Revolution in Minneapolis
The candidate asked for "Universal Soldier" and the singer obliged. "Brothers can't you see/This is not the way we put an end to war." As delegates gather to support John McCain across the river, this candidate is lambasting the Patriot Act. Wiretapping. Government oppression. The war on drugs.
Who is this guy? Some '60s throwback? Some liberal leftover? Didn't Ralph Nader say his piece in Denver and then move on?
But no, this isn't Nader. This is U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, Republican candidate for president, and thousands of cheering followers at Paul's Rally for the Republic.
Around the Target Center, Barry Goldwater Jr. -- a former congressman from Los Angeles County and the son of the conservative icon -- sells books. The John Birch Society distributes free videos. Activists warn about the dangers of paper money.
Inside, several hours before Paul speaks, former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura seems a little confused about who the throng came to see.
Debates should be opened, he says (sounding a bit like Nader) "so that a candidate like Jesse Ventura can win." He closes with ... you decide, a promise or a veiled threat. "If I start to see it rise up, and this country shows me that it's worth it for me to do it, then maybe in 2012."
Look the American people simply dont want a candidate that supports legal pot, the gold standard, racism, jew baiting, abolishing the IRS etc. He tried and failed! Its over, go home! No one cares about your stupid, tired ideas.
Posted by: The Brain | September 03, 2008 at 08:39 AM
I don't think Jesse was confused at all. Someone will have to pick up the mantle from Paul, who is, after all, 72 years old. Ventura/Johnson 2012 sounds quite promising.
Posted by: Seth | September 03, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Looks like The Brain who writes here believes all the garbage the media vomits at us. I thought it was Biden who was the racist. The only reason the American people don't want the truth is because they have been listening to a lie and have started to believe it. Remember what Hilter said that if you tell a lie to the people long enough they will start to believe it.
Posted by: jay | September 03, 2008 at 04:22 PM
I am a life-long resident of MN and I voted for Jesse Ventura the year he won the governorship of our state. All I can say is that Jesse had his good points and he had his bad ones.
There were many times, when Jesse would lend his opinion on an issue based on current information, and then retract it based on new information. He would say things like, "This is what I know right now. If something changes I'll re-think my position. I'm ok with being wrong, as long as I get it right eventually."
We ask for truth and accountability from our leaders, but then we buy the media-endorsed, rhetorically veiled threats. Honesty, humility and practicality are forgotten under the glare of strategy, arrogance and false confidence.
I think Jesse would say that there are no such things as stupid, old, or tired ideas. He would say that social creations such as gods, guns, gynecology, gays and ganja are irrelevant. He might say that the Social G's are smoke screens, created by the power elite (Northern rich and Southern rich) to keep voters distracted and exhausted. Politicians don’t care whether Americans pray, shoot, get naked, nor burn the house down smoking pot, unless they are getting paid to care. They will pretend to have strong convictions about such things during an election year, but these social demons really do belong to the media-they bank on them- they are the bones they have been thrown.
I have voted for Ralph Nader in the last two elections, and I agree with fair, third-party debates, but I worry that alternative theories lead to alternative slight of hand marketing strategies. It always feels like facts and figures get lost in the presentation and persuasive vocabulary. Even though voters in MN were attracted to his non-traditional, somewhat brutal brand of leadership, Jesse Ventura ran for Governor with a local-boy celebrity, completely unqualified, I’m like you gimmick. It didn’t matter that every voter in the state remembered the feather boas, the tight wrestling pants, and theAWA bouts with Larry The Axe Henning. We ignored his lack of qualifications and sacrificed our better judgment on the altar of third-party rebellion.
Take some advice from a Minnesota voter…
If you want to pick a candidate, don’t bother trying to play a researched, issue based game of "pin the tail” on the statesman. Just go out and vote for the guy who can handle a body slam from the top ropes.
September
Posted by: September | September 04, 2008 at 07:47 AM