Dan Karlan
From Ballotpedia
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Dan Karlan (Libertarian Party) ran for election to the Idaho State Senate to represent District 28. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Karlan completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Dan Karlan was born in New York, New York. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1973. Karlan's career experience includes working as an author. He is associated with the National Association of Parliamentarians and the Toastmasters.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: Idaho State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Idaho State Senate District 28
Incumbent Jim Guthrie defeated Dan Karlan in the general election for Idaho State Senate District 28 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jim Guthrie (R) | 77.6 | 17,067 |
Dan Karlan (L)  | 22.4 | 4,916 | ||
| Total votes: 21,983 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Idaho State Senate District 28
Incumbent Jim Guthrie advanced from the Republican primary for Idaho State Senate District 28 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jim Guthrie | 100.0 | 4,667 |
| Total votes: 4,667 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Dan Karlan completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Karlan's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I have been a Libertarian for 50 years. I am fiscally conservative and socially liberal (characteristic of libertarians). I have been a scientist (biochemistry researcher), an engineer (scientific software), and a published author (The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived - I'm a co-author). I am now retired.
- Idaho must abolish the death penalty. Government simply cannot be trusted to get such things right, certainly not in a reasonable time and without outside intervention. The number of people who have been discovered to have been convicted and incarcerated awaiting execution is frightful.
- Civil Asset Forfeiture must be reined in. Require conviction of a crime (felony) and place all confiscated funds in the public treasury, not earmarked for police use. The ability to confiscate the property of a person who has not been convicted is highway robbery, and it's happening on a grand scale.
- Legalize hemp farming, without the zero-tolerance policy on THC. Nobody grows and harvests hemp for the THC when more potent sources are readily available in a nearby state.
Justice, or rather, injustice that persists. It is one thing to acknowledge that there is injustice, for example, racism in the War on Drugs. It is quite another to actually do something about. That nothing is being done, that injustice continues in the face of glaring evidence, is shameful.
Everybody I might consider "looking up to" has well-known faults, just about all of them significant. One person who fits that bill but still stands out to me is George Washington, to paraphrase Kipling, "The Man Who Would Not Be King".
Beyond that, my parents raised me to think for myself and question authority. Among the authorities I have questioned include my parents, and they understood that. I have never been afraid of speaking out, in school, in any job I have held, or among friends. Serving in the state legislature is certainly not going to discourage me from disagreeing with my colleagues, but I will never do so disagreeably. Because there is always the chance I am wrong (basing my argument on wrong facts or using invalid logic to derive my position, for example), I will always admit the possibility that my adversaries are right, and will not close any door to open dialogue in an effort to discover the truth.
Beyond that, my parents raised me to think for myself and question authority. Among the authorities I have questioned include my parents, and they understood that. I have never been afraid of speaking out, in school, in any job I have held, or among friends. Serving in the state legislature is certainly not going to discourage me from disagreeing with my colleagues, but I will never do so disagreeably. Because there is always the chance I am wrong (basing my argument on wrong facts or using invalid logic to derive my position, for example), I will always admit the possibility that my adversaries are right, and will not close any door to open dialogue in an effort to discover the truth.
"Libertarianism in One Lesson," by the late David Bergland, and "Don't Hurt People and Don't Take Their Stuff", by Matt Kibbe.
The state is the servant of the people, not their master. Government officials must never forget that. And First Do No Harm. If a policy you advocate harms people, seriously question if that is the right policy, and try to accomplish your goal some other way. If that is not possible, seriously question whether your goal is appropriate.
Mistrust of authority, self-doubt, passion for those issues I have formed opinions on.
Pay attention to the facts, and make sure to get them right. Always be aware of the risk of Confirmation Bias, when you look at facts to support your argument but ignore or dismiss those that challenge your case. You see what you want to see. That is the greatest danger not just in science but especially in politics, where so much is at stake.
Protecting the people from their government.
The change in the reverse of the penny from leaves to Lincoln Memorial - it was discussed in school (2nd grade, I believe). More importantly, however:
The March on Washington, August 1963. I was 12. I watched some of it on the family TV.
The March on Washington, August 1963. I was 12. I watched some of it on the family TV.
A local mom-and-pop grocery store, unpacking boxes and stocking shelves.
Atlas Shrugged, because it a work in several genres (science fiction, romance, dramatized politics, and most important, an economics text), and makes them all work.
Hank Rearden, because he actually evolves over the course of the book (Atlas Shrugged), learning from his experience and changing his views.
Some odd advertising jingle or such. I am a lover of classical music, especially the 19th century, and my favorite composer is Antonin Dvorak.
Learning that I would not be a scientist when that had been my first passion for a career.
The presence of additional minds to challenge authority and received wisdom.
Recognizing what decisions taken by government have not helped but have harmed the people, and acknowledging that it is always the right time to fix those mistakes.
The legislature should ALWAYS be prepared to challenge the governor, and the governor should NEVER allow that stance to lead him to believe that that challenge is based on personality, rather than policies. The basis of the division of power is the principle of checks and balances, and the legislature must never forget that they serve the people who elected them when they question the governor's authority.
Yes. It's unusual and perhaps impossible for a single legislator to accomplish anything useful on his or her own.
Bi-partisan is not enough, I would like to see the process be non-partisan, with people of varying political affiliation, and certainly those of no affiliation, participating.
I have wide-ranging interests, and I believe I would be able to contribute to any committee I might serve on. But serving on a committee that could address one of my three principal issues - abolishing the death penalty, reining in civil asset forfeiture, and eliminating the war on hemp - would be my preference.
If I am elected, I would probably be the only Libertarian in the legislature, which would instantly and by definition qualify me for my party's leadership.
When he served in the legislature of Alaska, Libertarian Andre Marrou was known as the Conscience of the Legislature. That raised the obvious question: Who served in that role before and after him? I would be honored to assume that role in the Idaho legislature if I am elected.
Very unlikely.
The conviction - probably driven by poor police and prosecutorial conduct - of Chris Tapp, which placed him on Idaho's death row for several years, makes my blood boil. This is primary evidence in my wish to abolish the death penalty.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 7, 2020
Current members of the Idaho State Senate
Leadership
Majority Leader:Lori Den Hartog
Minority Leader:Melissa Wintrow
Senators
District 1
Jim Woodward (R)
District 2
Phil Hart (R)
District 3
Doug Okuniewicz (R)
District 4
Ben Toews (R)
District 5
Carl Bjerke (R)
District 6
Dan Foreman (R)
District 7
Cindy Carlson (R)
District 8
Christy Zito (R)
District 9
Brandon Shippy (R)
District 10
Tammy Nichols (R)
District 11
Camille Blaylock (R)
District 12
Ben Adams (R)
District 13
Brian Lenney (R)
District 14
C. Scott Grow (R)
District 15
Codi Galloway (R)
District 16
Alison Rabe (D)
District 17
District 18
District 19
Melissa Wintrow (D)
District 20
Josh Keyser (R)
District 21
Treg Bernt (R)
District 22
Lori Den Hartog (R)
District 23
Todd Lakey (R)
District 24
District 25
Josh Kohl (R)
District 26
Ron Taylor (D)
District 27
Kelly Anthon (R)
District 28
Jim Guthrie (R)
District 29
James Ruchti (D)
District 30
Julie VanOrden (R)
District 31
Van Burtenshaw (R)
District 32
Kevin Cook (R)
District 33
David Lent (R)
District 34
Doug Ricks (R)
District 35
Mark Harris (R)
Republican Party (29)
Democratic Party (6)
