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August 01, 2004
The 2004 Libertarian Convention and Nominee Badnarik
Via The Volokh Conspiracy I found an excellent article on the The 2004 Libertarian Convention Since the Libertarians are a small party, their convention does not get TV coverage and hence is more than just an extended campaign ad cum try-out session for future vice-presidential candidates. They actually fight over nominations. And this year an underdog (not really a "dark horse") won the nomination.
This is not an intelligent nomination, even for the Libertarians. How did it happen?... has written a book on the Constitution for students in his one-day, $50 seminar on the Constitution, but it is available elsewhere, including on Amazon.com. It features an introduction by Congressman Ron Paul and Badnarik's theory about taxes. His campaign website included a potpourri of right-wing constitutional positions, as well as some very unorthodox views on various issues. He proposed that convicted felons serve the first month of their sentence in bed so that their muscles would atrophy and they'd be less trouble for prison guards and to blow up the U.N. building on the eighth day of his administration, after giving the building's occupants a chance to evacuate. In one especially picturesque proposal, he wrote:
I would announce a special one-week session of Congress where all 535 members would be required to sit through a special version of my Constitution class. Once I was convinced that every member of Congress understood my interpretation of their very limited powers, I would insist that they restate their oath of office while being videotaped.
The Libertarian party did not want a failed campaign--
...
In 1996, Browne hired Perry Willis, the party's national director, and
Bill Winter, editor of the party's newspaper, to work for his
nomination. This violated party rules and the terms of both employees'
contracts. When exposed, Browne, Willis, and Winter all agreed to end
their business relationship. Five years later, copies of invoices for
services rendered were found among files archived on Willis' computer
at LP headquarters, revealing that he and Browne had conspired to
continue their illicit relationship and, with other members of Browne's
staff, had conspired to pay Willis by a process of laundering the funds
through another legal entity. Willis admitted that he had done this,
arguing that his work for Browne's candidacy, though in violation of
his employment contract and LP rules, was of such vital importance to
the party that it justified his and Browne's lying and defrauding the
party. Browne at first told supporters that he could explain everything
in a way they'd find acceptable, but as the evidence mounted, he simply
refused to say anything on the subject, not even responding to the
National Committee's investigation.
The party's National Committee passed a resolution banning the party
from doing further business with Willis or any entity with which he was
involved, and condemning Browne and the other members of his management
team who were implicated in the scheme.
But one of Browne's conspirators remained in charge of the party's
publications and, not surprisingly, chose not to report very much about
the episode, and other party officials presumably were reluctant to
publicize Browne's misdeeds out of fear of hurting their ability to
raise funds. Despite the lack of publicity within the party about
Browne's malfeasance, a substantial number of party activists learned
about it and were disgusted with Browne.
...
The nomination process was over. LP delegates had chosen as their
standard-bearer a man who had willfully refused to file his federal
tax return for years, refused to get a driver's license but continued
to drive his car despite having been ticketed so many times that he
couldn't recall the exact number, proposed to blow up the United
Nations building, wanted to force criminals in prisons to stay in bed
until their muscles atrophied, and planned to force Congress to take a
"special version" of his class on the Constitution. And the
overwhelming majority of delegates didn't know any of this about their
nominee.
Shortly after Badnarik made his acceptance speech, Larry Fullmer, an
Idaho delegate and Russo supporter, learned from an Oregon delegate
that Badnarik hadn't been filing his income tax returns. Fullmer, he
later recalled, "freaked" at the news. "From early afternoon until 5:00
a.m. Monday, I spent every second telling folks about Badnarik and the
IRS." Fullmer spoke to more than a hundred delegates, and didn't find a
single delegate who knew that Badnarik hadn't been filing returns. Most
were "shocked" at the news.
Among others, Fullmer spoke with Mary Ruwart, who responded, "Larry, ya
gotta get the election reconsidered," and proceeded to tell him that
Robert's Rules required that a motion to reconsider the nomination was
in order only if it was made by someone who had voted for the nominee.
Fullmer also approached Judge Jim Gray, the LP senate candidate in
California, and told him about Badnarik's not filing his tax returns.
"You are running on a ticket headed up by a constitutional nutcase who
has refused to pay his taxes for years. What do you think about that?"
Gray responded, according to Fullmer, in these words: "Larry, if what
you say is true . . . you already know what I think."
... another campaign like the past two, in which LP nominee Harry
Browne had spent millions of dollars but had gotten .50% and .36% of
the vote. Russo thinks Browne is a "disgrace to the Libertarian Party"
because Browne promised to spend the money he raised during the
campaign on advertising, but spent it instead on personal travel,
generous salaries for his staff, and building a fundraising base for
future use. (Browne had spent only $8,840 of $1.4 million on
advertising in his first campaign, and about $117,000 of $2.7 million
on advertising in his second.
What happened in 2004 was that the two front-runners knocked each other
out with much bad feeling, and the backers of one went to Badnarik.
Nobody had expected this, so nobody knew much about Badnarik. The whole
process was confused:
The situation on the floor was confusing: the chair had called for the
second ballot, and the nominating session was recessed for delegates to
get lunch. Many left without realizing that they were supposed to vote
before going to lunch. Outside the convention hall, people were running
about asking delegates whether they'd voted, and sending them back into
the hall to do so.
No doubt getting Libertarians organized is like herding sheep, but this
perhaps show the limitations of guided rationality. Politics, unlike
economics, lacks the Invisible Hand, and needs some bosses to run
things. In this case, the bosses could have helped by putting together
their information about Badnarik, or by generating some by using the
economies of scale of staff and delegation. Their followers would, if
rational, have willingly lent their votes to the bosses in blocs,
knowing that the bosses would have better information and could direct
their votes better than could they themselves.
Posted by erasmuse at August 1, 2004 04:01 PM
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Comments
I don't get what the issue is. A non-serious party, dedicated to a non-serious ideology decides on a non-serious candidate. And the surprise is . . .?
Posted by: Chris Atwood at August 2, 2004 04:13 PM