Libertarians Pick Badnarik
I was surprised and very happy that this announcement made it to MSNBC.
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.
It’s next to impossible that a Libertarian could be elected to high office in this country. But with Bush and Kerry on the big party tickets, this could be the year that people pay more attention to what the party stands for.
Personally, I can’t vote for Bush, having made that mistake once already. Kerry is like a big bag of hot air with little going for him but Bush’s mistakes and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, who seems refreshingly honest. If I cast a vote for Badnarik, at least my desire for a big change will show up in the election statistics. That could be the very best use of my vote.
If a large percent of voters vote Libertarian, it would make the major parties wake up and smell the coffee. A vote for Kerry or Bush would be a vote for more of the same. We’ll see how the summer goes.
Formed in 1971, the Libertarian Party stresses the rights of individuals over the power of government, and a foreign policy of noninterference. It claims nearly 600 elected officials nationwide, almost entirely in city or county positions, and has been on the presidential ballot in all 50 states for the last three elections.
See the Michael Badnarik website for more.
Also my previous post: Michael Badnarik: Libertarian Candidate for President 2004