<< Back 10/23/02 Libertarians want alternative to same old two-party system By Scott McLeod Barry Williams says the Libertarian Party provides voters with a clear alternative — no matter what the political contest. “It seems voters always find themselves asking something like this in every election — which is the lesser of two evils, the Democrat or the Republican? I and many people like me always felt like they had no one to vote for,” said Williams, who is running against Marge Carpenter and Ray Rapp in the state 118th House District. Williams joins Sherry Hill, the Libertarian running in the state’s 47th Senate race, Brandon Gilland, who is seeking a county board seat in Haywood, and others who are members of the U.S.’s third-largest yet little-known political party. They usually run for office on very basic platforms that revolve closely around the party’s central themes of a free-market economy, individual liberties and a disdain for an interventionist government. More controversial, though, are the Libertarian Party’s belief that drugs should not be illegal and that all forcible taxation is unjust. “Government has to stop playing big brother and hold each person responsible for the choices he or she makes,” says Hill, 34, a Clyde homemaker who is making her first try for elected office. Although Williams says a group of Republicans disgruntled with Richard Nixon formed the Libertarian Party, the group’s website says Democrats and independents were also part of the catalyst that formed the party. What is undisputed is that it was formed in 1971 in Colorado and has had sporadic success since. Often, candidates are asked to run or choose to get on the ballot simply to provide an alternative to the two major parties. That is exactly what happened with Williams and Hill. “I basically ran to give people an alternative,” said Williams, a 54-year-old piano tuner, tutor and artist from Burnsville. “Since FDR, I believe we have created a nation where people think they have a right to everything: a right to life, a right to liberty and a right to happiness. The truth is no one can have a right to anything that someone else produces,” said Williams. The waste associated with big government is bedeviling to Williams. “I once saw a street crew use jackhammers to destroy a perfectly good sidewalk. They said it was due to be replaced, but it was fine. You see this all the time,” said Williams. “Every time you look inside government, you see massive waste.” Hill initially got into politics when she became interested in the issue of legalizing hemp. Her activism led her to the Libertarian Party. “When I started educating myself I saw that the Libertarian Party’s views were similar to my own,” said Hill. Like Williams, Hill says that big government just does not respond well to the needs of individuals. “Most things can be handled more efficiently through the private sector,” she said. Libertarians also believe strongly that gun control laws — and most prohibitions — are unconstitutional. “Whenever we prohibit the use or possession of anything, it encourages black markets and leads to violence,” said Hill.