RSS 2.0 FeedWhy I Don’t Take The Libertarian Party Seriously
by Doug MataconisJackie Passey went to a Libertarian Party convention in Nevada and heard a few of the guys running for the LP’s 2008 Presidential nomination speak:
Gene Chapman: Whackjob. His main issue is that taxation and social security numbers are slavery, and he actually seems to think that this is a mainstream viewpoint. Mr. and Mrs. Robots are relatively normal, sane, fairly new members of the Libertarian Party and thus I think their reactions are probably representative of how potential new Libertarian voters and activists will respond to things. After Gene was done making his opening statement I turned to them and made a horrified face and they cracked up.
(…)
Dave Hollist: Incoherent whackjob. He was possibly one of the worst speakers I have ever had to suffer through listening to. His brain apparently runs faster than his mouth because he would begin talking about one thing, then stop mid-sentence and begin talking about something else. I was taking notes on everything everyone said so this was especially noticeable to me, but Mr. and Mrs. Robots told me that they had a hard time following him as well.
(…)
Steve Kubby: I can’t really fairly compare him to the other candidates because he wasn’t physically present and thus I only have his speaking style and what he said to judge him by. However, the reason he wasn’t physically there is a big problem — he has a felony drug conviction and the terms of his probation apparently don’t allow him to leave the state of California. Let me be clear, I absolutely don’t have a problem with what he was convicted of — they first tried to get him for growing medical marijuana (which is legal in California), when they failed to get him on that they got him on the discovery of a psychedelic mushroom stem and a few peyote buttons in his guest room. I respect him tremendously and the personal sacrifices and living hell he’s gone through as a drug law reform activist, and I think that our target constituency will also understand and respect him for his drug conviction. But a candidate that can’t leave his own state is not a good candidate for national office! Please consider running for governor or some other state office instead, Steve.
(…)
George Phillies: George has been active in the Libertarian Party for a long time and I’ve interacted with him on occasion. I like him, his positions, and his ideas for building the party. But the man has all the charisma of a wet towel. Instead of running for President himself I wish that he would put his time and energy towards recruiting and helping a more appealing candidate to run with his positions and strategy. I wish we could take George’s brain and background and stick it into Michael Badnarik’s looks, charisma, and speaking ability. Or that we could get Bruce Guthrie to run for President. (Alas, his wife would probably divorce him if he did.)
Here’s an idea. How about Libertarians (the big-L ones) get behind a major party candidate who stands for libertarian principles and actually has a chance of getting the major media to pay attention to libetarian ideas. You may have heard of him, his name is Ron Paul.
As I’ve said before, I don’t think Ron Paul has a chance of winning the GOP nomination, but his presence in the race will get more media attention than any LP candidate has ever gotten.
Ron Paul to attend first presidential debate
http://disinter.wordpress.com/2007/02/13/ron-paul-to-attend-first-presidential-debate/
Comment by disinter — February 13, 2007 @ 4:36 pmI’m a ‘big L’ Libertarian, and that’s exactly what I plan to do.
Comment by Paul — February 13, 2007 @ 10:03 pmRon Paul may be the only honorable politician left.
Comment by Brock Townsend — February 14, 2007 @ 8:29 pmI will go all the way with Ron Paul. I personally think that the Libertarians should nominate him after the Republican Primary is over and try to draft him to keep running to keep the message being heard.
All the way with Ron Paul…
Comment by Gary Dale Cearley — February 14, 2007 @ 10:11 pmhttp://www.jacquelinepassey.com/blog/2007/02/good_news_from_the_steve_kubby_campaign.html
“Good news from the Steve Kubby campaign
February 14, 2007 | Leave a Comment | Links
This was originally left as a comment on my “Two whackjobs, a convicted felon, and George Phillies postâ€, but it’s important enough that I want to repost it here for all to see:
Dear Jacqueline,
I’m please to tell you that, as of today, the issues with the probation department have been resolved and I am free to travel anywhere in the world.
Thanks for your kind words and the intelligent feedback on the debate.
Let freedom grow,
Steve Kubby
This alleviates my main concern that was preventing me from taking Kubby seriously as a candidate for national office and thus I would now consider supporting either him or George Phillies for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination. I’m not excited enough about it to decide which candidate I prefer yet, though, so I’ll be waiting to see how they do over the next year and who else throws their hat into the ring.”
Comment by paulie — February 14, 2007 @ 10:44 pmBy the way, Kubby will be able to get more media than Ron Paul.
Watch!
Also, Kubby is better on the issues, and Ron Paul will not win the Republican nomination and has already filed papers to run for Congress again.
He has also alreday said he will not want a third party nomination.
Even if he does, it’s not clear which third party – he might go with the CP rather than the LP.
Finally, if he does decide to run LP again, it will just be 1988 all over again, except he’s older and less energetic.
Kubby is just a better way to go all around.
We have never run a campaign that truly reaches out to the left-libertarian border. It’s about time we did.
Triangulating between Republican, Constitutionalist and Libertarian is a tired old strategy. The well is dry there. On the Libertarian-Democrat-Green frontier there are a lot of potential Libertarians who have never been asked, or never been asked in their terms.
Comment by paulie — February 14, 2007 @ 10:50 pmI thought Hollist was the best speaker, but that is just me. Chapman is crazy, I actually laughed several times during his speach. Kubby is a one issue canadite, he even said so during the debate. I liked Phillies a lot, and I do not see Paul wining the nomination…
Comment by perry — February 16, 2007 @ 10:50 pmChapman is crazy. I liked Hollist a lot, however I don’t think he would improve the party. Kubby came across as an one issue champion. Phillies impressed me significantly, and came across as the strongest without a doubt.
Comment by perry — February 16, 2007 @ 10:53 pmSorry for the double post.
Comment by perry — February 16, 2007 @ 10:54 pmOn February 15 Ron Paul was interviewed again on the Alex Jones radio show to talk about his presidential bid. Some great news includes: Ron Paul will be in the first national presidential debate in New Hampshire on April 4, sponsored by CNN. It will be hosted by Wolf Blitzer and will be carried on CNN TV, radio, and cnn.com from 7-9 p.m. EST. Also, Ron Paul’s presidential website should be revamped within a couple days. Listen to the interview here: http://prisonplanet.tv/audio/150207paul.mp3
Comment by Ryan Brennan (ThirdPartyNews.net) — February 17, 2007 @ 1:14 am