LibertyMage
11-02-2009, 01:46 PM
http://www.libertymage.com/skins/andreas_01/img/pappas2.jpg
The Baltimore Campaign for Liberty chapter locked in another speaking engagement with a local political personality. Mike Pappas (“http://www.pappas2010.com/" target="_blank"), a candidate who will be running for governor here in Maryland, attended the October chapter meeting. Mike is currently a lawyer that handles construction and business litigation. He also serves on the Maryland Republican Central Committee.
I like to give a comprehensive report on local candidates and I think that this type of reporting is something that should be done country wide. This type of effort provides opportunities to empirically identify candidates that are loyal to the cause and weed out the rubbish. I think this type of reporting has definitely stimulated interest as the Jim Rutledge (“http://www.libertymage.com/index.php/2009/09/05/nintey-minutes-with-jim-rutledge" target="_blank") post is by far the most read article on this site.
We traded a few barbs with Mr. Pappas to bring his his political beliefs to the surface just as we did with Mr. Rutledge (“http://www.libertymage.com/index.php/2009/09/05/nintey-minutes-with-jim-rutledge" target="_blank"). I had a chance to offer a few questions myself. I like to question from the standpoint of the official Campaign For Liberty mission statement (“http://www.campaignforliberty.com/about.php" target="_blank") as it has been a pretty effective tool for soliciting the development of candidates positions.
You can find the audio from the event at the bottom of this page. If anyone happens to know where I can find that nifty plug-in that the lewrockwell.com podcast (“http://lewrockwell.com/podcast/" target="_blank") and anitwar.com interviews (“http://antiwar.com/radio/2009/04/21/jeff-stein/" target="_blank") use for hosting audio let me know (“http://www.libertymage.com/blog1.php?disp=msgform&recipient_id=1&redirect_to= http%3A%2F%2Fwww.libertymage.com%2Fblog1.php%3Fblo g%3D1" target="_blank"). If there are any local candidates or politicians you would like to have interviewed please contact me (“http://www.libertymage.com/blog1.php?disp=msgform&recipient_id=1&redirect_to= http%3A%2F%2Fwww.libertymage.com%2Fblog1.php%3Fblo g%3D1" target="_blank") and I will get with the other chapter leadership to see if we can make your request happen.
Storytime
I'm not sure how this happens, but it seems that every political speaker we host is ideologically aligned with us. Mr. Pappas elaborates:
"I have always considered myself much more of a libertarian in the republican party then a lot of my cohorts in the republican party...In 2008 I ran the McCain Baltimore County Campaign...and I know that there are a lot of Ron Paul supporters in the room and I have always liked everything I heard from Doctor Paul. The fact is though, that I actually started off as a Fred Thompson guy last year."
Mike talked about how the extreme left and extreme right "ruled the message" in the 2008 election and how nobody in the middle had a chance to have their voice heard. It is his belief that "that's not where liberty happens - at either extreme". He elaborated about how people were frustrated that "the government isn't listening".
At the end of the 2008 elections, Mike decided he had "had enough" and started looking for someone to run for governor. It turns out that nobody was ready to take on the challenge. He said that party leaders and elected officials across the state asked him "why don't you do it?" With that advice, Mike decided he needed to put himself out as a candidate to "build a network".
Mike concluded by saying that we needed to get back to the "simple tenants of government" that were put in place by the U.S. constitution where government "does for people only what they can't do for themselves".
On the Issues
As we questioned Mr. Pappas it was clear that he was cognizant of the issues and was able to articulate his positions. When put in a tight spot, instead of trying to spin or wiggle around the truth he just declined to pursue the issue by stating simply "as a politician I'm not going to agree to (unpopular position) but I will agree to (popular position)".
Mr. Pappas spoke about a supreme court hearing on private property rights case he had sat in on earlier in the day. The plaintiff in the case argued for the prohibition of the display of a cross. This cross had been erected by a VFW in 1931 in the middle of the badlands as a memorial. Mike's criticism of the case was that the symbol was located on physical grounds the government had transferred to private ownership and said that the owners property rights should be protected.
When asked if he would accept federal stimulus were put in the position where the economy were declining again he couldn't commit to an answer. He did note that stimulus money could put people back to work and that his concern in that case would be the "strings" that were attached to the stimulus.
When asked about his position on the energy issue in Maryland, Mr. Pappas said the construction of a new power facility in Calvert Cliffs needed to be permitted as soon as possible. He stated he is a proponent of nuclear energy and that obstruction of all forms of alternative energy needed to end.
When asked about how he felt the war on drugs had played out and the direction he would take prohibition, he stated simply that the drug war has been a "complete failure". He supports medical marijuana but does not support the decriminalization of marijuana overall. He said we have major problems with cocaine and methamphetamine that we need to address.
Mr. Pappas stated he is entirely opposed to "messing with the market" but is "not a laissez-faire guy".
When asked on his position on gambling he stated the gambling is "not something we need to fear". He says should be to spend his money where he wants to spend it and questioned the way gambling was legalized (via the state constitution). He said the state could be making five times the money it is now off of and that we are chasing jobs out of the state. When asked about non-licensed gambling he said that he has had "many little gambling games with his buddies" and that gambling should be "legal in a rational way".
When given the example of a no-knock warrant resulting in the death of Cheryl Noel (“http://www.mpp.org/victims/cheryl-noel.html") and asked about his position on the empowerment of the executive branch, Mr. Pappas said this is where he "strays from his libertarian side". He spoke about how he saw the planes hit the towers on 9/11 and he was concerned that "the government may not have the ability to protect us from the people who are trying to kill us on a daily basis". He said that the actions taken after 9/11, such as the Patriot Act, were knee-jerk reactions that didn't necessarily "give us enough benefit" to be warranted. He said the death of Chery Noel was a tragedy but that most of our law enforcement officials were professionals. He said that the way we should protect ourselves is to make sure that law enforcement fears us as much as we fear them and that we hold government accountable.
When asked what he would do to fix the state budget he said he would work towards a zero-based budget system and away from unfunded mandates.
When asked how he would handle state sovereignty issues, Mr. Pappas stated that states rights issues needed to be handled on a case-by-case basis. He noted the federal government "has its place" and that as long as the state "keeps the federal government in check" we will be able to "live the spirit of the 10th amendment". When asked if his position was due to the amount of federal jobs in the state, he said the state of Maryland is not sovereign to the other states and that the federal jobs are "important jobs".
The Man Behind the Mask
Mr. Pappas believes in freedom from government control over our lives. That is, except in the case of drug prohibition which he admits is a total failure but won't challenge politically. Except in the case of the free markets which he supports until he doesn't. Except in the case of unlicensed gambling which he takes part in but won't support legally. Except in the case of unchecked executive branch empowerment which he thinks is necessary to protect us. Except of states rights which he doesn't believe in at all.
Mr. Pappas believes in freedom from government control over our lives - except when it isn't politically practical.
One of the most pervasive problems in American politics today is the compulsion to compromise. Constitutional legality is not brought into question. Civil rights pose no concern. Morality isn't even an afterthought. Historical or economic precedents are inconsequential. The only real objective that exists in the minds of most politicians is political practicality. It seems Mr. Pappas suffers from this very disease.
The problem with candidates such as Mr. Pappas is that the rule of political practicality has no bounds. Those who begin to sacrifice their political principles for political power will continue to do so as necessary. It is possible that Mr. Pappas has a sincere belief in small government somewhere below the layers of political concession. However, when you openly share how you are willing to hedge your beliefs for political expediency your beliefs quickly become irrelevant.
The Bottom Line
The Republican party has been beleaguered by this horse trading for the last decade. When elections get competitive they bend their principles on issues like bailouts (“http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aBLgWTu.IKn0"), entitlements (“http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-snowe-healthcare14-2009oct14,0,3357367.story") and "climate change" (“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/opinion/11kerrygraham.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&ref=opinion&adxnn lx=1257016011-OAHNUYHGMNhgNMUpbX/y2w"). In doing so it has cast itself as a hypocritical party with no system of belief and has provided an opportunity to be depicted as the party of obstruction. This inhibits any opportunity to make a substantive intellectual argument for the case of small government.
We are now paying for the consequences of Republican concession as the march into complete socialism picks up speed. We are faced with a choice - change course now or face 10 to 20 years of irrelevance and a lifetime of lost liberty. The first action we need to take to make this change is to stop nominating people who pretend to support small government. Unfortunately, Mike Pappas doesn't make the grade.
If you take two minutes to look at the justifications for Mike's positions, his arguments for going back to the simple tenets of government and adhering to the constitution are quickly thrown out the window. It would take little political pressure to expand his list of concessions to bigger issues. His statement about who he supported in 2008 sums up his candidacy perfectly: he was a Fred Thompson guy before he sold out to McCain before he was interested in the only candidate that supported limited government. I can only wonder what issues he would concede on if he were running for national politics.
"My most important issues are to focus on providing education, health care, and personal security to every citizen in Maryland." -Mike Pappas (“http://www.examiner.com/x-9345-Baltimore-County-Republican-Examiner~y2009m5d15-Meet-Mike-Pappas-candidate-for-Maryland-governor")
It seems that the Maryland Republican party is willing to exclude strict adherents to small government to fight for the middle few percent. In doing so they sacrifice an opportunity to build the party around a base of believers in order to politik for the margins. Good luck with that. We will be here if you ever reconsider.
[CENTER]
YouTube - Interview with Mike Pappas - Part 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn0-AGL6peo)
The Baltimore Campaign for Liberty chapter locked in another speaking engagement with a local political personality. Mike Pappas (“http://www.pappas2010.com/" target="_blank"), a candidate who will be running for governor here in Maryland, attended the October chapter meeting. Mike is currently a lawyer that handles construction and business litigation. He also serves on the Maryland Republican Central Committee.
I like to give a comprehensive report on local candidates and I think that this type of reporting is something that should be done country wide. This type of effort provides opportunities to empirically identify candidates that are loyal to the cause and weed out the rubbish. I think this type of reporting has definitely stimulated interest as the Jim Rutledge (“http://www.libertymage.com/index.php/2009/09/05/nintey-minutes-with-jim-rutledge" target="_blank") post is by far the most read article on this site.
We traded a few barbs with Mr. Pappas to bring his his political beliefs to the surface just as we did with Mr. Rutledge (“http://www.libertymage.com/index.php/2009/09/05/nintey-minutes-with-jim-rutledge" target="_blank"). I had a chance to offer a few questions myself. I like to question from the standpoint of the official Campaign For Liberty mission statement (“http://www.campaignforliberty.com/about.php" target="_blank") as it has been a pretty effective tool for soliciting the development of candidates positions.
You can find the audio from the event at the bottom of this page. If anyone happens to know where I can find that nifty plug-in that the lewrockwell.com podcast (“http://lewrockwell.com/podcast/" target="_blank") and anitwar.com interviews (“http://antiwar.com/radio/2009/04/21/jeff-stein/" target="_blank") use for hosting audio let me know (“http://www.libertymage.com/blog1.php?disp=msgform&recipient_id=1&redirect_to= http%3A%2F%2Fwww.libertymage.com%2Fblog1.php%3Fblo g%3D1" target="_blank"). If there are any local candidates or politicians you would like to have interviewed please contact me (“http://www.libertymage.com/blog1.php?disp=msgform&recipient_id=1&redirect_to= http%3A%2F%2Fwww.libertymage.com%2Fblog1.php%3Fblo g%3D1" target="_blank") and I will get with the other chapter leadership to see if we can make your request happen.
Storytime
I'm not sure how this happens, but it seems that every political speaker we host is ideologically aligned with us. Mr. Pappas elaborates:
"I have always considered myself much more of a libertarian in the republican party then a lot of my cohorts in the republican party...In 2008 I ran the McCain Baltimore County Campaign...and I know that there are a lot of Ron Paul supporters in the room and I have always liked everything I heard from Doctor Paul. The fact is though, that I actually started off as a Fred Thompson guy last year."
Mike talked about how the extreme left and extreme right "ruled the message" in the 2008 election and how nobody in the middle had a chance to have their voice heard. It is his belief that "that's not where liberty happens - at either extreme". He elaborated about how people were frustrated that "the government isn't listening".
At the end of the 2008 elections, Mike decided he had "had enough" and started looking for someone to run for governor. It turns out that nobody was ready to take on the challenge. He said that party leaders and elected officials across the state asked him "why don't you do it?" With that advice, Mike decided he needed to put himself out as a candidate to "build a network".
Mike concluded by saying that we needed to get back to the "simple tenants of government" that were put in place by the U.S. constitution where government "does for people only what they can't do for themselves".
On the Issues
As we questioned Mr. Pappas it was clear that he was cognizant of the issues and was able to articulate his positions. When put in a tight spot, instead of trying to spin or wiggle around the truth he just declined to pursue the issue by stating simply "as a politician I'm not going to agree to (unpopular position) but I will agree to (popular position)".
Mr. Pappas spoke about a supreme court hearing on private property rights case he had sat in on earlier in the day. The plaintiff in the case argued for the prohibition of the display of a cross. This cross had been erected by a VFW in 1931 in the middle of the badlands as a memorial. Mike's criticism of the case was that the symbol was located on physical grounds the government had transferred to private ownership and said that the owners property rights should be protected.
When asked if he would accept federal stimulus were put in the position where the economy were declining again he couldn't commit to an answer. He did note that stimulus money could put people back to work and that his concern in that case would be the "strings" that were attached to the stimulus.
When asked about his position on the energy issue in Maryland, Mr. Pappas said the construction of a new power facility in Calvert Cliffs needed to be permitted as soon as possible. He stated he is a proponent of nuclear energy and that obstruction of all forms of alternative energy needed to end.
When asked about how he felt the war on drugs had played out and the direction he would take prohibition, he stated simply that the drug war has been a "complete failure". He supports medical marijuana but does not support the decriminalization of marijuana overall. He said we have major problems with cocaine and methamphetamine that we need to address.
Mr. Pappas stated he is entirely opposed to "messing with the market" but is "not a laissez-faire guy".
When asked on his position on gambling he stated the gambling is "not something we need to fear". He says should be to spend his money where he wants to spend it and questioned the way gambling was legalized (via the state constitution). He said the state could be making five times the money it is now off of and that we are chasing jobs out of the state. When asked about non-licensed gambling he said that he has had "many little gambling games with his buddies" and that gambling should be "legal in a rational way".
When given the example of a no-knock warrant resulting in the death of Cheryl Noel (“http://www.mpp.org/victims/cheryl-noel.html") and asked about his position on the empowerment of the executive branch, Mr. Pappas said this is where he "strays from his libertarian side". He spoke about how he saw the planes hit the towers on 9/11 and he was concerned that "the government may not have the ability to protect us from the people who are trying to kill us on a daily basis". He said that the actions taken after 9/11, such as the Patriot Act, were knee-jerk reactions that didn't necessarily "give us enough benefit" to be warranted. He said the death of Chery Noel was a tragedy but that most of our law enforcement officials were professionals. He said that the way we should protect ourselves is to make sure that law enforcement fears us as much as we fear them and that we hold government accountable.
When asked what he would do to fix the state budget he said he would work towards a zero-based budget system and away from unfunded mandates.
When asked how he would handle state sovereignty issues, Mr. Pappas stated that states rights issues needed to be handled on a case-by-case basis. He noted the federal government "has its place" and that as long as the state "keeps the federal government in check" we will be able to "live the spirit of the 10th amendment". When asked if his position was due to the amount of federal jobs in the state, he said the state of Maryland is not sovereign to the other states and that the federal jobs are "important jobs".
The Man Behind the Mask
Mr. Pappas believes in freedom from government control over our lives. That is, except in the case of drug prohibition which he admits is a total failure but won't challenge politically. Except in the case of the free markets which he supports until he doesn't. Except in the case of unlicensed gambling which he takes part in but won't support legally. Except in the case of unchecked executive branch empowerment which he thinks is necessary to protect us. Except of states rights which he doesn't believe in at all.
Mr. Pappas believes in freedom from government control over our lives - except when it isn't politically practical.
One of the most pervasive problems in American politics today is the compulsion to compromise. Constitutional legality is not brought into question. Civil rights pose no concern. Morality isn't even an afterthought. Historical or economic precedents are inconsequential. The only real objective that exists in the minds of most politicians is political practicality. It seems Mr. Pappas suffers from this very disease.
The problem with candidates such as Mr. Pappas is that the rule of political practicality has no bounds. Those who begin to sacrifice their political principles for political power will continue to do so as necessary. It is possible that Mr. Pappas has a sincere belief in small government somewhere below the layers of political concession. However, when you openly share how you are willing to hedge your beliefs for political expediency your beliefs quickly become irrelevant.
The Bottom Line
The Republican party has been beleaguered by this horse trading for the last decade. When elections get competitive they bend their principles on issues like bailouts (“http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aBLgWTu.IKn0"), entitlements (“http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-snowe-healthcare14-2009oct14,0,3357367.story") and "climate change" (“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/opinion/11kerrygraham.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&ref=opinion&adxnn lx=1257016011-OAHNUYHGMNhgNMUpbX/y2w"). In doing so it has cast itself as a hypocritical party with no system of belief and has provided an opportunity to be depicted as the party of obstruction. This inhibits any opportunity to make a substantive intellectual argument for the case of small government.
We are now paying for the consequences of Republican concession as the march into complete socialism picks up speed. We are faced with a choice - change course now or face 10 to 20 years of irrelevance and a lifetime of lost liberty. The first action we need to take to make this change is to stop nominating people who pretend to support small government. Unfortunately, Mike Pappas doesn't make the grade.
If you take two minutes to look at the justifications for Mike's positions, his arguments for going back to the simple tenets of government and adhering to the constitution are quickly thrown out the window. It would take little political pressure to expand his list of concessions to bigger issues. His statement about who he supported in 2008 sums up his candidacy perfectly: he was a Fred Thompson guy before he sold out to McCain before he was interested in the only candidate that supported limited government. I can only wonder what issues he would concede on if he were running for national politics.
"My most important issues are to focus on providing education, health care, and personal security to every citizen in Maryland." -Mike Pappas (“http://www.examiner.com/x-9345-Baltimore-County-Republican-Examiner~y2009m5d15-Meet-Mike-Pappas-candidate-for-Maryland-governor")
It seems that the Maryland Republican party is willing to exclude strict adherents to small government to fight for the middle few percent. In doing so they sacrifice an opportunity to build the party around a base of believers in order to politik for the margins. Good luck with that. We will be here if you ever reconsider.
[CENTER]
YouTube - Interview with Mike Pappas - Part 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn0-AGL6peo)