Folks who want to restore American independence, vhereverrnthey are on tlie spectrum, are welcome. Now some won’trncome to me because I’m pro-life. But that is simply who I am.rnAnd I am not walking away from those folks or that vision or thatrnideal or the idea that we ought to alter the Supreme Court andrndecentralize government dramatically.rnStates’ rights: I think the survival of our country lies in thisrnidea, where states can be different from other states, and the fedsrndon’t impose one rule upon the wliole nation from thernSupreme Court. Folks vote in each state as to how they want tornlive and what values and traditions they want respected and supportedrnin law. That’s the way it was originally intended for arngreat democratic republic; we would be a very diverse people. Irndon’t mind the fact that I don’t have a right to impose my valuesrnon Greenwich Village, but I don’t w ant Greenwich Village imposingrnits val ues on me.rnK: Mv impression is that the Buchanan Brigades arc muchrnmore libertarian than is commonly believed. Maybe a third ofrn’our con’euhon delegates, for instance, would hac supportedrncalling off the national drug war. Is there room for anti-drugrnwar people in a Birchananite Reform Parh?rnB, Yup, there’s room for them. I don’t know that we wouldrn. adopt tliat posture, but let me tell ou, mv friend LvnrnNofziger told me, when he endorsed me as a Republican, thatrnhe had gotten marijuana for his daughter, who was dying at therntime, and that I ougiit to know that because it was commonrnknowledge. I said, “Well, that doesn’t bother me in the least.”rnIf I were a prosecutor, I would sav, “That’s pretty far down thernlist in terms of things we’re going to prosecute in this office.rnWe’ve got more important things to look at than that.”rnI understand the libertarian argument on drugs; I don’t agreernwith it. Bill, and I’ll tell you why. I went in Iowa to one of theserncenters for gals who had been pregnant and on drugs but hadrncleaned up tiieir act. It was both a daycare center and sort of arnhome v’here they would come at night; they had jobs. Thesernlitrie toddlers were all slopping down their cereal. It was veryrnfunny and ver)’ pleasant.rnI a.sked the fellow there, “Did these kids suffer any permanentrndamage?” And he said ten percent of the kids in Iowa are bornrnof mothers who are drug-afflicted, and half of those kids neverrnfully recover from the impact of tiiat.rnThese little kids arc simplv growing up with a horrible existence.rnAnd I’m afraid if you decriminalize or legalize narcoticsrn. . . it’s not a victimless crime.rnK: But the same argument was alv’ays made about alcohol duringrnProhibition: You’re really doing it for the children, becauserndrunkards are bad parents.rn6: There’s no doubt that alcoholism is a serious problem, but Irnknow friends who have been alcoholics, and some of them arerndead after 30 years; and I’ve known kids who have been drug addicts,rnand the’ were dead in their early 2()’s.rnK: Do you svmpathize with the mo’e to make marijuana legalrnfor medical purposes?rnB: That’s a state-b}’-state decision.rnK: Although as soon as a state approes legalization, the Republicansrnwant to send the feds in.rnB: In violation of their states’ rights precepts. On that one, if thernstate votes the decision, I think you hae to respect it. On thernfederal le’el, although I can see what’s happening down inrnColombia, I just am not ready to give up on the drug war becausernI tiiink the other side would be worse. Maybe I’m wrong.rn^^ T’m not going back to therni Republican Part)’: Fmrnliberated; free at last!”rnK: You mentioned Anthvar.coiii. Justin Raimondo, its editor, isrnone of your most eloquent and tireless champions.rnB: He’s wonderfvrl. Justin nominated me.rnK: Justin is a good guy. He is also openly ga. Would that factrndisqualifv’ him from a spot in a Buchanan administration?rnB: No. Look, Justin is not someone who runs around the coimtryrnadvocating the gay-rights agenda; he’s opposed to it. He believesrnin freedom. He’s opposed to the idea of using federalrnpower to say that people have to hire him whether they like himrnor not. He is a homosexual, and I don’t knov- how people getrnthat way, but he’s a very loyal guy to me. I have hvo people whornhave been “outed” who have been verv supportive of me inrnthree campaigns, and I’m proud to have their support becausernit probably takes a hell of a lot more moral courage for them tornsupport me, especially where Justin lives, than it does for folksrnelsewhere.rnYou know what he said when I issued a strong statement? Hernsaid, “Who gives a damn if I can’t be ambassador to Luxembourg?”rn(Laughter).rnK: The two parties have their Hollywood partisans: BarbrarnStreisand for the Democrats and Bo Derek for the Republicans,rnnow that Ffrem Zimbalist, Jr., has retired. Who are the HollywoodrnBuchananites?rn6: Virginia Ma’o . . . most of them are from the previous generation.rnK: I heard that Mel Gibson was a supporter.rnB: No, I wouldn’t say that. Don’t end The Patriot’s career!rn(Laughter). I think Mel Gibson probablv comes out of a traditionalrnCatholic, pre-Vatican II upbringing, and he shares a lotrnof these values and beliefs and his great love of patriotism andrnthe warrior virtues and things of the Scotch-Irish. We have a lotrnin common, but don’t put that anchor around this guv’s neck. Irnwant to see more of his movies (Laughter”).rnK: How do we bust up the concentration of media ownership?rnB: “^’ou have to use the antitrust laws, and I’d certainly be preparedrnto. Newspapers, for example, should be owned by Amer-rnNOVEMBER 2000/15rnrnrn