Burnt Orange Report

Russo Defeated for Libertarian Nomination

By Byron LaMasters

The Libertarians have nominated their candidate for President on the 2004 ballott. The winner is Michael Badnarik. That's good news for Republicans and George Bush's reelection. If the Hollywood producer, Aaron Russo would have won the nomination, he would have likely spent several million dollars on the race, and his somewhat celebrity status could have brought more attention to the race, and the Libertarians could have probably drained more votes from Bush. I doubt that Badnarik will get nearly the attention. Anyway, the AP reports:

Michael Badnarik, a computer programmer from Texas, won the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination today.

Badnarik, 49, of Austin, defeated former Hollywood movie producer Aaron Russo on the convention's third ballot, after former radio host Gary Nolan, who was eliminated on the second ballot, endorsed Badnarik.

"If I can win the nomination, there's no reason I can't win this election," Badnarik told a cheering convention that drew more than 800 delegates.

Badnarik teaches a course in constitutional law.

Libertarians may be more or less irrelevent, but they sure are persistent. So we now know our three choices for U.S. President on the ballot in Texas in 2004: Republican George W. Bush, Democrat John Kerry and Libertarian Michael Badnarik.

MyDD has more thoughts on the Libertarian convention.