I was greatly looking forward to this weekend, but I am sorry to say that I will not be able to attend. I have had a house that has been a work in progress for some time now and it has worked out that I must be on the home front attending to matters to keep our plans on schedule. However, this is the text of the words I had in mind to share with you at the convention.
As we gather here today, Washington is beefing up in the Middle East and financing itself with the oil fields there. A U.S. president has announced an Israeli peace plan that was dead on arrival. Money printing, bailouts, and tariffs are keeping the people satiated. NATO is in preparations for a war against Russia. Let’s play a game called, which US Presidential administration is this 35 through 45?
I like to see our candidates talk about deficits and debt. Presidents do affect the budget by negotiating and signing appropriations bills, however their results do not always line up with elections. New presidents take office in January and, for the most part, inherit the budget from the previous administration for the remainder of the fiscal year — not to mention legislation passed in years prior. Budgets are tied by all sorts of historical obligations and economic conditions. Some people confuse the federal deficit with the debt — but we know they’re two separate concepts. The deficit is the difference between the money that the government makes and the money it spends. If the government spends more than it collects in revenues, then it’s running a deficit. The federal debt is the running total of the accumulated deficits. If any Presidential candidate wanted to impress me, all they would have to do is focus on realistic policy that they intend to accomplish during their time in office.
I want to take a moment to talk about what we have accomplished here in Iowa in the last decade. We have run some eloquent advocates for individual liberty. Hard working people. Doctors, lawyers, farmers, firefighters, officers of the law. A diverse group of people from many walks of life. We have battled to have our causes recognized by the state, battled to have scientific polls, ballot access, and debates. We have received hundreds of thousands of votes, and with them, local, state, and national media attention. Not one of us could have accomplished any of this, without all of us working together. Be it the person that starts up their first county affiliate in a coffee shop, a library, or in their own home. Be it the person that takes a stand on a liberty issue at their city council. The business owner that takes risks to promote private practice in the face of government burdens. The guardian or parent that defends their child from tyranny. The librarian that keeps a book from being banned. Through the tireless efforts of a few of our neighbor’s liberty is winning time and time again and it will only continue to do so. Even the most ridiculed of our candidates have pushed important and difficult conversations into the mainstream. Taxation. Debt. Sound money. Guns. Medical freedom. Agricultural freedom. Free trade. Free movement. Addiction. Mental Health. Sex work. I am thankful for the recent converts from the Republican and Democrat parties that show us what we can realistically do to move the marker towards liberty. I am thankful for the anarchists and radicals that keep new members honest and keep hitting the party with hard questions. By working together to be the best advocates for liberty that we can be, this is how we make government acknowledge our inherent liberties. This is peaceful rebellion. This is patriotism.
Here we are. Now where do we go? In our state, as with many places in our country, many people still can’t legally give birth the way that they want or legally die the way that they want. If you have the wrong kind of medicine or the wrong kind of addiction your freedom, your property, and your family can be taken from you, sometimes without a conviction.
When voting, education, medicine, police, military and thought become a two-party process we all lose. Talk to any Farmer or Doctor that come from private practice. Talk to people whose parents or grandparents were farmers or doctors. My father grew up on a Midwest family owned farm. He served in the Peace Corps in Africa and worked for equity among Iowans as a Doctor of Education after coming home. His brother, my uncle, served in the military in Vietnam. He was awarded a purple heart for his service and worked as a medical doctor after coming home from the war. Their sisters were medical professionals. From listening to their experiences, I have learned so much.
It can be extremely frustrating whether you are a soldier, a farmer or a doctor when you learn the true supply and the true demand. When you can’t prescribe a certain medicine or grow a certain crop. When you know the true cost of an item or know the actual labor and time something takes versus the time it takes to deal with bureaucracy or the price after subsidy or other government interference versus the likely price in a freer market. We could turn the real economy around with sound agricultural practices alone. Via a freer market in agriculture we could easily see a sustainable boom while providing ample nutritious foods for the region thus lowering health care costs and food insecurity over time. This would allow for more American farmers of all walks and kinds to own property, to sell products regionally, and to grow more nutritious foods and medicines. Not only would this be a boon to the economy but also to the livelihood of all lifeforms in the region as well as to the environment itself. Most people become medical professionals to help other people. Most people become farmers to feed other people. Most people join the armed forces with the notion that they are going to defend our homes and our constitution. We must work together to allow them to do these very things.
My grandparents on both sides were immigrants. On my fathers’ side, from the Nordics, on my mother’s side from Northern Italy. I know from their stories that we are not far removed from occupations and oppression. Through their life lessons I know that there are still people all around us continuing these struggles. We are fighting ongoing battles for freedom. Governments have been made to recognize inherent liberties via incremental victories. I want to thank all of you here for taking stands when you are able. For supporting each other. For exercising your rights. For calling each other out and for picking each other up. Please recognize how far we have come and where we can go.
Most progress has come through civil disobedience, quiet grit, relentless recruitment, and tireless organizing. Social and cultural problems have largely been handled directly by the people involved. Intelligent grasps of economics as human action and voluntary association have been and will continue to be extremely powerful. We have more power than they know, and we are stronger than they think. This is a good position to be in the battle versus tyranny. Thank you for your efforts and for allowing me to stand with you in liberty.
