Michael Badnarik
Michael J. Badnarik (born August 1, 1954) is an American software engineer and political figure. He is the Libertarian Party (a third party) nominee for President of the United States in the 2004 elections.
Personal Life
Born in Hammond, Indiana, the oldest son of John and Elaine Badnarik, and the grandson of Slovak immigrants, Michael Badnarik attended Indiana University at Bloomington but left just shy of 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 administator and computer trainer at the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant.
In 1997, fleeing restrictive 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 the Scoutmaster of several Boy Scout troops. He is a certified scuba and skydiving instructor.
Political Career
A gun-rights activist, 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. In February 2003, Badnarik announced his candidacy for the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination, and spent the following 18 months travelling the country, teaching a course on the United States Constitution to dozens of libertarian groups. He has written a book, It's Good To Be The King: The Foundations of Freedom (ISBN 1595900012) on the subject of constitutional law.
Badnarik was viewed as a long shot 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 selected 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."
Issue positions
Badnarik has taken the National Political Awareness Test ()
- 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.
- Economic Stimulus: Badnarik would stimulate the economy by eliminating the federal income tax in concert with drastically cutting government spending, effectively increasing personal income for most Americans. He also 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. "All you need to know about economics is the law of supply and demand. When the supply of something goes down, the price of it will go up. And as the price of gasoline goes up, the consumerist at the pump is going to provide the incentive for finding alternative sources."
- Gay Marriage and Civil Unions: Badnarik believes that marriage, as a contract between two invididuals, should not be a concern of government, and supports the right of inviduals to associate in whatever ways they see fit.
- Gun Control: Badnarik opposes restrictions on gun ownership as restrictions on an invididual's right to self-defense.
- 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.
- International Relations: As president, Badnarik would avoid "entangling alliances" and would initiate "a rapid recall of our troops from around the world. Other countries will be less likely to attack us when we are trading goods that are necessary for their survival." He supports the reduction and eventual elimination of government-funded foreign aid programs.
- 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.
- Civil Rights: Badnarik supports all of the Bill of Rights. 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.
