Dave Weigel, writing at Reason.com, says this year’s Libertarian vice presidential candidate Wayne Allyn Root “didn’t figure much into Brian Doherty’s excellent rundown of the LP campaign,” so Weigel talked with Root about the campaign and his future. Root said, “I just wrapped up another little political discussion. I was talking to a guy who’s run nine campaigns in Las Vegas, and won eight of them. He thinks I’m an absolute favorite for mayor of Las Vegas in 2009. And keep in mind, it’s a nonpartisan race, and the incumbent is term-limited.”
Weigel says Root “was ‘obviously disappointed’ with how the Barr/Root presidential campaign ended, but the only specific criticism he made was the decision to ‘stiff Ron Paul’ at his September 10 press conference and offer him the LP vice presidential slot. ‘If you want him to get behind you, offer him the top spot on the ticket. If you want to snub him, offer him the number two spot. I mean, why would he ever take that, this candidate who’d won a million votes?’”
Root also talked about his strategy for the 2012 presidential race, saying in part, “I will spent the next four years with one goal in mind: finding a billionaire running mate. Believe me when I tell you I will find him or her. All of a sudden I’ll be on TV day and night, just like Ross Perot, and suddenly we’ll get 19 million votes, just like Ross Perot.”
55 responses so far ↓
1 TheOriginalAndy // Nov 19, 2008 at 3:41 am
Running for a local (or state) office is what Root should have done in 2008.
I had some problems with Root on the top of the ticket, but I’d definitely consider supporting him if he runs for Mayor of Las Vegas.
2 Thomas M. Sipos // Nov 19, 2008 at 3:44 am
If Root runs for an office he can win, he’ll face something he never has before — actual media scrutiny.
It’ll be interesting to see what skeletons the media manages to dig up about Root.
3 Fred Church Ortiz // Nov 19, 2008 at 4:40 am
4 Peter Orvetti // Nov 19, 2008 at 5:01 am
Mayor is kind of a step down from king, isn’t it?
5 JimDavidson // Nov 19, 2008 at 6:37 am
Peter, I think so. lol
Fred, fabulous photo. I dig the gang sign.
With regard to Root, isn’t it funny he’s an absolute favorite for mayor? He was also very confident of one to two million votes earlier this month. Hmm. Oddsmaker might be slipping. I think there are several ways to play an over-confident bookie.
Stop the wars.
6 paulie cannoli // Nov 19, 2008 at 8:25 am
Root also talked about his strategy for the 2012 presidential race, saying in part, “I will spent the next four years with one goal in mind: finding a billionaire running mate. Believe me when I tell you I will find him or her. All of a sudden I’ll be on TV day and night, just like Ross Perot, and suddenly we’ll get 19 million votes, just like Ross Perot.â€
LP did this in 1980. Still less than a million votes. But good idea in principle.
Running for a local (or state) office is what Root should have done in 2008.
I had some problems with Root on the top of the ticket, but I’d definitely consider supporting him if he runs for Mayor of Las Vegas.
Exactly.
BTW, some here are some interesting facts about Las Vegas from Wikipedia:
It was the 28th most populous city in the United States with an estimated population of 558,880 as of 2007. The population of the Las Vegas metropolitan area exceeds 2 million residents.
The name Las Vegas is often applied to the unincorporated areas of Clark County that surround the city, especially the resort areas on and near the Las Vegas Strip.
Oscar Baylin Goodman (born on June 26, 1939 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an attorney and the Mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayor Goodman is a member of the Democratic Party.
During his career as a defense attorney he represented defendants accused of being some of the leading organized crime figures in Las Vegas, such as Meyer Lansky, Nicky Scarfo, Herbert “Fat Herbie” Blitzstein, Phil Leonetti, former Stardust Casino boss Frank ‘Lefty’ Rosenthal, and Jamiel “Jimmy” Chagra a 1970s drug trafficker who was acquitted of ordering the murder of Federal Judge John Wood. His most notorious clients was reputed Chicago mobster Anthony “Tony the Ant” Spilotro, who was known to have a short and violent temper. In the semi-factual 1995 movie Casino, the character of Nicky Santoro was based on Spilotro and was portrayed by actor Joe Pesci. Goodman had a cameo appearance in the film as himself. Goodman also represented former San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock, who was convicted of accepting illegal campaign contributions and eventually forced to resign.
Goodman was speaking before a group of fourth-graders at Jo Mackey Elementary School. When asked what he would bring if marooned on a desert island, the mayor replied “a showgirl and a bottle of Bombay Sapphire Gin.” Further, when asked about his hobbies, the mayor named drinking Bombay Sapphire Gin as a favorite. Later, when asked to comment, Goodman was unapologetic: “I’m the George Washington of mayors. I can’t tell a lie. If they didn’t want the answer, the kid shouldn’t have asked the question.”
Mayor Goodman suggested that those who deface freeways with graffiti should have their thumbs cut off on television. Goodman, appearing on the “Nevada Newsmakers” television show, said, “In the old days in France, they had beheading of people who commit heinous crimes”, “You know, we have a beautiful highway landscaping redevelopment in our downtown. We have desert tortoises and beautiful paintings of flora and fauna. These punks come along and deface it”, I’m saying maybe you put them on TV and cut off a thumb”, and “That may be the right thing to do.”
Goodman also suggested that whippings or canings should be brought back for children who get into trouble.
“I also believe in a little bit of corporal punishment going back to the days of yore, where examples have to be shown,” Goodman said. “I’m dead serious. Some of these (children) don’t learn. You have got to teach them a lesson, and this is coming from a criminal defense lawyer.” But, he added, “they would get a trial first.”
Mayor Goodman was an invited celebrity photographer for the Playboy Cyber Club. He shot a topless pictorial of Miss January 2001 Irina Voronina for the website.
Goodman’s term expires in 2011, not 2009.
With regard to Root, isn’t it funny he’s an absolute favorite for mayor? He was also very confident of one to two million votes earlier this month.
Being confident and projecting confidence are two different things.
Good luck to Wayne on his mayoral race.
7 NewFederalist // Nov 19, 2008 at 10:42 am
Perhaps this Mayor of Las Vegas gig is just what Root needs. Since the voters obviously don’t take the job seriously (the current mayor, for example) Root might actually have a shot.
8 Thomas M. Sipos // Nov 19, 2008 at 10:43 am
The U.S. population in 1980 (when Ed Clark ran) was 226,545,805.
In 2008, the estimated population was 303,824,640.
So many more people, and still, Barr/Root couldn’t match Clark’s vote total.
9 daveweigel // Nov 19, 2008 at 11:16 am
The 2009/2011 mistake was mine, not Root’s. We were talking about his plan for every year and I mixed up the dates. Fixed now.
10 Steven Druckenmiller // Nov 19, 2008 at 11:18 am
Barr/Root couldn’t match Clark’s vote total.
Was there any 2008 candidate you thought could have done so?
11 LibertarianGirl // Nov 19, 2008 at 11:23 am
Oscar Goodman will be running for Governor and his wife will be running for his office as well as several high profile politicos local .
Being on the Nevada and Clark County Excomms , I hope he(WAR) actually does anything to help his local Party , which as of now or previous to Nat Con was exactly 0. Thats why we spanked him with no votes from Nevada.
We would love to get behind him in a Mayoral run , he’d do great , but my prediction is one of the usual insiders will win it , which he is not.
12 Coming Back to the LP // Nov 19, 2008 at 11:36 am
Everyone keeps comparing LP campaigns to the 1980 Clark campaign.
What did Ed Clark have that the others did not?
Answer: Nationwide, major network, prime time TV advertising. These were 5 min. spots, millions of people saw them and it gave the campaign enough credibility to get to a higher level.
Why didn’t the Clark campaign match Ross Perot’s results?
Perot spent about $80 million of his own money. VP candidate David Koch spent about $2.3 million. Had he pumped out $40 million for TV spots, the LP could have beaten the Perot numbers.
13 Thomas M. Sipos // Nov 19, 2008 at 11:44 am
Steven: “Was there any 2008 candidate you thought could have done so?”
Of course not. But I’m not aware of any other LP candidate making wild promises of millions of votes, other than Barr and Root (and Milnes).
Every other LP candidate had a more realistic vision of the LP’s abilities than did Barr or Root.
Barr and Root made wild promises and predictions of vote totals. They were either wholly disconnected from reality or lying about what they really thought.
While radicals have proven to have their feet firmly planted in reality, Barr and Root have proven themselves to share Robert Milnes’s loopy visions of humongous vote totals.
14 daveweigel // Nov 19, 2008 at 11:46 am
Barr and Root have proven themselves to share Robert Milnes’s loopy visions of humongous vote totals.
One of my fondest memories of the Denver convention is standing next to Doug Stanhope, a Miller Lite bottle in his hand, yelling “ROBERT MILNES!” during the VP nomination roll call. (Not nominating him, just yelling.)
15 Trent Hill // Nov 19, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Did Root say explicitly that he would ran as an “L” and not an “R”?
16 paulie cannoli // Nov 19, 2008 at 12:50 pm
First paragraph of the story above says it is a nonpartisan race. So he would run as a W.
17 Trent Hill // Nov 19, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Gottttcha.
18 Steven Druckenmiller // Nov 19, 2008 at 2:44 pm
They were either wholly disconnected from reality or lying about what they really thought.
Neither…they overestimated the crossover from Paul supporters. We ALL did that.
19 Ross Levin // Nov 19, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Does Root really have a Hollywood star?
20 paulie cannoli // Nov 19, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Does Root really have a Hollywood star?
No, that is the Vegas walk of fame, not Hollywood. I read that it cost him $15k to get the star there.
21 Fred Church Ortiz // Nov 19, 2008 at 3:54 pm
$10K cheaper than the ones in Hollywood then.
22 JimDavidson // Nov 19, 2008 at 4:43 pm
@14 Met Doug Stanhope for the first time, in Miche’s room. He’s a very fun loving guy. The Milnes shout out is hilarious.
Stop the wars.
23 JimDavidson // Nov 19, 2008 at 4:44 pm
@18 Having over-estimated the crossover from Ron Paul’s supporters, one would think Barr’s people would have had the competence, or professionalism, not to do everything in their power to alienate Ron and his supporters. Oops.
Stop the wars.
24 George Phillies // Nov 19, 2008 at 5:50 pm
“Neither…they overestimated the crossover from Paul supporters. We ALL did that.”
Perhaps you should limit yourself to speaking for yourself.
I don’t believe anything surprising happened with respect to Barr and Paul crossover votes. Certainly, what I saw was consistent with the large-scale mail and phone banking my campaign did in the spring, namely the Paul supporters were happy to say, sometimes quite vigorously, that they were not supporting libertarians.
After all, Barr does not appear to take Alex Jones seriously. Barr is not a gold fetishist. Barr did not run ads TV showing dark-skinned people swimming an unnamed river to enter America illegally and commit crimes. So far as I can tell, Barr views the Constitution as trumping the opinions of any holy book. Oh, yes, Barr did say he was running as a libertarian, and Paul always said he was running as a conservative. In short, little overlap.
25 paulie cannoli // Nov 19, 2008 at 6:23 pm
One of my fondest memories of the Denver convention is standing next to Doug Stanhope, a Miller Lite bottle in his hand, yelling “ROBERT MILNES!†during the VP nomination roll call. (Not nominating him, just yelling.)
Hells yeah. Too bad Stanhope had to drop out. I don’t think he was a delegate, but I could be wrong.
26 paulie cannoli // Nov 19, 2008 at 6:28 pm
$10K cheaper than the ones in Hollywood then.
Kick ass! We need more candidates that know how to bargain hunt.
27 TheOriginalAndy // Nov 19, 2008 at 6:31 pm
“After all, Barr does not appear to take Alex Jones seriously.”
Barr had been a guest on Alex Jones’ radio show a few times in the past.
I don’t know what Bob Barr thinks of Alex Jones, but I know that Alex Jones did not support Bob Barr’s campaign for President for the same reason that a lot of Libertarian Party members did not support him (worked for the CIA, former prosecutor, voted for the Patriot Act, appears to be a phony, etc…). Bob Barr not getting the endorsement of Alex Jones cost him a lot of votes.
“Barr is not a gold fetishist. ”
Yes, Ron Paul supporters are actually more pro-liberty than Bob Barr.
“Barr did not run ads TV showing dark-skinned people swimming an unnamed river to enter America illegally and commit crimes.”
It is rather odd that George Phillies would make critical comment like this given that his OWN campaign platform did not call for “open borders” and given that his platform made a comment about how the Statue of Liberty welcomed the huddled masses in Europe but that now that Europe “breathes free” that this immigration policy should no longer apply. George Phillies was actually quite close to Ron Paul on the issue of immigration since both said something to the effect of that as the welfare state is being dismantled and as the free market is grows, so can immigration, but that you can’t have “open borders” and a welfare state.
“So far as I can tell, Barr views the Constitution as trumping the opinions of any holy book.”
And this is why Bob Barr attempted to ban Wicca in the military.
“Oh, yes, Barr did say he was running as a libertarian, and Paul always said he was running as a conservative.”
Barr ran a Libertarian Party candidate, but I don’t think that his campaign was as libertarian as Barr’s party label suggested.
For instance, during an appearance on Hannity & Colmes, Barr said that while he supports ending the federal War on Drugs, he would not support legalizing drugs in his home state of Georgia. This is not what I’d call a Libertarian position. What Barr could have said is something like, “I’m running for President and I want to end the Federal War on Drugs, and while I don’t have authority over what the states do, I would encourage the states to end their War on Drugs as well, and if given the chance to vote on the issue in my home state of Georgia, I would vote to end the drug war their as well. The War on Drugs is immoral and causes more harm than good and ought to be ended at all levels of government.” THIS would be a Libertarian anwser, but this is NOT what Bob Barr said.
Barr also referred to himself as a “true conservative” and did not promote the Libertarian Party label as much as he could have.
Ron Paul was running as a Republican, so he had
to play the word game to get votes. Bob Barr was running as a Libertarian so he had no such excuse.
Ron Paul actually ran on a more radical libertarian platform than Bob Barr did.
“In short, little overlap.”
LOL! This is an absolutely RIDICULOUS statement. I’d like to know how many Ron Paul Meet Up Groups that George Phillies attended. I attended Ron Paul Meet Up Groups in Illinois, Indiana, and Pennsylvania (and I went to a bunch of meetings in Pennsylvania), and I can tell you that almost everyone at the meetings was interested in the Libertarian Party. I also attended 4 Ron Paul speeches in Pennsylvania where I brought along petitions for Libertarian Party ballot access. Almost everyone that I spoke to at the Ron Paul speeches ENTHUSIASTICALLY signed the petitions for LP ballot access, and I got a LOT of signatures at each event.
There are people who I met at the Ron Paul Meet Ups that actually were intending to vote for Bob Barr, but then did not vote for him because he “dissed” Ron Paul and his supporters by not showing up at that 3rd party press conference. Some of them also referred to him as “that CIA plant” or “that drug war prosecutor” as well as other derogatory comments. The fact of the matter is that a lot of people who supported Ron Paul did not like Bob Barr, and their reasons for not liking him were NOT because he was too libertarian, but rather that he was NOT LIBERTARIAN ENOUGH.
To act as though there is no overlap between Ron Paul supporters and the Libertarian Party is completely ABSURD.
28 TheOriginalAndy // Nov 19, 2008 at 6:33 pm
“daveweigel // Nov 19, 2008 at 11:46 am
One of my fondest memories of the Denver convention is standing next to Doug Stanhope, a Miller Lite bottle in his hand, yelling “ROBERT MILNES!†during the VP nomination roll call. (Not nominating him, just yelling.)”
Yeah, I remember that. Stanhope is great.
29 Michael Seebeck // Nov 19, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Weigel, the reason Wayne Allen Roger Dorn Root didn’t figure much into Doherty’s piece on Barr is because Root didn’t figure much into the election, period.
If Wayne-o thinks he’s a favorite for the mayor of Lost Wages then he truly is delusional. He’ll probably come in 856th behind Wayne Newton and the guy who hands out the escort service cards outside the Luxor.
“I thought you said we didn’t have any high-priced talent?”
“That’s because Dorn’s only high-priced.”
30 BrianHoltz // Nov 19, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Re: “wild promises of millions of votes” — Mr. Sipos, do you have a citation for this?
31 JimDavidson // Nov 19, 2008 at 8:10 pm
@30 Here’s a cite:
“‘Bob Barr and I are going to get a million to three million votes this year,’ he predicted, between bites of chicken. ”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/fashion/05nite.html
Is that citation enough for ya, Brian?
32 paulie cannoli // Nov 19, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Re: “wild promises of millions of votesâ€
Don’t make me scour third party watch or the old articles here, I have other stuff to do
33 Ross Levin // Nov 19, 2008 at 8:52 pm
I don’t blame Root for not being a factor in this election. Was Matt Gonzalez? Was Rosa Clemente? The VP candidates for third parties really didn’t play much of a role in the election this year.
34 JimDavidson // Nov 19, 2008 at 10:04 pm
@33 many Democrats are happy Biden wasn’t a major factor.
Palin was a major factor in the election. And Root claims to be a male Palin impersonator, or something like that.
Stop the wars.
35 Thomas M. Sipos // Nov 19, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Brian Holtz: “Re: “wild promises of millions of votes†— Mr. Sipos, do you have a citation for this?:
You gotta be kidding. You were at the state and national conventions, weren’t you? Root repeatedly promised “two million votes minimum” were he the nominee, and guaranteed that he’d win the White House “in sixteen years.”
Root was incessantly carping on his “16-year plan” and “two million votes minimum” in 2008. Were you not paying attention when Root spoke, or did you just not attend is debates?
36 Thomas L. Knapp // Nov 20, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Stanhope’s a mensch. Bought me and Paulie drinks in Denver, even after I had snubbed his (later abandoned) 2008 candidacy. And frankly, he was the most sensible featured convention commentator on C-SPAN.
The more I think about it, the more I think I was wrong about him for this year, and wouldn’t mind seeing him run in 2012. “Politics is a friggin’ joke, why not elect a comedian” could be a stronger message than the LP has had in a long time.
37 paulie cannoli // Nov 20, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Exactly.
Tried to tell ya
38 gregsarnowski // Nov 20, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I wouldn’t support Stanhope. He showed his true colors when he endorsed Obama.
39 Eric Sundwall // Nov 20, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Brian – See this video for Root claims of success in 2008 and beyond. About 13 minutes in . . .
He basically promises 2-4 million this year (10 Million in funding) and 8-12 million in 2012. He’s so bold as to claim ownership of the White House in either 2016 or 2020.
The realism that he appeals to is the Conservative Party model in 1971 and James Buckley. Because of course, Barry Goldwater ushered in the Reagan Revolution . . .
40 Thomas L. Knapp // Nov 20, 2008 at 6:11 pm
gragsarnowski,
Yes, Stanhope did show his true colors when heendorsed Obama.
And your point is?
Unless you were clued to write-in registrations, there were only three states this year in which a libertarian presidential option was available. That meant either not voting, or coming up with a reason to vote for a non-libertarian candidate.
I don’t find Stanhope’s reasons for settling on Obama any more absurd than anyone else’s reasons for settling on some other non-libertarian candidate.
41 Steven Druckenmiller // Nov 20, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Ha! And Mr. Knapp again proceeds with the mindreading and the Cult of the Libertarian, wherein we all “know” who is and who is not a “member of the Faith”.
42 gregsarnowski // Nov 20, 2008 at 6:21 pm
My point is that the upcoming Obama administration is likely to be just as destructive to individual liberty as the Bush adminsitration has been, therefore Stanhope should stop pretending he’s some sort of “libertarian” when it’s obviously he’s more cut out for the “progressive” label.
43 Steve // Nov 20, 2008 at 9:41 pm
I vaguely remember promoting the idea of Root for Vegas mayor on a TPW thread back when that was the place to be. Aside from Root’s over the top personality and outrageously bad odds making, his most offensive attribute is his foreign policy. That wouldn’t be applicable in a mayoral race. And if he seriously wants to help the LP, giving us a mayor of a major city, is the best thing he could do, I wish he would have thought of this before and allowed Steve Kubby to get the VP nod.
Since we’re talking about Stanhope, I still have my Stanhope ’08 Drunk With Power t-shirt, I’d be happy to scratch off the ’08 and pull it out of the drawer. That is, of course, if Gary Johnson doesn’t run. Credibility, experience, electability – then “aw, screw it, go Doug go!”
44 Trent Hill // Nov 20, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Im hoping Dr. Paul or Gov. Johnson jump in the race in 2012.
In the LP race I would have to at LEAST consider supporting the following: Doug Stanhope, Thomas L. Knapp, or Don Gorman.
In the CP race I would have to at LEAST consider supporting the following if they ran: Chuck Baldwin, Rep. Walter Jones, or Jerome Corsi.
45 paulie cannoli // Nov 20, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Im hoping Dr. Paul or Gov. Johnson jump in the race in 2012.
In the LP race I would have to at LEAST consider supporting the following: Doug Stanhope, Thomas L. Knapp
Also Kubby, Ruwart
46 Trent Hill // Nov 20, 2008 at 10:34 pm
I’d consider supporting Kubby, but not Ruwart.
Her book was nice, though.
47 Thomas L. Knapp // Nov 20, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Steve Druckenmiller,
Actually, I was using a big-tent definition of “libertarian” in my claim. No secret handshakes, blood oaths, etc., involved.
If you like, though, I’ll abandon the term and rephrase to non-label facts:
There were only three states this year in which a balloted presidential candidate proposed less, and never more, government, and more, and never less, freedom.
48 paulie cannoli // Nov 21, 2008 at 10:45 pm
So you disagree with the BTP endorsement of Phillies in NH?
49 G.E. // Nov 21, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Trent would support hardcore abortionist Doug Stanhope and not Mary Ruwart??
50 G.E. // Nov 21, 2008 at 11:05 pm
I sure do.
51 Peter Orvetti // Nov 25, 2008 at 12:31 pm
If Root does get elected Las Vegas mayor in 2011, would he still run for president the following year?
52 paulie cannoli // Nov 25, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Why not?
53 Peter Orvetti // Nov 25, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Well, if it looked like Root was a serious contender, his opponent(s) could say he plans to skip town in six months to spend a year running a fruitless presidential campaign. I think a lot of people might vote against him for that reason. If he really has a shot at being mayor, he might have to postpone presidential ambitions.
54 paulie cannoli // Nov 25, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Given as how Root often uses his stump speeches and interviews to promote Las Vegas as a model for a Libertarian America, I think he would be viewed as a great civic promoter.
I’m not sure, but he may have to actually get a place within city limits first. As far as I know, he lives in Henderson.
55 LibertarianGirl // Nov 25, 2008 at 1:14 pm
He is not going to win as mayor , I guarantee you , but a race could sure bring a lot of attention to the Clark County LP.
He does live in Green Valley which is a suburb of Henderson.
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