Jesse Ventura, Libertarian Candidate for President?

Politico's Reid Epstein reports that while former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson has expressed interest in pursuing the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination, the LP has a different choice:

Libertarian officials are still hoping Ron Paul will reconsider and seek their nomination at the Las Vegas convention in May. Barring that, they confirmed, they're pursuing the interest Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has expressed to them about coming back into the arena to run on their line….

At Ventura's instigation, [Libertarian Party chairman Mark] Hinkle said he spoke two weeks ago with the former Minnesota governor and pro wrestler, who was elected in 1998 on the Reform Party line, about running for president but came away with the impression that Ventura is looking beyond 2012.

"Jesse is more interested in 2016 than he is in 2012," Hinkle said. "But I think he's serious. If Ron Paul ran as a Libertarian, I think he definitely would be interested in running as a vice presidential candidate. He's thinking, 'If I run as the vice presidential candidate under Ron Paul in 2012, I could run as a presidential candidate in 2016."

Ventura wrote a book a few years ago with the plaintive title Don't Start the Revolution Without Me, so yeah, he probably would be quite happy to piggyback along with Paul in the hopes of positioning himself for 2016. But will registered Libertarian Party voters go for it? Ventura may sometimes do a good job of spotlighting various government misdeeds and excesses, but he's also a hardcore conspiracy theorist who's more likely to alienate potential voters than he is to attract them.

Still, Ventura knows how to put on a show and he's always ready for the spotlight. I expect he'll throw his feather boa in the ring.

Click here to read Reason's Ventura archives.

Comments

[P B]

He is too Alex Jones for me. I would cast a blank ballot if there wasn't a suitable write-in if "The Body" is the Libertarian candidate.

[anon]

Yeah, The Body is definitely a tin foil hat guy.

[RobSmalls]

Thermite paint! Mind control!

[affenkopf]

Speaking of which: Reason darling Gary Johnson is guest on the Alex Jones show today.

[-]

A perfect choice.

[anon]

I was always a Nature Boy fan. If you want to be the man, you got to beat the man.

[tarran]

Why do I hear Fry screaming "God Help Us!" in my head?

[Beloved Rev. Blue Moon]

TROOOTHERS!

*shakes fist*

Is the LP run by Libertymike's cronies or what?

[Marilyn]

No.

[MarylandMike]

Yikes.

[Pro Libertate]

The LP would do better with a principled, well-read unknown than to keep trying to get publicity with someone famous. Crazy candidates make the party look crazy.

That should hold true for the major parties as well, but I guess they're too entrenched to be recognized for being as bizarre as they actually are.

[-]

Crazy candidates make the party look crazy.

Crazy commentary, on the other hand...

[Citizen Nothing]

Wayne Allyn Root/That Guy Who Turned Himself Blue in 2012!

[Joe M]

Michael Badnarik was that guy back in 2004. I had not problems voting for him. Barr in '08, on the other hand... retch. My mom actually wrote in Ron Paul that year. I remember actually thinking, "They don't count write-in votes unless they're officially registered as options. Poor woman threw away her vote." I know, right?

[Spiny Norman]

Wait...my 1980 vote for Rick Nielsen and Iggy Pop didn't count?

[Tarrou]

Everything you need to know about Ventura here:

http://www.informationclearing.....e29621.htm

He's claimed he would renounce his citizenship and insult the symbols of a nation he has lived in his entire life because he lost a court case. Libertarians, I am begging you, do not hitch your wagon to this turd.

[affenkopf]

Fuck the symbols of a nation, without actions symbols are worthless. Also he hasn't lived his entire life in the US. He has lived in Mexico for the last few years.

[Mike M.]

He has lived in Mexico for the last few years.

Geez, the man really has lost his mind.

[affenkopf]

If you're rich enough to live in a secure area Mexico is a pretty nice place to live.

[wylie]

just pop down to the El Homeo Depoto, and hire some guys for security.

[sickoftalking]

His rationale is ridiculous, though, given that Mexico has far more repressive laws than the United States does. They have a government board that determines if a strike is legitimate, and if it determines its not they send in the military to fire on the strikers. But I guess Ventura won't need to deal with that, with the money he has.

[affenkopf]

He would still be better than Bob Barr.

[endlessmike]

This is why, while I have been proud to call myself a libertarian for quite some time now, I refuse to call myself a Libertarian. Something about institutionalizing and hiring a full time staff tends to cause mission drift.

[bigpetewrigley]

I agree completely.

[KDN]

The Running Man is the most spectacular collection of Arnold one-liners ever.

[Joe M]

What about Total Recall? "See you at the party, Rickster." A classic.

[Pro Libertate]

Someone should make "The Running Man" into a movie. I mean, like actually based on the story.

Not that I don't appreciate The Running Man, which has its moments.

[Gray Ghost]

"Rich folks smoke Dokes."

Post 9/11 the ending of the novella might be a tough sell.

[Drax the Destroyer]

Don't forget Commando's:

AHNULD: "Sully, you know how I told you I'd kill you last?"

Sully(dangled over a cliff by AHNULD and screaming like a bitch, sees a moment of hope): "Yeah Matrix...YOU DID!"

AHNULD: "I lied." (Drops Sully to his death. Hilarity ensues...I think we do see a dummy smack into jagged rocks below)

Something about Arnold killing assholes with glib one-liners reignites childlike wonder within. It's too bad my childlike wonder died when I went to public school.

[Drake]

Was Ventura a Libertarian when he was Governor? I'm not from MN but I don't recall him being a libertarian then.

Now he's a nut case and putting your party name next to his will repel any "Reason"able voter.

[Joe M]

No, he was, I think, an independent and then a member of the Reform Party.

[Joe M]

Ooops, looks like I had it backward, sorta.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

He ran under the Reform party ticket (Ross Perot's party).

[Pope Jimbo]

I wouldn't vote for him for Pres, but he did a couple of good things when he was the gov.

The best thing he did was when he rebated a huge surplus of tax revenue back to the taxpayers. The two parties were appalled because they wanted to spend it on new programs, but Jesse went public and they sent the surplus back.

So he had some good moments, but he is definitely crazier now than he was back then.

He wasn't a bad govenor, he also wasn't great. His biggest accomplishment was to unite the two parties in opposing anything he brought up.

[Ron]

I have to argue with people every day, and explain to them that Ron Paul does not represent me as a Libertarian. I hope he doesn't run as one.

Some of the liberties we differ on:
He thinks school prayer should be allowed in public schools

He is against adoption of children by unwed parents

Supports "defense of marriage act"

Supported "don't ask, don't tell"

Strongly "pro-life" and "unshakable foe of abortion"

Pro death penalty (but who isn't, unfortunately)

He definitely does have some Libertarian ideas, and I applaud him for that. But most of the social issues don't match my Libertarian views.

[Whelp,]

Might as well vote fer Barack Romney than, since he(it?) is better than Paul on every issue. Hey MA! Where's my glue-huffing bag you old whore !?

[Hirai]

He's against the death penalty.

I also remember that he was one of the handful of Republicans who voted for repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell a while ago. Repealing DADT really isn't a libertarian stance, anyway. No one has a right to a be an unproductive tax-eating thug in the military. The solution to inequality in the military is to ban straight people as well.

[o2]

"...an unproductive tax-eating thug in the military."
_

that's what drill sergeants are for maggot ! now drop & give me twenty

[Ronfix]

I have to argue with people every day, and explain to them that Ron Paul does not represent (big L) Libertarians. He definitely shouldn't run as one.

Some of the liberties he differs on:

He doesn't think atheists should be allowed to suppress religious expression in government schools.

He is against random strangers who don't know jack about raising kids and can't even be bothered to get married trying to "adopt" children into their non-families.

Rejects government endorsement of the carpetmunchers, buttfuckers, and cocksuckers' insane ideology pretending that any sexual relationship can be equivalent to a marriage.

Supports keeping carpetmunchers, buttfuckers and cocksuckers from fucking up the military with their bullshit.

Strongly opposed to murdering little unborn babies just for being inconvenient and not so easy to see as the ones who've been born.

Pro death penalty, like everyone who actually believes in justice (as opposed to the Libertarian Party, which believes in anarchy and nihilism).

He definitely does have some (little l) libertarian ideas, but most of his views of the social issues don't match the Libertarian Party's views. Those are his good points.

[Bee Tagger]

I thought you were serious until the 3rd bullet point. Not bad.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Rejects government endorsement of the carpetmunchers, buttfuckers, and cocksuckers' insane ideology pretending that any sexual relationship can be equivalent to a marriage.

Supports keeping carpetmunchers, buttfuckers and cocksuckers from fucking up the military with their bullshit.

Wow, you're a piece of shit.

[Drake]

I like you.

[Caption]

Are you ready for pain?

Are you ready for suffering?

If the answer is yes, you're ready for Captain Freedom's workout!

[Hirai]

We saw how well Barr's candidacy turned out. I'll be disappointed if the LP nominates another carpetbagger.

[ChrisO]

No thanks.

[From Minnestota]

I'm from Minnesota and Ventura was our Governor. Believe me we were glad to see him leave. He will do nothing but alienate people by saying stupid things like "Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers." And his crazy conspiracy theories. Although he may be entertaining, he quit an embarrassment as well. He will be the death to the Libertarian Party for sure.

[Pope Jimbo]

FM, I'm from Sunny Minnesota and you can't tell me that T-Paw or Dayton are better than Jesse. And he was surely better than Skip Humphrey or Norm Coleman would have been.

I wasn't offended when he made his religion statement, but I was impressed when he didn't back down and issue the proper PR statement backing away from it.

Instead he told people who asked him about the statement that his wife was a regular church goer, and how they thought that was going for him.

As I said above, I'm not a big supporter of his, but I didn't think that his administration was an embarrassment.

I think the embarrassment tag was put on him by the two parties and the media because he didn't play ball the way they wanted him to.

[Ron]

I find it humorous that you make a pro-religion statement, and then disparage "conspiracy theories"

[CE]

Yeah, it embarrasses people when someone points out they've been duped by the people orchestrating the conspiracies AND by the people manipulating them through organized religion.

[Dave]

Say word son

[Enough About Palin]

This idiot is one turnbuckle shy of a wrestling ring. Maybe even two.

[Snowbee]

Probably not the best nominee when your party's biggest real concern is to get the public over its view of you as "crazy."

[CE]

If a presidential candidate isn't a conspiracy theorist, he's far too gullible to be trusted with that much power.

[CatoTheElder]

Any pairing of Paul, Johnson, or Ventura on the Libertarian ticket would get my vote. I'd even vote for them if they ran as Republicans.

The Ventura-Johnson ticket might be particularly attractive to the female WWF fan demographic.

[joe]

We have a president who murders citizens. We have a congress who just passed a bill eliminating due process. We are at war illegally in 7 countries. And Ventura is crazy?? What the hell is wrong with you dudes?

[JeremyR]

The thing is, that isn't new. The Federal government did all that and worse in the Civil War. In my state (Missouri) Southern sympathizers were shot without trial, and they ordered all people off their farms in Western Missouri, essentially ethnically cleansing it (minus the ethnic part)

But regardless, most Americans like America - they don't really want to hear people trash talk it. Ron Paul's blaming America for 9/11 is bad enough (and why he will never ever get major traction as a Republican, or simply just period), but Ventura's conspiracy theories about it go far beyond that.

[joe]

No, the thing is people who do those things and advocate for them are insane. They need to be fought and removed from positions of power. This is an always will be a continuous battle for humanity. We are losing badly at the moment. When saying "Americans like America" you are referring to the principles of justice and freedom this country stands for in which you would agree far more with Paul or Johnson than Obama or Romney. People who think otherwise are WRONG and their defenders pathetic.

[Brian from Texas]

Ventura makes Gingrich look almost rational.

[June]

There is a difference between seeking the LP nomination and getting it. I would not vote to make Jesse our candidate as I think he did a number of very unlibertarian things as governor. I would be delighted though to have him try for it as it will both give the LP a lot of publicity and the opportunity to make clear why someone else was selected instead. Gary Johnson has gotten more publicity on his rumors of an LP run than he's gotten for all his positions on the issues. Hopefully a nomination run by either of them will help to get the libertarian message out to more voters than all our current unknowns.