Pictured Above: Dr. Jo Jorgensen speaks to the crowd at her Oct. 16 campaign rally at Demens Landing in downtown St. Petersburg.
Patrick Tobin | The Crow’s Nest
By Molly Ryan
The Libertarian Party is much more than a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag: it’s an ideology.
Last Friday, Oct. 16, Dr. Jo Jorgensen, the 2020 presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party held an event in downtown St. Petersburg to spread awareness about her campaign and third-party voting.
“What would it look like if folks stopped voting solely based on their stock portfolio or their party affiliation?” Laura Hartman, a member of the Pinellas County Libertarian Party, asked at the event.
“Here’s a new thought, vote your conscience,” Hartman said.
The event drew a crowd of over 250 people, including individuals who weren’t registered libertarians, showing open support towards Jorgensen.
“Yes, I am a libertarian,” Matt Wright of Muddied Waters Media, said to the crowd. “And because of that, I believe in these simple tenets: we as individuals own ourselves, our bodies, our labor and our property. We are free people who have the gift of free thought.”
The Libertarian Party of the United States was formed in 1971 by David F. Nolan and has since developed into the third largest political party by voter registration.
Libertarians fundamentally believe in a more classical liberal ideology that promotes a “laissez-faire” approach to both the government and the economy; this is as opposed to the Democratic Party which advocates for more government intervention in the economy as well as the conservative economic principles of the Republican Party.
As Jorgensen took the stage, the crowd erupted in applause.
“Our current government is too big, too bossy, too nosey and too intrusive,” Jorgensen said. “We need to put the decision-making power back into your hands because you can spend your money better than any special interest (group) or lobbyist in Washington can.”
If elected president, Jorgensen hopes to abolish the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Education, Social Security and the Federal Reserve; replacing them with private alternatives.
Jorgensen proceeded to shift the conversation to her stance on drugs.
“What we have now is not a drug problem,” Jorgensen said. “What we have is a prohibition problem. There should be no law to prevent you from owning an object, whether it’s a gun to protect yourself or drugs, for whatever reason you wish. If there is no victim, there is no price.
As your president, I will federally decriminalize all drugs and encourage states to treat drug use as a health issue, not a criminal one.”
For many libertarians, the appeal of the party lies in the loose restrictions on both social issues and economic issues – pulling from both progressive platforms as well as fiscal conservatism.
“… (What) the Libertarian Party has been trying to do for 50 years is to allow (the American people) to peacefully coexist and live with each other as opposed to under a one-size-fits-all directive from the government,” Jorgensen said.
In an interview with The Crow’s Nest, Jorgensen said, “…younger people are just naturally libertarian… I tell younger voters that it’s much better if you could vote with your feet and vote with your dollars.”
On Nov. 3, Jorgensen’s name will be listed on the ballot in all 50 states.
“There’s an alternative… it’s the Americans who are losing out because they don’t know there’s another choice,” Jorgensen said.
Check out The Crow’s Nest on YouTube for an exclusive interview with Jorgensen on this week’s episode of Crow’s Cast.
