On the outside looking in

As senior Andrew Sharp drags his brown sneakers back and forth to clear leaves and seeds off the sidewalk, the cynicism in his voice is matched only by his frustration.

“We used to do it every week last year,” he says, dropping to his knees and drawing a “D” with orange jumbo chalk.

“Now we don’t do it as much because we don’t have as concentrated an effort,” he says, “and there’s not as much need to get the name out.”

The “it” Sharp is referring to is sidewalk chalking. And the name is Ron Paul, an independent who ran for the Republican presidential nomination. Sharp is president of the IU Students for Liberty, a chapter of Paul’s national campaign, which began a spirited movement to raise awareness of Paul’s candidacy last spring.

During last semester’s primaries, Sharp says he remembers a lot more excitement in the group. Sometimes a dozen people would come out to chalk the sidewalks of campus.

But on this October afternoon – with the sun overhead and breeze kicking up the newly fallen leaves – it’s just he and freshman Sam Spaiser spreading the “Liberty” message.

Finished with one writing, Sharp drops the chalk in the small opaque bin, grabbing the handle as he stands up. Below him it says “Don’t waste your vote on McBama! Vote 3rd party.”

While Sharp is still looking down, Spaiser walks from where he was chalking a few yards away.

“Hey, I just got done writing, ‘End the Fed. End Republocrats,’” Spaiser told Sharp. “Then this guy walked by and was like, ‘What’s the Fed?’”

Both share a laugh at the other man’s expense. The Federal Reserve, or Fed, regulates America’s monetary policy and interest rates. For Libertarians, the Fed is one of the most despised parts of the government.

The pair is standing on University Road, just south of the Indiana Memorial Union near Owen Hall. They split up, Sharp heading east on University Road toward Ballantine Hall and Spaiser heading west toward Indiana Avenue, each with a chalk bucket in tow.

Sharp walks slowly, estimating the distance between each chalking.
“Obama, McCain. More of the same. Vote 3rd Party.”

With each block comes a new saying, each as harsh as the next.

“Vote oppression, Vote Obama. Vote freedom, Vote 3rd Party.”

Sharp is no rookie when it comes to chalking. He and four other people spent five hours writing out the Constitution last semester outside the Dave Matthews concert.

“There’s not really as much excitement or drive to get involved,” he said. “Now it’s just all McCain and Obama, nothing else.”

2-party stranglehold
With days remaining until the next president will be elected, America waits in limbo for the decision. But for members of IU Students for Liberty, the outcome has already been decided.

The winner? Status quo, they say. Whether it’s Democrat or Republican, it’s still big government, and it’ll still demolish the little guys.

“The two-party system has definitely tightened their stranglehold on the way the operation  has run,” Sharp said. “It has been worse now than it has previously, but I think it’s been going on for a while.”

Sharp points to organizations such as debate commissions – which are made up of Democrats and Republicans – that decide the rules of presidential debates – such as who can attend – as ways the “establishment” silences anyone on the outside.

“It is really disgusting that we think we have this free and open process and democratic society,” Sharp said.

Freshman John Bullock said just having two sides in a discussion is narrow-minded.

“It just seems like a lot of people with different viewpoints don’t get their voices heard even though they might have a valid idea,” Bullock said. “But just because they don’t fall into those two parties they can’t be heard.”

Bullock and his fellow Libertarians have been on the outside of the election cycle. Although Paul managed to win more votes in the Nevada caucuses than Republican candidate John McCain, Paul will serve as merely a footnote in this election, which has been dominated by McCain and Democratic nominee Barack Obama for the past three months.

“I definitely feel like an outsider,” he said, “because a political discussion is between the two parties and those views, and anyone who’s a third party gets brushed off to the side because they support people the public says can’t win.”

Sharp said he will likely vote for Chuck Baldwin, presidential nominee of the Constitution party. Spaiser said he voted early for Baldwin because Paul endorsed him. But when Bullock cast his absentee ballot for Illinois, he voted for every race except the president because he couldn’t find any candidate he fully supported.

“Voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil,” he said.

More of the same
McBama.

Sharp couldn’t help but drop the newest buzzword.

The hybrid surname sums up how Libertarians feel about the two major parties.

Spaiser said there is a lot of talk about change in the election, but none of the candidates are offering any true difference.

They support changes such as eliminating the Federal Reserve and the Internal Revenue Service, reducing the national debt, balancing the budget, protecting civil liberties and using sound monetary policy and noninterventionist foreign policy.

Spaiser likened the “democratic process” to a ping-pong ball being hit back and forth by the two main players, never going anywhere new.

“I see more big government no matter which way you turn,” Spaiser said. “I don’t really see a real choice of fixing the problems right now. I think it’ll just get worse.”

Libertarians want to return the government to the powers delegated to it under the Constitution, with a weaker central government and more state and local powers.

But Spaiser doesn’t blame “McBama” supporters. To him they’re not ignorant, only a little misguided.

“There’s a lot of really great people supporting Obama or McCain, but they may not realize what they’re supporting,” he said.

Instead he blames a system that thwarts outside criticism and a media that ignores everyone else.

Spaiser said he feels he has to try to enlighten people about how the system works and other ways of thinking about politics.

“It’s part of my responsibility to spread the message and educate people who are open and willing to hear it,” he said.

IU Students for Liberty members aren’t unrealistic about what they can accomplish. They don’t expect victories, just to spread the message and influence the public debate.

But Spaiser said he believes one day people will support their “Liberty” message.

“You just get enough angry people and enough people who aren’t happy with what’s going on to get onboard with a new movement,” he said, “and you can really effect some real serious change.”

Getting people’s attention

Sharp finishes his last chalking near the bicycle racks outside Ballantine and begins to walk back to the Union to meet Spaiser.

He walks on the south sidewalk, slowly studying his writings as he passes over them.
As he nears one chalking, he sees that someone has erased the words “McCain = Obama,” leaving the phrase “More war. More taxes. Less freedom.”

“They erased both,” he said puzzled, staring at the clouds left from the names. He said one person probably erased McCain and another erased Obama.

He drops to his knees and grabs the red chalk to rewrite McCain. He switches that for the blue chalk and again prints Obama’s name.

“That was fast,” he says, pulling himself up and walking toward the Union again, seemingly pleased that people are noticing the chalkings.

He walks the final leg to the green awning near the Union. About 10 seconds down the sidewalk, an old man who noticed him rewriting the chalkings walks over to see what he wrote.

“I hate to tell you, but Nader will never win,” he yells over his shoulder at Sharp’s back.
Not missing a stride, Sharp tilts his head toward the man.

“Not if we don’t vote for him,” Sharp says, a wry smile spreading across his face. Though the effect might be small, for Sharp the real difference is symbolic.

“That kind of makes me want to do more,” he said, continuing to walk away. “I’m getting people’s attention.”