The Reform Party isn’t Dead (yet?) – Florida

This evening (for me, after midnight for the East Coasters) I saw a commercial on CNN for the Reform Party Candidate for Governor of Florida, Max Linn. Shades of Ross Perot, and Jesse Ventura. And considering that I’m over 2300 miles from Tallahassee FL, I must wonder if it is money well spent (1:30 AM Florida time). I don’t watch CNN all that often, so I have no idea how common these ads are. From the Max Linn website (similar to the commercial, couldn’t find on youtube.com yet, shame on them)

Just when you thought that we the Florida voters had no choice other than Tweedledees and Tweedledums (the current Republican and Democratic candidates) for the November 7th, 2006 Governors race the “Florida Citizens’ Third Party Dream Team” are starting their engines. With your support, we will bring your interests – not special interests – to Tallahassee for a change. Our Founding Fathers were unanimous on the importance of citizen legislators, not career politicians. For the first time Florida has a third choice other than the same old Republican and Democratic mainstream parties.
Join me and Florida’s “New Third Party” campaign dream team…

Dream team? Or hallucination? I expect they don’t have much of a chance, but I hope they stir things up some. Checking the polls I see a Sep 1 poll has the Rep candidate to replace Jeb Bush leading 56-34%. The various polls I’ve looked at have not considered the Reform Party Candidate. He apparently is putting $1M of his own money into this useless effort, but I wish him well as he stirs the pot.

UPDATE: Checking the list of Florida Governors I find the 1849-1853 Gov was a Whig, and (ugh) the 1917-21 Gov was a “Prohibitionist.” Nothing like a single topic politician. So not “for the first time.”

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Richard Gardner
About Richard Gardner
Richard Gardner is a “retired” Navy Submarine Officer with military policy, arms control, and budgeting experience. He contributed over 100 pieces to OTB between January 2004 and August 2008, covering special events. He has a BS in Engineering from the University of California, Irvine.

Comments

  1. Dave Schuler says:

    It’s just pining for the fjords.

  2. Kent G. Budge says:

    This one just begs to be Fisked.

    Just when you thought that we the Florida voters had no choice other than Tweedledees and Tweedledums (the current Republican and Democratic candidates) for the November 7th, 2006 Governors race the “Florida Citizens’ Third Party Dream Team” are starting their engines.

    What, no Libertarian candidate has ever run for governor of Florida? Not that I vote Libertarian myself — I’m just sayin’ …


    With your support, we will bring your interests – not special interests – to Tallahassee for a change.

    Who is this “you”?

    Our Founding Fathers were unanimous on the importance of citizen legislators, not career politicians.

    First I’d heard.

    Seriously, I don’t recall much in the founding documents about career politicians. If anything, the founders expected such creatures to emerge, and structured the government to minimize their evil effects.


    For the first time Florida has a third choice other than the same old Republican and Democratic mainstream parties.

    See supra, “Libertarian candidate.”

    I guess I’m just too cynical to believe that a third-party governor is immune to the realities of public choice that have shaped the careers of every other governor.