A LIBERTARIAN GOVERNOR?….Baseball Crank says the libertarian hour has finally come. Libertarians aren’t generally popular enough to win an election that requires a majority vote, but in the California recall election this October it will probably be possible to win the governorship with as little as 20% of the vote. A libertarian could do it!
There’d be…problems, of course: You’d need to pick just one candidate; you’d need someone who’s got some name recognition from business, show biz or some other field; you’d probably need a candidate who could fund much of his or her candidacy, in the absence of an established libertarian fundraising network.
And you’d have to be practical. Instead of calling for repeal of the drug laws, focus more narrowly on fighting the Justice Department’s position on medical marijuana and advocate more limited reductions in some drug laws and penalties. Offer other ways to cut back government that go deeper than GOP remedies without getting locked into debates about privatizing the fire department.
Hmmm, so all we need is a rich, famous, libertarian movie star. That might be tough to find.
It’s certainly true that this election provides a better chance for a small party candidate than a normal election, but I have a feeling that 20% is still about 5x more than any libertarian candidate could get, especially since there are already three conservative Republicans running who are going to get the small government vote. And promising even deeper cuts is probably not a winner here in California.
But hey, Matt Welch is a libertarian, isn’t he? He’s not rich, or well known, or in show business, but other than that he’s perfect. Sign him up!
