Jo Jorgensen

Jorgensen is a senior lecturer in psychology at Clemson University. She holds a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Clemson, which she received in 2002. She earned a B.S. in psychology from Baylor University in 1979 and an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University in 1980.[2]

Outside of academia, Jorgensen's professional experience includes working as a marketing representative for IBM and starting her own software and computer technology sales company.[3] She has also founded a business consulting company and co-founded the software duplication company DigiTech, Inc.[2][4]

Jorgensen was the Libertarian Party's vice presidential nominee with presidential nominee Harry Browne in 1996.[3]

Candidate Conversations

Moderated by journalist and political commentator Greta Van Susteren, Candidate Conversations is a virtual debate format that allows voters to easily get to know their candidates through a short video Q&A.

Click below to watch the conversation for this race.

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Video for [the profile publisher]

Video submitted to BallotpediaReleased September 11, 2020

What is the first action you would take as president of the United States?

On Day One of a Jorgensen administration, I will pardon all 80,000 non-violent people imprisoned on federal drug charges. The War on Drugs has been a disaster, and has been used to target the poor and people of color, and to ruin lives that could have been salvaged. Neither Republicans or Democrats have the courage to change the status-quo. I will also use my pardon power to free whistleblowers who risked their liberty to expose corruption and abuse by government agencies. We can protect our communities without sacrificing freedom through failed initiatives like civil asset forfeiture, no-knock raids, qualified immunity, mass surveillance, and the War on Drugs. The land of the free will no longer lead the world in incarceration.

Why should people vote for you instead of one of your opponents?

Both my opponents have been raising taxes, accelerating government spending, and adding trillions to the nation’s debt. Both have, by their records, continued U.S. military expansion. Both failed to make meaningful changes to immigration, criminal justice, and drug war policies which continually put Americans at odds with law enforcement and exacerbate inequalities.

Politicians and special interests who will endorse my opponents want to keep your taxes high so they can profit from business-as-usual in big government. Our support will come from everyday workers, taxpayers and small business owners who desperately need relief from high taxes and red tape.

What is the most important policy issue none of your competitors are talking about?

No one in Washington has the courage to oppose our non-stop involvement in expensive, unnecessary, and deadly foreign wars. I have pledged to turn America into one giant Switzerland—armed and neutral. Democrats and Republicans in the federal government have needlessly mired us in conflicts to appease special interests, including the Military industrial complex. These wars have caused the injury or death of hundreds of thousands of American soldiers and millions of innocent people around the world. They have wasted trillions of tax dollars and created trillions of dollars of burdensome federal government debt. As your president, I will immediately begin the process of closing military bases and bringing our troops home to their families.

Note: Jorgensen submitted the above survey responses to [the profile publisher] on October 1, 2020.

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September 19 submission

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Libertarian Party Vice-Presidential Nominee with Harry Browne in 1996;

1992 Libertarian Party candidate for South Carolina's 4th Congressional District;

Life Member of the Libertarian Party, supported Ed Clark for president in 1980 and have been voting Libertarian ever since;

Officially joined the Libertarian Party in 1983 and have served as Greenville County chair, state vice chair, and national marketing director for the Libertarian Party;

Since 2006 a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Clemson University with a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (Clemson, 2002);

Baylor University B.S. in Psychology Southern Methodist University MBA;

Marketing representative for IBM;

Founder and owner of a software sales business, a software duplication company and currently a business consulting company.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Republican and Democratic policies over the past fifty years are the reason health care has become so expensive. Their latest proposals to "fix" health care will further micromanage your doctors and restrict your access to care while failing to solve the underlying problem. They differ only on whether this should be done by private insurance companies or government bureaucrats. This is the exact opposite of what needs to be done. We can reduce the cost of health care by 75% by allowing real price competition, and by substantially reducing government and insurance company paperwork. This will make health care affordable for most Americans, while also reducing the cost of legacy programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and the V.A. By freeing medicaAs president, I will use my constitutional authority to block any new borrowing. I will veto any spending bill that would lead to a deficit, and veto any debt ceiling increase. I will give every cabinet secretary a specific spending reduction target to meet and hold them accountable. There is simply no excuse for sticking our children and grandchildren with the bill for these bipartisan bloated budgets. I will oppose government-mandated shutdowns and overregulation that harms economic growth. These measures will stimulate economic growth and create millions of new, private-sector jobs.My plan is to turn America into one giant Switzerland, armed and neutral, with the military force to defend America's soil and shores against any foreign attackers or invaders, protected by an armed citizenry and a military laser-focused on defending America. No U.S. involvement in foreign wars. Bring home our 200,000-plus American military personnel stationed in foreign countries, and no U.S. military aid to foreign governments. No U.S. blockages or embargoes of non-military trade. Peace, at last.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Generations of Republican and Democrat politicians have failed the people of America. Together they've given us

- over $26 trillion in debt,

- trillion-dollar deficits, plus trillions more in unfunded liabilities;

- non-stop involvement in expensive and deadly foreign wars;

- skyrocketing health care costs;

- the highest imprisonment rate in the world, which is even higher among racial minorities and the poor;

- a broken retirement system unable to pay promised benefits;

- tariffs that are destroying markets for American farmers and raising consumer prices;

- and energy policies driven by special interests.

Big government mandates and programs created these problems. To solve them, we need to make government smaller - much, much smaller.

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