Kinda like Jesse Ventura in that regard.

Or maybe Jim Webb.

Gotta have experienced men behind the SS squads, or you might have anarchy.

And no, Harry Browne was not credible. He had no executive experience. And the title of his book was laughable. Government does work. Duh! (Yes, the market works better in a great many fields, but to deny the obvious is silly.)

It also says something about Browne that he had to earn lunch money on the campaign trail. Not a ringing endorsement of his career as a writer of financial advice! He who writes financial advice should be able to save up for an early retirement.

A tight race in November means poor performance for all third parties, as voters will think, “Every vote counts, this race is too important to waste my vote on someone who can’t win.”

OTOH, if McCain or Obama has a wide lead, then people will feel more inclined to “waste” their votes.

Mostly because he was both prominent and good on the antiwar issue.

One of the radicals who voted for Gravel told me that Gravel wasn’t his top pick, but he voted for Gravel on the first 3 ballots because he wanted to encourage Democrats to feel welcome in the LP.

My dream ticket was Paul/Kwiatkowski.

Among the candidates at the convention, I think Gravel/Kubby would have been the best ticket.

I agree with Steve: W.A.R. is worse than Barr.

I agree with Deran that the high polling numbers for Barr will not translate to donations.

I think that the “high” polling numbers “for” (more likely against McCain) Barr will not translate to VOTES!

I’d vote for Root 1000 times over the snake Jingozian.

Though you and I agree on A LOT, I must disagree on this one G.E. W.A.R. is someone I wouldn’t vote for, unless someone had a gun to my head. My life is worth more than W.A.R. not getting my vote. Outside of that, W.A.R. is horrible . . . as a thinker, as a promoter, and as candidate for liberty.

Having said this, the one token that I had blocked under the ‘rule’ was from one of my staffers, who started signing on the same line and then corrected himself.

I don’t speak for Mary, but I am echoing the feelings of some of her prominent campaign staff (not me).

Jingozian and Gravel, unlike everyone else at the convention, were not on the up-and-up.

Anyone who gave anyone else tickets did so with the understanding that they were serious candidates in the race and would be honest in their dealings. Jingozian was a underhanded snake, and that’s why he’s a better fit in the LNC leadership than the honorable Chuck Moulton.

No, Jingo did not “use the platform he achieved through her generosity to endorse one of her chief rivals.”

Jingo had collected enough tokens on his own to secure nominating speech time before he received any help from Ruwart for debate participation — and he didn’t even use that time to do it, but rather a portion of Gravel’s time.

Don’t like Jingo? Understood … but your particular argument doesn’t hold any water at all.

I just don’t agree.

Okay, so Gravel had one supporter who was not a socialist outsider.

You write:

“Mary Ruwart would not have given him the tokens if she knew he’d use them to endorse an opponent.”

I seriously doubt that’s true — and if it is, then it doesn’t speak as well of her as it does of Gravel, who gave tokens to Kubby knowing full well that if eliminated Kubby would be endorsing Ruwart. Ditto Phillies. Ditto Smith.

“If Gravel had any support outside of the Social Democrats he brought with him”

Gravel had plenty of support outside of “the Social Democrats he brought with him.” One member of the Missouri delegation who has been an LP member since 1972 came to the convention planning to vote for Gravel, and did so.

For that matter, Gravel was my third choice after Kubby and Ruwart.

Maybe I’m just looking at it as if I was in Ruwart’s position. If I helped someone get in the debates, I wouldn’t care who they endorsed. But on the other hand, if I was in Jingozian’s position, I’d feel inclined to endorse Ruwart (even as a Gravel guy), but then I’d feel torn after telling Gravel that I’d endorse him.

Sticky situation.

That’s not the way I heard it.

I heard that Root expected to win, and was shocked as it sunk in that he wouldn’t. He then desperately went after Barr out in the halls, wanting to “make a deal.” Root would endorse Barr in return for VP.

Barr brushed off Root, wanting nothing to do with the man.

But then when it looked as though Ruwart might beat Barr, Barr changed his tune. When Root came after him a second time, he listened and struck a deal.

That’s how it was told to me, by someone who supposedly saw Barr brush off Root in his first attempt at a deal.

I’d heard others report that Barr had earlier sought Gravel and Ruwart as potential running mates.

Mary gave Jingo tickets because she thought he was a nobody nothing loser, which he was, but then he turned around and used the platform he achieved through her generosity to endorse one of her chief rivals.

What a shock: A socialist Democrat comes to the LP convention and aligns with the Republicans to steal the nomination away from a real libertarian.