Former Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate Michael Badnarik endorses Congressman Ron Paul for President
The 2004 Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate, Michael Badnarik (I voted for him), has endorsed Republican Congressman, Dr. Ron Paul, for President of the United States in 2008. Ron Paul ran for President in 1988 on the Libertarian Party ticket and later switched to the Republican Party…
Badnarik also urged the Libertarian Party to nominate Ron Paul as well. “I hope the Libertarian Party is smart enough to say, ‘Oh ho, somebody we can trust!’ and nominate Ron Paul as our nominee,†he said. “We should set the Republican, Democrat, Libertarian labels aside, and vote for Ron Paul the person.â€Â
Badnarik said that a large campaign war chest would be required to “scare everything out of the Republicans†vying for the Presidential nomination, especially with the media trying to close Paul out of the race and deny him coverage.
“He may be a Republican, but there’s already a news blackout on Ron Paul,†he said. “We are going to have to get that information out to our friends and neighbors without the media.
The Republican party is split into three groups: The currently dominating “Religious Right”, traditional “Conservatives”, then there’s the libertarians where Ron Paul fits in. This is a difficult situation for the Libertarian Party - Here we have a credible libertarian who has a real chance of winning, probably the closest chances to ever having a “libertarian” reach the Presidency.
But…he’s running as a Republican, and the Libertarian Party *hates* the Republicans. It would be very interesting to see if the Libertarian Party delegates elect Ron Paul or their own candidate (assuming he wins the Republican primaries). If he doesn’t win the primaries, he could still seek the Libertarian Party nomination as a Republican, or even better, switch parties. A few things about Ron Paul…
- Dissenting vote in the No Child Left Behind Act where he was one of three Representatives voting against it
- He voted against the Iraq War Resolution and continues to criticize the US presence in Iraq
- He has also broken with his party by voting against the Patriot Act in 2001 and again in 2005
- His regular votes against almost all proposals for government spending, initiatives, or taxes, and his frequent dissents in otherwise unanimous votes have irritated some of his Republican colleagues and have earned him the nickname “Dr. Noâ€Â
- He supports the abolition of the income tax, most Cabinet departments and the Federal Reserve.
- He believes that the Constitution does not give Congress the authority to ban or regulate drugs in general.
- In 2006, a “Technology voter guide†by CNET awarded Paul a score of 80%, the highest score out of both houses of Congress.
You forgot to mention that just afterward, on Sat evening, we held a fundraiser for Ron Paul, 150 people showed up and we took in thousands…
If we can get 1 million people to give just $20 we can get Ron elected.
Comment by NH For Ron Paul — Sun, Feb 25th, 2007 @ 10:45 am
Will he officially announce his candidacy today? Do you think the LP will back him?
Comment by Phil — Sun, Feb 25th, 2007 @ 11:21 am
so phil i work at the bi service desk and every day i wait for your call.
but you never call ;(
Comment by helpdesk faggot — Sun, Feb 25th, 2007 @ 12:24 pm
Jack Farris, president of the National Federation of Independent Business, has said, “He is committed to a pro-small-business agenda of affordable health insurance, lower taxes….”
John Berthoud, president of the National Taxpayers Union, an organization that promotes lower tax rates, has said, “Ron Paul has always proven himself to be a leader in the fight for taxpayer rights and fiscal responsibility… No one can match his record on behalf of taxpayers.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Paul
Any chance Dr. Ron Paul would consider moving to Finland?
Comment by Kristian (in Espoo) — Sun, Feb 25th, 2007 @ 12:40 pm
I think Hilary has a better chance of becoming president than Paul does. Didn’t he run before…in ‘94 maybe…and had fewer votes than even crazywhatshisface Nader? Money might help his national profile but snowballs will need to form in hell before he can get the nomination much less win.
Comment by hfb — Sun, Feb 25th, 2007 @ 2:32 pm
so phil i work at the bi service desk and every day i wait for your call.
??? …I’m not bi.
Comment by Phil — Sun, Feb 25th, 2007 @ 2:32 pm
Oh, duh…it was ‘88, when I was still living in the UK. I was close though
Comment by hfb — Sun, Feb 25th, 2007 @ 2:33 pm
I think Hilary has a better chance of becoming president than Paul does.
Well I think Hillary has a better chance than anyone at this point.
Didn’t he run before…in ‘94 maybe…and had fewer votes than even crazywhatshisface Nader?
He ran in ‘88 and placed 3rd, with around a half million votes.
Money might help his national profile but snowballs will need to form in hell before he can get the nomination much less win.
Well look at the other Republican frontrunners, Guiliani (assuming he runs) and McCain. No real winners there. Paul represents a movement to move the Republicans back towards their conservative/libertarian roots and away from all the Jesus stuff. Republicans might choose that’s the direction to go if they don’t want their asses kicked in 2008.
Comment by Phil — Sun, Feb 25th, 2007 @ 2:35 pm
“Money might help his national profile but snowballs will need to form in hell before he can get the nomination much less win.”
Well, they voted him into the House of Representatives for about 16-years total, so apparently people trust him. Then again, those are Texans…
Just kidding of course. As we can see, his platform is very different from America’s current Texas talent—you know, the one in the White House.
Ron Paul’s success makes me think that sophisticated Texans exist after all
Comment by Kristian (in Espoo) — Sun, Feb 25th, 2007 @ 3:16 pm
Dammit, NH for Ron Paul, who are you? You stole my thunder!
I was at the fundraiser-party in NH
And I shook hands with Ron Paul. We can definitely make this happen!!
I would say his chances are a lot higher than most would think. He has The Coalition of NH Taxpayers behind him. Pat Bucchanon had them and he ended up winning the New Hampshire state primary. Plus, people are SICK of what is going on in this country. At least, the ones I talk to are
Comment by Rochelle — Sun, Feb 25th, 2007 @ 4:50 pm
Wow back on this again! He will have to drop out really early no matter what. Hilary and Obama both said they need to raise at least 100 million before the end of this year as well Rudy exploratory reports show he would need at least 70 million and there is no way Ron Paul is making that. Add to that he’s a nobody so most of his time would be explaining who he is when everybody else has a huge head start. Not to mention that in the party he is in he has no chance of winning without the Christian right and on his stances on the major social issues its not happening.
My major thought on all of this is how silly people are in thinking that USA is on some major turning point and that a women, Mormon,black man, and liberal Republican have any shot at all in winning. At the end of all this the status quo will be kept and USA will vote for the safe choice. The country is in a state of constant worry and now would not be the time for us to make a major change that we are not sure we are ready for.
Comment by Kourtney N. Williams — Sun, Feb 25th, 2007 @ 10:10 pm
Well, Ron doesn’t have a snowballs chance in hell. But, I think his candidacy COULD be just what the doctor ordered for the future of the Republican Liberty Caucus, and the other libertarian Republicans (and all libertarians, for that matter). He can be the “conscience” of the party in the same way that some in the Dem side always seem to scream loud enough to get their voices heard…
Comment by DarrylA — Mon, Feb 26th, 2007 @ 7:18 am
Phil, I still don’t understand why you support (or at least give time and space on your site) to someone, who discriminates and is backward in thinking. Even if!! he has libertarian characteristics, he still supports controversial (anti-modern/progressive) thinking. His influences would be crucial if not devastating…Give it up, Phil! Find someone else. You don’t really support anything he says. You just like him, cause he is the only hopeless libertarian candidate. Not worth it!!
Comment by Max — Mon, Feb 26th, 2007 @ 7:59 am
“I still don’t understand why you support [...] to someone, who discriminates and is backward in thinking. [...] he still supports controversial (anti-modern/progressive) thinking.”
How so? Examples?
Comment by Kristian (in Espoo) — Mon, Feb 26th, 2007 @ 2:48 pm
He is strictly anti-abortion and anti-gay…
For example, he voted to ban Gay couples to adopt children.
How does that work if you truly believe as a libertarian everyone should live a free life? On top, if you believe gay couples should not adopt children, because you believe homosexuality is wrong than that is discrimination. Homosexuals cannot live an equal and free life like the rest of the heterosexual society?
To believe a women’s has no freedom at all to choose, but somebody else has the right to dictate a women’s body (pro-life) is not libertarian at all.
Ron Paul claims to be libertarian, but he does not always act and vote not according to it.
Comment by Max — Tue, Feb 27th, 2007 @ 9:14 am
“How does that work if you truly believe as a libertarian everyone should live a free life? ”
His personal opinions might be socially conservative on the matters you list. Maybe he’s been in Texas too long…. But I believe if you look more closely at his voting record, you’ll see that he simply favors individual States to decide on these matters, rather than the Federal Government. I’m pretty sure his stance is in perfect alignment with the Constitution.
Keeping the Federal government out of these matters might help your case significantly. As you might already know, the general US population is socially conservative.
But some States are considerably less socially conservative than the general population. They could draft their own laws, without interference.
Comment by Kristian (in Espoo) — Tue, Feb 27th, 2007 @ 2:35 pm
I don’t know that the vote will come down to anti-gay and pro-life issues like it did in the last few elections. You’d be surprised who comes out of the woodwork to vote on those issues but the Iraq war finally seems to be getting the scrutiny it deserves. I’d have less of a problem with pro-lifers if they were more concerned with the welfare of the children who do manage to make it out of the womb and are in need of good schools, proper medical care, safer neighbourhoods and fewer war zones to die in. It’s far too easy to ban abortion rather than care for the kids you have. If Paul has ideas for solving such problems, I’d be willing to consider voting for him. Of course, most people just vote on how the candidate looks or seems on TV.
Comment by hfb — Tue, Feb 27th, 2007 @ 3:45 pm
hbf—good points.
Abortion….
I’m not against abortion, but maybe there should be limits. For example, it shouldn’t be permitted after the child turns 8. That should be plenty of time to decide. RP leaves the decision to the States though.
War….
RP is believes in non-interventionism.
Healthcare….
RP would probably leave it to the States. It’s more efficient and ensures better quality. In practice there would be partial federal funding though.
Homos….
If they want balls-across-the-nose, then they should have it! RP won’t stand in their way. Again, a matter for the States.
Comment by Kristian (in Espoo) — Tue, Feb 27th, 2007 @ 4:21 pm
Rudy Giuliani is the much better candidate for libertarian-minded voters for 2008. Ron Paul doesn’t understand the threat that the country faces from Islamo-Fascism. He thinks that if we just surrender to the Islamo-Fascists that they will go away and leave us alone.
If we surrender to the Islamo-Fascists, they will be on our border lobbing scud missles at Brownsville, El Paso, Tucson, and San Diego faster than you can say “Allah AhuAhkbar.â€Â
Giuliani understands the threat from Islamo-Fascism and will fight a real War on Terror, not some politically correct, soft-bellied War like Bush is fighting.
Plus, Rudy is a Tax Cutter, a Privatizer, and Tolerant on social matters.
Libertarians nationwide are rallying behind Rudy. Just today we learn that a bunch of Top libertarian and conservative California Congressman and Legislators are endorsing Giuliani.
Libertarians for Giuliani at http://www.mainstreamlibertarian.com
Eric Dondero, Fmr. Senior Aide
US Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX)
1997 - 2003
Comment by Eric Dondero — Tue, Feb 27th, 2007 @ 7:01 pm
Giuliani understands the threat from Islamo-Fascism and will fight a real War on Terror, not some politically correct, soft-bellied War like Bush is fighting.
A ‘real’ War on Terror this time? Wonderful.
Comment by Kristian (in Espoo) — Wed, Feb 28th, 2007 @ 3:17 am
…but to be a true libertarian you also have to support all of the values! You cannot call freedom for one group and deny the rights to others. Isn’t that the idea behind libertarianism that ALL people are entitled to a free life?? what difference does it make whether there is a libertarian leader when that person thinks and acts in the same manner as liberals or conservatives do? there is not much of a difference then..
Comment by Max — Wed, Feb 28th, 2007 @ 4:56 am
Eric Dondero, Fmr. Senior Aide
US Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX)
1997 - 2003
Ouch
Comment by Pave — Wed, Feb 28th, 2007 @ 3:22 pm