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 At 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 came just short of becoming an Eagle Scout as a youth). He is a certified Scuba and Skydiving instructor.
Badnarik, as a Libertarian , believes in the Non-Aggression Principle , and his consistent 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 naturally advocates the free-market positions of Friedrich Hayek , Murray Rothbard , and Ludwig Von Mises .
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 ; 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 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 swing states of Wisconsin , New Mexico , Nevada , plus Arizona .
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http://webarchiveorg/web/20041030151403/wwwlporg/press/archivephpfunction=view&record=680
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Current Electoral Vote Predictor 2004: October 28
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Electoral Vote Predictor 2004
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March 6, 2005
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http://webarchiveorg/web/20050306094103/http://wwwelectoral-votecom/oct/oct28html
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New York Times analysis: Badnarik's impact could be 'critical' (October 26, 2004)
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Libertarian Party Press Releases
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October 27, 2004
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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.
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 $250,000 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 .
Michael Badnarik's positions should be viewed within the framework of a strict interpretation of the plain meaning of the
US Constitution and its principles. The principles of liberty, which include personal responsibility for one's own actions and a rejection of
Collectivist ideologies as both immoral (that is, involuntary collectivism always results in coercion and force) and suboptimal (that is, they produce much worse economic and personal satisfaction results) are his primary guiding force.
- 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.
- Badnarik opposes government regulation of "offensive" Content . "I find it very offensive when the government tells me what I can and cannot watch. {Link without Title} Individual people should decide what is or is not obscene and they will make that decision by watching or not watching Reality TV ."
- Badnarik supports eliminating public matching funds and contribution limits for political campaigns.
- ''' noted in the Declaration of Independence, the only legitimate function of government is to secure them.
- 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 .
- ''', 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.
- ''' 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."
- ''' 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 ."
- ''', as a Contract between two individuals, should not be a concern of government, and supports the right of individuals to associate in whatever ways they see fit.
- '''. Badnarik is an enthusiastic gun owner, and believes strongly in the Right To Keep And Bear Arms .
- ''' regulation, as he contends that the current drug approval process raises costs for consumers.
- '''.
- Badnarik supports amnesty for certain illegal immigrants who already reside in the United States. Badnarik believes peaceful immigrants should be allowed to enter the country without restrictions or quotas, subject only to ensure they are not terrorists or criminals. Badnarik does not believe that the existence of a social 'safety net' is a good excuse for excluding immigrants.
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http://webarchiveorg/web/20041021040121/badnarikorg/whybadnarik/why_reformpartyphp
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Other Positions:Reform Party members
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Badnarik/Campagna '04 for President
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October 12, 2004
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- ''' from Iraq , while providing for repair to infrastructure damaged by U.S. action.
- Badnarik opposes any reinstatement of a military draft.
Like many
Libertarian s, Badnarik believes that the federal government has exceeded its
Constitutional bounds and should be scaled back in favor of a ''
Laissez-faire '' capitalist (or, more accurately, 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 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.
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 should not, and could not, hold office.
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 .
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.
{Link without Title}
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."
Badnarik's book, ''Good To Be King'' is filled with uncommon 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
