Invaders Hunting for State of Utopia

Thousands of invaders have their eyes on Idaho. Or Montana. Or New Hampshire.

The Free State Project hopes to persuade 20,000 advocates of limited government to move to one lightly populated state and create a Libertarian utopia.

The idea by a Yale political science student is gaining popularity: Some 3,100 people around the country have signed on.

“It’s perfectly clear that people who believe in small government are outnumbered by people who want to be taken care of by the government,” said Elizabeth McKinstry, 33, of Hillsdale, Mich., vice president of the project. “Rather than change the whole nation, it makes sense for all of us to gather in one place.”

The project has identified 10 “candidate” states, all with populations below 1.5 million and with politics friendly to limited government: Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware and Vermont. Small states that the group sees as loving big government, such as Rhode Island and Hawaii, were rejected.

If and when the number of registered Free State supporters reaches 5,000, they will vote on which state to target. Then supporters would have five years to move, with an ultimate goal of 20,000 going to the chosen state.

In their new home, the Free Staters would work to abolish laws regulating drugs, gambling, prostitution, guns, drinking and other issues that they believe should be up to the individual. They woult seek to privatize many government functions, such as schools. They would try to slash taxes for everything but public safety and defense.

The Free State Project is the brainchild of Jason Sorens, 26, a doctoral candidate in political science at Yale. He got the idea after the 2000 elections, when he felt Libertarians needed a new way to promote their cause. He wrote an article promoting the idea and the project began in July 2001.

Sorens said he grew up poor in Houston, but his family got by with the help of private charities and friends, rejecting government assistance. “Even in an era where Americans are heavily overtaxed, private solutions work better than government programs,” he said.

He believes that 20,000 committed activists in a state of less than 1.5 million would be enough to sway the minds of residents. That would be necessary because “we’re not going to be a large enough group to take over,” Sorens said.

The goal is to reduce state government by one-half to two-thirds in the chosen state, said McKinstry, who spoke recently in Coeur d’Alene.

“We are mostly anti-regulation,” she said. “We are not an anarchist group at all.”

Supporters of various states have been fiercely debating the merits of each one on the project’s Web site.

Ben Irvin, a social anthropologist who lives in Pocatello, Idaho, and calls himself the lead promoter for the Western states, believes Idaho will emerge as the compromise winner. The state has 1.2 million people, a decent economy and a strong distrust of government.

The major downside for Idaho is the one-quarter of the population who are Mormon, Irvin said. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aren’t likely to support legalizing prostitution and drugs, ending taxes on booze and tobacco, or a strict separation of church and state, Irvin said.

Montana, with 900,000 residents, is also a strong contender, in part because it is more socially permissive than Idaho, Irvin said. “They have casinos.”

But the state’s small economy would make it difficult for 20,000 outsiders to find jobs, he said.

Wyoming’s population of just under 500,000 is the smallest in the nation, which has drawn plenty of interest. But Irvin believes many who favor Wyoming don’t really understand the rugged, nearly primitive nature of much of the state.

He figures North Dakota won’t win because “no one wants to go out there.”

Alaska is the one candidate that Free State Project founder Sorens would reject because his wife won’t move there, he said.

New Hampshire has jobs and a strong anti-government tradition. But much of the movement’s strength is in the West, and most Westerners would not move to the East, Irvin said.

Mark Snider, spokesman for Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, said he was sorry to learn that Idaho was a candidate. He warned the Free Staters not to confuse Idahoans’ love for small government with a desire for virtually no government.

“The majority of Idahoans want safe streets and not to be under the threat of drunk drivers, drug addicts or criminals,” Snider said. “It does not sound as though this group is in line with what the majority of Idahoans want.”

Chuck Butler, a spokesman for Montana Gov. Judy Martz, said Montana welcomes newcomers. But he encouraged the Free Staters to take a closer look at Idaho.