Libertarians pick their nominee

[shawn703]

Michael Badnarik, a computer programmer from Texas, won the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination on Sunday.

Badnarik, 49, of Austin, defeated former Hollywood movie producer Aaron Russo on the convention’s third ballot, after former radio host Gary Nolan, who was eliminated on the second ballot, endorsed Badnarik.

“If I can win the nomination, there’s no reason I can’t win this election,” Badnarik told a cheering convention that drew more than 800 delegates.

more...

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5100095/

[w13rd0]

1. Haha....

"“If I can win the nomination, there’s no reason I can’t win this election,” Badnarik told a cheering convention that drew more than 800 delegates."

I can think of a reason, those 800 delegates represent about 1% of your anticipated vote total. Hey, but maybe Republicans will cross over in droves to vote for him. That would be funny, and after 2000, I'd love to see the GOP spend the next 4 years blaming Bush's loss on some "third party vanity candidate"...

[JI7]

4. did you hear them ?

i saw some of the convention on tv. and they say things like how if they can get their message out they can win. and they play the whole two parties are the same and principle over voting for the lesser of two evils. if you take out most of their positions on specific issues they sound very familiar.

[detoth1967]

2. Libertarian Could Cost Chimpy the election

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Libertarian presidential candidate who will be nominated in Atlanta on Sunday may have a bigger impact on the race than Ralph Nader and “could cost Mr. Bush his job in 2004,” according to an analysis by David Paul Kuhn, chief political writer for CBSNews.com.

The May 21 article, headlined “Bush’s Third-Party Threat,” says many conservatives are so upset with Republican spending increases that they may abandon Bush in November. If that happens, the Libertarian nominee “may do for Democrats in 2004 what Nader did for Republicans in 2000” and cost Bush the election, Kuhn says.

http://lp.org/press/archive.php?function=view&record=658

[newyawker99]

10. Hi detoth1967!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[meow2u3]

14. fed2dneck to Libertarians: Give Bush some of his own medicine

Let's see how well he--and the Rethugs--can take what they so easily dish out!!!

I can't wait for the fun we can have when Bush is sent home packing because a Libertarian splitting the conservative vote :evilgrin:.

[leQ]

17. welcome to DU detoth1967

n/t

[shockingelk]

22. a vote for Badnarik is a vote for Kerry

[Pachamama]

27. Welcome to the DU...

... :hi: :kick:

Nice to have Newbies' join in on the fun with the rest of us insomniacs....



http://www.badbabes.org

http://www.codepinkalert.org

http://www.themmob.com

http://www.1000flowers.org

[amjsjc]

3. Remember kids...

...tell your right wing friends to cast a principled vote for the Libertarian/Constitution party candidate of their choice....

... and tell your left wing friends to get half a brain, shunt their reservations down the crapper, and vote for the candidate who can win the election.

[PsychoDad]

6. So...What yer saying is...

Principles are only for folks on the right while the left should be mindless bots? I'm sure they would love that sound byte.

Seems in actuality both of the major parties seem fairly bereft of any principles or guiding vision, other than the neo-con vision of Armageddon.

I shall vote my conscience and principles on election day.

[amjsjc]

13. No I'm saying...

Tell your conservative friends to vote for a candidate who can't win, and your liberal friends to vote for a candidate who can.

[Columbia]

15. libertarians have just as much in common

With the left as they do the right. Remember they are social liberals and fiscal conservatives.

[amjsjc]

24. But the ones who vote for the party...

Do tend to be of a rather conservative bent, in my estimation.

[Columbia]

25. Where I come from there are a lot of libertarian leaning liberals

But then again I live in LA and just about everyone I know is a liberal...

[amjsjc]

26. True

I have a bit of a libertarian streak myself... I'm unabashedly socially liberal, but I could think of a few parts of the govt that should be done away with.

Regardless, most of the people I know who actually voted for the Libertarian party were closer to being Republicans than Dems

[onehandle]

5. Silly, Silly Looneytarians. nt

[Anarcho-Socialist]

7. I wonder why the libertarians were against Iraq war...

...They have a 'Libertarian paradise' in Iraq now: There's no effective policing; there's no government; no public services; no taxation and no Department of Education. They would love us to live in that same type of mess.

[Wright Patman]

8. Religious police

are in control of Falluja, so that's not quite true everywhere.

[struggle4progress]

29. Yeah, but they're not the official government:

they're more analogous to the private corporate goon-squads that would rule our streets if we abolished the government.

[Dover]

9. Lol! Yes a working model of Libertarianism...

I'd love to hear their response to that argument.

[Columbia]

16. liberatrianism does not advocate a land without laws

Merely fewer of them and ones that do not restrict the rights of the citizenry.

Iraq would not be a working model of a libertarian society, far from it in fact.

[NewJerseyDem]

11. The convention was hilarious

It is so funny that they can keep a straight face during the entire thing.

The internal politics of the party are complicated.

Apparently, Gary Nolan and Aaron Russo have an ongoing feud. So, when Nolan lost on the second ballot Nolan endorsed Badnarik so that Russo wouldn't win. Then, Badnarik won and Russo, in his concession speech, said that he really had wanted to win so that Nolan wouldn't get the nomination so he was happy. And I've heard that Badnarik is really just a pawn of Harry Browne, the 2000 nominee who still runs the party along with his allies. All this so one of them can get .4% of the vote or so in November.

[union_maid]

12. I'd like to see this played up a lot

The better known blogs ought to run with this as a big story. I'd sure like to see this guy get some press. There are as many people in the RW who want to be mavericks as on the left. I'd like to see that they have the chance. And do we have a PAC that can get this guy some money?

[He loved Big Brother]

18. They're going to tip the election to Bush by not voting for Kerry!!!

Damn Libertarians, damn Nader!!! Dammit, EVERYBODY HAS TO VOTE KERRY, haven't they heard??

[IndianaGreen]

20. Unlike some around here, the Libertarians do believe in the Bill of Rights

I believe in the Bill of Rights and I am not even a Libertarian. The PATRIOT Act is the greatest threat to our liberties since the Alien and Sedition Acts. Nothing short of outright repeal of PATRIOT will do!

Dennis Kucinich supports total repeal of PATRIOT. How about you? Do you want your civil liberties restored, or do you trust Big Brother to protect you from Big Brother?

[He loved Big Brother]

21. I hear ya IG

See this thread- http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=108&topic_id=6929

[Dulcinea]

19. If the Libertarians come knocking at your door....

...asking you to sign a petition to get on the ballot in your state, sign it. Disgruntled Repubs will vote Libertarian before they cross over to vote for Kerry. Certainly this is true in the South. Every little bit helps!

[Dr Fate]

23. Sweet! So long as they are not voting Bush or Nader. n/t

n/t

[Pachamama]

28. My Dad's a Reagan Republican - he voted Libertarian in 2000 & will again..

...this year....He's a hard-core Republican who can't stand Bush, especially regarding what he sees as too much Gov't control and attacks on civil liberties....atleast my Dad is a Republican with principles that he stands behind...oh yeah, and he's pro-choice...go Dad!

:kick:

[Southsideirish]

30. 'Am encouraging conservative relatives to vote libertarian as they

would never pull the lever for a Democrat and at least a Lib vote will help mess up Shrub.