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Running?” a Related, and to See the Candidate

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Running?” a Related, and to See the Candidate No presidential campaign is of media interviews I have done since what it appears on prime -t’ ime starting the campaign last fall, the most television network news- predictable question has been, “You hordes of newspersons, chanting crowds know you don’t have a chance to win, so of boosters, and entire cities turning out why are you running?” A related, and to see the candidate. Even though these almost as predictable, question is, “Even images become the standard against though I basically agree with you Liber- which all campaigns are measured, any tarians, wouldn’t I be wasting my vote on thoughtful person realizes that the reality you, since either the Democratic or behind the image is something very dif- Republican candidate is going to win?” ferent for Democratic and Republican These questions reflect the fact that candidates. And it is even more different most interviewers put a lower priority on for candidates of a so-called third, or the issues than on the contest, or “horse minor, party. race,” aspects of the campaign. Presum- RUNNING What it’s like to run for president as a third-party candidate. By David Bergland I know. Last year, I was selected as the ably, media interviewers think that 1984 presidential candidate of the Liber- voters want to know only about the can- tarian Party at its national conven- didates with good prospects of being tion in New York. My past experience as elected. So my Libertarian positions on a Libertarian candidate for other offices the issues and the contribution my argu- and as the party’s national chair for five ments can make to the political debate years provided me with more forewarn- are less important to the typical journal- ing than almost anyone else could have ist than the personal factors that have led had of what was in store. Still, my life on me to become a candidate. This is the ex- the campaign trail since then has cer- act reverse of my own priorities. tainly not been what I-nor anyone else- One main objective of the campaign is might have expected. to make Libertarian analysis of the issues In any substantial endeavor there is a and approaches to them a regular part of division of labor. My job, as the candi- the American political discussion. date, is to answer questions. At press Achieving that objective is a way of conferences, in individual media inter- “winning” that does not require being views, giving speeches to civic organiza- elected. It does require sufficient report- tions, students, and other groups-an- ing of Libertarian stands on the issues. swering questions is how I spend most of One encouraging example of such win- my time. Researching and preparing to ning occurred at a well-attended press answer questions is how I spend most of conference at the state capitol in Albany, the rest of it. One can learn a great deal New York. I had been answering ques- about America and its people simply by tions for about 30 minutes, and it was listening closely to the questions posed becoming quite clear that Libertarians by them and their putative representa- take a dim view of large, costly, and in- tives in the media during a presidential trusive government. One young reporter campaign. How they respond to liber- was prompted to ask, “Mr. Bergland, tarian answers is also illuminating. would you describe our government as a In the hundreds-perhaps thousands- totalitarian government?” After some Photograph by Jeanette Allen NOVEMBER1984/REASON 33 thought, I responded, “No, not so long as it’s come. In 1976, Roger MacBride was or Congress, but two Alaska Libertarians we have a free press and open elections.” the presidential candidate and I was the have previously held state legislative How would I describe our government, vice-presidential candidate. We were on positions (see sidebar below). he asked. I said the best description is “a 31 state ballots and received about I remember vividly that in 1976, the corporate-fascist, welfare-warfare state.” 175,000 votes. By the time of the 1980 most common question was, “What is The reporter asked to know what I election, the party was well established the Libertarian Party, and what does it meant. I explained to him and the others as the country’s third-largest. Presiden- stand for?” Frequently the questioner present that the hand-in-glove relation- tial candidate Ed Clark and his running- had trouble even pronouncing the name ship between big government and big (libertine being a favorite fall-back). Now business-the subsidies, the bailouts, the recognition of Libertarian is relatively protections against competition, the per- wide. A 1982 public-opinion survey in vasive regulatory schemes-justify the California to determine the Libertarian “corporate-fascist” label. I added that Party’s name recognition turned up a our huge, costly, and demeaning welfare credible 61 percent. Of course, that was plantation system that benefits govern- California, where the party has been ment employees while hurting the poor, quite active since 1972. Now, when and our global interventionist foreign speaking to nonlibertarian groups, I policy that results in ever-increasing often ask how many had heard of the military spending and benefits the party or my campaign before learning of military-industrial complex at the ex- pense of the people, justify the “welfare- warfare” label. Those comments went out on the wire services, and for several days I had many mate David Koch were on the ballot in all 1984 is by educating hundreds of journal- opportunitYes to elaborate on my charac- 50 states and received almost a million ists, college professors, and others in terization of our government as a votes, about one percent of the national basic libertarian ideas. From my past ex- corporate-fascist, welfare-warfare state. total. (A major factor in this success was perience, I knew that a significant No other presidential candidate, particu- David Koch’s contribution of over $2 obstacle to the party’s success was ig- larly Reagan or Mondale, is willing to million to the campaign, approximately norance and misperceptions about the challenge prevailing political views in two-thirds of the total campaign budget.) party and its underlying philosophy. Ac- such strong and accurate terms. The Libertarians now have party cordingly, the campaign has put together organizations in all 50 states, some much a media kit that includes (in addition to The Libertarian Party has more developed than others, and there the usual paraphernalia) a party history, grown dramatically in the 12 are about 50 Libertarians holding local a Q&A booklet, and a one-page item, short years of its life, and I’ve government office. There are no Liber- “Libertarianism in One Lesson,” that is been able to see first-hand just how far tarian officeholders in state legislatures designed to clear up some of the more 34 REASON/NOVEMBER 1984 Photograph by Imagery common misconceptions and lays out, in where they thought the Libertarian posi- issues. A common area of inquiry is quotable form, some of the most basic tion would be unpopular in order to see if financing the campaign. When it comes libertarian concepts. I would waffle. An example was, “You up, the questioner will often ask, “Since We are succeeding in educating the really advocate repeal of all drug laws- you are opposed to taxation in principle, journalists. In the past, a common prac- even against heroin?” Now, many jour- you probably don’t take federal matching tice of print journalists was to write what nalists are informed about our principles, funds, do you?” The answer, of course, is I call a laundry-list article. This is a com- and many have even told me that Liber- that we will not take any stolen property pendium of Libertarian Party positions tarians receive a great deal of respect for in the form of taxes for our campaign. No on a number of issues, usually the most Libertarian would. controversial, with no discussion of our I also take the opportunity to point out principled basis for taking those posi- that according to the National Journal, tions. A typical article would go some- the Democrats and Republicans together thing like this: “Libertarians are for end- will extract about $130 million from the ing all government support of schools, taxpayers for “matching funds,” conven- fire departments, welfare, Social Secu- tion expenses, Secret Service, and rity, and business subsidies. They want related expenses in connection with their to repeal all laws against drugs, gam- campaigns. That alone is reason enough bling, prostitution, pornography, and for any working, taxpaying voter to re- gun ownership. They say the US govern- ject both of them. By comparison, the ment should get out of NATO and the UN, Bergland-for-president campaign has a end foreign aid, end military alliances, projected budget of $1.5 million, all of and stop the nuclear arms race. Liber- which will come from voluntary con- tarians want to cut government down to tributions. nothing and then some. They are radical that reason. One interesting misperception about right-wing and left-wing at the same Sometimes journalists even make com- the Libertarian Party is that it is made up time. Weird.” ments like, “I agree with you guys, but of wealthy, upper-middle-class whites Today, laundry-list articles are quite it’s impractical. We’ll never get there.” who have it made, will benefit from rare. Reporters have come to know bet- Such statements are cause for optimism, freedom, and could not care less about ter. Among journalists, the party has in my view.
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