Ken Krawchuk is in his element.
The audience sits riveted as he pulls out a dollar bill. They know what is coming next.
"This is what happens to your money," he says passionately. And then "rip" -- the dollar is torn in half. "For every one dollar you give to the IRS," he rips the dollar again, "you're lucky if you get a dime back."
He holds up a sliver of the dollar bill as the students, attending a La Salle University forum to which he has been invited as a guest speaker, stare aghast.
It is a well-known performance that Krawchuk, the Libertarian candidate for Pennsylvania governor, has perfected.
It has also garnered a lot of controversy. Republican candidate Mike Fisher sought to have Krawchuk barred from further debates after his first bill-ripping performance, calling it illegal.
"Mike, get a life!" Krawchuk chortles. It actually was not illegal, he goes on to say, adding that he has used taped up bills to buy lunch. At one restaurant, "The guy at the bar asked if he could keep the bill to sell on EBay!"
Whether you know him for the dollar bill performance or one of his increasingly famous catch phrases, "A handgun is a girl's best friend" or "Pot-smoking Grateful Dead fans don't belong in jail," the point is you know him, and that is perhaps his greatest achievement.
Penn Political Science Professor Henry Teune attributes Krawchuk's success to his charisma.
"He adds a little entertainment," Teune says. "The other guys don't say much. Students studying [Democratic candidate Ed] Rendell are falling asleep because there's nothing exciting. Krawchuk is exciting to watch."
Whatever the case may be, Krawchuk is pleased with the interest he has drawn this year.
"The campaign has received a lot more focus," Krawchuk, whose campaign in 1998 was "not at all like this," stated proudly after the La Salle forum. "People recognize me all the time."
His wife Cheryl, who is also his road manager, agreed. "It's captured more people's attention," she said.
The two have campaigned out of their old Dodge minivan with around 240,000 miles on it. They drive all over the state, camping out in parks.
The 49-year-old Krawchuk, who was a Democrat for 20 years, switched to the Libertarian party when he became disgruntled with the high taxes and government regulations that were affecting his technology consulting firm. Then, a friend introduced him to a Libertarian politician.
"I knew right away it was for me," Krawchuk says. "I think I was always a Libertarian, I just never knew it."
Aside from running for governor in 1998, he also campaigned to be Libertarian vice president in the 2000 election.
"The policies of the two main parties have alienated voters," Krawchuk stated. "I have the power of 'We the People.' There is a better Pennsylvania waiting for us."
According to Teune, what is important about Krawchuk's candidacy are the ideas he will bring forward that will be incorporated into the agendas of the two main parties.
"We desperately need third parties, they are part of the lifeblood of our two-party system," Teune says. "In this country, third-party candidates are the only way to get anything new. Candidates from the two main parties can't offer controversial ideas, so the agendas of the third parties are the only way to get fresh ideas."
According to Krawchuk, the pillars of his campaign are taxes, crime and gun-control, and the war on drugs -- in that order. Education, abortion, and gay rights have also been part of his platform.
Krawchuk supports eliminating the state "monopoly" on education. "It's free, so how can you compete with that?" he asks in disbelief. "Who can compete with a free commodity?"
He is also against federal aid programs, especially welfare. He believes there should be a compromise on abortion where prenatal adoption can become another choice for women. And his views on gay rights can best be summed up by yet another of his catch phrases: "What's good for the goose and gander is good for the goose and goose and gander and gander."
He is an advocate of phasing out the Personal Income Tax and ending all tax increases.
"My vision is to one day see a sign that says 'Welcome to Pennsylvania, tax-free living' when you enter the state," he tells the crowd at La Salle.
In terms of crime, Krawchuk supports ending parole for violent criminals and returning illegally forfeited property -- "they call it asset forfeiture, I call it highway robbery."
Furthermore, Krawchuk is a strong supporter of the right to bear arms. Indeed, he is the only Libertarian candidate to be endorsed by the National Rifle Association.
"Gun-control kills," Krawchuk says in his speech. "An armed society is a safe society," he says, and he goes on to explain his view -- "if criminals know there's a possibility you might have a gun, you will have significant crime reduction." He also believes that the Federal Aviation Administration should allow passengers to carry weapons.
"I could be carrying a gun right now -- I'm not, but you don't know that," Krawchuk tells the audience.
"Anyway, feel free to argue with me. I won't shoot you," he chuckles.
The issue that has garnered the most attention is his view on drugs.
He is adamantly against the war on drugs and advocates both legalizing drug use and releasing drug offenders, as well as dealers, so long as they do not deal to children.
Krawchuk has promised that his first act as governor would be to pardon all non-violent drug offenders. He keeps a dilapidated index card in his shirt pocket containing a signed copy of this declaration which he says no other candidate in this year's gubernatorial election but him will agree to sign.
"We are paroling violent criminals to make room for pot-smoking Grateful Dead fans. Who would you rather have in jail, a criminal or a pot smoker?" he asks. "Violent offenders belong in jail, but if they were just kicking back smoking a joint, watching 'The Simpsons,' they don't belong there."
"I used to smoke in college," Krawchuk, who attended St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, later says. "And I inhaled, too."
Furthermore, Krawchuk says, decriminalizing drugs will end the glamour of drug use. While he admits that drug use is bad, he feels that drug laws only make the problem worse.
"Where did that gold chain around the drug dealer's neck come from? Drug laws put it there."
Krawchuk says that he would not choose either Rendell or Fisher if he had to make a decision between the two.
"The lesser of two evils is still evil," his wife chimes in.
"And she's right," Krawchuk agrees. "Good God, how could I not run!?"
Indeed, Krawchuk not only refuses to concede defeat but is confident that he can win. According to Krawchuk, since one third of Pennsylvanians actually vote, if he can convince the two thirds of people who don't vote -- one out of eight Pennsylvanians -- he has won. His target audience is students and gun owners.
"My goal was to get 2 percent of the vote -- which qualifies as ballot status in Pennsylvania -- and we're already ahead of that," Krawchuk says. "Everything from here on is gravy."
Furthermore, Krawchuk claims beaming, after one of the debates, Rendell's son called Rendell on his cell phone and said, "Dad, I'm voting for Ken!"
