Root on WGN
This entry was posted by ThirdPartyWatchTV on Saturday, April 12th, 2008 at 9:00 am and is filed under News, Libertarian Party, Presidential Race. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
April 12th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Root should be on Kim Kardashian?
April 12th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Yank – Why do you keep bringing that up?
April 12th, 2008 at 11:46 am
If he would yank, yank, yank and yank some more, he shouldn’t be so obsessed for a hour or two anyway-lol
Root got them laughing, bet that don’t happen often. Now if he just wasn’t a S.O.B.
April 12th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Hmm so he does not look for campaign contributions also, as he will stay out of the wallets of his voters… he is enthusiastic, but it seems as if it is more about himself at times than the party and its principles.
April 12th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I think Root did great here. He was offered a trap with the “what’s wrong with McCain, too liberal?” question and he responded “liberal” isn’t the issue, it’s that McCain’s too much for big government. And he’s not just pandering to Republicans. He blurts out the government has no business banning abortions and working about gays, etc. Well done.
April 12th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Stop with the Kim Kardashian bullshit…
April 12th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Wes,
Well done—for now. The first time Root runs into a host that quotes his passionate endorsement of McCain for President and asks what changed, it won’t be quite as easy. Ditto for Root’s endorsement of banning late-term abortions and defining marriage as one man-one woman.
April 12th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
He always does a good job and is by far the most charismatic person in the race for the nomination. I will say however, that I don’t like when Libertatrians say “fiscaly conservative, socially liberal”. I think that it gives most people the wrong idea (almost as if they support government social programs and the such).
April 12th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
THANK YOU
I have been saying for years that claiming libertarianism is nothing more than economic conservativism and social liberalism is mind numbingly stupid, and a vast oversimplification.
I have always secretly been a fan of the WSPP - “The Libertarian Party supports reducing the size, scope and power of government at all levels and on all issues, and opposes increasing the size, scope or power of government at any level or for any purpose.”
It’s not perfect, but its a great one line response and much better than “socially liberal and fiscally conservative”.
April 12th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Kn@ppster:
Libertarians are all over the map on abortion. Root’s on the map.
Regarding McCain-Lieberman, if Root wins the LP nomination, I hope he gets asked that all of the time. I could think of plenty of come-backs. Just don’t feel like it right now.
April 12th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
It’s a shame that this used-car salesman can get airtime in Chicago, but a local Green Party candidate, with a chance to win, cannot.
April 12th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Alan, I agree with you. There should be no blackouts for 3rd party candidates on the local media, especially if that candidate has a real shot to win. BTW, just curious, what’s the name of that Green candidate?
April 12th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
The Green Party and ralph Nader are fascist criminals who need to be arrested for treason along with the Hillary Clinton supporters, for daring to stop the great Revolutionary Commander, General Barack Obama, who will unite the Catholics and Trotskyists into the American Bolshevik revolutions. Libertarians and Constitutionalists will help Obama win by taking votes away from their obvious candidate, John McCaine.
April 12th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Jerry S., I live in Chicago. These guys laugh at everything. This news is canned, bad acting, and they barely report the news anymore. I stopped watching local news about 6 months ago.
April 12th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Wes,
“Regarding McCain-Lieberman, if Root wins the LP nomination, I hope he gets asked that all of the time. I could think of plenty of come-backs. Just don’t feel like it right now.”
Apparently Root doesn’t feel like it right now, either, as his current strategy for handling the question is to to just flat out lie to Libertarians about it.
He won’t get away with that outside the LP, and he shouldn’t be getting away with it inside the LP, either. What else is he lying to Libertarians about?
April 12th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Yep.
The only thing good we have left is Brandmeier.
April 12th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Tom,
When are you going to stop making false and misleading accusations?
How do you think your prediction that there was a 95% chance Ron Paul would seek the LP nomination is going to turn out?
How many times have you said Kubby would win the LP nomination even if not in those exact words? Were you lying?
Tom, I’ve predicted Ron Paul would not be the next president. I’m predicting John McCain will be the next president. However, I’d much prefer Ron Paul rather than McCain. Nevertheless, I’ll be voting for the Libertarian Party nominee for president.
April 12th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Wes,
You write:
“When are you going to stop making false and misleading accusations?”
In order to stop doing so, I’d have to first start doing so, and that’s not going to happen.
Root lied. Period. And it wasn’t a little white lie, either, it was Da Big Whopper, too in your face to ignore and too false to let slide. You don’t have to like that fact, but it will remain a fact whether you like it or not.
“How do you think your prediction that there was a 95% chance Ron Paul would seek the LP nomination is going to turn out?”
Obviously I was wrong. Is that all you were looking for—an admission of error? I make them all the time. I’ve even noted that with respect to my predictions regarding Root, I could be wrong.
“How many times have you said Kubby would win the LP nomination even if not in those exact words?”
To the best of my recollection, not a single time.
I thought he had a very good chance of winning the nomination, prior to Ruwart entering the race—and if it was a Kubby/Root contest, I’d still put every dime I had on Kubby, not just because I prefer him but because I think he’d whip Root’s ass in a head-to-head matchup on the floor of an LP national convention.
Right now, I consider Kubby’s chances slim, but not gone by a damn sight. To put a finer point on it, I think Kubby has a better chance of being the nominee than Root does.
Right now it looks to me like a Barr-Ruwart-Kubby race, advantage Ruwart.
But, I could be wrong. Happens all the time.
April 12th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
In regards to your last comment Mr. Knapp, I really don’t see any Ruwart advantage. I saw the hype before her announcement, but after it, her campaign sputtered to a standstill. I don’t see anything in her. She doesn’t seem to have much to say. Now, as a Gravel supporter, I’d love to see him heading the ticket. But I believe that Barr will take it. If Root bypasses him, he won’t get 1/2 of a percent of votes in November. Now I’d support Kubby as a running mate if he’d be more involved with the party. He is nowhere to be seen at the conventions. If he’s barely putting any of his time on the nomination, how can I believe that he’ll do anything for the General Election. I’d love a Barr/Gravel or Barr/Jingozian run, personally.
April 12th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
April 12th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
“The Green Party and ralph Nader are fascist criminals who need to be arrested for treason along with the Hillary Clinton supporters, for daring to stop the great Revolutionary Commander, General Barack Obama, who will unite the Catholics and Trotskyists into the American Bolshevik revolutions. Libertarians and Constitutionalists will help Obama win by taking votes away from their obvious candidate, John McCaine.”
Personally, I welcome our future Communist masters…I’ll actually get to use my Glock 21, Mossberg 590 and Armalite AR-15 for something other than target practice.
April 12th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
“Personally, I welcome our future Communist masters…I’ll actually get to use my Glock 21, Mossberg 590 and Armalite AR-15 for something other than target practice.”
VIVA LA NEW COMMUNIST MASTERS!
April 12th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Yes! Hang those criminals high! Damn the eyes of Nader and Clinton supporters! They dare to run for elected office in a Democracy!? BAH!!
I really hope that this guy is joking, because I truly hate to believe that anyone could be so divorced from reality, he reads like a mix of Lyndon LaRouche, the Chinese Commuunist Party and Sun Myung Moon.
April 12th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Trotsky (Bronstein), Lenins lap dog. That pussy was to weak to take out Stalin so he ran away from the USSR like a little coward. And his followers from the Guevara/Castro mold (BLA/NOI, Farakhan/Obama, etc) will fail here…one way or the other.
April 12th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Wayne “I’ll stay the fuck outta your wallet” Root….priceless.
April 12th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Mike,
You write:
“In regards to your last comment Mr. Knapp, I really don’t see any Ruwart advantage. I saw the hype before her announcement, but after it, her campaign sputtered to a standstill. I don’t see anything in her. She doesn’t seem to have much to say.”
I can see why it would look that way, at this particular time and from this particular angle. I’m not going to try to convince you otherwise—but you’ll see.
“Now, as a Gravel supporter, I’d love to see him heading the ticket.”
I can’t support Gravel, but in some respects I wish I could.
“But I believe that Barr will take it.”
So far, Barr isn’t even officially a candidate … and I’m beginning to doubt that he will be.
As of now, he’s getting a good deal of free media because he’s Bob Barr, but that free media isn’t translating into substantial fundraising. The primary talking point on his behalf so far has been how “serious” he is … and “serious” of that kind includes the ability to finance a reasonably big-money (at least on the Ed Clark level, ~$10 million in 2007 dollars) campaign.
“If Root bypasses him”
Which part of “Root doesn’t have a chance” did you not understand. Root especially doesn’t have a chance against Barr, Root almost certainly doesn’t have a chance against Ruwart or Kubby, and Root probably wouldn’t have a chance against Gravel. If everyone else gets hit by a bus and it comes down to Root v. Phillies v. Milnes, then Root might be able to beat NOTA … but I wouldn’t put money on it.
“Now I’d support Kubby as a running mate if he’d be more involved with the party. He is nowhere to be seen at the conventions. If he’s barely putting any of his time on the nomination, how can I believe that he’ll do anything for the General Election. I’d love a Barr/Gravel or Barr/Jingozian run, personally.”
Look … I’m not going to whine about “fairness” or any of that BS. Either Kubby delivers or he doesn’t, and the fact is that with respect to convention attendance he hasn’t delivered nearly as well as he’d like to have.
It isn’t time that’s the issue, it’s money. So far, Kubby has not refused to attend a single convention or event that we’ve had the money to send him to. He’s personally campaigned in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Colorado; he’s “attended” other conventions by teleconference and videoconference; and at this point he’s sending speech by video to conventions (including, this weekend, Wisconsin and North Carolina).
The simple fact is that Libertarians have not been very interested in funding Libertarian presidential campaigns this cycle (including, apparently, Barr’s exploratory hoo-ha), and the reality is that Kubby doesn’t have the personal financial wherewithal to make up the difference of that reluctance out of his own pockets. Nothing against the candidates who DO have the wherewithal to do so. I’m glad they’ve done well for themselves. I’ll stand with the candidate who took time off of doing well for himself to put his life on the line fighting for freedom.
As far as “running mate” possibilities, well, Kubby isn’t seeking the VP nomination, he’s seeking the presidential nomination … and if Libertarians want him as their candidate, they’ll have to fund the campaign after the nomination, too.
I’ve already suggested that if the LP makes the mistake of not nominating Kubby, he would make a good running mate for whomever IS nominated, if the delegates don’t find the current candidates for VP satisfactory. I could see putting Kubby to work almost exclusively in California and the Pacific Northwest, boosting the local slates there and helping the presidential ticket’s vote total.
April 12th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Williams: “Wayne ‘I’ll stay the fuck outta your wallet’ Root….priceless.”
Of course, it’s impossible to stay out of our wallets (or even to preserve civil liberties) if one wishes to finances a global, decades-long war on “Islamo-fascism.”
I wish Root would aggressively attack the war, denounce it with vigor, denounce it at every media appearance, denounce it using words as strong as the above.
Clearly, whatever Root’s current official position, his heart is not in ending the war.
April 12th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
Sipos,
Just because he’s not railing against the war like angry old white guys Gravel and RP, doesn’t mean he’s not going to end the war asap…and by that I mean end the war in some logical fashion other than helter skelter retreat.
April 13th, 2008 at 12:17 am
I had to make myself finish watching this video, but two things explicitly come to mind about it:
1-W.A.R. speaks as if he IS right now running against Mc”war”ain and Hillobama. Uh, correction, you need to get through the nominating process in Denver in first place, first! Duh!
2-As said above in this thread, it IS all about W.A.R. and the LP and its principles are just along for the ride. W.A.R. actually believes that he is bigger than the LP. Aren’t we just soooo lucky he came along to save the day! No, to save the LP!
I am all for being confident, but W.A.R. is a pompous A**!
April 13th, 2008 at 12:27 am
Harry Browne was near the epitome of confidence without being pompous. Even Barry Goldwater, and Ronald Reagan (whom Mr. W.A.R. so admires) had a more dignified sense of confidence than W.A.R. Mr. W.A.R., you ought to go to finishing school and learn to speak to normal, everyday people, not just gamblers.
April 13th, 2008 at 12:59 am
Dave Williams: “Just because [Root]’s not railing against the war like angry old white guys Gravel and RP, doesn’t mean he’s not going to end the war asap…and by that I mean end the war in some logical fashion…”
And yet Root “rails against” high taxes and govt spending. He doesn’t moderate his words, suggesting that we trim govt in “some logical fashion.”
Root “rails” when he wants to. He “rails” a lot, especially when boosting his favorite cause: himself.
So when Root doesn’t “rail” about something, it’s logical to assume that he doesn’t care.
Dondero has arrived at the same conclusion: that Root is a closet supporter of the war. Dondero wouldn’t be supporting Root were it otherwise.
April 13th, 2008 at 1:04 am
Thomas,
“I can see why it would look that way, at this particular time and from this particular angle. I’m not going to try to convince you otherwise—but you’ll see.”
Why? What will she do to clinch this nomination? What secret does she have under her sleeve? I’m looking from all angles I can, but I see nothing.
“So far, Barr isn’t even officially a candidate … and I’m beginning to doubt that he will be.
As of now, he’s getting a good deal of free media because he’s Bob Barr, but that free media isn’t translating into substantial fundraising. The primary talking point on his behalf so far has been how “serious” he is … and “serious” of that kind includes the ability to finance a reasonably big-money (at least on the Ed Clark level, ~$10 million in 2007 dollars) campaign.”
If you look at his site, he set up a nice looking bar graph thingy. He’s over halfway to the point of setting up an office. The fund raising is going pretty well for an LP candidate, and with all the hype, it’s now or never for Mr. Barr.
Now this campaign needs a new Ed Clark. No doubt about that. Unfortunately, most libertarian perspectives burnt out after the Ron Paul Revolution. Now, the drawback now is attention. Paul didn’t have alot at one point. Barr supporters will need to get alot of work in to draw attention to him. That is how real third-party candidates are born.
“Which part of “Root doesn’t have a chance” did you not understand. Root especially doesn’t have a chance against Barr, Root almost certainly doesn’t have a chance against Ruwart or Kubby, and Root probably wouldn’t have a chance against Gravel. If everyone else gets hit by a bus and it comes down to Root v. Phillies v. Milnes, then Root might be able to beat NOTA … but I wouldn’t put money on it.”
I’m worried. Human reasoning would deduct, after watching a few of his videos, that this wack-job doesn’t stand a chance. But he’s coming out of conventions strong. His support is catching. I don’t know what is happening, but I’m not liking him. I would take Milnes against him, and I’m not big on Milnes. He seems like a nice guy, but I don’t see him leading this party to greatness.
“Look … I’m not going to whine about “fairness” or any of that BS. Either Kubby delivers or he doesn’t, and the fact is that with respect to convention attendance he hasn’t delivered nearly as well as he’d like to have.
It isn’t time that’s the issue, it’s money. So far, Kubby has not refused to attend a single convention or event that we’ve had the money to send him to. He’s personally campaigned in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Colorado; he’s “attended” other conventions by teleconference and videoconference; and at this point he’s sending speech by video to conventions (including, this weekend, Wisconsin and North Carolina).
The simple fact is that Libertarians have not been very interested in funding Libertarian presidential campaigns this cycle (including, apparently, Barr’s exploratory hoo-ha), and the reality is that Kubby doesn’t have the personal financial wherewithal to make up the difference of that reluctance out of his own pockets. Nothing against the candidates who DO have the wherewithal to do so. I’m glad they’ve done well for themselves. I’ll stand with the candidate who took time off of doing well for himself to put his life on the line fighting for freedom.
As far as “running mate” possibilities, well, Kubby isn’t seeking the VP nomination, he’s seeking the presidential nomination … and if Libertarians want him as their candidate, they’ll have to fund the campaign after the nomination, too.
I’ve already suggested that if the LP makes the mistake of not nominating Kubby, he would make a good running mate for whomever IS nominated, if the delegates don’t find the current candidates for VP satisfactory. I could see putting Kubby to work almost exclusively in California and the Pacific Northwest, boosting the local slates there and helping the presidential ticket’s vote total.”
Now if Kubby isn’t getting fund raising, who’s to say he’s drumming up support? I’d love to see his candidacy going places, but he isn’t getting any support. Now although it doesn’t sound the best, his lack of time in the spotlight will cost him at the convention. On fund raising, once we have a clear candidate that can rally support, we’ll get a boost. But with it split in all these ways, who outside of the party will notice?
The only person I know that is running for VP is Daniel Williams. I think if the delegates want to take this election seriously, we need someone like Kubby. But I’ll leave that to them.
April 13th, 2008 at 1:09 am
Wes Benedict Says:
April 12th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
“what’s wrong with McCain, too liberal?” question and he responded “liberal” isn’t the issue, it’s that McCain’s too much for big government. ”
If memory serves me, what W.A.R. said was McCain was “too big government”. So, “a little” or “some” big government is OK?
Then W.A.R. talked about his small business success makes him right for “running the country”. I’m sorry, Libertarians know better than to say as president they would be running the country. Running the executive branch of the federal government yes, but the country? W.A.R. is no libertarian.
April 13th, 2008 at 1:32 am
Kim Kardashian can take on Wayne Allyn Root in an ass to ass. She’s the one to beat.
April 13th, 2008 at 1:43 am
Thomas Knapp said, regarding Mary Ruwart’s campaign;
“I can see why it would look that way, at this particular time and from this particular angle. I’m not going to try to convince you otherwise—but you’ll see.”
My educated guess as to what Mr. Knapp means, is that Ms. Ruwart has such deep, devoted support because of her long time committed activism for libertarianism in general, and the LP in particular, that she is likely to have, oh I would guess 250, maybe 300 or more delegates supporting her without saying a word beyond “I declare my candidacy”.
I believe she will need to do more . . . media, press releases, interviews, advertising when possible, etc, to shore up the nomination, but she started out of the gate (even though late) with a head start.
She is in a unique position, one in which years of dedicated activism got for her. Her position in the LP is EARNED and is well deserved! Mary Ruwart for so many LPers is like the close friend who needs a ride to the airport . . . you go and drive that friend to the airport, no questions asked. Her rapport is unsurpassed. Some of the recent newcomers into the party may not know her that way, and she will have to work for their support, just like the other candidates have to work for all the delegates support.
In a nutshell, a large %age in the LP know that Ms. Ruwart will give her best, will always speak unapologetically for liberty, is great at explaining how liberty works for everyone, and know that she has a great knack for including all political persuasions into the fight for liberty. That’s why I support Mary Ruwart for the LP presidential nomination. I am sure that many others do as well, for the very same reasons.
April 13th, 2008 at 3:17 am
And yet Root “rails against” high taxes and govt spending. He doesn’t moderate his words, suggesting that we trim govt in “some logical fashion.”
Hey, isn’t this war part of the extreme govt spending which we are being taxed for? I know for a fact it is. Let’s do some math shall we…1,000 L3 employees in the combat zone earning 200k per year = 200 million dollars and about 75% of those assholes are fucking worthless, L3’s just got people there filling billets so they can earn the big bucks…now factor in all of the other contractors drawing similar amounts of cash…it’s insane.
So instead of turning people off like RP/Gravel did and appearing anti-American, anti-military, pro-Islamo-fascism and all that shit Dondero spews, he approaches it from a different angle and walks a fine line in an attempt to not disenfranchise potential voters (gun owners, former military, the mom who’s son/daughter is serving, etc…). And if you can’t see the logic in that, well, you’ve already made your mind up and it doesn’t matter. Kudo’s to you for sticking to your guns, you have that option, he doesn’t, cause your not the one running for POTUS…are you.
April 13th, 2008 at 3:21 am
Well, time for another margarita, kampai!
April 13th, 2008 at 6:18 am
I have just watched some of Root’s TV appearances for the first time—he is quite impressive. He seems a bit manic at times, but I suppose he is just trying to make the most of his limited time in today’s bite-size news environment.
April 13th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Mike,
You write:
“Why? What will [Ruwart] do to clinch this nomination? What secret does she have under her sleeve? I’m looking from all angles I can, but I see nothing.”
Steve LaBianca explained it pretty well. No secrets up sleeves or any of that stuff.
Dr. Ruwart has two strengths that stand her in good stead from the start:
1 – She’s well-known inside the LP, having been a prominent figure in the party since at least the early 1980s.
2 – She’s well-liked inside the LP. To put a finer point on it, I’ve never heard the words “I don’t like Mary Ruwart” come out of an LP member’s mouth. The strongest criticism I’ve ever heard of her from inside the LP is that her speaking style isn’t particularly forceful/aggressive.
If a particularly strong candidate had emerged earlier, captured the support of a majority, or even a large minority, of the party, etc., those two things wouldn’t be enough to jump-start her candidacy.
But, at the time she entered the race, no candidate had secured more than 25% support and nearly half of likely delegates still polled “undecided.” And this was after most of those candidates had been formally or informally campaigning for anywhere from 1-2 years.
Because she is well-known and well-liked in the party, she instantly got some of the “soft” support that some of the other candidates had, and also picked up some of those “undecideds.”
Because she is well-known and well-liked in the party, she also has a very good shot at picking up other candidates’ supporters as those candidates are eliminated.
As Brian Doherty noted in Reason 2004, the LP tends to nominate candidates with whom its members are comfortable ... and LP members are very comfortable with Dr. Ruwart.
Root is loud and brassy and has some access to free media, and that has attracted some initial support for him … but most Libertarians aren’t comfortable with him at all. He has a shady background, his magic issues conversions seem rather more convenient than sincere, and he keeps getting caught in questionable statements and sometimes in just plain outright lies. He’s polling at the top of his positives and at the top of the LP’s “gullible and desperate” demographic. He’s got nowhere to go but down.
Barr is a less clear case. He was certainly moving away from the GOP in certain respects for several years before he joined the LP (he was working with the ACLU as early as 2003, and endorsed the LP’s presidential ticket in 2004). Since joining the LP, he has served on the Libertarian National Committee and appeared at numerous LP events, often (maybe even usually) not even asking for a fee or expense reimbursement. He’s created a longer and larger separation between himself and the GOP than Root has.
Still, a lot of Libertarians aren’t comfortable with Barr either, at least yet. There are still big issues questions. There are still legitimate questions about which party his heart is truly with (his PAC still seems to be pushing money at Republican candidates).
Gravel has an even bigger “comfort” problem. He was a Democratic presidential candidate one day, an LP member the next day, and an LP presidential candidate the next. He has a more solid libertarian background in practice than either Barr or Root—filibustering against the draft, publishing the Pentagon papers, opposing the war on Iraq from the start instead of “coming around” on it, etc.—and he’s more honest and forthright about his disagreements with the LP (health care, etc.), but the LP’s outreach/recruitment orientation for the last 20 years has been to the “right,” and so many of our members are people who are viscerally more comfortable with candidates who have a “right” rather than “left” image.
That’s why neither Barr nor Gravel are going to take the nomination in a walk. They’re going to get some fastballs put over the plate while they’re at bat. They’re going to have to connect and put the ball out there if they want the nomination … while Ruwart is already at first base and probably thinking real hard right about no now about how to steal second.
“If you look at his site, he set up a nice looking bar graph thingy. He’s over halfway to the point of setting up an office. The fund raising is going pretty well for an LP candidate, and with all the hype, it’s now or never for Mr. Barr.”
I’ve kept close track of his site. As of the instant the site went up, $7,000 was pre-loaded into the fundraising meter, which topped at $250k. After a dismal performance over the first few days, the meter was changed so that the highest number mentioned on it was $41.5k and the real top of it looks to be about $60k … and funds actually raised remain at less than $25k. When fundraising goes so poorly that you have to cut your initial visible fundraising goal by 75% and still aren’t making significant progress toward it, you’re not doing very well.
Saying that Barr’s fundraising is “going well for an LP campaign” misses the point. Barr’s attraction is that he’s not the typical LP candidate. He’s a former congresscritter with big name rec, media access and an in-place fundraising machine that sent him to Congress four times and to this day raises significant money for candidates through his PAC.
In the last week, Barr’s been on CNN, Fox, etc. Cavuto. Hannity & Colmes. Greta van Susteren. He’s had more national media hype than the typical LP candidate by far … and he’s raised less than $25k on that hype.
When you play in the league that Bob Barr has played in, it’s not unreasonable to expect that you’ll have 100 supporters across the country who are willing and able to make an immediate $2,300 contribution when you say the word—an expectation in his initial public fundraising goal. Barr said the word, and so far he’s managed about 1/10th that reasonable expectation.
It may be now or never for Barr—but if that’s the case it’s because he jumped the gun. I’m pretty sure I was not the only one urging him to do it right and run a real campaign for 2012 instead of pulling this “hop in at the last minute and hope like hell that everything comes together perfectly like it never, ever does” crap.
“I’m worried. Human reasoning would deduct, after watching a few of his videos, that this wack-job doesn’t stand a chance. But he’s coming out of conventions strong. His support is catching.”
It’s reasonable to be worried … but don’t be. If Root makes it as far as the convention, he’ll be put down like a rabid dog there.
“Now if Kubby isn’t getting fund raising, who’s to say he’s drumming up support?”
As of the last FEC report, Root had raised only about 2/3 as much as Kubby, and half of what he’d raised was in-kind contributions of frequent flier points and hotel charges from himself. If fundraising is the indicator of support, then why are you so worried about Root?
If you’re really that worried about Root, it’s possible to do something about it for a few bucks. Let’s get 10-20 people together to cover the cost of a couple of hundred “Root is a CON MAN” signs for the convention floor. The only way for Root to con the convention is if he’s allowed to. So don’t allow him to.
“The only person I know that is running for VP is Daniel Williams. I think if the delegates want to take this election seriously, we need someone like Kubby. But I’ll leave that to them.”
Williams switched tracks to VP last week. Chris Bennett declared last fall as, I think, Leonard Schwarz did.
April 13th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Dave Williams: “instead of turning people off like RP/Gravel did and appearing anti-American, anti-military, pro-Islamo-fascism and all that shit Dondero spews, [Root] approaches it from a different angle and walks a fine line in an attempt to not disenfranchise potential voters…”
So you’re saying that Root hopes to stop the war in a roundabout way? That by cutting taxes, Root hopes to deny money to the war machine?
Well, Bush cut taxes. I guess, by your logic, Bush is also trying to stop the war?
Look, Root has no problem tossing red meat “conservative porn” to tax cutters, regardless if that offends voters on the Left. Thus, if Root’s sincereabout opposing the war, how about tossing some red meat “antiwar porn” to us peaceniks? Why the double standard?
April 13th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Again Sipos, “if you can’t see the logic in that, well, you’ve already made your mind up and it doesn’t matter.”
You know, I don’t agree with Ruwart on a couple of things, but I’m not out whining at her like a stuck pig…over and over and over like you guys are about Root. You’re no different than goddamn Dondero. I don’t know what’s on Roots mind no more than you or anyone else. Why don’t you ask him your questions? Why continue to beat a dead horse? Is this the only anti-Root platform you have, some silly little blog with maybe 25 regular posters? Pathetic.
Do I need to go find everything I can’t stand about Ruwart, and start crushing the fuck outta her every time anyone mentions her name, a new thread pops up with her name in it, or after she’s endorsed by someone? If an anti-Ruwart concept pops into my mind on a thread that has nothing to do with her, should I spit it out, change the topic for my own agenda, and pound her sorry ass into the ground?
Maybe it would be more constructive if you went over to HIS website, and fired off an e-mail to HIM asking that HE modify his stump speech. (And he does answer his e-mails at times.) Even if he doesn’t answer you, maybe he’ll come to the conclusion he needs to modify his message. After all, he is in the spotlight NOW trying to deliver a Libertarian message, something that we all know will not last very long.