Over 800 members of the Libertarian Party (LP) gathered at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta on Memorial Day weekend to nominate their candidate for president. This year, because of growing resentment towards the war in Iraq and the continuing erosion of civil rights and individual liberties, the LP see an opportunity to win the Pride of the Potomac. At the very least, the Libertarians believe they can spoil President Bush's chances of winning and throw the country into the stalemate of a Democratic president hobbled by a Republican congress. The LP logic is that it is better to have a government that cannot make any decisions rather than a government that will make bad decisions.

First, the delegates have to agree on a candidate. As David Nolan, founder of the LP, said, "If you have 100 libertarians in one room, you'll have 110 different opinions as some will change their minds after they have spoken." Nolan founded the party in 1971 after leaving the Republican Party in response to the "Viet-Nam war, crackdowns on civil liberties, and restrictions on economic freedoms." (James W. Harris, Nolan: Innovator for Liberty, http://theadvocates.org/celebrities/david-nolan.html). Nolan sees the Patriot Act, and its impending sequel, as further proof that the United States has gone from Land of Liberty to a "Post-Constitutional" police state.

Carolyn, the self-professed anarchist, echoes these statements. She tells a group of workshop attendees that she once told an IRS representative, "She (the IRS representative) would be better off as a fry cook." According toCarolyn, the IRS then took everything she owned. Carolyn was quick to distance herself from the mainstream party by saying "if there are any media in the room, please don't confuse me with the nice thoughtful libertarians."

In addition to the anarchist representation and the 'thoughtful' libertarians, the trade booth area had representatives from the Free State Project; the GOP-no, not that one, the Georgians Opposed to Prohibition, whose stated goal is the end of marijuana prohibition; various conspiracy theorists; the ACLU; and other freedom based groups.In keeping with the core beliefs of minimum government involvement, no taxpayer funds went to the cost of the LP convention; unlike the Republican and Democratic National Conventions that cost the taxpayers upwards of 75 million dollars.

The candidates, Michael Badnarik, Gary Nolan (no relation to David Nolan) and Aaron Russo where almost interchangeable in what they said; though they were light years from each other with regards to delivery and presence. Badnarik, a soft-spoken software engineer from Austin, Texas and constitutional scholar, won the final nomination 423 to 344. Before that however, there was a debate rich with sound bites, a first run nomination separated by less than 20 votes among the front-runners, and dyspeptic behavior by one of the candidates. Badnarik's message was clear throughout the debate as well as his nomination speech: "there is no balance between the constitution and the laws of land."

The two other primary candidates, Gary Nolan and Aaron Russo, each had their strengths as well as a discernible animosity for each other. When Nolan, a former Republican turned Libertarian, lost the first of two run-off nominations, he almost caused an uprising among Russo supporters when he tossed his support to Badnarik-arguably handing Badnarik the nomination.

While the delegates were debating this latest moment in LP politics, the party organizers chose to run a movie of Steve Kubby, a former LP candidate for Governor of California and current wanted felon living in Canada. Kubby was arrested for possession of medical marijuana in the US and has since fled with his family to Canada where medicinal marijuana is legal. According to the movie, Kubby suffers from adrenal cancer and marijuana is the best (though not the only) method of treatment. During the video, a life-sized cut out of President Bush wearing a necklace of cannabis danced across the convention floor.

Dean Cameron, star of the eighties television show "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", was on hand selling gold plated pocket sized versions of the Bill of Rights. Called the "Security Edition," Cameron encouraged purchasers to carry the small metal card with them when they traveled through airports. When forced to empty their pockets, the carriers could toss the Bill of Rights in the tray in a symbolic gesture of tossing their rights away. In Cameron's words, "Going to public events and getting searched is not a normal occurrence in a free society."

When the next round of votes was tabulated, Russo's concession speech contained an equal dose of laudatory remarks for Badnarik and vitriol towards Nolan. "When I entered this race," Russo said, after congratulating Badnarik and offering him his full support, "I wasn't sure if it was to lead this party or just make sure that Gary Nolan didn't."

The reason for the split between the two candidates was more than the presidential nomination. According to some in Russo's camp, Nolan was a Trojan Libertarian; a Republican in Libertarian clothing whose purpose was to guarantee that the Libertarians were not a threat to George W. Bush. Others thought Nolan was too slick; simply an affectation to impress the members in order to work his skullduggery.

Nolan's proponents were equally cutting in their opinions about Russo; the biggest complaint: he was not presidential. Russo's stage presence was more motivational huckster than elected official: he was loud, and animated. He was passionate about what he believed; though one delegate said Russo reminded her "too much of Howard Dean". Another compared Russo favorably to Tony Soprano (and Nolan negatively to Mister Rogers). Rachel Mills, of the Ladies of Liberty Calendar, was quoted in Russo's campaign material as saying, "do you want Mister Rogers or Tony Soprano fighting for our freedoms?" While that comparison may work among some Libertarians, one wonders how effective "vote for me, and I won't put your head in a bowling ball bag" would have been among traditional voters.

Badnarik ran the most reserved campaign of the three candidates. Supporters of Badnarik were more likely to use the words "principled,""gentleman," and "intellectual" in reference to their candidate than supporters of Russo or Nolan. Badnarik kept with the LP line on most issues: when asked during the debate about gay marriage, Badnarik replied, "What does that license give you the right to do that you haven't done before?" On a potential draft, "If you cannot get you citizens to rally around your country for a war, perhaps it is an unjust war." The biggest applause for Badnarik came when, in reference to government-sponsored healthcare he responded, "Congress doesn't understand the constitution-how much do they know about medicine?"

However, there may be some trouble ahead on the gentleman candidate's nomination. Throughout the debates, nominations and speeches, there was no mention of the fact that Badnarik does not carry a driver's license or pay income taxes as a stance against government intrusion into private lives. Some Libertarians believe that a recall may be in order. According to Thomas L. Knapp, former Russo campaign-staffer, and publisher of the Rational Review, "Anybody who didn't know, as of Sunday, what Michael Badnarik stood for, didn't know because they didn't want to know." (http://www.rationalreview.com/tlknapp/060104.shtml).

For now, however, all paths lead to the Potomac. As Badnarik said in his acceptance speech, "If I can win this nomination, there is no reason I cannot win this election." But can the Libertarians really defeat Bush or Kerry? Isn't a vote for a Libertarian a wasted vote? "If you were in prison and you had 50 percent of lethal injection, a 45 percent chance of going to the electric chair and only a 5 percent chance of escape, are you going to vote for lethal injection, because that's your most likely outcome?" Badnarik asked in his closing statement. Or, as one delegate said, "If you vote for the lesser of two evils, you still get evil."

Tony is a communications major with a professional writing minor. The archives of his work can be found here.

Email Tony Sarrecchia

Send this Article to a Friend