NYT: Gravel to Run for Libertarian Nod

[bunnies]

Interesting.

March 26, 2008, 9:28 am
Gravel to Run for Libertarian Nod

By Sarah Wheaton

Fed up with being excluded from the debates and otherwise marginalized, former Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska announced today that he will seek the Libertarian Party nomination for president.

That’s right, we said Mike Gravel, who had been running as a Democrat – not Representative Ron Paul, who has run on the Libertarian ticket in the past, but recently submitted his name to appear on the ballot in the remaining Republican primary contests.

Skyler McKinley, a Gravel spokesman, said that Mr. Gravel would try to pursue the Libertarian nomination at the party’s convention, which will be held in Denver on May 22-26.

“Whether or not some of our delegates will accept Mike Gravel with some of his positions, that has yet to be seen,” said Andrew Davis, a spokesman for the Libertarian National Committee, adding that Mr. Gravel’s advocacy of universal health care, paid for with a national retail sales tax, could turn off some Libertarians. Also, there are already about 15 candidates vying for the nomination.

more at link: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/gravel-to-run-for-libertarian-nod/

[GodlessBiker]

1. Hmmmmmm.

[MadBadger]

2. He's reserved a spot in that nice little place in my bile with Ralph Nader.

Shame on you Mike Gravel.

[stimbox]

9. Shame on the Democratic party for pushing him out. n/t

[genie_weenie]

14. YEAH! Piss on those Antiwar fuckers!! How dare

Gravel read Daniel Ellsberg's pentagon papers into the Senate Record! How dare he standup against the murder of hundreds of thosuands and the transfer of 3 trillion dollars into the hands of the Warmongers! Shame on him for being against the war in Iraq. Fuck that Fucking Fucker Gravel!

[Renew Deal]

3. The libertarian line is becoming pretty hot this year.

Isn't Bob Barr running on their ticket?

[bunnies]

4. Last I heard Barr was "considering" it.

What a clusterfuck this is becoming.

[Tesha]

5. And it could have all been avoided. (NT)

[flaminbats]

6. Doesn't this violate the law?

if it doesn't..what stops a sore loser in the primaries from winning the nomination of an opposing party, or a billionaire like Bloomberg from winning the nomination of both major parties?

I believe anyone who runs for the Democratic nomination shouldn't be allowed to run for the nomination of another party for a minimum of four years!

[Renew Deal]

7. There's nothing illegal about it.

Parties can nominate whoever they want. Lots of candidates run on multiple lines, especially in NY.

Edit: there might be some laws about campaign finance, but I don't think so. He has a running committee, and it doesn't matter how many party's he runs with.

[flaminbats]

10. thanks for the info..

if it isn't illegal, I believe it should be. IMO the last thing our country needs in November is a monopoly party on the ballot in November.

We need laws that prevent any single person from winning the nomination of more than one party. Regardless of how popular any single candidate becomes, IMO voters must always have more than one choice on the ballot. in other words..two parties should never be allowed to nominate the same candidate.

[Renew Deal]

16. This is a big problem in NY

We have all these little parties that cross nominate candidates. Some of the parties are fronts for their leaders. The biggest problem is with the independence party. People registering with that party think they are registered independents. Instead, they are registered with a party. Candidates pander to these little parties to get on their lines. The problem parties rarely nominate their own candidates.

[BigDaddy44]

8. Really...

Should we put him in jail? Execute him? Sheeesh.....

[flaminbats]

15. none of the above..

IMO if Gravel runs for the Democratic nomination, this should legally disqualify him from running for the nomination of any opposing party for a minimum of four years.

[theboss]

12. Ever see a New York governor's race?

The winner is usually the nominee of at least three parties.

[theboss]

11. He's an odd choice for libertarians. Why isn't he seeking the Green nod?

Not that any of this matters.

[SoxFan]

13. Hoo boy

"Fed up with being excluded from the debates and otherwise marginalized"

And running as a member of the Ayn Rand Chowder and Marching Society will solve that problem...