Why this Republican Supports Austin Petersen

Why this Republican Supports Austin Petersen

By

James Scott Trimm

First of all I am delighted with the progress the GOP has had in Tarrant County and in Texas over the last few years.  We have elected some great liberty minded State Representatives and State Senators.  I cannot say enough good things about my own State Representative here in House District 92, Jonathan Stickland.  He has been a strong pro-life voice for more freedom and less government in the Texas House.  The Texas Tea Parties succeeded two years ago when “Tea Party” candidates swept the statewide elections.  And our 2016 state platform is better than ever!  We have Texas Sovereignty language in at least three planks, a first amendment platform, a censure rule with teeth and so much more.  The Texas State GOP is marching onward with great success.

But on the national level the GOP is in serious trouble.  The presumptive presidential nominee is Donald Trump.  Trump never speaks of downsizing government, to the contrary he speaks often of expanding federal powers. I never hear him speak about personal freedom, which always contracts when government expands. Trump has said that he believes three of the four most important roles of the Federal Government are education, healthcare and housing, none of which are Constitutionally delegated powers of the Federal Government.  To the contrary the Constitution plainly states that all powers not delegated to the Federal Government are retained by the states and the people. To the contrary Trump talks of “getting rid of the lines around the states” (his words). Trump says he wants to make America great again, but he does not understand that the Constitution and liberty were what made America truly great.  Trump to restore the economic and military power of America… not our Constitutional values, not our principles of more freedom and less government. Without those values, that military and economic might is only a danger to us all. Without those values we are left only with a Powerful Federal Leviathan!

I have been a Republican for my entire adult life and I have voted for every Republican presidential nominee since Ronald Reagan and I am a GOP party official* (a Precinct Chair and member of the Tarrant County Republican Party Executive Committee*) and a conservative activist and blogger. 

The two major parties have presented us, in their presumptive nominees, with two Statists.  Fortunately there may be a very real third option.  To those now telling me that I must support Trump or I will help Hillary win.... If Trump cannot win without the votes of Constitutional Conservatives who said all along we could never vote for him, then why did you insist on nominating a guy who could not beat Hillary? That's not my fault, its yours.

We have got to shake free the bonds of two party thinking that has gotten us into this mess.  That is why I am supporting the Libertarian Austin Petersen.  Petersen’s slogan is “Taking over Government to Leave Everyone Alone. “  He is a pro-life Libertarian with a background with Tea Party groups and Freedom Works. He is a Constutionalist and I can vote for him in good conscience.  If the Libertarians will be so kind as to nominate Petersen at their national convention in just a few days, then we will have a pro-life Constitutionalist on the ballot in all fifty states.

When placed in the dilemma of choosing between supporting the limited government principles of our GOP platform and supporting a Statist nominee, I am forced to support my conservative principles. I have not sole my soul to the GOP.  If you are “Tea Party” and prepared to support or vote for a GOP nominee regardless of what he stands for, you should ask yourself if you have become the very establishment we signed up to fight.

Petersen is not the “perfect candidate” but no one is.  I do not speak for Austin Petersen but I have watched a lot of Petersen on video and in the debates. As a Liberty wing Constitutional Conservative Republican and as a member of the clergy in conservative Texas, let me set the story straight on some key social issues:

Petersen describes himself as "agnostic" and supports the freedom of religion of all persons. He wants to protect your right as a Christian or Jew etc. not to make a cake for a gay wedding or any event or purpose that would violate your religion and not to be forced to officiate a gay wedding or any wedding to which you object.

When Petersen says he supports "gay marriage" it is important to know that he does not want those to be government marriages, he wants states to get out of the marriage business. Thus in his model the government would not license or certify homosexual or heterosexual marriages. Petersen does not want people with religious objections to such marriages to be forced to officiate such marriages, bake cakes for them etc. However he does believe that so long as a state licenses and certifies marriages that the 14th amendment would require them to license and certify gay marriages. I don't agree with him on the last point (As I wrote in a recent blog, I don't thing the Federal Government has the delegated power to redefine marriage), but as Petersen says: he is not the perfect candidate.

Petersen supports equal rights for all persons LGBT or otherwise. However he does not believe in special rights for LGBT persons and does not believe in making LGBT a special protected class.

Petersen is pro-life and believes states, not the federal government should ban abortion. He also said he would support recognizing the unborn as "persons" under the 14th amendment. He is also for pulling all funding from Planned Parenthood.

Petersen has also stated that his first Supreme Court appointment would be Judge Andrew Napolitono, who once called Petersen “the right side of my brain.”

Should a conservative Republican support a Libertarian?  In an interview in Reason magazine Ronald Reagan once said "the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism… libertarianism and conservatism are traveling the same path".  In fact in a 60 Minutes interview Ronald Reagan said that his philosophy was essentially Libertarian and that “The conservative, so-called, is the one that says less government, get off my back, get out of my pocket, and let me have more control of my own destiny,”  The Democrats are our opposition party, not the Libertarians.  The Libertarians are our sister party.

Why I am I enthused about Petersen and not Gary Johnson, who is also in the running for the Libertarian nomination?  There are serious problems with Johnson.  Johnson is pro-abortion, and Johnson has said that he not only favors forcing Christians to bake cakes for gay weddings, he even says he favors forcing Jews to bake nazi cakes!  And beyond that when Johnson was asked if clergy should be forced to perform gay weddings, he responded by saying that e should not be supporting discrimination of any kind, and that religion has become an excuse for discrimination!  Plus Johnson wants to fund planned parenthood!  If Johnson is the Libertarian nominee, we will have three Statists running!

Why not vote for the Constution party?  Because only the Libertarian party will be on the ballot in all fifty states and have a mathematical possibility of winning. 

Why not write in Ted Cruz?  Because some states like Texas have a “sore loser” law that would prohibit counting those votes.  Also most states require a write in candidate to register as such in order for such votes to be counted.  So a write-in vote for Cruz at the General Election will be truly a wasted vote.

Austin Petersen is charismatic and articulate.  He performs well in debates and can certainly excel in debates against such as Trump and Hillary.  Petersen can build a coalition of Libertarians, Conservative Republicans and even Sanders supporters who are concerned about crony capitalism and corporate welfare!   He has already begun to build that coalition with recent clear praise and support from Glenn Beck. 

I am therefore personally (not as a GOP official) endorsing Austin Petersen.  If the Libertarians are so kind as to nominate Austin Petersen next week, we will have a pro-life Constitutionalist on the ballot in all fifty states! 

* This information is given for informational purposes only.  I am not writing this article, or making these statements as a GOP party official, but as a private individual.