<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><i>Punching Bag Post </i>was honored to interview Libertarian presidential nominee Dr. Jo Jorgensen during our inaugural podcast.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Jorgensen is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Clemson University with a background in marketing, software sales, and business consulting. She grew up in Illinois and has two children. </span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif">In 1996, she was the Libertarian Party’s vice presidential nominee alongside Harry Browne.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Jorgensen’s nomination, announced in May, makes her the first female to earn the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>A few things Jorgensen stands for:</b></span></p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li><span class="s1">A much smaller government </span></li>
<li><span class="s1">Slashing federal spending and cutting taxes</span></li>
<li><span class="s1">Never adding to the national debt</span></li>
<li><span class="s1">Removing the US military from foreign wars </span></li>
<li><span class="s1">Allowing real price competition in healthcare to reduce costs</span></li>
<li><span class="s1">Eliminating trade barriers and tariffs</span></li>
<li><span class="s1">Ending federal civil asset forfeiture prior to conviction </span></li>
<li><span class="s1">Reducing prison populations</span></li>
<li><span class="s1">Legalizing marijuana and ending the War on Drugs </span></li>
<li><span class="s1">Eliminating the Department of Education and returning control of education to parents, teachers, and students </span></li>
</ul>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">We began our interview with Dr. Jorgensen by asking about some “progressive” views the Libertarian party has been promoting for decades, including gay marriage and marijuana legalization. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Looking at progressive issues, I like to point out to people…that Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton were both against gay marriage in 2012. And when I mention that to a lot of young people they’re just shocked.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Republicans and Democrats tend to base their opinions on personal experiences and not out of concern for the rights of others, explains Jorgensen. The perfect example is former Vice President Dick Cheney, who opposed gay marriage until his daughter came out as a lesbian. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“The Libertarians have always been based on…principle and individual rights,” says Jorgensen. “And with politicians, it’s kind of just whichever way the wind blows.”</span></p>