Michael Babula

Dr. Michael Babula, MBA, PhD was a Democratic candidate in the 2008 congressional primary for the 4th Congressional District (map) of Maryland. He lost the Democratic nomination to Donna Edwards, who defeated incumbent Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Md.) in the Democratic primary held February 12, 2008.

Positions, record and controversies
The theme of Dr. Babula’s 2008 campaign is unique. His platform is significantly different from the other candidates in the race. Dr. Babula favors immediate withdrawal from Iraq. He believes the Iraq war is proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran and that it is impossible to win a religiously motivated war. This position is different from his main opponent who voted for the invasion of Iraq.

He also believes the U.S. economy may suffer a severe setback in the near future. Dr. Babula reasons that with high oil prices, a devalued dollar, and strong demand from the government for goods and services, inflationary pressures are starting to become a problem. He notes that foreigners own $4.4 trillion in U.S. assets. If another terrorist attack were to occur, Dr. Babula argues that foreigners would only have to sell 25% of those assets in order to cause the complete collapse of the U.S. dollar and hyperinflation. He wants to see the United States strengthen the value of the dollar by requiring China to trade its currency on the open market. This would appreciate the value of China’s currency and cause demand for U.S. products to increase. According to Dr. Babula’s website, this strategy would not only offset U.S. trade deficits, but also, appreciate the value of the dollar. As part of his platform, Dr. Babula also calls for the U.S. to reduce its reliance on foreign oil in an effort to reduce resource prices nationwide. Dr. Babula notes that the government should start to provide grants to companies such as Changing World Technologies. This company turns garbage into oil by speeding up the chemical process.

Nevertheless, the most controversial element of Dr. Babula’s platform is his call to legalize drugs. Following in line with Dr. Milton Friedman's theories, Dr. Babula believes the war on drugs has been a failure. His website reports that America spends $600 per second on the war on drugs and will incarcerate 1.6 million people on drug related crimes this year. His website indicates the war on drugs is similar to the prohibition on alcohol. His evidence suggests that the war on drugs has caused the rise of large crime gangs similar to the way that prohibition on alcohol created mafia organizations during the 1920s. He also mentions that the war on drugs has displaced more than 2 million people in Columbia and Latin America and increased the potency of dangerous substances. He believes a legalized system would cause the popularity of drugs and the potency of drugs to decline similar to the way the popularity and potency of alcohol has declined since it was legalized in 1933.

Bio
Dr. Babula possesses a BA from Rutgers University, MBA from Seton Hall University, and PhD from the University of London. He runs his own statistics corporation and is employed as a Visiting Professor at Loyola College. Dr. Babula’s recent article revising human motivation theory and political culture theory was published by the Cambridge University Press.

2008 elections
Babula lost the Democratic nomination to Donna Edwards in the 2008 congressional primary.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * 2008 U.S. congressional elections
 * 2008 U.S. congressional election dates
 * Portal:Maryland and the U.S. Congress

External resources

 * 2008 Race Tracker page on Maryland's 4th Congressional District
 * Official Babula for U.S. Congress 2008 website