Vermin Supreme calls LP an embarrassment

Vermin Supreme, a 2020 contender for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination who wears a boot on his head, now calls the LP an embarrassment.

Former Libertarian Presidential Candidate Torches Party | Newsweek - Nick Reynolds:

February 8, 2023 - "A former Libertarian candidate for president who rose to prominence for promises of free ponies while wearing a wellington rubber boot on his head denounced his involvement in the movement earlier this week, claiming the party has become a 'non-functional embarrassment' in a profanity-laden tweet late Tuesday night.

"Vermin Supreme — a performance artist and activist who finished third for the party's nomination for president at its 2020 convention — claimed Tuesday night he regretted ever getting involved in the party following a number of highly publicized missteps by the party's newly installed leadership ahead of a planned anti-war rally it was sponsoring in Washington, D.C., later this month to protest excessive U.S. aid to Ukraine.

"The rally's main aim, organizers claimed, was to promote a list of demands including immediate peace in Ukraine, global nuclear de-escalation, the abolition of the CIA and the "military industrial deep state," and the disbandment of NATO, among others. While many of the demands are considered standard fare among the anti-war movement, it was the messengers many — including Vermin Supreme — took issue with, prompting him to denounce his place in the party.

"'To all that were attracted to the Libertarian Party by my 2020 candidacy: I am sorry,' Supreme wrote on Twitter. "It has become a terrible dumpsterfire of a s***show. I regret my involvement in such a non-functional embarrassment full of paleo dips***s, pedo apologists, and culture war f***wads.' Newsweek has reached out to Vermin Supreme for comment.... 

"Angela McArdle, the current chair of the National Libertarian Party, told Newsweek the perennial candidate's views were not necessarily shared by others in the party. 'The guy who wore the boot on his head is not a great representative of the party,' she told Newsweek. 'He's kind of been out of step with us for a while.'"

"Others, however, said the credentials of many of the speakers scheduled ... spoke for themselves. In addition to mainstream speakers like journalist Scott Horton, former Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and former U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, the ... inclusion of speakers with pro-Russian sympathies ... undermine[d] whatever message the party hoped to advance, critics claimed....

"Party leaders have sought to downplay those concerns, issuing a statement Tuesday ... unequivocally stating the Libertarian Party's event was designed for one purpose: to oppose all wars. McArdle noted in addition to conservative speakers, the rally would also feature figures from the left like activist David Swanson as well as other fellow travelers aligned with the Libertarian position.

We are not pro-Putin. We are not pro-Russia. We oppose Russia's invasion and any initiation of force,' the statement read. 'The threat of nuclear devastation is higher than it's been for decades, and the war in Ukraine has led to horrifying death, harm, and destruction for thousands of innocents. War is simply mass murder writ large, and the party's opposition to these crimes has never been in question. Any speaker advocating for the contrary does not align with our values.'"

"The episode surrounding the February 19 'Rage Against The War Machine' rally, however, offers only a glimpse into a growing rift within the Libertarian movement over the past several years."

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/former-libertarian-presidential-candidate-torches-party-1779962 

"Vermin Supreme: King of the Rats," cultureschlock13, September 9., 2012: 

Libertarian Party chooses Jorgensen / Cohen

Jo Jorgensen Wins Libertarian Party Presidential Nomination | Reason - Brian Doherty:

May 23, 2020 - 'In a day-long virtual meeting, after four ballots, the 1,035 delegates assembled for the Libertarian Party's online convention selected Jo Jorgensen as their presidential candidate. She won with slightly over 51 percent of the vote (not every delegate voted in every round) on that fourth ballot, with 524 votes. Jacob Hornberger came in second, with nearly 28 percent of the vote. Vermin Supreme came in third, with 20 percent of the final vote....

The party's voting procedure involved six candidates officially in nomination: Jorgensen, Jacob Hornberger, Vermin Supreme, John Monds, Judge James Gray, and Adam Kokesh. (Members could vote for other people if they wanted, or for none of the above, and many did.) Jorgensen led the vote in every round, though she was only 12 votes ahead of runner-up Jacob Hornberger on the first ballot.

"As per the party's procedure, the lowest vote getter in each round was technically eliminated for the next one. Kokesh was eliminated after round one, Gray after round two, and Monds after round three. Jorgensen's lead grew with each round, to 82 votes over Hornberger on the second ballot and a 126-vote lead on the third. Hornberger's support remained pretty steady, rising only to 285 from his first-round 236 votes.

"Jorgensen vowed to 'make this the most successful campaign we can' in a speech after the results came in." Runner-up Hornberger said in a concession speech that he 'hold[s] her in the highest respect and esteem.'"

Read more: https://reason.com/2020/05/23/jo-jorgensen-wins-libertarian-party-presidential-nomination/

Libertarian Party Picks Spike Cohen as Its Vice-Presidential Candidate | Reason - Brian Doherty:

May 24, 2020 - "Spike Cohen, who runs Muddied Waters Media, won the Libertarian Party's nomination for vice-president today. On the online convention's third ballot, Cohen got 533 votes — 52 percent of the total — narrowly edging out former presidential candidate John Monds.

"Jo Jorgensen, a Clemson psychologist who served as the party's vice presidential candidate in 1996, was chosen as the Libertarian presidential nominee yesterday in a separate vote. Jorgensen had expressed a preference for Monds to be her vice president. Cohen has linked himself to political satirist Vermin Supreme, who ran this year for the party's presidential nod."

Read more: https://reason.com/2020/05/24/libertarian-party-picks-spike-cohen-as-its-vice-presidential-candidate/

NOTA got most votes in Massachusetts LP primary

by George J. Dance

Results of the Libertarian Party (LP) primary in Massachusetts held on Super Tuesday, March 3,have been posted on Wikipedia. 4,158 people voted in the primary, making it the third-largest poll of LP members so far, after two other Super Tuesday states (California with 22,021 votes case, and North Carolina with 6,914).

324 Massachuetts LP voters, or 7.8% of the total,  cast blank ballots. Of the 3,834 marked ballots, the largest number of votes went to None of the Above (NOTA). NOTA received 804, or 21%, more than twice as much as any candidate.

Vermin Supreme received the highest total of any candidate, 398 votes (10.4%), and was declared the primary winner by the Secretary of State's office. Close behind was Future of Freedom Foundation founder Jacob Hornberger, with 369 (9.6%).

No other candidate beat the blank ballot total. Dan "Taxation is Theft" Behrman received 294 votes (7.7% of marked ballots), and 224 votes were cast for Kim Ruff (who withdrew from the race in January). Arvin Vohra was the only other candidate to break 150 votes, with 151 (3.9%).

Massachusetts was the final Super Tuesday state to release LP totals. Of the three states that held Libertarian primaries that day, NOTA took the most votes in two (North Carolina with 33% and Massachusetts with 21%), while Hornberger won California with 19%. (NOTA was not on the ballot in California.) Hornberger also won the March 10 LP primary in Missouri, where NOTA was the only other option, with almost 75% of the vote.

Three candidates who entered the race late - Mark Whitney (who filed in December), former Senator Lincoln Chafee (filed in January), and John Monds (filed in February) - have not yet appeared on any Libertarian primary ballots. 

Hornberger wins CA Libertarian primary with 18%

Libertarian Super Tuesday: Big Night for Jacob Hornberger, NOTA; John McAfee Drops Out and Backs Vermin Supreme | Reason.com - Matt Welch:

March 4, 2020 - "Libertarian Party primaries and caucuses are nonbinding, which means that no delegates are awarded.... Still, the election results provide a snapshot of what party members are thinking less than three months out.

"So far, the trend line is unmistakable — the Libertarian front-runner at this point is ... Future of Freedom Foundation founder Jacob Hornberger. After previously winning the Iowa and Minnesota caucuses, and getting the second-most first-place votes in the New Hampshire primary as a write-in, Hornberger was the biggest human vote-getter in two of the three Super Tuesday primaries that have posted results so far.

"In California, with 99.9 percent of precincts reporting, Hornberger led a field of 13 candidates with 17.5 percent of the vote. Tied for second with 11.6 percent were former military officer and Honolulu County Neighborhood Board member Ken Armstrong, and political satirist Vermin Supreme, the latter of whom previously won the New Hampshire primary. Lagging just behind at 11.4 percent was 1996 L.P. vice presidential nominee and academic Jo Jorgensen.

""Massachusetts officials don't expect to have an official statewide count until next week. According to unofficial numbers ... comprising roughly three-quarters of ballots, ... 'None of the Above' (NOTA) was leading with around 19 percent of the vote, followed by Vermin Supreme with 11.5 percent and Hornberger with 9.4 percent. Write-ins, which have not yet been broken down, amounted to a combined 29.3 percent....

"And in North Carolina, ... Hornberger again paced the biped field with 8.7 percent, though NOTA stomped with 29.8 percent. (NOTA wasn't on the ballot in California.) Just behind Hornberger with 8.2 percent was antivirus pioneer and international man of mystery John McAfee, who promptly dropped out, threw his support behind Vermin Supreme, and announced his candidacy for vice president....

"Not on any of the three Super Tuesday Libertarian ballots were recent entrants Lincoln Chafee (the former U.S. senator and Rhode Island governor, who finished second in the Iowa L.P. caucus and tied for fourth in Minnesota); entrepreneur/ex-convict Mark Whitney (11th and fourth, respectively, in same), and former million-vote-getting Georgia gubernatorial candidate John Monds (15th and fourth).

"Meanwhile, the leading fundraiser in the race, activist and veteran Adam Kokesh, finished sixth in California with 7.9 percent, tied for eighth in Massachusetts with 4.4 percent, and ninth in North Carolina with 3.5 percent."

Read more: https://reason.com/2020/03/04/libertarian-super-tuesday-big-night-for-jacob-hornberger-nota-john-mcafee-drops-out-and-backs-vermin-supreme/

NOTA wins North Carolina Libertarian primary

by George J. Dance

According to results posted on Wikipedia, None of the Above (NOTA) won the North Carolina Libertarian Party primary held on Super Tuesday, March 3. There were 6,904 votes cast in the primary, the largest number of Libertarians to vote a presidential candidate preference so far in 2020. Less than 500 people voted in the three previous contests (in New Hampshire, Iowa, and Minnesota) combined, making the Super Tuesday votes the first with a large enough sample size to indicate Libertarians' actual preference.

Of those 6,904 votes, 30% (2,060) went to NOTA. Future of Freedom Foundation founder Jacob Hornberger placed first among the declared candidates, with 604 votes, or 9% of the vote (making NOTA's margin of victory more than 20 percentage points).

Close behind Hornberger were John McAfee with 570 votes, and Kim Ruff (who suspended her campaign in January after losing to Vermin Supreme in New Hampshire) with 545. The only other candidates to receive at least 5% of the vote were Supreme (410), Ken Armstrong (366), and Jo Jorgensen (316).

Neither former Rhode Island Governor and Senator Lincoln Chafee nor "million-vote man" John Monds received any votes, and they may not have been on the ballot. I have asked the North Carolina Party to clarify the point, and will update the article when received.

Libertarians want to keep the borders open

Libertarian Presidential Candidates Champion 'Open Borders' | Reason.com - Matt Welch:

February 26, 2020 - "Donald Trump, the most anti-immigrant president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, is running against a Democratic presidential field that almost unanimously favors providing government-run health insurance to illegal immigrants. Surely there is some middle ground....

"The Libertarian Party, still the country's number-three political grouping (however distantly), has a platform very copacetic toward immigrants.... 'Libertarians believe that people should be able to travel freely as long as they are peaceful,' the party's immigration plank reads. 'A truly free market requires the free movement of people, not just products and ideas.... Of course, if someone has a record of violence, credible plans for violence, or acts violently, then Libertarians support blocking their entry, deporting, and/or prosecuting and imprisoning them'....

"To a notable degree, the L.P.'s top 2020 presidential candidates are hewing to the party's radical-for-American-politics immigration platform. 'One of the proudest positions that we have in this party is our open-border plank,' Future of Freedom Foundation founder Jacob Hornberger, who won the party's non-binding presidential caucuses in Iowa and Minnesota this month, said during a California debate that I moderated Feb. 16.... Adam Kokesh, whose big campaign idea is signing an executive order on day one that dissolves the federal government, posited that 'Government borders are not legitimate,' and that 'only private property borders' deserve respect....

"Vermin Supreme, who won the party's only other early-state contest so far (New Hampshire), quipped that 'You cannot outlaw people. If you outlaw people, only people will be outlaws.' Mark Whitney, an ex-convict comedy enthusiast who founded THELAWNET, said of undocumented immigrants, 'I not only want them to be citizens, I want them working on my campaign'....

"Jo Jorgensen complained that, 'Right now, we've got a system in which we keep everybody out, except we just let a few people in. What we need to do is flip it'.... And ... Lincoln Chafee stressed the political expediency of it all: 'I see this as a political advantage that with our open-border policy and libertarian views on immigration, especially the fastest-growing voting bloc in the United States, the Hispanics, are going to have the opportunity in 2020 to look at our platform and come to our side'....

"At the Massachusetts state Libertarian convention last July, months before he jumped into the race, Hornberger gave a fire-and-brimstone defense of open immigration as essential to a free society.... Part of what makes Hornberger's immigration message saleable to Libertarians is that he couples it with obliterating, not expanding, the welfare state.

"'We live in a society that is based on massive mandatory charity,' he said in Massachusetts. 'With the crown jewels of this system being Social Security and Medicare, along with a host of others. There is no way to reconcile a genuinely free society with mandatory charity. No way at all. Because people have a natural, God-given right to keep everything they earn, and decide for themselves what to do with it'....

"The L.P. presidential race, which will be settled at the national convention in Austin, Texas, May 21-25, has so far been a battle to see who can best represent the libertarian wing of the Libertarian Party. As such it is striking, in this moment of major-party polarization and deep immigration-policy divides, to see a principled Libertarian immigration message emerging: Mr. Trump, tear down this wall."

Read more: https://reason.com/2020/02/26/libertarian-presidential-candidates-champion-open-borders/

Hornberger wins LP Minnesota caucuses

Libertarian Party Results for Caucus Night 2020 | Libertarian Party of Minnesota:

February 25, 2020 - "Though the major parties insist that the 2020 Presidential election will be the most important election of our lifetime, many Minnesotans refuse to accept this repeated lie and showed up to vote at the Libertarian Party caucus on Tuesday, February 25th, 2020. The LPMN does not have a virtual, absentee, or early voting process, therefore every vote was cast in person.

"Each of Minnesota’s eight Congressional districts conducted their own gathering for a ranked choice vote of 17 Libertarian candidates to be the LP Nominee for President (including None Of The Above).....

• CD 1 – Jacob Hornberger
• CD 2 – Jo Jorgensen tie Jacob Hornberger
• CD 3 – Jacob Hornberger
• CD 4 – Jo Jorgensen
• CD 5 – Jacob Hornberger
• CD 6 – Jacob Hornberger
• CD 7 – Vermin Supreme
• CD 8 – Lincoln Chafee

"After tallying all 98 votes accumulated statewide, the winner was Jacob Hornberger in Round 7, followed by Jo Jorgenson, and then Vermin Supreme to round out the top three.

"Political Director for The Libertarian Party of Minnesota Jill Galvan said, 'It’s been a really exciting time for the party. Getting the word out about the unfairness of the ballot access laws here in Minnesota has really brought attention to our cause and spurred people to come out and vote for an alternative here tonight.'

"LPMN Chair Chris Holbrook added, 'Despite the struggles Minnesota now faces to turn people out to caucus due to switching to a super Tuesday primary, we thank all of our conveners and attendees. After seeing empty rooms or none attempted for other political parties in this state, we are proud to be active Libertarians.'"

Hornberger wins LP Iowa caucuses

Libertarian Party of Iowa Presidential Caucus Winner and Results - Libertarian Party of Iowa - Joseph Howe::

February 8, 2020 - "The Libertarian Party of Iowa is pleased to announce the results of our first ever Libertarian Presidential Preference Poll. Libertarians gathered across the state at county level caucuses and conventions to elect officers, build county committees and select delegates to the 2020 LPIA State Convention. Additionally, The LPIA conducted a Virtual Caucus, ensuring the greatest possible participation and inclusion for Libertarians across the state.

"The LPIA, in the tradition of the Iowa Caucuses, held a Presidential Straw Poll to signal registered Libertarians preference for our Presidential nomination. We are pleased to announce the winner: Future of Freedom Foundation founder Jacob Hornberger, who took a commanding 47.52% of the vote. Rounding out the top five are former Rhode Island Governor and U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee, 1996 Libertarian Vice Presidential Nominee Jo Jorgensen, Veterans Against the Iraq War founder Adam Kokesh and software engineer and entrepreneur Daniel Behrman....

"About Jacob Hornberger, from his website:... 'Jacob is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation a non-profit educational foundation whose mission is to present the principled case for the libertarian philosophy (and which, as a non-profit foundation, does not endorse his candidacy or any other candidacy). On November 2, 2019, Jacob announced his candidacy for the 2020 Libertarian Party nomination at the South Carolina state convention.'

"Iowa state delegates will select our national delegation at the 2020 LPIA State Convention and Presidential Forum at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, on February 29th. These delegates, while not bound to these results, will give thoughtful consideration of these results. The candidates in attendance of the Presidential Forum will discuss the issues that Iowa Libertarians hold dear. Jacob Hornberger, Iowa Caucus winner, will be a participant along with nine other candidates, click for information on Forum and Convention."

Candidate - Total - Percent

Jacob Hornberger - 134 - 47.52%
Lincoln Chafee - 36 - 12.77%
Jo Jorgensen - 18 - 6.38%
Adam Kokesh - 17 - 6.03%
Daniel Behrman - 14 - 4.96%
John McAfee - 10 - 3.55%
Vermin Supreme - 9 - 3.19%
Other (Write In) - 8 - 2.84%
None of the Above - 8 - 2.84%

Read more:

https://lpia.org/2020/02/08/libertarian-party-of-iowa-presidential-caucus-winner-and-results/
'via Blog this'

Strange doings in New Hampshire

Political Animal readers may have seen my facebook post of last night on the January 11 Libertarian Party of New Hampshire (LPNH) Presidential Preference Primary results:

The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire recently held a "ranked choice" preference vote for 2020 presidential nominee; but the results show only that they don't know how to count a "ranked choice" ballot. "According to the party’s announcement, 44 votes were cast.... Of those, 26 voted for Vermin Supreme. The next highest was 22 voting for Kim Ruff. Jo Jorgensen got 17 votes, Dan “Taxation is Theft” Behrman got 13. Jacob Hornberger got 9, NOTA got 13 (which stands for None of the Above), Sam Robb got 8 votes, Arvin Vohra got 6, Mark Whitney got 6, Lincoln Chafee got 4, and then 16 got under 10 percent of the votes and weren’t listed." That makes 144 [should have been 140] votes, or 100 more than were cast. It looks like the scrutineers simply counted every ranking filled out for a candidate - first choice, second choice, last choice, whatever - as one vote.

I received a number of comments, including one on the LPNH facebook page explaining how the votes were counted. I did the required reading, and wrote my results up as an article.

However, I submitted the article to online magazine Nolan Chart, in the hope that it would get more exposure; and therefore I cannot print it here as well. I urge all my readers to go to the Nolan Chart site and give it a read.

Strange Doings in New Hampshire
https://www.nolanchart.com/strange-doings-in-new-hampshire

Here is a look at Vermin Supreme, the primary winner:

LP POTUS field makes me want to vote NOTA

by George J. Dance

2020 will be a leap year, and like all leap years will witness a new installment of the biggest, longest, most-watched media event of them all. No, not the Summer Olympics; those run for only a few weeks. I'm talking about the U.S. presidential election, which runs from January right through to the inauguration finale a year later.

The Republican and Democratic races for the 2020 nomination are already getting plenty of attention; as usual, the Libertarian race is not. This year, though, that is probably a very good thing, considering the choice of candidates offered so far.

Apparent frontrunner Adam Kokesh is a founder of Iraqi Veterans against the War, who has run for the Senate (and lost) as a Ron Paul Republican. The only Libertarian Party activism I know him for is his disrupton of the LP's 2008 campaign kickoff. He has also conducted a libertarian podcast, on one show of which he advocated killing police (hence my nickname for him, "Kop-Killer Kokesh"). His platform is to abolish the U.S. government by Executive Order, and then resign.

Then comes Arvin Vohra, former LP vice-chairman. Originally a pragmatic millennial politician-in-training, he became radicalized after the 2016 Johnson campaign, and began taking extreme positions - some of which, like writing that age of consent laws should be abolished, and calling school board shootings a "good idea," led to attempts to censure him and remove him from office. In the end, LP voters did remove him at the last convention - following which he promptly declared as a POTUS candidate.

Then there is John McAfee, an eccentric (if he's still rich) who plans to campaign "from exile". Plus a bunch of people I know nothing about; this is getting too long, so I'll just give a link. And as always there is Vermin Supreme, the ex-Democrat who campaigns with a boot on his head, and whose signature campaign plank is to give every American a pony.

In short, the real LP candidate hasn't surfaced yet; all we have are possibilities.  Four well-qualified possibilities are:

Mark Sanford, former governor of South Carolina. Sanford has never lost a general election, but was defeated as congressman by a Trump-endorsed candidate in the 2018 GOP primary, so he has no seat to lose. He has always focused on the national debt crisis, which I think will be big news again by 2020 (now that the Democratic-leaning media can blame it on Trump).

William Weld, former governor of Massachusetts. While he ran for the LP as Johnson's running mate, Weld is a divisive figure in the party. Besides, he has rejoined the Republicans to primary Trump. Weld is staking everything on New Hampshire: if he does well there, his campaign could catch fire (at least with the Dem-leaning media), and make him a star; in which case he would be the most prominent candidate we could get. But many members count his reregistering Republican, after declaring that he was in the LP for life, as a betrayal and sell-out, making him more hated than ever by a large faction.

Lincoln Chafee, former governor of Rhode Island. Chafee is a wild card - he registered Libertarian just this month - who isn't telling anyone his plans as yet.

Justin Amash, congressman from Michigan. Amash is the most libertarian guy in the House, today's Ron Paul, and I would prefer that he stay there. However, since he accused Trump of "impeachable" conduct, he too has a Trump-endorsed primary challenger, who is leading him by double digits. If Amash loses the primary, there is no way he could win his seat as an independent (or Libertarian), as Michigan has straight-ticket voting. Meanwhile, there is a sizable movement within the LP to draft him for the Libertarian nomination, including a facebook page I recently joined:

Three of those four (Weld excepted) could have the nomination for the asking. Alas, none of the four is presently a live option: none is even running for the job. Given today's live options - the current field of declared candidates - the only one worth voting for is None of the Above: which, fortunately, will be on the ballot at the LP's 2020 presidential convention.