2004 Libertarian Presidential candidate Michael Badnarik at Liberty for All:
I taught my first Constitution class on January 27, 2001 at the (now defunct) Chariot Inn in Austin, Texas. Most of my students that day were friends of mine who were merely showing their support, much like attending a birthday party for someone you don’t know very well. By the end of the day they were stunned at the volume of information I presented – for only $20 worth of silver.
Each time I taught the class I would revise and improve the handout, which consisted of random notes collected in a three-ring binder. During the fall of 2003, as I waited to resume my obscure presidential campaign, I converted that handout into a book with sentences, paragraphs, and chapters. That book is Good to be King, and I envisioned it as a soft-cover book to be printed for the express and only purpose of replacing the expensive and unwieldy three-ring binder.
As you know by now, I accidentally won the Libertarian nomination for President of the United States, prompting my erstwhile publisher to insist that the book must now be printed as a hardcover volume. I feel like my life has been beyond my control ever since. Attendance in my Constitution class increased for a while, and students began clamoring for an “advanced class” that would give them the step-by-step instructions to legally and permanently remove government interference from their lives. Needless to say, I have been hesitant to create such a class because the requested solution is impossible.
However, I woke up early one day when I realized that removing government interference in our lives is not impossible – it’s just impossible to accomplish in a one or two day seminar. So I decided to write another book. I have been typing feverishly on my laptop for the last three weeks, and I have already completed ten of the fifteen chapters. I am hoping to finish writing the book by mid-October, and have it published (as a paperback only) by Thanksgiving.
Michael Badnarik is a hero to libertarians. I wish he would come and campaign for Johnson. He is a very good speaker.