Sununu?

KB: I believe in the Constitution. I believe in freedom. Shaheen supports the union vote issue where you have to sign your ballot. That is not what the Constitution says. Sununu supports McCain on immigration and that position is against the Constitution.

LC: So why should the people of NH and other states vote for you or other Libertarian candidates?

KB: Because we believe in the Constitution which is freedom and we believe in property rights as well. A person should not be limited by government as what they can and cannot do with their property. As long as it does not harm their neighbor then they should be free to do what they want to do.

Obviously we talked about much more than this. We touched on things like the War on Terror and the battles in Iraq and Afghanistan. In all cases, Mr Blevins beliefs were strongly in the corner of the Constitution and in the wisdom of the Founding Fathers.

I think the Libertarian Party may be the party we have all been looking for. Less government intervention in our lives. Bringing back self accountability and responsibility. That is what made our nation strong in the beginning and what kept us strong during some of our darkest hours.

You cannot have a free people in a land where the government dictates what freedoms you may and may not have. The Constitution points this out. It was a document not written to guarantee our rights. It was a document written to limit government so that our rights would not be taken away.

How did we flip this around?

Now we have two major candidates that only talk about what government is going to do for you and me what we should be doing for ourselves. And when you give the government that kind of power, they never give it back. So how free are you going to be if the government tells you what to do, when to do it and how to do it?

You are not going to be free.

Isn't it time you stopped voting for what you think the government can do for you and start voting for the Constitution again? I think so. You and I will be better off. Now isn't that what you really want.