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Sarvis addresses students

Libertarian Senate Candidate discusses social, economic policy

Libertarian Virginia Senate candidate Robert Sarvis spoke at a Students for Individual Liberty event at Clark Hall Wednesday, outlining his platform in the upcoming midterm election.

The Annandale native broke into the spotlight when he ran as a third-party candidate in last year’s Virginia gubernatorial election, defining his brand of libertarianism as a best of both worlds, striking a balance between what he considers the Republican and Democratic parties’ “best” policies.

Generally speaking, Sarvis said he identifies with the right’s fiscal policies and the left’s social policies.

Sarvis began his political career as a GOP candidate running for state Senate, eventually dropping his Republican affiliation and taking up the Libertarian mantle.

“After I ran in 2012 as a libertarian Republican, I learned that the GOP is not a good vehicle for liberty candidates,” Sarvis said. “They are hypocritical on economic issues and strident on social issues. I feel like the two-party system is broken. I could have run as an independant, but that’s not leaving behind something that outlasts you.”

Sarvis emphasized what he considers the most urgent issues libertarian candidates need to address — the dwelling on the long, costly drug war, which he blames for saddling the nation with excess expenditures in the last 50 years.

“Thanks to the drug war, we have millions in prison — the highest incarceration rate in the world,” Sarvis said. “A third of those are for nonviolent crimes, which, a) costs money, and b) is wasted human potential.”

Other issues topping his list of priorities included reforming certain entitlement programs and deregulating areas where he believes the free market would be a more effective solution.

“Obamacare is a problem — but we’ve also had 100 years of misregulation of the health care system by both major parties,” Sarvis said.

Sarvis finished in third in the 2013 governor’s race with 6.5 percent of the vote, the best showing by a third-party candidate in a southern state in 40 years. His message resonated strongly with the youth vote, clear when he secured 15 percent of under-30 voters.

Sarvis said this is a promising trend for his party.

“Because young people are more open minded and don’t have the party loyalties, they tend to see the value of individual freedom,” Sarvis said. “It’s instinctive for them when they see the power of the internet as a means of expressing oneself and then the government violates your privacy, and on race issues and gay rights issues, they are asking: is this really even an issue?”

Center for Politics spokesperson Geoffrey Skelley said he doubted Sarvis would be able to mount a credible threat to the incumbent Democrat Mark Warner and Republican challenger Ed Gillespie.

“I don’t believe Sarvis has any chance of winning,” Skelley said.

Nevertheless, Skelley praised the Libertarian’s political acumen, his ability to engage the electorate and his attempts to create a viable third party.

“Sarvis did relatively well in a statewide race,” Skelley said. “He’s a natural and can carry the banner on to the Senate race. So he doesn’t pose a threat, but there is a purpose here in what he’s doing. They are running in a number of House and Senate races nationally — they need that to have a future as a political entity.”

Skelley said Sarvis’ youth appeal would help the Libertarian Party in the years to come.

“Something about young voters in general: they seem to hold liberal positions particularly on social issues, but there are strains of economic libertarianism,” Skelley said. “They’re not necessarily conservative, but they are more inclined to be liberal on social issues.”

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