Libertarian takes on Hoyer, Beltway establishment

Beltsville woman says educating voters is also goal

Friday, July 11, 2008

The Beltsville resident already faces long odds as a virtually unknown Libertarian Party nominee, let alone the fact that she’s running against U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, the godfather of Maryland politics.

‘‘I’m kind of like David against Goliath, but I am someone who always takes the positive views of things, [even if it is] tilting at windmills,” said Nicholas, a program analyst for General Dynamics Information Technology.

But it will take more than a stone and a slingshot to fell Hoyer (D-Md., 5th), the House majority leader, who has easily dispatched Republican and third-party challengers in recent years. Four-term Charles County Board of Education member Collins A. Bailey won the GOP nomination in February and has since been building his campaign infrastructure.

Nicholas, 54, has only lived in Maryland for three years, but is no political novice. She fought against eminent domain in the landmark Kelo v. City of New London case that the Supreme Court upheld in June 2005, which led to her bid for the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1998. She also ran for Connecticut secretary of state in 2002, but received less than 2 percent of the vote both times.

So, why enter a race that seems unwinnable for Libertarians?

‘‘Most of us really dislike politics and that’s the last thing we really want to be doing, but we feel obligated or compelled to speak up for those who can’t, or won’t or don’t know how,” Nicholas said. ‘‘If we want to make the world a better place for everyone down the road, we’ve got to take responsibility rather than hoping and waiting for someone else to do it.”

Her congressional platform centers on abolishing the USA PATRIOT Act because it violates individual freedoms and withdrawing American soldiers from Iraq and other volatile foreign nations. Nicholas would also seek to reduce taxes and do away with the Real ID Act of 2005 that established a national identification card for American citizens.

‘‘I don’t think we should be the world’s policeman,” she said of her military withdrawal plan.

Nicholas became involved in the Libertarian movement, which emphasizes personal liberties and limited government, in college and has been influenced by the writings of Russian émigré ‘‘Objectivist” author Ayn Rand and the late Harry Browne, the Libertarian presidential candidate in 1996 and 2000.

‘‘Government has gotten extremely bloated,” she said. ‘‘They take way too much of our taxes in programs that often times may have started out with good intentions, but start to backfire and make the problem worse. I believe there are free-market solutions to everything.”

Hoyer’s tenure and leadership position has beholden him to special interests and separated him for 5th District constituents, said Nicholas, echoing a popular refrain from past Hoyer opponents.

‘‘The incumbent has been there way too long. He’s a professional politician and I think that’s way too dangerous,” she said. ‘‘He’s built himself quite an empire. ... As soon as you start giving money to someone for their campaign, you’re in their hip pocket.”

Nicholas will only accept individual contributions and is planning a grassroots candidacy with only a few small-scale fundraisers that will enable her to post some campaign signs and distribute brochures in the sprawling 5th District that stretches from Prince George’s County down through Southern Maryland.

Although she wants to win, a more practical goal is educating voters about the Libertarian Party.

‘‘My theme for the campaign is Libertarians make good neighbors and I want to change the perception that people may have of Libertarians,” she said.