We Believe

The third party’s voice speaks clearly of public disenchantment with Republican and Democratic party politics.

If you chose to watch the McCain-Obama debate Tuesday night but skipped the earlier local forum of candidates for state representative, you made the wrong choice.

Granted, an estimated 35 million people watched the presidential debate Tuesday and only about 150 showed up for the local forum. And there’s no doubt that the significance of the state rep campaign pales compared to that of the presidential battle.

But in terms of viewpoint variety and drama, our little local forum won hands down. Both the variety and drama can be directly attributed to the two Libertarian candidates who participated in the forum at the Anderson City Building auditorium.

Greg Noland and Rob Jozwiak are nothing if not passionate. Noland’s passion is invested in the Libertarian precept that government should be small and should not interfere in the lives of citizens. Jozwiak is passionate about many things, chiefly his perception that illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from local workers and work away from local businesses.

The forum, co-sponsored by The Herald Bulletin and WHBU-AM 1240, was divided into three segments, with candidates in District 35 taking the stage first, followed by candidates from District 36 and, finally, those from District 37.

The first segment was relatively tame, with incumbent Republican Jack Lutz’s low-key review of his record and his agenda for 2009, and Democratic challenger Lee Ann Mengelt’s focus on health care and green energy reform.

Candidates for District 36 then started to generate sparks of disagreement. While challenger Frank Burrows viewed the issues through the lens of a career cop and incumbent Terri Austin spoke smartly about teamwork in economic development, Noland stuck to his limited-government guns.

When asked by the moderator what government should do to discourage domestic violence and help victims, his answer was clear — as little as possible. Instead, Noland said, friends, family, churches and other organizations should be relied on to provide help. He was also adamant in his conviction that low tax rates were the only government incentive needed to attract new businesses.

The District 36 segment of the forum proved to be just a warm-up for the fireworks shot off by the District 37 candidates. Jozwiak, who made a memorable run at mayor last year, warned the crowd in his opening remarks that he would get emotional — and he did just that. His comments grew more pointed and louder through the question-and-answer session. In his closing remarks, he called Democratic incumbent Scott Reske a liar and a fraud and disgustedly tossed Republican attack ads against Reske onto the floor of the stage.

Reske took the mic last and responded strongly to Jozwiak’s accusations, calling him misinformed and out of control. By this time, the crowd was fully engaged in the spirited (some might say mean-spirited) discussion.

The emotion-charged Jozwiak-Reske exchange is probably what those who attended will most remember. But the spirit and variety of viewpoints exchanged during the forum was really what mattered. Without the Libertarians there, both would have been significantly diminished.

And that’s what the third party brings to the broader political forum: a voice for those outside the political framework of government. Sometimes this is the most important voice of all. It certainly seemed like it for much of Tuesday night’s forum.