A Libertarian Party candidate from Columbia County is challenging Tammy Baldwin for her 2nd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House.

Tim Nerenz, who lives in the town of Caledonia, is executive vice president of Oldenburg Group Inc., a Milwaukee-based global manufacturer of engineered products used in architectural lighting, defense, mining and nuclear industries. He has worked for the company since 1990.

He is a member of the executive committee of the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin and recently appeared with John Stossel on the Americans for Prosperity Health Care Care Town Hall Meeting panels across the state in August.

A key part of his campaign is the power of the federal government.

"Who makes your choices for you? Do you do it or does Tammy and the government do it?" he said.

'Tim, not Tammy'

It's the 55-year-old's first run for office, and he's using the slogan "Tim, not Tammy."

"What really got me interested in running this time was the bailouts of last year," he said.

He formerly lived in Portage. His father, Kenneth, was pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in the 1950s, and he worked at Rayovac in the early 1980s before moving to Michigan.

He has lived in the town of Caledonia for about five years with his wife of 25 years. They have a grown son who lives in Baraboo.

He said the best description of Libertarian beliefs is "economically conservative and socially neutral."

"That really differentiates us from a number of other parties," he said. "We believe that the government should be silent on matters of morality and personal choice."

He said he believes in economic autonomy, free trade, limited government and letting markets work. He has supported Libertarian views since the party was formed in 1971, he said, and while he has been a registered Republican, he has been strongly Libertarian for the last 10 years.

As far as what he supported instead of bailouts, he said: "Allow companies that are going to fail to fail. Allow the bankruptcy system to work and reallocate assets."

What the bailouts have done, he said, is "just prolonged the involvement of the federal government and propped up business that are going to fail anyway."

Foreign policy

The Libertarian Party on principle is against foreign intervention in "undeclared wars," he said.

U.S. soldiers should be brought home from Iraq and Afghanistan, he said, as well as from other parts of the world such as Europe and Japan.

He said he supported the initial military action in Afghanistan because it was in direct response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks but now he doesn't see a viable end strategy.

"I don't think it's our place to have troops stationed overseas to defend countries that don't pay us for security," he said. "I believe we should defend our own country but not be entangled with defensive alliances with other countries."

On campaign trail

He said he's realistic about his longshot campaign. He is relying on online social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to get the word out about his candidacy, and he is working with small Libertarian-leaning groups.

"Fundraising is important, but we can't mount a million-dollar campaign," he said. "We're doing it a handshake at a time, neighbor telling neighbor."

He said he is counting on the more conservative voters outside of Dane County and the 100,000 college students in the district to be his base of support. He said he is spending time on college campuses to engage younger voters.

He said Baldwin is a good public servant who tries to do the right thing, but that "people generally are opposed to overwhelming government socialism that controls more and more of our lives."

"There is a big split over the current fight on health care," he said. "Most constituents don't want government-run health care. That's what Tammy supports."

So what should be done?

"Government should be out of it altogether. Let the private system work," he said.

He said almost half of what are considered to be health-care costs aren't health care. Take insurance and other administrative items, he said.

"Removing government from the markets will actually improve care and make it affordable," he said.

Other programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security should be phased out over the next 20 to 25 years, he said, in exchange for private options.

"Had the government not been so involved in the economy, there would be less need for safety nets," he said of the recent financial downturn, adding that until the 1940s, taking care of the less fortunate was a local issue.

"When the Chinese decide not to lend us any more money, who is going to pay for Social Security?" he said.

Government's role

The role for the federal government is outlined in the U.S. Constitution, he said, which includes defense, infrastructure, protecting currency and regulating interstate commerce.

The government does have a role in property rights, to prevent "Bernie Madoff-types of fraud," he said, but that "the markets themselves will purge bad guys pretty ruthlessly."

Many federal agencies, he said, might have been valid decades ago, but in the information age, they have outlived their purpose. He questioned, for example, the need for a U.S. Department of Commerce.

He said the federal government also has usurped powers that should be reserved for the states, such as gay marriage, what should be taught in schools and abortion.

He said he sees no need for federal involvement in education or social welfare.

Baldwin has represented the 2nd Congressional District - which includes Dane County, Green County and Columbia County, as well as portions of Jefferson County, Sauk County, Rock County and a small region of Walworth County - since being elected in 1998. Dane County Board member David de Felice is exploring a Democratic primary challenge against Baldwin.

According to the Wisconsin State Elections Board, Republicans Peter Theron of Madison, who lost badly to Baldwin in 2008, and Chad Lee of Mount Horeb are running for the seat as well.

jmaddux@

capitalnewspapers.com

745-3517

On the Web

• timnerenz.com

• tammybaldwin.com (campaign Web site)

• tammybaldwin.house.gov (congressional site)