Heather Scott: Yes, liberty certainly has its place

In this day of nationalized politics, we forget that the Founders of the United States believed that the states needed to be the focus of political activity, but all too often, we ignore the state races and pay attention only to congressional and presidential elections. Yet, some of the best candidates are on the state and local level, and in this column, I include Heather Scott, who is running for the position of state representative of the 57th District of Tennessee.

Now, that district is outside the purvey of East Tennessee, but nonetheless I believe that Ms. Scott sets a good example, and I hope that others in the eastern portion of the Nation’s Greatest State pay attention to her. She is not running as a Republican or Democrat, but rather an “independent,” and really a Libertarian. While that will cost her some votes, I hope that the voters of that district pay attention to the person and not the party.

Who is Heather Scott? She was born in Texas but went to Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro and from there the transformation from Texan to Tennessean was not difficult. (Texas also has a place of higher education that calls itself UT and has burnt orange for a color. The last time I was there, I was a member of the True UT track team that won the NCAA championships in 1974.)

For the last eight years, she has served on the Wilson County Commission, which means this is someone who actually knows how to run a political campaign and be elected. (Libertarians often know how to run for office, but rarely get elected.) Furthermore, she has tried to remain true to her libertarian principles, and that can be difficult when one is in a governing situation.

I visited her Web site, electheatherscott.com, and found it to be refreshing. There were no promises that she would find clever ways to tax others so that her district could receive money it had not earned. Instead we find someone who actually cares about liberty, private property rights, the right to bear arms and more. On her philosophy of governing, she writes:

“The protection of individual rights is the only proper purpose of government. Government is constitutionally limited to prevent the infringement of individual rights by the government itself. Individuals are in control over their own lives and no one should be forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. As long as they are not forcibly interfering with the rights of others, Tennesseans should be free to pursue their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government.”

When is the last time you read something like that on a politician’s Web site? And there’s more:

“Property owners have the full right to control, use, dispose of, or in any manner enjoy, their property without interference, unless the exercise of their control infringes upon the valid rights of others. I am opposed to all government interference with private property, such as confiscation and eminent domain, and support the prohibition of robbery, trespass, fraud and misrepresentation. After the Supreme Court decision in 2005 where the Court held that the economic benefit a community might receive from private development qualified as “public use” under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, I sponsored a resolution approved by the Wilson County Commission which prohibits the enactment of eminent domain for private use in Wilson County. As State Representative, I will support a similar ban on the state level.”

This tells me two things. First, she respects private property rights and sees them as a larger issue regarding liberty. Second, she understands that the states need to deal with things like eminent domain as opposed to trying to convince Congress to do something about the outrage the U.S. Supreme Court gave us five years ago.

I have no idea how much political support Ms. Scott has, but I hope that she has enough to be elected. The important thing is that she does have a political record and has been an elected official. Winning an election — any election — is key to understanding the electoral process.

All too often, Libertarians run for office knowing they will lose and lose big. I have had two good friends in Alabama running for statewide office as Libertarians, and while they garnered a large number of votes — by far larger than most Libertarians had received in that state — nonetheless they never had a chance to win.

Ms. Wilson strikes me as someone who is running to win, and I hope she does. We need voices in government that remind us that elected officials are not our masters, and it is their job to protect our rights, not to take them away.

Dr. William L. Anderson is an assistant professor of economics.  A native of Chattanooga, he received his bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Tennessee, his master’s degree in economics from Clemson University and his Ph.D. in economics from Auburn University.

An accomplished writer, Anderson has written for national publications such as Reason Magazine.  He has served as a reporter and editorial writer on the staff of ETBJ for over 18 years.