Name: Martin Lindstedt
Political Party: Libertarian
Office sought: Governor of Missouri
Occupation: Self-employed Truck-driver, writer, editor & publisher "The Southwestern Missouri Libertarian," "Patrick Henry On-Line" Internet World Wide Web Page, novelist, political agitator, militia leader.
Born: December 25, 1957
Educational Background: Quit high school, got GED and academic scholarship to Crowder College, Neosho Missouri, flunked out of engineering school at University of Missouri -- Rolla, graduated with a B.S. from Missouri Southern State College, Joplin Missouri. Presently President of Patrick Henry Electronic University & Diploma Mill, located within the electronic innards of a computer server in Joplin, Missouri.
Biography: Came down with parents from South Dakota in July 1965. Went to various schools and colleges in Missouri. Served two years in an Army missile battalion in West Germany, 1981-1983. Truck driver since 1988. Have been engaged in political warfare against the corrupt local authorities for over two years, imprisoned for 30 days in April, 1996 for "contempt of court." Have filed numerous lawsuits as a pauper, including one against the Missouri Libertarian Party and a federal civil rights lawsuit against Missouri Southern State College and the City of Joplin. I am a regional militia leader with national ties to the above-ground militia, common-law, and patriotic movement.
I have been disgusted for a number of years with the way this country is headed. I used to be a Reagan Republican, but by the end of 1992 I joined the National and State Libertarian party, as conservative-oriented libertarianism fits my general political philosophy.
In September, 1993 I stated writing and publishing the political newsletter, "The Southwestern Missouri Libertarian." On November 2, 1993 I was arrested on the campus of Missouri Southern State College for getting into an argument concerning the Waco Holocaust with the guest lecturer, a FBI agent.
In March, 1994, I filed and ran for state representative of the 132d district as a Libertarian. In May, I got a bogus ticket from a Granby policeman for driving an 18-wheel rig with the dim side headlight burnt out 14 minutes before sunrise. My activity protesting police misconduct put me in conflict with the Granby city authorities, and I was assaulted by a Granby City Councilman on August 9, 1994. I lost the election for state rep with the margin of 4.4 percent of the vote in a three-way race.
In April, 1995 I ran as municipal judge of Granby on a platform of clearing out 8 cops for a less-than-2000 population town, breaking up the traffic-ticket mill, and restoring the office of city marshall with one night watchman. I lost that election, coming in second.
On March 18, 1996, I tried to file as a candidate for Governor without having $200 filing fee. When I was refused, I filed a lawsuit before the Missouri Supreme Court against the Missouri Libertarian Party, the Secretary of state, etc. the next day. On March 20, 1996, having obtained another $100 loan, I filed as governor again, this time successfully. The Missouri Supreme Court refused to hear my lawsuit. Next stop federal court.
On April 2, 1996, I ran as a city councilman from Granby. I also got thrown in jail for contempt of court on that day arising from the traffic matter for 30 days. I lost that election by 143-14 votes to the incumbent.
On May 25, 1996, at the Missouri Libertarian Party Convention, the "Pud-Puller" faction saw fit to vote to disenfranchise 7 "Shooter" faction proxies I held and the rest of the 225 members who failed to show up for the convention. So right now, as Head of the militant "Shooter" faction, I have been forming grass-roots county committees and senatorial districts to revolt against state-wide Pud-Puller faction domination.
This is hardly a "brief" statement. Condense it as you will.
1. How much do you intend to spend on the campaign? I don't intend to spend anything on my campaign except my time and belligerence, as I have no money to spend.
2. How are you raising the money? Other than the $100 I borrowed from my brother and the $100 from a fellow militiaman in order to pay the filing fee, I've not raised any money at all. I'm not a political whore and have no chance to win the general election. Therefore, no money has come in.
1. How do you and your opponent differ on state issues: Philosophically, me and J. Hark Oglesby do not differ much, if any, on the issues. It is on the application and which issues have priority that we differ -- a lot. Jaymark prefers to beg the government about ending drug prohibition. I demand less government, less taxes, and want to eliminate the government-run public school indoctrination-centers and outright exterminate root and branch the lawyer-guild dominated injustice system. I am an open militiaman and Jaymark pisses down his leg at the sight of an assault rifle.
Plus, as both of us served on the Missouri Libertarian Party Expediting Committee from the 7th District and we only agreed once, there is much ill-feeling between Jaymark and me. He voted on the following:
I view Jaymark as a stupid, vain, fascist mediocrity. Jaymark views me as an unscrupulous homicidal maniac. We don't like one another very much.
I propose to cut down on the number of barbarians inside our gate by draining the vats in which they are produced by abolishing the government-run publik skrule system. First thing I'll do is to lift Carnahan's unconstitutional fascist Executive Order 95-11 implementing Missouri's participation in the Federal School-to-Work Opportunities Act, wherein children are graded and selected to be hewers of wood and drawers of water for corporate Amerika.
Then through the use of vouchers and the political elimination of the state education bureaucracy by using the power of recission to where no money is spent, the public schools will not be able to support OBE, Goals 2000, or Senate Bill 380. Once this poison fruit from the poison tree has fallen, it will be time to cut down the trunk by bringing school choice back to the local and parental level, to where they will have the option to choose from a variety of alternatives and the money to pay for them once their money is no longer going to Jefferson City in the form of taxes.
Secondly, the judicial system is hopelessly corrupt from the local traffic-ticket-mill municipal courts to the politically-appointed and pro-government biased appellate and supreme courts. Crime does indeed pay for lawyers, judges, and policeman.
I propose to solve this problem by making the judges electable from the common people, sue as a criminal combination in defiance of anti-monopoly legislation the Missouri Bar Association, restore the grand jury to investigate government officials, make it a capital crime for government officials to commit or suborn perjury while under oath, make it a felony to enforce any statute for the sole purpose of raising revenue under color of law, make it impossible to prosecute any crime without a discernible victim, pardon those convicted of victimless crimes, impeach and jail corrupt government officials, bring back the common-law and Constitution as the basis of all judicial proceedings and institute a learning of the basics of law for the common people so they can know what the law is, and obey.
The criminal problem we have has government as its source.
1. What changes do you support in the way health care and health insurance are made available in Missouri?
First of all, what we got under Democrat and Republican rule is the collectivization of health care and insurance under either government- or corporate-run HMO's. This ensues lack of medical care for all except the very rich or very poor.
The way to combat these problems is to increase the supply of doctors by eliminating the medical monopoly of the Doktor's guild, increase the supply of medical alternatives by eliminating the medical monopoly of the drug companies and allowing people to treat themselves however they wish. Eliminating all these politically powerful monopolies is the first and only choice I propose.
It is not government's business to make people healthy. It is the individual's business to see to their own bodily maintenance by eating, smoking, or drinking less.
2. What measures, if any, would you support to regulate campaign financing? The more laws you have, the harder it is for a ordinary citizen to run for office. This observation comes from practical experience.
I favor the current system. Those who spend less than $1,000 can file an exempt form from campaign disclosure. Those who spend more, should only have to tell from whom they got the money. This is the correct way for those who care to find out who are the political whores and pimps infesting the body politic.
In a free democratic society, people have the right to buy votes with their own money. If this happens enough times, eventually either the common man learns not to trust the candidate with a lot of campaign advertisements or the system is up to the highest bidder and the system collapses due to a lack of public confidence. I am not going to support the public funding of candidates for office, as it is nothing more than directly buying votes with public money.
3. Do you support or oppose legislation to allow residents of Missouri to carry concealed weapons?
I support concealed-carry legislation. I enjoy the notion of public and private criminals getting a surprise from harassed private citizens. And even though, as a militiaman, my weapon of choice is a 3 1/2 ft. long, 10 pound, WWII M1 Garand semi-automatic assault rifle chambered in 30-06 caliber, I might just like to try to conceal it.
4. Should areas such as St. Louis and St. Louis County that want stronger gun-control laws than the state be allowed to pass them?
No. The 2d Amendment to the United States Constitution restrains such legislation.
Besides, I have nothing against inner-city blacks having guns.
5. Do you think the state should end its support of the St. Louis and Kansas City public schools under the federal court-ordered desegregation plan? If so, what is the proper way to do this? If not, should this support be funded and for how long?
Of course. The state should stop state funding of all government-run public schools and shut them all down, including Kansas City and St. Louis.
The proper, fastest, sure-fire way to cease funding is to immediately stop paying out any money.
6. What restrictions, if any, would you support on lobbyist's ability to provide meals, trips, tickets or other gifts to lawmakers?
Tell lobbyists that it is a crime to offer gifts and tell lawmakers that it is a crime to accept gifts.
7. Do you support legislation that would require women who are considering an abortion to talk to an anti-abortion counselor? Are there any other measures you think the state should adapt in relation to abortion?
I am a pro-life Libertarian. If elected governor, I will veto and/or use recission upon any measure using tax dollars to promote abortions. I will sign into law any measure cutting down or eliminating abortions within the state of Missouri.
8. Do you favor a tax cut for Missourians? If so, what taxes would you like to see cut? If not, why not?
We will have to go beyond the rhetoric of tax-limitation to actual government and spending cuts. I favor tax cuts and elimination of a number of taxes in all areas. These tax cuts will pay for private alternatives to government services when people are allowed to keep their own money.
I got the recommendation of the Hancock II people in 1994 because I collected over 250 signatures.
I am disgusted that both Mel Carnahan and Margaret Kelly chose to design and support the fraudulent tax-limitation amendment allowing the State government to increase taxes by $50 million this year. Between the two of them, Democrat and Republican, they raised our taxes through deceit.
9. Do you favor reauthorization of the one-tenth-percent parks and soils tax as it is currently levied. If not, how would you like to see the money redistributed? Or would you like the tax to expire altogether?
I would like the tax to expire altogether. Let the people keep their money.
10. Should Blue Cross/Blue Shield be required to compensate the state for turning a non-profit subsidary into a for-profit one?
No. They made a profit, let them keep it rather than be punished for saving the state money to make up for losses.
Have you ever held or run for public office before? Ran and lost several times. 1994 -- State Representative 132d District, 1995-- Granby municipal judge, 1996 - Granby City councilman
What are your priorities if elected? #1. Do away with the government-run public school system and replace it with locally run private schools chosen and paid for by parents. #2 Do away with the current corrupt Missouri Court System, punish the judicial offenders, and replace it with an elected non-lawyer judiciary & jury system.
What are your qualifications for office?
I am over 30 years of age and have lived in Missouri over 10 years.
I am a natural-born fighter with the desire and ability to accomplish necessary change, especially with the current injustice system.