Posted on 01/28/2007 5:33:27 AM PST by NewHampshireDuo
By now, 20,000 liberty-minded Americans should have started packing their wagons to head east – to the new frontier of libertarianism in New Hampshire.
But more than three years after the Free State Project announced it had chosen the Granite State as its home base for furthering bare-bones government, the movement has fallen way short on membership goals.
The group had hoped that by 2006 it would have 20,000 like-minded people pledged to move here. Once that target was reached, the committed masses would have then hauled their families and furniture to New Hampshire, ultimately integrating into state culture and politics.
But to date, only about 7,500 people have agreed to uproot their lives and start over in a state that offers not only the possibility to spread libertarian ideals, but also a comparative dearth of economic opportunities as found in other parts of the country.
“If we knew the answer to the question on how to get to 20,000 by the end of 2006, we would have done that,” said Free State Project Director Varrin Swearingen. “It should go without saying no one has done anything like this before, so we’re inventing the wheel. It’s not an easy task.”
Indeed, the project earned widespread notoriety for its novel approach of allowing members to choose one out of 10 states as a future home. In October 2003, 5,454 members chose New Hampshire over Wyoming, Montana, Vermont, Maine and five other states that already had streaks of libertarianism. Since the hoopla of that vote, only 2,000 more people have made the pledge.
Free Staters aren’t obligated to get their wagons rolling until the 20,000 milestone is reached, and with 2006 since passed, anyone who held second thoughts has been allowed to slip out of the pledge, Swearingen said. He stressed that 2006 wasn’t a target set in stone, but rather more of a loose goal.
Many Free Staters, though, in interviews several years ago, spoke of the deadline in nearly hard-and-fast terms.
More than 100 pledge signers – including Swearingen – didn’t bother to wait for the 20,000 objective to be reached and have already moved to New Hampshire, he said. But with no one yet obligated to come here and fewer people committing, the movement seems to be stalled.
“There is a significant impediment to moving,” said Swearingen, who in 2004 left California with his wife and two children and settled in Keene. “There are real issues to deal with; it can be tough to start over.”
Lifestyle choices – leaving good jobs, friends and family to start over – are reasons why many Free Staters have probably hesitated to pull up their stakes, said University of New Hampshire associate professor of political science Mark Wrighton. Particularly, people living in the South and West regions of the country, where population and economic opportunities are growing, have less reason to move, he said.
“You’re asking people to do something against the trend of where the population movement is,” Wrighton said. “And it goes against the general trend that people don’t stay in New Hampshire. People tend to leave the state and not come back.”
To Swearingen, there is an economic advantage to living in the Granite State: less taxes. His savings in taxes has already paid for his move from the West Coast, he said.
Not every Free State Project member is a libertarian. Some register as Republicans and a few as Democrats. They espouse a wide spectrum of causes: gun rights, decriminalization of marijuana and the overriding goal of less government.
Even though they aren’t quite 20,000 strong, the members who already live here have made a difference, Swearingen said. For instance, members helped lobby against a state measure that would have banned smoking in restaurants, and they have played a part in defeating municipal budgets that total in the millions, he said.
To kick-start the drive to 20,000, the Free State Project has launched a new initiative. One member who has already committed is asking 999 others to do so by year’s end, with the pledge terminating next New Year’s Day.
The movement has no plans of ceasing, but just re-emphasizing the importance of moving to New Hampshire, Swearingen said.
Of course, the longer it takes 20,000 to make the pledge, the longer it takes for them to settle here and become ingrained in New Hampshire life.
“For many folks, this is a novel and interesting idea,” Wrighton said. “I don’t think anyone would want to proclaim the movement as necessarily dead. If the numbers haven’t moved in 20 years, then you might call the movement dead.”
An oxymoron.
This libertarian just got back from a very Christian church a few hours ago.
One can oppose immorality - indeed, vigorously fight it -- without petitioning the State to prohibit it by force. After all, Jesus didn't spend his time in Rome lobbying the government.
Sim City! For a time I was seriously addicted to that game. I used to like making the most utopian city possible with the lowest taxes possible and then suddenly raising taxes to ridiculous levels and watch the most of the Sims move out and the remainder riot.
My initial post referred to a movement by conservatives to move to SC and take over the state government. Sounds good to me. I am in FL and have about given up.
There are quite a few of us who know that the bible never addressed ills in society, just in the church among the community of faith. We're not particularly disturbed that unregenerate sinners act as if they're...well...unregenerate sinners.
Many of us have never read Ayn Rand's work, and think that she was an immoral slut working off nothing more than enlightened self interest...It's ok, she hated Libertarians. Lots of Christians are looking into what Libertarianism has to offer. .
You betcha!
I've lived here since 2002. Based on what I've seen and heard, you'd fit right in. Although you might consider avoiding the bluer parts of the state around Columbia and Charleston.
Hang around on the FR South Carolina board to get a feel for politics in this state. Decidedly conservative!
I wish my evangelical brethren would quit flipping out when some heathen lights up a joint or says a swear word, and realize that THE STATE is a far worse enemy even than an (increasingly) pagan culture. Sadly, most evangelicals are woefully ignorant of their own theological heritage, and are trusting in the state to transform society, if we could just get the "right" people in power. It is a pipe dream to believe that lasting change can trickle down. It ALWAYS bubbles up. We should be first in line to ask that you be left alone to do pretty much as you wish in your own home, even if it violates biblical principles of morality.
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