John Stossel on Government Shutdown: “Shut more down!”

by Austin Petersen

Libertarian TV Host Rages Against the Machine!

Fox Business host John Stossel appeared on Fox & Friends Thursday morning to explain why the government shutdown was a “good thing” and why lawmakers should “shut more down. Stossel thinks most of the government should stay shutdown forever.

READ: Let’s shut most of the federal government down forever.

“I’m hoping the shutdown will wake people up and say, hey, maybe we don’t need all this stuff,” Stossel says. “We could close whole departments. Why do we need a Commerce Department? Commerce just happens, government gets in the way.”

“So, you’re pro-shutdown?” co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck asked.

“Yeah,” Stossel retorts. “Shut more down!”

Austin Petersen is a homegrown Missourian with a lifelong passion for liberty. He grew up on a horse farm in Peculiar, Missouri and went on to attend Missouri State University, graduating with a degree in the Fine Arts. After developing a career in media in both New York City and Washington, D.C., he returned to Kansas City, MO, the city he now calls home. In 2016, Petersen appeared on the national stage as a candidate for president of the United States. He took second place in the crowded Libertarian primary behind Governor Gary Johnson and ahead of cyber security maverick John McAfee. During his campaign, Petersen earned many high-profile conservative endorsements, including Mary Matalin, Erick Erickson and Leon Wolf of RedState.com. Petersen also brings decades of professional experience in a wide variety of fields, from content production and media to business and political activism. He is the owner and chief executive of Stonegait LLC, a consulting firm specializing in photo and video services. He was also the director of production at FreedomWorks and an associate producer for Judge Andrew Napolitano’s show “Freedom Watch” on the Fox Business Network. Additionally, Petersen has a national following as a commentator and professional pundit. He is the founder of The Libertarian Republic, a powerful online news source for the public that receives an average of 1 million unique visits monthly and whose podcast, The Freedom Report, receives an average of one million monthly downloads. He is also a frequent contributor on television, appearing on Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, MSNBC and on dozens of local radio shows.