Yesterday, the Campaign for Liberty organized a rally in San Francisco that featured Matt Gonzalez, John Dennis, and Ron Paul. Matt Gonzalez is a Green who served as president of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors from 2004 – 2005 and ran for vice president in 2008 as the running mate of Ralph Nader. John Dennis is a libertarian Republican who founded the San Francisco chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus and is current in a U.S. House race against running against Democratic Speak of the House Nancy Pelosi. Ron Paul is, of course, the libertarian Republican U.S. Representative from Texas who was the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee in 1988 and was a Republican candidate for president in 2008.
During the rally, all three called for the American people to transcend the left-right divide in politics and expressed their support for four key principles espoused by the Campaign for Liberty:
1) Foreign Policy: The Iraq War must end as quickly as possible with removal of all our soldiers from the region. We must initiate the return of our soldiers from around the world, including Korea, Japan, Europe and the entire Middle East. We must cease the war propaganda, threats of a blockade and plans for attacks on Iran, nor should we re-ignite the cold war with Russia over Georgia. We must be willing to talk to all countries and offer friendship and trade and travel to all who are willing. We must take off the table the threat of a nuclear first strike against all nations.
2) Privacy: We must protect the privacy and civil liberties of all persons under US jurisdiction. We must repeal or radically change the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, and the FISA legislation. We must reject the notion and practice of torture, eliminations of habeas corpus, secret tribunals, and secret prisons. We must deny immunity for corporations that spy willingly on the people for the benefit of the government. We must reject the unitary presidency, the illegal use of signing statements and excessive use of executive orders.
3) National Debt: We believe that there should be no increase in the national debt. The burden of debt placed on the next generation is unjust and already threatening our economy and the value of our dollar. We must pay our bills as we go along and not unfairly place this burden on a future generation.
4) The Federal Reserve: We seek a thorough investigation, evaluation and audit of the Federal Reserve System and its cozy relationships with the banking, corporate, and other financial institutions. The arbitrary power to create money and credit out of thin air behind closed doors for the benefit of commercial interests must be ended. There should be no taxpayer bailouts of corporations and no corporate subsidies. Corporations should be aggressively prosecuted for their crimes and frauds.
Birthplace: San Diego, CA
Birthdate: That’s for me to know
Political Party: Independent
Political Philosophy: Libertarian-liberal