The Chronicle

Issue date: 4/1/08 Section: Columns
Last update: 4/1/08 at 6:43 AM EST

Andrew Kindman

Mike Munger is a rare specimen. If you don't already know him as the chair of the political science department or recognize him for his enviably lush head of hair, you might soon meet him in a new capacity: gubernatorial candidate.

A self-described "recovering Republican," Munger is the Libertarian nominee in the 2008 election for North Carolian governor. Having gathered nearly 100,000 petition signatures, Munger will not only be listed on the ballot but will also be the state's first third-party candidate to ever participate in the gubernatorial nominated-candidates debate.

I sat down with Munger Friday to chat about his campaign and learn a little bit about his brand of politics and activism.

"There's a paradox about politics," he explained. "No individual matters. It's easy to think of yourself as being inconsequential, and if everybody thinks that then the system is going to break. So somehow we have to all act as if we were consequential. And if we do that, we will be. It actually does make a difference. All you get to do is decide what you do as an individual."

Munger and the Libertarian Party have committed to this philosophy. Running for any office as a third-party candidate takes audacity, but in a state like North Carolina, the race is uphill the entire way.

In fact, what is most impressive about Munger's bid is the strength with which it has tackled the meta-issue. Vast quantities of time and money have been spent campaigning just for the right to campaign, for ballot access and participation in the debate. They're up against North Carolina electoral laws that he says are "designed to make third-party candidates arrive breathless at the starting line."

Reasonably, Munger asks, "Where's the outrage? Why is nobody upset about this?.... As I worked through the ballot access process and heard the dismissive things that the state says, that [Democratic candidate] Beverly Perdue's campaign manager says.... 'We really shouldn't have any third parties, it's just a distortion.' Like it was up to him? Voters can decide that. He doesn't get to decide that. I am constantly worried George Bush is going to invade to try to restore democracy."

It's for quotables like this that you should all be excited for the debate in October (Also noteworthy: "I was asked what I would do about heroin, to which I responded that I am opposed to mandatory heroin use."). But Munger is actually making a valid point. You may not identify with Libertarianism, but if you appreciate democracy, North Carolina electoral laws should concern you gravely.

Continued...

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