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About two years ago I wrote a column on the Free State
Project, an effort by Libertarian Party activists to select a small
state, encourage like-minded folks to move there, and take it over
at the ballot box.
It obviously had to be a lightly populated state, which,
in general, means too cold for large numbers of sane people to
live. In fact, the finalists were
Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.
The way I see it, when all
available water freezes it is God’s way of telling you to move or
die. Others simply strap on ice skates, and Free Staters
chose to do exactly that last October, selecting the state of New
Hampshire as their new home. The decision was made by an Internet
vote; voters had to pledge to move to the chosen state within five
years of the date FSP has 20,000 written commitments to relocate.
So how is the takeover going? ABC News reported this
month that over 6,000 people had signed up, though only about 300
are on the ground in New Hampshire. Many, if not most, lived there
before the vote.
To celebrate the selection, Free Staters held the “First
Annual Porcupine Freedom Festival” at Roger’s Campground and Motel
in Lancaster, New Hampshire this summer, drawing about 300 people.
According to Newsday, these hardy souls were lost amid swarms of
leather-bound motorcyclists celebrating “Biker Week” and a
convention of Model T aficionados in the same area.
Still, they did not go completely unnoticed. New
Hampshire governor Craig Benson spoke at the festival and has
appointed Free Staters to a task force on government efficiency. A
handful of state legislators have joined the movement.
But what about the average citizen? Not content to rely
on news reports, I conducted my own survey of average New Hampshire
residents. Being on a tight budget, I used statistical methods to
extrapolate the results from a small sample.
OK, I talked to one guy, but he assured me he is
absolutely representative of the state of New Hampshire and that
it’d be a waste of time to poll anyone else. Besides, the only
other person in I know in the state is his wife, and though she’d
probably cancel out everything he said she is a not a U.S. citizen
so can’t vote.
My friend is an elected official in a small New
Hampshire town and is probably more politically aware than most
folks. By his observation, the usual reaction to the Free State
Project is a big yawn.
The reason is simple. Though not officially connected
to the Libertarian Party, FSP has similar goals: limited government,
lower taxes, no gun control, no affirmative action, and the repeal
of seatbelt, helmet, and drug laws. New Hampshire already boasts a
part-time legislature and the lowest tax burden in the nation, with
no income or sales tax. Ethnically the state is almost all white,
so affirmative action is not a huge issue. Newsday reports the
state has no seat belt or helmet laws, no license requirements for
most firearms and no waiting period to purchase them. The state
constitution even guarantees the right of revolution, though I
suspect that works better on paper than it would in practice.
In short, New Hampshire is almost what Free Staters say
they want just as it is. Heck, the state motto is “Live free or
die.” My random sample indicates that New Hampshirites are more
concerned about the influx of immigrants from Massachusetts, who
have a decidedly different outlook on government and for whom the
locals have a nickname I wouldn’t dream of trying to get past my
editors.
So, Free Staters, go shoot fish in a barrel if you
want. Don’t call me though – unless you decide to take over Hawaii.
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