Third Party Watch

Dave Weigel just interviewed Mike Gravel. Having spent some time with Gravel a couple of weekends ago and knowing Weigel pretty well, I can certainly imagine the facial expressions and other nuances during this exchange:

GRAVEL: Who would I be a good vice presidential pick for? I don’t know if the Libertarian Party has had, [...]

From Gravel 2008:

Two days ago I attended an event to address both one of the most disturbing and overlooked consequences of the Iraq War. Attended by both scientists and Iraq veterans, I heard how depleted-uranium weapons and ammunition have turned Iraq into a nation littered with radioactive fallout. We [...]

We thought we’d provide some video of the key independent and third party contenders for the presidential race in 2008. Our goal was to provide footage of video which (for the most part) hasn’t ever been embedded at Third Party Watch before. When possible, we selected video from the candidate’s official YouTube channel [...]

Here are some recent news stories about Libertarian presidential hopefuls that weren’t generated by Third Party Watch. I’m mixing some news and some opinion in this article.

Bob Barr at Newsmax:

Best quote: “Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr is seen as the Libertarian Party’s most likely presidential candidate — and he could wind up torpedoing John [...]

While I don’t normally post inside information provided on the Libertarian Party State Chair’s list in a public forum, there are several reports there (plus a bit more additional information) pertaining to several LP State Conventions which would be of interest to our readers. I’m not aware of any reason for confidentially to be [...]

Over at American conservatism’s home on the web, Town hall, Paul Jacob has a look at the Libertarian Party:

[I] prefer to think of the persistence of the Libertarian Party as charming, not pathetic. Everything is stacked against them. The two parties in charge have made sure that it is very hard for “minor parties” to [...]

ConnieTalk provides a great wrap-up of where third party and independent presidential candidates will be this weekend:

Constitution Party: Former Republican Alan Keyes is now running his presidential campaign from the Constitution Party. The former UN Ambassador under Ronald Reagan discussed his recent break from the GOP at an April 15th rally in Hazleton, [...]

Last week, we covered Ken Rudin’s view over at NPR of the ongoing Libertarian presidential race. At the end of this week’s column, he highlights correspondence he’s received about last week’s column:

GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME MONTICELLO: Lots of appreciative notes following last week’s column that focused on the surprising battle for [...]

First, 2004 World Series of Poker champ Greg Raymer had a lot of nice things to say about the Libertarian Party. Raymer had been considering a vice presidential slot, but changed his mind earlier this year. Here’s Raymer on what his message might have been had he joined the race:

“Basically, the talk would’ve [...]

Georgia Libertarians Doug Craig and Garrett Michael Hayes have a program every Sunday at noon on AM 1320 WHIE, (Griffin, GA) for a live hour of libertarian political talk and interviews. Here’s the online version of three segments (1 – 2 – 3) with former Senator Mike Gravel.

Former Senator and Libertarian presidential candidate Mike Gravel will be on This Is Politics tomorrow (April 16) at 6:00 PM (ET). The show airs at www.blogtalkradio.com/tip.

The text is located here and the audio is located here. Here’s a sample from the article:

Sean O’Toole, from Kansas City, summed up the Libertarian philosophy.

“The government that governs best is the government that governs least. And the Libertarian party is all about governing less, while the two major parties are now all about [...]

From Gravel for President 2008:

Once again, you and millions of our fellow Americans will surrender thousands of hard-earned dollars to the IRS. I have long supported eliminating the IRS, which stifles incentive and investment, and getting rid of the income tax. Now I am running for nomination of the Libertarian Party so that [...]

From the Mike Gravel for President 2008 campaign:

Last week, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and almost everyone else in the Washington establishment including the State Department have condemned and criticized Jimmy Carter for his latest attempt to make the world a safer place. Far from deserving all the cheap shots, Jimmy Carter should be praised for [...]

These straw poll results just in from Susan Hogarth at North Carolina’s Libertarian Party convention:

Mary Ruwart: 17
George Phillies: 3
Wayne Allyn Root: 2
Bob Barr: 1
Mike Gravel: 1
Steve Kubby: 1

I’ll update this article as I get more information on which candidates attended, who participated in any candidate debates/forums, and how the straw poll was conducted.

Update: According to [...]

...is located here.

If one can encapsulate the entire article in one sentence, here it is: “The thought of Bob Barr and Mike Gravel fighting it out for the same party’s nomination leaves us speechless.”

Here’s more:

And it’s not that other Libertarians have been sitting around waiting to see what Paul would do. Candidates already in the race for [...]

Kevin Zeese is covering the three most prominent former elected officials who have recently jumped from either the Republican or Democratic Party who currently have (in Barr’s case, an exploratory committee) presidential aspirations.

McKinney:

The first to take the leap was former Representative Cynthia McKinney. McKinney served 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives where she [...]

Candidates: Senator Mike Gravel, Dr. Mary Ruwart, Ms. Christine Smith, Mr. Mike Jingozian, Mr. Wayne Allyn Root and Dr. George Phillies.

Moderated by Mike Ferguson. Sponsored by Atlas!Liberty and LPStuff.com.

PART I

PART II

Courtesy of the Libertarian Party of Missouri.

Mike Gravel was interviewed by Scott Horton at KAOS Radio Austin. Check it out here.

MEDIA ADVISORY:

Senator Gravel and David Nolan to appear on Steve Kubby Show

WHO: Former US Senator Gravel, who has just changed from a Democrat to Libertarian, and is seeking the Libertarian nomination for president, will be on the Steve Kubby show, live, this evening. Also joining us on the show will be David Nolan, the [...]

Here’s a release I received in my e-mail:

Friday and Saturday Night we will broadcasting live from the Heartland Libertarian Convention in Kansas City, MO.

Friday night show is from 6:30 Pm till 8:30 Pm. We will be interviewing Local, State,and National Libertarian Candidates. Saturday 10:00 AM till 12:00 PM we will be broadcasting live the Libertarian [...]