John Thomas
Libertarian
What is one life experience you have that voters should know about?
I have been working in the field of education for over 20 years. Working with children has prepared me to work with politicians who behave like children. (OK, this was a joke . . . sort of.)
For the past 15 years, I have worked with a statewide cyber charter school. This afforded me the opportunity to work with students and families from areas as diverse as West Philadelphia and rural Tioga county. While we do have different subcultures in Pennsylvania, I find that all people across the state desire a peaceful and prosperous environment for their children. I will work to make Pennsylvania a more peaceful and prosperous place.
What sets you apart from other candidates?
I am the one candidate who is running on a principle. The principle upon which I run is the Non-Aggression Principle, which states that man should not initiate aggression against his fellow man. This seems basic. It's something we all embrace. However, I hold the government to that same standard. The government cannot initiate acts of aggression against peaceful people. All interactions, including those with the state, ought to be voluntary.
Many of our problems today stem from the government initiating aggression against people. When the government requires people to pay taxes in dollars, or else have aggression initiated against them in forms of jail or property confiscation, we get a monopoly on money printing, which leads to our current inflationary environment. When the government wants to enrich their Military-Industrial Complex cronies, they do so by taking dollars, confiscated through taxation, and sending them to people who initiate aggression against innocent civilians across the globe.
By making the government adhere to the Non-Aggression Principle, we will make Pennsylvania a more peaceful and prosperous place.
How do you plan to work across ideological lines to achieve shared goals?
By having a clear principle upon which I base decisions, other Senators will know where I stand on legislation. It will be impossible to cut backroom deals with me, because I have a guiding principle. Therefore, to achieve our goals, we need to work together to decrease the amount of aggression initiated by the government. I would be in a great spot to achieve this. Currently, there are 50 Democrats, and 50 Republicans in the Senate. One Libertarian could hold substantial power to swing the outcomes of votes. But to get my support, everyone on Capitol Hill will know they have to reduce the size and influence of the government.
What would be your top three policy priorities in office?
My priority is reducing the size and scope of government. This will mean that government will no longer be able to print money at will to enrich their friends in various industries, they will not be able to perpetuate war across the globe, and Pennsylvanians will no longer see the value of their dollar continually diminish.
The Committee of Seventy has partnered with the Carter Center to promote the Candidate Principles for Trusted Elections (www.principledcandidates.org) to improve the voting process, encourage honest leadership, and promote civic engagement. Do you support the Candidate Principles?
As stated, I agree with the spirit, although I would point out that America is a Republic more than a Democracy. There are certain rights that we have as citizens that cannot be voted away, regardless of how large or how secure elections are.
One such right is the freedom of speech, and several of these "core principles" may threaten those, depending on how the core principles are enforced. For example, "refrain from knowingly propagating falsehoods about the electoral process," if enforced by the state, would require the state to monitor and limit free speech. Free speech is a bedrock of the "democratic process." Anyone who says they are for the American form of democracy, but will trample on the free speech of others, is really working to destroy the very principles that made the American Republic a refuge to freedom seeking persons throughout the world.
