Part One
Could you introduce yourself in a few sentences?
Dr. George Phillies is currently the front-running Libertarian
Presidential candidate for the 2008 election. He has been an active
member of the Libertarian party since the 1980s, promoting the
Libertarian message of peace, freedom and prosperity.
How was your political engagement born ?
Dr. Phillies has been involved in politics since the early 1960s when
he supported the Goldwater Republican Party until it began to drift
away from its core ideals, particularly with regard to larger
government, which meant increased spending, which required higher
taxes, and a very intrusive and intolerant social conservatism.
What personal way drove you to compete for the presidency of the United States ?
Dr. Phillies is driven by a conviction that America is headed down the wrong path -- the path of larger government, higher
taxes, and fewer freedoms. The Democrats and Republicans want to take
away people's money and take away their rights. Their path is not in
keeping with the best interests of the American people and the
principles that founded this country. He believes that by running for
President and making his voice heard, he can help the country change
course.
Can you tell me some key points about your program, the main ideas ?
I address individual issues in more detail below, but the key points of the campaign are:
- Only Libertarians protect the rights of Americans, and more
- The government should protect the privacy of its citizens, not
invade it. It has no business reading your email, listening to your
phone calls, or intruding on your bedroom or your hospital room.
- American troops are for protecting America, not for pursuing corporate interests or policing the rest of the world.
How do you view the upcoming campaign, and what about your strategy ?
Right now, it's very early in the campaign, so we're focusing primarily
on making sure the American people are aware not only of George
Phillies as a candidate but also of the Libertarian party and its
message. For the Democrats and Republicans, that part is much easier
because their parties are very well established and well known. Many
people have never heard of Libertarianism.
Within the party, we are focusing on gaining support to get the
nomination in May. This means that we are less interested in engaging
the candidates from the other parties at this point and more interested
in differentiating ourselves from the other Libertarian candidates.
One of the hardships we face, of course, is that the larger parties
have much more visibility, so their candidates benefit from this in
terms of exposure and fundraising. One of our challenges is to be more
creative with how we achieve visibility and to stretch our campaign
funds as best we can.
Political fiction : It's January, the 20th, 2009. You have just been
elected president ! What are your first steps, your priorities ?
Sit down with the Congressional leadership. Express the hope that we
can interact in a positive and constructive way. Remind them,
tactfully, that the American political system really only allows two
major parties, and the voters have just decided that "Libertarian" is
one of them and they will get to decide which the other is. Then I
advise them that I have ordered the military to withdraw the bulk of
our Armed forces from overseas back to the USA, within a four month
period.
Also, I have informed the Department of Justice that its first priority
is prosecuting government officials who commit crimes against their
fellow Americans.
What are America's biggest internal problems today, and what are your answers ?
A soaring budget deficit: First we stop running budget deficits.
Rigorous application of the Presidential Veto pen can move us in the
right direction. Second, the United States already pays its 'credit
card companies', the people who hold Treasury Bills, hundreds of
billions a year. To end those payments, we must first increase them by
a quarter or a third, so as to discharge the principal, and run the
government on what is left. This will in turn free capital for the
economy and result in lower interest rates which should stimulate
growth.
Dependency on foreign oil: By buying Federal energy from new
renewable sources, the Federal government can reduce its own demand for
fossil fuels, thus reducing your prices, and at the same time
supporting market development of better solutions.
Education: Repeal "No Child Left Behind" and get the federal government out of trying to manage the schools.
Erosion of our freedoms: We must not allow the government to sidestep
the Constitution to abridge the rights of individuals with such laws as
the Patriot Act, the Military Commission Act, and the recent executive
order allowing the government to seize property belonging to persons
"thought" to be engaging in activities that hinder our success in Iraq.
Prohibition on drugs: Prohibition does not work and is a waste of taxpayer money.
Personal rights: Medical choices like abortion or the right to end
life support for the terminally ill are none of the government's
business. Neither should they be funded by the government.
Gay rights: Gays, like any other citizen, should have the right to
marry. They should also be allowed to serve in the military.
For more detailed information on his positions, you can read his
statements online at http://phillies2008.org/news
Same question for America's external problems.
Immigration: We should vigorously welcome immigrants. Dr. Phillies
supports the Libertarian Party Platform. The U.S. cannot have open
borders and a large-scale welfare system at the same time or it will go
bankrupt. Someday, the Libertarian message of peace, liberty, and
prosperity reach the entire world. All people will then enjoy the
freedom and high standard of living we take for granted. In that day,
immigration and open borders will be non-issues.
Iraq: The American military is meant to defend America from attack,
not engage in adventurism. It's time for an exit strategy to bring our
soldiers home.
More specifically, what do you think should be done on Iraq and national security ?
The Libertarian message is simple. /End the war! Bring our troops all
the way home to America, as swiftly as possible consistent with their
safety and practical logistical considerations./ Stop meddling in the
internal affairs of foreign countries. End Federal foreign aid. Our
most effective foreign aid is the money you spend to buy foreign goods.
It goes to productive workers and employers, not kleptocrat dictators.
Support Americans giving charity to drought and disaster victims.
When the Cold War ended, America should have contracted its military to
match its defense needs. We maintain a huge fleet in the Atlantic, an
ocean that borders only on friendly countries. That fleet makes no
sense. Our military spending is half the world's total, and most of the
rest is spent by our allies; that spending makes no sense.
There should be massive cuts in defense spending. We should take
seriously FDR's laws on military reserves: As an organizational issue,
States should put their main emphasis on their State Defense Force, not
on their National Guard, putting the same fine people where they can
best protect America.
The search for Mr. Bin Laden needs groups of specialists, not shoals of tanks and clouds of aircraft that muddy the waters.
What about environment ?
We the American people own vast amounts of land in the form of National
Forests, National Wildernesses, and other Federal lands. We should be
its stewards, leaving our descendants a patrimony that is more valuable
than the one we inherited from our forefathers. In some states, the
amount of Federal Land exceeds all reason or need, has no unique beauty
or value, and should gradually be auctioned off. We, the American
people, own the air we breathe and the navigable waterways. There is no
more a right to vent poisons into our air and water than there is to
dump toxic waste on your front lawn. When someone poisons your
lawn,they are obliged to clean up the mess, and the same goes for our
air and water. It's a property rights issue.
What about your political (institutions), social, economic and societal (civil rights, abortion, homosexuality...) positions ?
The Libertarian party position, which is also Dr. Phillies' position,
is that the government has no place in our bedrooms or our hospital
rooms. It is simply not the government's place to decide for a woman
that she must or must not bear a child or whether a family can end life
support for someone who is terminally ill. It's not the government's
place to decide whether consenting adults of either sex can marry.
These private
moral decisions are up to the individuals involved and no one else.
With regard to drug prohibition, Dr. Phillies believes that the war on
drugs, like alcohol Prohibition in the 1920s, is a failure. It is a
total failure that wastes tens of billions of dollars, gives criminal
records to millions of Americans, and can't even keep drugs out of our
prisons. "It's time to treat marijuana the way we treat alcohol." Yes,
we do have people with alcohol problems. We live in an imperfect world.
Sometimes the best we can do is contained in the Hippocratic oath of
ancient physicians: At least, do not make matters worse than when you
started.
What should be America's relationship with the rest of the international community ?
Friendship with those who wish to be our friends. Free trade with other free modern countries.
Part Two
Political fiction, again. You're at the White House. Iran just
acquired nuclear weapons, with abilities to launch them to Europe's
doors. It now threatens to launch one on Tel-Aviv if the Israelis don't
evacuate the territory under 48 hours. As the Commander in Chief, what
do you do?
This is indeed fictional, given the actual positions of the Iranian
government. Ask the Iranian ambassador if these allegations are true,
given that it is the position of the Iranian religious leadership that
use of nuclear weapons is forbidden by the Quran. Mind you, given the
previous sentence, Dr. Phillies believes your scenario to be highly
improbable.
Observe to the Iranian ambassador that Israel has an extremely large
stock of thermonuclear weapons, so America does not need to do anything
other than aid American citizens in fleeing the region, which in your
scenario we will doing. Remark that an exchange that kills most of the
people of Iran and obliterates the holy places of the Middle East will
be extremely difficult for his nation's leaders to defend to the Judge
of Judges. Explain that American technology lets us compute where
blast, radiation, and fallout will kill everyone, in the event of a
nuclear exchange, and that we are now broadcasting these predictions
through all available means to all the people of the Middle East. Some
of whom may not want to die for their countries in the next few days
and may be prepared to take vigorous individual action to save their
lives.
What assessment do you make of George W. Bush's presidency, and on
which points will you be inspired or distance yourself from him ?
Bush was one of the worst Presidents in the history of the United
States, though he has not quite caught up with Buchanan yet. Dr.
Phillies believes that a major task of his administration will be prosecuting Bush's people for a wide variety of crimes.
Could you tell me about you day of September the 11th, 2001 ?
Dr. Phillies says, "I taught class that morning. When I ended lecture,
the buildings had already collapsed, my students and I learning
the news rather later."
What are, according to you, the 21st century's greatest challenges, and how to face them ?
We face the potential emergence of a police state in America; the
responsible political parties need to be transformed by voluntary legal
political means into a small political minority.
We were all marked by historical events. What are yours ?
Dr. Phillies: "The War in Vietnam through military service greatly disrupted my life."
What is your "vision of America" ?
Peace, Freedom, Prosperity, with individual rights and equality before the law for all.
Since I'm French, how do you view this nation, this country, what do we inspire to you, notably our new president Sarkozy?
France and America are linked by nearly two and a half centuries of
amity and mutually rewarding trade. We do not always see the world in
the same way, but that should not interfere with friendship.
More specifically, what did you think when President Chirac strongly opposed Bush on the issue of the war in Iraq?
Dr. Phillies thought President Chirac was obviously right.
Which historical presidents, persons, dead or living, inspire you the most today?
Dr. Phillies admires Josiah Willard Gibbs. He was a 19th century
American Physicist, the greatest American physicist of his century.
In private, what do you like to do ?
Dr. Phillies: "Science (I'm a physicist, working in some of the same
areas as the famous French scientist Pierre-Gilles de Gennes) and
politics leave me little time for other activities. I write novels. I
collect board games: That suddenly became professional as an activity; I
teach game design. Last year I bought and rebuilt a house; I am now doing the grounds, which is very time-intensive."
Do you have a motto in life, and if yes what is it?
Dr. Phillies: "Genius is one per cent inspiration and 99%
perspiration. The harder I work, the more luck I create. Do what is
right, and you
will never be bothered by your conscience."
Finally, why YOU more than another one at the presidency ? Please give this interview's readers an infallible argument.
Dr. Phillies believes strongly that the two parties that have governed
this country for the last two centuries have lost sight of the fact
that they exist to serve the citizens. They have become two sides of
the
same coin -- the coin of government power at the expense of individual freedom.
The two parties have their own overriding agenda. They want to act as
the great equalizers. They want to pay people to be poor while
penalizing those who work hard. They want to legislate their ideas of
morality and take away the individual's choices with regard to
marriage, medical care, even military service. And worst of all,
they've sold
their souls to special interests. The only way to root out that kind of
ingrown corruption of the principles this government is to replace them
with a political party is not beholden to special interests, and that
is subject only to the will of the people and the Constitution he
swears to uphold and protect.
As president, George Phillies will work to return the government to its
proper role, both domestically and internationally. He will repair the
decades' worth of damage done to the honor and reputation of the office
of President of the United States. Above all, he will restore
confidence in the United States government, both at home and abroad.
Free question, if you want to add anything...
I believe we've covered pretty much everything. But if you have any
further questions, please feel free to email me, and I'll be happy to
help clarify them for you.
