September 11, 2008
The first time I ever voted in a Presidential election was when I decided to vote for the Libertarian candidate, Roger MacBride. I agreed with the principles of the Libertarian Party. They had good writers, putting their message together in a way that could gain the enthusiasm of those not electrified by “Oatmeal Man” Gerald Ford, or by the tranquil Jimmy Carter. Although they have not managed to get many charismatic candidates to act as their standard-bearers, the Libertarians finally have one this year. Bob Barr served in Congress as the Representative for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District from 1995 to 2003. In Congress, he served as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, as Vice-Chairman of the Government Reform Committee, as a member of the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Veteran’s Affairs. Although he was a harshly partisan antagonist of Bill Clinton during the impeachment promotion, he subsequently took on a relaxed, charming demeanor, winning over the usually “cold room” for conservatives on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. In 2004, he left the Republican Party to join the Libertarian Party.
Bob Barr is now running for President, as the candidate of the Libertarian Party. In 1988, Ron Paul was the Libertarian Party’s Presidential candidate. You may remember Ron Paul from the 2008 Republican primaries, occasionally beating Rudy Giuliani and the other “also-rans” of this past spring.
On September 10, Barr’s campaign manager, Bob Varney, issued a press release, disclosing that Bob Barr has invited GOP Congressman Ron Paul to be his running mate in the upcoming Presidential election. The press release disclosed that:
In a letter sent to Paul, Barr called Paul one of the “few American patriots” who exist in today’s society, and asked him to “seriously consider this final offer as an opportunity to show true, lasting leadership beyond party politics”.
Wayne Allyn Root, who has been Barr’s running mate in this election, was quoted in the press release as expressing support for the selection of Ron Paul as Barr’s new running mate:
Understanding Dr. Ron Paul’s reputation and name recognition in the freedom movement, I am willing to step aside as Libertarian vice presidential candidate if he would be willing to take my place. I will pledge to work day and night, just as I have as the vice presidential nominee, to support Dr. Paul. I believe this is a wonderful opportunity for the Libertarian and freedom movements. I encourage Dr. Paul to accept Congressman Barr’s offer.
Many might consider this entire idea as the daydream of some “fringe” political group. Nevertheless, you may want to look down the road (as the Libertarians obviously are) to a scenario wherein Sarah Palin, for whatever reason, alienates the centrist Republicans and independents, who may have otherwise voted for McCain. These people might then vote for Bob Barr. Add to the mix, those not currently enthusiastic about a McCain Presidency, who just can’t get motivated to vote for Barack Obama (for whatever reason). With Ron Paul on his ticket, Barr has the possibility of winning enough electoral votes to prevent McCain or Obama from winning a majority of Electors as a result of the general election, in the event that “wild card” Palin turns out to be a disaster. If that happens and no single candidate has a majority of Electors in the Electoral College, the Twelfth Amendment requires that the Presidential election shall be decided in the House of Representatives. Since Bob Barr and Ron Paul both served in the House, unlike Barack Obama, there is a chance that Barr could win the Presidency. The mere fact that the Democrats have a majority in the House is of no consequence. The Twelfth Amendment requires that each State shall vote in the House as a single delegation, with each State having only one vote. That vote would be determined by the majority of a State’s Representatives voting for a particular candidate. He who has 26 States, wins. (The Vice-President is elected by the Senate, making a McCain/Paul administration possible.) With Sarah Palin as McCain’s running mate, a Barr/Paul Libertarian ticket could get some breathing room. If there is enough breath to carry that ticket out of the Electoral College, we could be in for some wild times.
This Should Have Happened Last Year
September 18, 2008
I’m sorry. What is happening in the financial markets right now, should have happened at this time, last year. I put my money where my mouth was, in the belief that a laissez-faire Republican government would have let market conditions run their course. That strategy caused me to lose money for the past year. When precious metals should have been going up, they were going down. Something “stinky” was happening. At this time, last year, Jon Markman of msn.com was discussing the “duct tape and pixie dust” being used to hold the economy together. In hindsight, I suspect that there may have been an effort to keep the ca-ca from hitting the fan until after Election Day (November 4). Time will tell whether there was some skullduggery involved in such an effort. Do you think that the “oil speculators” realized, at some point, that they could manipulate the prices of the small handful of stocks (30) that comprise the Dow Jones Industrials, by manipulating the price of oil? Are these same “oil speculators” on “good behavior” right now, out of fear that the “Enron Loophole” could be doomed?
I apologize because I have been making (back) lots of money this week, while many people have seen their retirement plans crash and burn. I stuck to my belief that the emperor was not really wearing any clothes. It cost me money to adhere to that opinion, although it is now “payback time”. To no surprise, the Carly Fiorinas of this nosedive will walk away with their golden parachutes intact. However, will AIG still be free to make crucial decisions about which lawsuits to litigate? Do they have a right to make those (and other) decisions as they used to, now that you and I own eighty percent of that company?
Meanwhile, John “Keating Five” McCain claims that he will champion the interests of those suckers who vote for him, by bringing “The Good Old Boys of Wall Street” to Alaskan frontier justice. Why would anyone believe this? Based on his record, McCain could not expect the voters to consider him as the advocate of the downtrodden. For some reason, the Obama campaign has expressed an unwillingness to use the “Keating Five” episode of McCain’s life, as fodder for negative ads. (They may find themselves thinking more clearly in late October.)
Let’s take a look back at the “glory days” of The Keating Five, from what is available on Wikipedia.org:
So where is the Obama ad using “Poor Judgment” as its theme? Wouldn’t it be nice to see that phrase repeated under a picture of Sarah Palin?