Posted on 12/31/2004 12:18:54 PM PST by freepatriot32
After being elected twice as a Republican to the position of county attorney in Anderson County, Kan., Fred Campbell decided following the Nov. 2 elections to drop his Republican Party affiliation in favor of the Libertarian Party, saying the GOP has abandoned the idea of minimal government.
Campbell was re-elected in November with no opposition. He has been a Republican for years, primarily because he's "always been in favor of less government rather than more," he said.
"I've always thought that the Republican Party was the major party that went along with that philosophy," Campbell explained. "But in the last four years, I've seen no evidence of that. For the last four years, we've had a Republican majority on the national and local level. But even though the Republicans had the majority in the national arena, I haven't seen a reining in of bureaucracy; I don't see anything getting smaller; I don't see government getting out of my life.
"Government is way too big, and too involved in every facet of our lives. After the election, I thought, 'Why do I maintain support for this Republican Party that is not doing anything to change the way things are?' So I decided to change my affiliation to something that more accurately represents what I believe."
He followed that decision with action, heading down to his county clerk's office to fill out a new voter registration form -- thereby making a statement that he wants to see changes in government.
He didn't expect his statement to be made public, at least not as rapidly as it was.
"Apparently the county clerk was worried about the next election, four years from now, and called the secretary of state's office to see how my leaving the Republican Party would affect me in that race," Campbell said. "And the newspaper picked up on it somehow, and it became news."
Campbell graduated from law school in 1997, and the same year was hired as an assistant county attorney in Anderson County -- a small rural county in east-central Kansas.
The Republican county attorney he was hired to assist never bothered to move to the county, however, and in 1999 Campbell was asked to replace him.
"After that, I ran unopposed in both the 2000 and 2004 elections, as a Republican. Ever since I've been in this position, I've told people that if I am ever opposed in an election, I will lose -- because I don't tell people what they want to hear. I'm not a good politician; I'm actually ashamed to call myself a politician. I'm just here to do what I think is right for the community and what is right for the job.
"The interesting thing about this last election was that, although we are a Republican majority county, almost all Republicans that ran for local office lost to Democrats. In all national and state elections, the county voted Republican, but in local elections, the voters went for the Democrats. I think there's a great deal of frustration with the Republican Party here, and I find that very interesting."
With that in mind, Campbell decided to follow his personal ideals -- which led him to the Libertarian Party.
"I don't remember where I first heard of the Libertarian Party," he said. "I've considered myself basically a Libertarian for years because I think the views that are expressed are very much in line with what I personally believe, including primarily a belief in minimally intrusive government.
"A year or two ago, I read the entire writings of Lincoln, seven or eight volumes of his works. And I decided (while reading what he wrote during the founding of the Republican Party) that in this day and age, Lincoln would be a Libertarian. From what he wrote about the origins of the Republican Party, it sounds much more like he was describing the Libertarian Party than the Republican Party we have now."
One question that remains to be answered is whether Campbell's affiliation will affect the way he goes about his job as a prosecutor for the county; he doesn't think his actions will change.
"It's my job to enforce the laws, whether or not I believe the laws are just and right," he said. "I had this discussion with a judge a few weeks ago, not before the bench but in conversation.
"I was concerned about a charge that I had made: I charged someone with a weapons crime that I disagree with, but the law is on the books. The judge said I have prosecutorial discretion, which essentially means I can decide which laws to prosecute people under.
"But as I told him, if I used my discretion to eliminate [all crimes] I think the government shouldn't have a hand in, the judge would have a very light load. As an elected official, as a county attorney, I'm supposed to do what the law says. But I certainly would like to see some of the laws taken off the books."
Looking at a coffee cup on his desk, Campbell read the following quote: "The best way to get a bad law repealed is to uphold it strictly."
"I've been dealing with this philosophical problem for years," he said. "That's not going to change. There are laws on the books that shouldn't be there."
You started out by trying to use Phil Gramm and Richard Shelby as examples of blatant turncoats. You were proven wrong, so now you're trying to make me the issue? I won't bite...the fact is this clown ran as a Republican, and a mere eight weeks later, quit the party. That reeks of cowardice.
He gets elected as a Republican, then immediately changes his party affiliation. Classy, Mr. Jeffords... er, Campbell. BTW, thanks to the Losertarian party, Washington state has a Dem governor. Ideological purity has a steep price.
It's the old trojan horse routine. Libertarians have decided they can't get elected as a "Libertarian" so they've started infiltrating the Republican party then switch back to Libertarian when they figure the coast is clear. Then there's the whole scientology cult infiltrating the Libertarian party. What a mess. Druggies suck, pedophiles suck, so on and so forth. The Republican party needs to police itself and get its act together!
It's unlikely those Bennett voters were all your typical bearded, Ayn Rand-quotin', dope smokin', wife swappin', gun totin' Libertarian
lol why is it the nerdiest of nerds wind up being libertarians? They're such social freaks trying desperately to be hip or Ricco Suave a la Steve Martins Wild n Crazy Guy
"Its pretty tough to lose when you run unopposed, even if you're on the Persistent Vegetative Party ticket"
Now there's an idea, for all those Libertarians who really want to get elected to something, rather than just F* up the works like most of them do...fill all those local posts that nobody else cares about.
Who knows what careers could be launched.
I think you misspelled "thanks to the Republican party not having a backbone"
"Then there's the whole scientology cult infiltrating the Libertarian party."
Hah! Really? I wasn't aware of this little development. Too funny. maybe the scientologists can help out that guy who turned blue.
I voted for Bush but it just bothers me where he stands on some major issues like border security and the patriot act. I hope to see more Americans investigating the Libertarian and the Constitution parties. I think Repub and Demo have become two sides of the same coin. Graft and pork seem to rule the day with both of them.
maybe the scientologists can help out that guy who turned blue.
And who would that be?
Here's one winky linky to an example of what happens
http://www.austinreview.com/articles/98.html
"A typical error mode of Libertarian activism is to trumpet the virtues of anyone involved in legal action against government, regardless of how ridiculous or fraudulent the individual is. In the case of Hulda Clark, the Libertarian Party of Kentucky is billing her as an “..awarding-winning research scientist whose many health discoveries have brought new hope to people all over the world.” Of course something is very wrong with the LPoK. Somehow the LPoK missed the elementary point that the author of a book called The Cure for All Cancer is a quack.
But that is not surprising. The Libertarian Party has two types of members: realists and dreamers. The realists understand that the world is tough and government should not be there to make decisions for you. Realist Libertarians say, “If you want to zapp invisible, self-constructed parasites, go for it. If you die, maybe someone later on will figure out that the idea was not so good. Maybe not”. Realist Libertarians basically believe that the fundamental imperfections of human beings make any sort of force-wielding government very suspicious. If a few dummies must be allowed to kill themselves in order to prevent totalitarian statism, so be it. In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson, realist Libertarians want a minimalist government. Realists also understand that a transition to a more Jeffersonian society must be slow and controlled.
Unfortunately the lion’s share of party members are dreamers. These individuals think that Utopia lies just around the corner if only government would get out of the way. Libertarian dreamers believe that the FDA is keeping miracle cures off the market because of special interest manipulation. Libertarian dreamers believe that if it weren’t for NASA, private companies would have already colonized Mars. Libertarian dreamers believe that entire wars can be prosecuted by clever assassinations with private contract hit-men hired by private insurance companies. Libertarian dreamers easily fall prey to any simple anti-establishment version of reality. Dreamers believe that all Libertarian notions should be implemented immediately, and when the chips fall, the world will be a better place. These dreamers throw the Party’s support behind frauds like Hulda Clark."
He's not alone.
Libertarian poll-watcher.
Religeous nut jobs inspire me.
Considering that he ran unopposed, it would have been hard for him to lose regardless of his party affiliation.
I'm not a Libertarian or thinking of becoming one. But I have the same frustration about how the Republican party is not living up to the "party of small government" mantra that I thought Republicans were supposed to stand for. I'm not seeing a giant difference between the Republican party and the Democrat party. That's frustrating to me and a lot of other Republicans I know.
Would he have run unopposed had he ran as a libertarian and left the primary race for an opposition Republican?
>if I am ever opposed in an election, I will lose....<
I don't agree. What many of us actually want and definitely need is an elected official who IS NOT A POLITICIAN (dirty word).
For many years I've witnessed the Demoncrooks go Socialist-Communist, and the Republicans go Democrat-Socialist. People don't want to recognize this, but unfortunately, it is very true.
I don't know the Libertarian Party, and just a smidgeon of the Constitution Party, but they are alternatives, perhaps vital to our survival.
That would be right. I think if the town was that small, the job was equal to dog catcher and it would make no difference.
The only thing the change did was buy him publicity in the news a little.
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