Old School GOP Bad Boy Roger Stone Contemplates Libertarian Run for Governor of Florida
Can a man with a Nixon tattoo successfully carry the Libertarian Party banner in the Sunshine State? Roger Stone says he wants to try. Robert Costa reports in National Review:
The former campaign adviser to Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan says he wants to run as a libertarian, third-party challenger to incumbent Republican governor Rick Scott and the Democratic nominee.
"I don't have any illusions about winning, but I'd like to carry the flag for the liberty movement," Stone says. "The Republican party is dead and it can't be revived, so it's time for the Libertarian party to be a force."
Stone will make a final decision on a gubernatorial run by the end of the year. In the meantime, he'll ask libertarian activists for their support.
His politics have evolved since he once practiced the "black arts," as Stone describes his past activities, for Nixon and other Republican contenders. He now supports marijuana legalization and open borders; on social issues, he is pro-choice and pro-gay-marriage. He's also a fiscal hawk and detests "Beltway Republicans" for their frequent "spending orgies."
"If I run, I'm going to be provocative, and I'm going to punch up," he says. "It's going to be like Bill Buckley's mayoral run in 1965. I'm going to have a lot of fun with this campaign. It's going to get people's attention."
Stone came out as a Libertarian with the Gary Johnson campaign in 2012. His Twitter feed is always a weird hoot.