Terry McMahon's Awesome Blog

The Portsmouth Herald had an article a few days ago on the Free State Project, the group of libertarians hoping to all move to New Hampshire en large enough masse to shift the politics in the libertarian direction, since attempting to convince the current electorate isn't doing the trick. They expected 20,000 people to actually show up; since turnout has turned out, shall we say, slightly lower, they decided to just relocate to the specific town of Gorham, NH. Yes, if you're lucky, your sleepy New England town may have already been invaded by a group of near-anarchist fanatics who equally loathe drug laws, taxpayer-funded public schools, and idiots like you who don't get it. So the good folks of Gorham got ticked off at the new neighbors for the unfortunate tone of recent town meetings, and the Free Staters decided to calm things down a notch.

Now they're back with a new tactic: publicity arrests! The Free Staters say New Hampshire has ridiculous laws that only clog freedom, so they've taken it upon themselves to violate these laws and get arrested so that we may understand what a police state we've become. The first blow for freedom is already in the books; turns out manicuring without a license (watch out, ladies) carries a sentence of "one year of good behavior." Did we lose a war? Fortunately, the Herald article focuses on the Free Staters' continued quest, and their next target: refusing to show ID at airports! The guinea pig, a Free Stater named Russell Kanning, may be right when he says, "No one really knows what the rules are in that world," a thought that I hope consoles him when he's hanging upside down in an Uzbeki prison.

Beyond this one guy's story, however, the current protest strategy shows the Free Staters still have a long way to go before they start winning over the masses. Publicity arrests are a big improvement over antagonizing the entire town you're trying to make over, sure, but who's going to look at these incidents and come over to their side? No one gives a what-for about manicure licenses, and no one agrees with them on airport IDing. I mean, they really chose airport IDs as an issue? "Come on, join up with us - we'll make you less safe from terrorists." Great idea, guys. How's the revolution coming?

If they really wanted to make a scene, they'd go to the Circuit City in Manchester (it's where I bought my cell phone!), buy a high-def TV, and refuse to pay the sales tax. The assembled press will have an opportunity to buy their niece a graduation present after they cover the arrest, and the Free Staters would finally have a cause that normal people could rally behind. See, it sounds so easy. The only problem is that New Hampshire doesn't have a sales tax, which might serve as a clue that the Free Staters have picked a pretty free state (the "Live Free or Die" motto might have been another hint) and there's not much need for political upheaval. Try telling that to the poor souls who have to manicure with a license, though. Who ever could have guessed libertarians would be politically inept?