October 2004

By Wendy Terry

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"Underdog Surges to Win Libertarian Nomination" read the headline in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday, May 31. No one was more shocked about the victory than Michael Badnarik. "Not in my wildest dreams..." he said through tears. I always enjoy seeing a victory for the underdog and this one is no exception. I love the old cartoon "Underdog" that still gets played on the Boomerang station. His motto was "Here I come to save the day!" After the dust settled on Sunday, May 30, I realized that Michael Badnarik saved the day for the Libertarian Party. I was originally slated to be a delegate at the Libertarian Party's National Convention. Though I was upset that personal events made my trip to Atlanta impossible, the coverage I watched on C-Span helped me overcome my disappointment.

I eagerly watched the debate on Saturday night. I was a debater in high school, so I always enjoy a good debate anyway. For a Libertarian, this one was mostly about style. There were relatively few answers that were different. Gary Nolan's answers were the typical "party line." He certainly knew all the Libertarian things to say. Aaron Russo gave a few answers that differed from the other two. Perhaps the most prominent one was concerning the environment. He pointed out that Libertarian environmental policies can be much more than simply tort actions. He also pointed out that government encourages the use of pharmaceuticals and discourages Americans from using natural medicine. Most of Michael Badnarik's answers were not only in line with LP principles, they were sharp, succinct, and savvy. Many of his answers are now the new Libertarian sound bytes. He gave what Libertarian National Committee chairman Geoffrey Neale called, "the best answer ever to the wasted vote argument." Badnarik stated, "If you were in prison and you had a 50% choice of lethal injection, a 45% chance of going to the electric chair and only a 5% chance of escape, are you likely to vote for lethal injection because that is your most likely outcome? If you continue to vote for the Democrats or the Republicans, you are committing political suicide." C-Span had planned to interview each of the candidates after the debate, but due to sound problems, these interviews were canceled.

Coverage resumed Sunday morning, beginning with nomination speeches. Nolan was endorsed by many state chairs, as well as by Missouri’s own, Michael Ferguson. In addition to state chairs and well known Libertarians, Barry Hess and Ed Thompson, Russo was endorsed by several outside the Libertarian Party, including Marijuana Policy Project’s director Rob Kampia. Badnarik’s own mother gave one of his endorsement speeches, one of the finest I’ve ever heard. Californian Dave Hollist endorsed himself, and he later received only one delegate vote. Jeffery Diket, from Louisiana, received an endorsement from a fellow Louisiana supporter who encouraged the delegates to research and understand the New World Order. Jeffery Diket also endorsed himself and encouraged Libertarians to end their “baby killer” platform plank. He stated that doing so would garner the Libertarian Party much more support. Drew Carey was not endorsed by anyone. By the time the endorsement speeches were concluded, the scheduled two hours of C-Span time was nearly over. It was apparent the there would only be time in their schedule to include the first round of voting.

Voting was to begin with South Dakota. South Dakota and Rhode Island, were the only states not represented. Voting continued, mostly in alphabetical order, with the chair of each state’s delegation continuing the National Convention tradition of beginning their voting report with a short speech about their state. Missouri’s delegation chair was Hugh Emerson. His speech about Missouri’s travel and entertainment industries being connected by pothole ridden highways concluded with an apology for Missouri bringing John Ashcroft to the country, and a roar of applause from the convention floor. Missouri’s delegation followed the norm set at the convention: delegates were split between the three main contenders. In the first round of voting, Missouri had cast nine votes for Badnarik, ten for Nolan, and five for Russo. The bottom of the screen showed the voting tallies, updated as each state’s delegation chair announced vote totals for the state. Badnarik, Nolan, Russo, and Other were listed. When all the states had cast their votes, the two hours C-Span had scheduled for LP Convention coverage was over. A voice-over announced that World War II Memorial Day coverage was next up in the programming. The vote tally at the bottom of the screen disappeared, as the camera panned the audience, then back to the LNC Chair. Chairman Neale announced that the Libertarians do not have a coronation ceremony; delegates responded with applause and whistles. Chairman Neale, with help from those on the convention floor was able to announce LP.org and 1-800-ELECT-US several times for C-Span viewers.

After two hours, C-Span viewers were left wondering who would win. Russo was on top with 258 votes; Badnarik was only 2 votes behind with 256, and Nolan had received 246 votes. None of the candidates had received enough delegates to win the nomination. Candidates listed as “other” included Jeffrey Diket with 4 votes, Drew Carey with 3 votes, and Dave Hollist with one. None of the above received 10 votes. The bottom of the screen now stated: “Next up: WWII Memorial Day Coverage...” and I watched the screen closely, waiting, wondering, and hoping. Hope prevailed. Within a few minutes, another voice-over announced that LP Convention coverage would continue until a winner was declared. On Memorial Day weekend, C-Span personnel chose to cover every minute of voting, including forty-five minutes of recess, rather than the planned Memorial Day speeches from veterans. This both shocked and pleased most Libertarian viewers.

During the recess, cameras panned the audience in search of interesting conversations, which were not hard to find. Both Nolan and Russo supporters screamed, chanted, and paraded across the convention floor, in an attempt to gain more votes on the next ballot. A few Badnarik supporters shouted at delegates to vote their conscience. Nolan was seen trying to convince Badnarik supporters to vote for him, while Russo continued to enjoy his supporters, laughing that they were “nuts” to be screaming out his name. He appeared shocked to have come out on top after the first vote. Badnarik was seen mostly with his mother, and briefly talking to Russo, who ironically had offered to nominate Badnarik for Vice President. Some of the state’s delegations, especially Indiana, stood on boxes and gave speeches to their delegates, encouraging them to change their vote. Indiana state chair stated that even though Badnarik clearly won the debate, Nolan should be the nominee. Russo supporters, as they did in nearly every state, especially in Missouri, stood their ground and refused to change their votes. Indiana did increase votes for Nolan by six. This was not enough to help Nolan, however. He was dropped from the ballot after receiving even fewer votes on the second ballot. Russo remained on top with 285, followed by Badnarik with 249 and Nolan with 244. The third ballot became the final ballot. Michael Badnarik received 423 votes, which was just over fifty-four percent of the delegation. Russo received 344 votes.

But how did the "Underdog" save the day? How did Michael Badnarik save the Libertarian Party? The three major contenders fought a fierce fight. In fact, as the convention drew closer, it seemed as though there were really only two major contenders: Nolan and Russo. Both Nolan and Russo had a group of delegates who strongly felt that one or the other was the best choice. Nolan is polished and looks like a typical politician. He knows the correct Libertarian philosophy on each issue, and states the Libertarian position very well. Russo is passionate. Some called him a fireball. He has political experience and knows how to run a good campaign. He also has what most Libertarians don't - money. Their campaigns for the Libertarian Presidential nomination grew ugly as Memorial Day weekend came closer. They each represented a different faction within the party. Badnarik closed the gap between these two factions. Rather than having one third of the party ready to give up because "the bad guy one," instead they became happy for Michael. While Badnarik was not their first choice, he was the best choice for just over a third of the party's delegates. He was the second choice for most everyone else. Badnarik's nomination gave us more than a compromise. His nomination brought an unprecedented unity to the party. The Internet still buzzes with blogs and emails, gaining support for Badnarik. Badnarik’s campaign is bringing to the party the kind of grassroots activism it has needed for years. By the end of his campaign, the LP will likely have grown in local areas by leaps and bounds. Support is ever growing, local organizations continue to grow, and if Russo’s new “All Your Freedoms” organization accomplishes even half of its goals, the LP will be known in mainstream homes around the country. Some in the press, and within the party called his nomination a "run to the center." Others might choose to call it a "run for electability." While the typical party line is a cry for application of the non-aggression principle, Badnarik's cry is a return to the Constitution. This rally cry is what mainstream Americans, upset with big government, have been saying for years. "We want our Constitutional Republic back!" they cry. America is full of voters who don't like their other choices. Badnarik is just the type of man to speak to them, and to light the fire of liberty in their hearts. He is certainly capable of receiving more votes than the Libertarian Party has ever seen. The challenge is simply, how many Americans will hear him before November?