Well, I bought this book under the false assumption that Jesse Ventura was a libertarian. Not being from Minnesota, I didn’t really follow his rise to political power or his time as governor of the state. But this is why I read. I wanted to know more, and now I do. I suppose he may be a small L libertarian in a few aspects, but he is an avowed moderate and says as much in this book. I found the book extremely interesting (I read it in one sitting) and I thought the author conveyed his message and beliefs very well. While I agree with about 90% of what Ventura says, it is the premise of his arguments with which I have a problem. He is a staunch capitalist, but remains socially liberal. To some, that would be the definition of a libertarian, but Ventura says he disagrees with libertarians because they “support anarchy.” He paints us with such a broad brush that I almost feel offended. Ventura comes at things from the viewpoint of a statist moderate, and if you have been reading my blog, you will know that I draw a big distinction between libertarianism and that gray area of the moderate statist.
When you debate a right winger or a left winger, they will always want to go directly to the issues. “How do you feel about such-and-such? What are your views on this-and-the-other?” When you debate a libertarian, usually the first words out of his mouth are, “Before we go into the issues, I want to know what you think the legitimate purpose of government is.” With that single question, I can usually get a good read on how you fall in line with the issues. Sorry, I digress; let’s get back to the book.
The book follows Ventura’s travels, after being Governor of Minnesota, as he drives his RV across America and then into Baja Mexico where he vacations with his wife. I love his travel style! It is all fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants. Real gonzo sightseeing. As he explains his experience on this trip, with his wife Terry interjecting comments every once in a while, he uses his encounters on the road to relate to his past. He covers his time in the Navy and his pro wrestling career briefly, but uses this book to shape his views of how his governorship worked out for him. He goes into detail about the thought process behind his decisions while he was in political office. At times he kind of gets on a soap box and goes into rants and tirades, but I would do the same thing in his position. He has the name to get a book published. I only have this blog, and I rant quite a bit, so all is forgiven.
Ventura’s political belief can be seen as somewhat hit and miss when viewed through the spectrum of the two party system, but a libertarian can find some common ground with him. While I agree with where he stands on most of the issues, I disagree with the “why” behind it. Here is an example: Ventura’s views on taxation, pet projects, pork, and big government spending. He claims to be a capitalist, but supports a global tax on carbon emissions. That is one of the most anti-capitalists things I can think of! He appointed Dean Barkley, an independent, to Senator Paul Wellstone’s seat after the senator was killed in a plane crash. Ventura reportedly told Barkley, “Play the game, Dean. Get the pork.” Ventura speaks more on this when he states that an independent could bring home the bacon. Isn’t that the same kind of thing people generally vote against?
In one paragraph, he lashes out against the IRS: “The IRS assumes you are guilty and forces you to either try to muddle through alone against their professionals, or hire your own expert to defend yourself, if you can afford it. They freeze people’s assets, and they threaten you with fines, taking your house and property, and sometimes even with jail. To me, this smacks of Gestapo-type tactics. So what’s the alternative? Abolishing the income tax, and putting in place a national sales tax instead.” I agree with this whole heartedly. But sixteen pages prior, Ventura talks about how important it was for him to bring a light rail mass transit system to Minneapolis. He says, “…a House Committee voted down my request for $60 million in light-rail funding. That money was crucial to getting the federal government to kick in another $250 million.” He goes on later to say that after its inception, “Expected to cost $7 million a year, the light rail system ended up turning a $1 million profit.” To me that means, at the stated rate, the tax payers would end up getting their money’s worth out of the project in 310 years! Additionally, it would only be Minneapolis residents and the occasional tourists who would see the benefit. What about the $250 million of our federal tax dollars? If a state wants to put in a system like that, the money should come from the state’s own citizenry. Federal dollars need to be left out of all this.
When talking about the media and censorship, he states, “We just don’t need the government controlling that [television or radio] dial, telling us what we can and can’t listen to. We are free thinking individuals who ought to be able to make our own choices, and if we worry about what our children are hearing, that’s called parenting. Rest assured that when the government starts raising your kids, before long you’re going to see the kids turning in their parents to the government.” Again, I agree with him. But in another section of the book he speaks of brokering a backroom deal between Republicans and Democrats where the Democrats got an extra $100 million for public education spending. Jesse, sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees! The government is raising our kids already. How can you expect them to be free thinking individuals when they are indoctrinated by the public education system you have helped to strengthen?
When railing against the war in Iraq, Ventura states that he would “rather err on the side of insuring kids than on the fiasco we’re involved in over there.” He then quotes a New York Times article that estimated, “for what the war is costing, we could’ve instituted universal health care, provided a nursery school education for every three and four year old, and immunized kids around the world against numerous diseases-and still had half the money left over.” I have a better plan. How about we get out of Iraq, and instead of using all that money for pet projects we give it back to the people so they can better pay their health bills and put their kids in private nursery schools. The premise of his belief is that we are spending money that we already have in government, but it is false! We don’t have that money! So why would we want to continue to overextend ourselves by just shuffling the money around?
This is the fundamental difference between Ventura’s political philosophy and my own libertarian views. While he is not beholden to a party or any special interests, he still knows how to play the statist games. While we agree on many of the issues, we seem to have a primary disagreement on what the legitimate purpose of government should be. I think the government should protect contracts and leave people alone. Let the private sector figure things out without giving them the power to legislate their competitors out of business. Obviously, Ventura’s plan was to tax and spend, and bring home the bacon from Washington.
All in all, it was a good, albeit a quick read. It helped me understand the thoughts behind the man and that is really all I was looking for. Pick up a copy and read it yourself, I would say it is worth the money.
See you at Galt's Gulch!
at Lew Rockwell dot com
at Lew Rockwell dot com This is one of the best ideas I have heard in months! Let's hope someone "Kevin Bacons" this article and she gets a chance to read it!
at C4L
at Lew Rockwell dot com
