Correction: It appears that Lew Rockwell got this one wrong. George Phillies is “continuing” his presidential campaign, but only out of necessity. In some states in which petitioners worked to get the LP presidential ticket on the ballot, a candidate’s name had to be listed. George Phillies was so listed in New Hampshire, but the state does not allow the party to substitute the “real” candidate after the fact. George Phillies, contrary to Rockwell’s report, is not “trying” to stay on the ballot — he’s only trying to keep the LP, as a party, on the ballot.
As reported by Lew Rockwell:
Some Libertarians are upset that Bob Barr’s PAC still supports neocon Republicans like Saxby Chambliss, Norm Coleman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Jeff Sessions. But why? Surely Libertarians knew they were getting a smart, accomplished public spokesman for gun rights and civil liberties. But on a number of other issues, as everyone surely also knew, he does not agree with, say, the late Harry Browne.
However, George Phillies, one of the former LP presidential candidates, sees financial support for Republicans with Libertarian challengers as a betrayal. Indeed, Phillies–who is on the New Hampshire ballot as a placeholder–is now trying to keep his name there for November, in opposition to Barr. Apparently Massachusetts–Phillies’s home state–is next. Stay tuned.
Ok, thanks. I can imagine if Ruwart or Barr didn’t enter the race, it would have been between George and Root. That would have been fun.
Regardless of whether Phillies canb substitue his name for Barr in either NH or Massachusetts I think he does have an argument.
If Barr is interested in building up the LP, why is his PAC supporting Republicans and necons at that? It would be different if therese were libertarian Republicans but Norm Coleman? I would be upset if I were Phillies and other LP members.
And maybe its time we put out an APB for Wayne Allyn Root. For someone who likes to be in the spotlight, he sure has been out of it lately. This is very strange considering all his talk about helping the LP with publicity that he can generate on his own. Does he not want to play second fiddle to Barr?
Mike: When signatures are collected for ballot access in some states, the petition must contain the name of the candidate. Those signatures are then counted toward the candidate being on the ballot, not the party.
In this case, NH placed George’s name on the ballot, likely because at the time they thought he would be the eventual nominee (and for quite some time, George did appear to have it in the bag). Some states allow substitution of the candidate (in which case the original candidate listed is merely a placeholder for the eventual nominee), but other states, such as New Hampshire, do not allow substitution.
This does not mean that Barr can’t be on the ballot. If he collects the necessary signatures and meets all other requirements in NH, he will also be on the ballot.
However, had George not filed a Notice of Intent, the LP would not be on the NH ballot at all unless Barr meets the requirements, which he may not be able to do on such short notice.
This is (another) very good example of why LP candidates should announce early. Barr didn’t announce until a week before the convention, so there was no reason for any state to place him on the ballot for petitioning purposes, though they may very well have done so had they known he was running. Barr therefore has no one to blame for this NH situation, but himself.
I’m a little confused here, folks. What exactly does ballot substitution mean? I mean, did Phillies file for LP ballot access before he lost the nomination, now they won’t put Barr’s name in?
Anyway, if Barr gets electoral votes and it’s thrown to the House, it’s good to have cultivated friends there, yes?
ENM – I have been busy and disconnected from the Net lately. I saw the Rockwell story and reported it.
I already covered this on LFV repeatedly, including a dedicated thread earlier today pointing out that Rockwell is wrong, so GE should have known it was nothing but disinformation.
http://lastfreevoice.wordpress.com/2008/06/22/sometimes-i-just-have-to-shake-my-head-in-amazement-at-the-disinformation-which-passes-as-news-on-blogs/
Ugh. Sometimes I think Rockwell should stick to ghostwriting.
Yes, it appears Rockwell is wrong when he uses the word “trying.”
My understanding is that Phillies hopes Barr can take his place, but the law forbids it.
Winger –I had been given to understand that, but this report makes it sound like Phillies had reversed himself on that.
People are reacting without understanding the legal situation. New Hampshire won’t permit substitution, so George had to file the declaration of candidacy. I hope and believe that a lawsuit will be filed against New Hampshire’s policy. George has been helping with a parallel lawsuit against Massachusetts.
I had never heard of this megalomaniac before a couple months ago. But from reading comments on this and other blogs recently, it’s evident he has no respect for this country or its Constitution, and even less understanding of geopolitics and the institutional frameworks which keep liberty vital. He’s running for dictator of Libertopia, not President of the United States.