Jim Rash (L) speaks at 9-12 meeting

Jim Rash spoke to the Sussex Chapter of the 9-12 Delaware Patriots last Thursday, in the Millsboro Fire Hall. Rash is a Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate, and currently serves as the State Chair of the Libertarian Party of Delaware, in addition to working as a real estate broker.

Rash's short presentation ranged from the humorous ("I'm running for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Joe the Plunger,") to the informative ("I am not in favor of open borders"). In addition to telling the audience about himself, he made an effort to explain libertarianism to the mostly-conservative (but fiercely independent) group, assuring them that he does not support full legalization of drugs, calling the idea "shallow thinking." "I'm not in favor of a heroin aisle at Happy Harry's," said Rash, earning a few chuckles.

However, he opposes the federal government's controlled substances schedule, and believes that the issue should be left up to the states. This particular opinion earned him a round of applause.

Rash blasted out-of-control federal spending, saying "All Washington seems to want to do is spend more money," and went on to note that he supports states' rights, and believes the Federal Reserve System violates the Constitution. Rash noted that Washington only had four seats in his Cabinet, and that he would like to shut down all unnecessary bureaus, which contribute to waste and inefficiency in Washington, in addition to not being specifically authorized by the Constitution.

He even gave the crowd a bit of a history lesson, pointing out that Delaware used nullification in the early 1800s when the state joined with other northeastern states to challenge an embargo imposed by President Jefferson.

When asked by an attendee about his views on abortion, which he had not yet mentioned, Rash responded, "Personally, I'm against abortion." A man behind me muttered, "Here we go." The candidate continued, promising that he would never vote for federal funding of abortion; however, he is not willing to say for certain that life begins at the moment of conception, particuarly as he is not opposed to "the morning after pill." The crowd sat in uneasy silence, and Rash wisely took another question on a different subject.

He would like to see a Congress ruled not by Republicans, not by Democrats, and not even by Libertarians. Instead, he believes no party should have a majority in Congress, which would force the various parties to work together. I share this view.

It certainly wasn't a dynamite presentation; not through any fault of Rash's, but simply because conservatives often become uncomfortable when discussing libertarianism. Many don't understand it, and think it is either a right-wing kind of conservatism, or else liberalism by a different name. Neither notion is correct. Libertarianism is its own ideology, not based on any other (though both conservatives and liberals borrow heavily from libertarianism when it suits their respective causes), which pushes for more freedom, less government, and lower taxes.

The Libertarian Party of Delaware has more than enough members for ballot access, so Jim Rash will be a choice for U.S. Senate in November, along with Chris Coons and Mike Castle (or perhaps Christine O'Donnell?). I'm sure Mr. Rash wouldn't want me to write a post about him without mentioning that Brent Wangen is another Libertarian running for U.S. Congress; he has also spoken to the 9-12 Delaware Patriots before, and I'm sure we will hear more from both candidates in the coming months.