One of the greatest benefits of being a Libertarian is having cohesive and reasonable political views. The Democratic and Republican standpoints on issues are largely dictated by socio-political evolution and - outside the context of growing up in the United States - slightly nonsensical. To understand a Libertarian viewpoint on an issue, you simply have to imagine the path that leads to smaller government. Michael Badnarik is a progressive Libertarian and constitutional scholar who takes the general view of the party and makes realistic plans for the future.

He believes that any two individuals of any gender may enter into a contract of marriage with one another and that the religious validity of such a union should not be decided by the government. He has vowed to veto any federal legislation that contradicts this basic notion of equal rights.

He condemns the war in Iraq and will take steps to remove our troops as quickly and safely as possible, without worsening the situation for Iraqis.

The war on terrorism has nothing to do with the war in Iraq, and Michael Badnarik believes in removing our troops from all foreign soil. One of the things that aggravates world terrorism is unnecessary occupation of foreign countries, which President Bush has only made worse. Badnarik also believes in restoring our civil liberties by completely removing the Patriot Act and putting checks into law to prevent similar legislation from being passed in the future. He believes that the solution to terrorism lies in "honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none." (Thomas Jefferson)

Badnarik believes the first place to start on saving our environment is reducing the biggest polluter in the United States: the federal government. He believes free markets and personal-property rights are the way to a cleaner environment, not ineffective public bureaucracies such as the Environmental Protection Agency. The best incentive for individuals to want to preserve the natural ecosystem of their properties is by owning those properties. He believes that handing over the vast amounts of public parks to private environmentalist organizations like the Sierra Club will greatly improve their well-being.

Excess regulation and government spending increases unemployment. Every regulator we fire results in the creation of more than 150 new jobs - enough to hire the ex-regulator, the unemployed and the able-bodied poor. Michael Badnarik vows to lower federal taxes in all walks of politics and loosen tax regulations on all businesses. This will release the strangle hold on the United States' private economy and create an unprecedented increase in jobs.

Michael Badnarik also believes in decriminalizing medical marijuana, protecting Second Amendment rights, removing federally legislated affirmative action, ending the war on drugs, and the privatization of health care.

Justin Doran

president, college libertarians