In part I and part II of my interview with Senate candidate Austin Petersen, we covered a wide range of topics — but there’s still more to talk about!
In the third and final part of this series, we discuss how the Republican Party will react to his candidacy, how he has demonstrated his adherence to principle, taxation (a libertarian and conservative favorite), agnosticism, Christianity, lying politicians, book recommendations, YouTube channels, and TV.
Republican Retaliation
When anyone enters the Washington machine with new ideas or perspectives, they will receive incredible pushback from the establishment. Petersen believes it will be no different for him:
“I think the Republican Party will fight me the entire way. I think they’ll wait until they determine whether or not I’m a credible threat, and as soon as they realize I will be a credible threat, then I think they will do everything they can to try to stop me. It’s not just ideological reasons. Remember this, if I win the nomination, millions and millions of dollars are not going to flow into the coffers of their special interests. They have a financial interest in stopping me, not just an ideological one.”
He Won’t Be Moved
There are stories of Petersen being pressured by his former party to support the LP vice presidential nominee, Bill Weld, a man with whom Petersen strongly disagrees. I asked him to detail his experience at the Libertarian Party convention:
“There was quite a bit of pressure on me. Initially, it was basically bribery — they wanted to offer me a position on the campaign, the ability to go on television and represent the campaign. We had every reason to believe that they would likely follow through. They would put me up on a pedestal to go out and support Gary and Bill, and to have a large platform, and probably advance my career. When they realized that I was going to refuse, that I would not support Bill Weld for my own ideological reasons, the bribes turned to threats and harassment,” Petersen said.
“They did everything they could to convince me to drop out. They went to my campaign manager three or four hours before the vote, and tried to convince him to tell me to drop out, and offered him a position on the campaign. That’s politics. That’s how it is. I’m sure that happens at many conventions.”
“They did everything they could to get me to support Bill Weld, but the Second Amendment is one of my top issues, so I couldn’t do it.”
Taxation (is theft?)
“In an ideal world, we would get rid of the income tax. The Founding Fathers didn’t pay income tax, they paid the government through lotteries, tolls, and fines, and those are more along the line of usage taxes. I think those would be reasonable ways to raise money for things like infrastructure. George Washington himself signed a lottery ticket to build the Mountain Road. He held the lottery as a way to raise funding for a mountain road.”
The tax brackets in the United States are tiered in such a way that those who make more money pay a disproportionate share of taxes. Petersen wants to change that:
“I’m looking for every non-coercive measure I can find to raise revenue so that we are not burdening people with a progressive income tax system which disproportionately punishes those who are successful. I like to ask the question, ‘If the cigarette tax is meant to discourage smoking, what is an income tax supposed to discourage people from doing? Making income.’”
Petersen knows how the bloated behemoth of government operates, so he doesn’t “want to replace one tax with another tax. I think that’s a mistake because tactically and practically what will happen is that the government will keep the tax they have and add another one on top of it, and promise to phase it out over time — but they won’t do it. They will just add taxes on top of taxes.”
“I think the best situation for the United States is to cut the rates to a flat tax of 15% across the board, which, from what I understand, most economists say would provide the revenue that’s necessary to maintain the core minimum functions of government — police, fire, courts, military. That’s my idea of a limited government that’s in line with a constitutional Republican platform. I like the plans that Ted Cruz and Rand Paul proposed during their 2016 presidential campaigns.”
The problem, according to Petersen, is “one of compliance.”
“Every year, the American people collectively spend 9 billion hours just to comply with the tax code. That is a huge drain on our productivity. Additionally, I believe we spend around $400 billion in cash to comply with the tax code. A flat tax would take tax season and turn it into tax two minutes, which is what I’m advocating.”
Agnosticism, Christianity, & Lying Politicians
To conclude our interview, I opened up the floor to Mr. Petersen to say whatever he wanted to our readership. He offered a simple, honest assessment of his own candidacy:
“I was under great pressure and offered glittering prizes to support someone who went against my principles. I had nothing to gain and everything to lose in not supporting Bill Weld at the convention last year. I would hope that your readers would look at that and say, ‘This is a person who will stand with integrity.’ I will vote to repeal Obamacare; I will vote to cut spending; I will vote to cut taxes. I will obey the Constitution; I will obey the law; I will obey the separation of powers.”
Petersen calls himself “an agnostic, which means I don’t know, but I am open to being convinced.”
There are some conservatives who are reticent or even afraid to vote for someone who, while supporting religious liberty, is not himself a Christian. Petersen’s response to this fear was on point:
“Regarding my position on religious freedom, remember, I stood up to Gary Johnson and fought for the rights of Christians. You should respect someone who doesn’t share your opinions, but fights for your right to believe what you want to believe. To me, it’s much more powerful to have someone fighting on your side who doesn’t agree with you or share your beliefs.”
Moreover, he asked the simple question: “Do you want someone who is going to lie to you, or do you want someone who is going to be honest?”
“There are a lot of people who will tell the American people that they are Christian, but it sure doesn’t show in their life or behavior. I actually practice Christian ethics and morality. I was raised in the Christian church, and I believe in the teachings of Jesus. I believe in the golden rule — do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In many ways, I practice Christian morality.”
“A lot of politicians are going to lie to you and tell you that they have faith in order to try and convince you to support them. I would hope that the American people would appreciate someone who has the guts to stand up — and it’s absolutely terrifying to do what I’m doing right now, in the position that I am with the beliefs that I hold — and say, ‘I believe something different. I have a different viewpoint, but I will defend your rights.’ You may not agree with me on everything, but don’t we want to elect people that are honest, people who are going to be transparent about who they are and what they believe in?”
“I’m not hiding anything. I’m telling you exactly who I am and what I believe. If you want to put another Republican legislator in there who will be a cookie-cutter version of what you already have in Congress, that option will be provided to you. If you want someone who is a different kind of Republican, who will go to Capitol Hill and shake things up, who will be willing to stand up against the establishment and say, ‘You are wrong, and I disagree. I refuse to budge on this issue because this is what I promised and campaigned on,’ that’s me.”
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If you truly want a different kind of Republican — and I think people do — I would hope you would vote for me.”
Lighter Stuff
Why are five books you would recommend for those who want to learn about libertarian conservatism?
“Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt, Free to Choose by Milton Friedman, Planned Chaos by Ludwig von Mises, Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek, and The Revolution by Ron Paul.”
What book are you reading now?
“I just finished the book by Brian Kilmeade, Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American history.”
What are your favorite YouTube channels?
“1791L, I’m actually a Patreon for them. Jon Stossel’s channel, ReasonTV, Learn Liberty, Prager U. There’s a really great channel that a lot of people don’t know about called Baz Battles — it’s a really good representation of historic battles from antiquity. Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro. I’m a big fan of Cinemassacre, Cracked, and Philip DeFranco as well.”
Lastly, what’s your favorite TV show?
“Game of Thrones.”