The official blog of the Libertarian Party
February 20, 2007
Potential LP Candidate Makes Front Page Splash
 Here's an excerpt from the article:
A Conyers psychotherapist is expected to enter his name as a Libertarian candidate for the congressional seat left vacant by U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood's death last week.
Though the prospects for a third-party candidate are slim, Dr. Jim Sendelbach would become the first Libertarian included on a Georgia ballot for the U.S. House of Representatives, according to state party officials.
"It'll be historic," said David Chastain, executive director of the Georgia Libertarian Party. "Given the mood of what's been going on in Washington, D.C., and with the people being disgruntled with what the Republican administration has done, as far as fiscal irresponsibility and taking away personal rights and liberties, a Libertarian candidate in this race could be very interesting."
As almost everyone on Capitol Hill is a bit flaky, Sendelbach's professional credentials are ideal for the office he is seeking.
Posted by Stephen Gordon at February 20, 2007 04:29 PM
Reader Comments:
Is it me or does just about every political candidate with a libertarian or traditional conservative (not neocon, social conservative, or Religious Right) seem to have a successful career in the private sector before running for office?
Stan, are you complaining? Sure they have successful careers - that way they don't have to depend on their political jobs (and the taxpayers) for support. It is what our founders intended - think of Ben Franklin's career in the printing business. How come most non-libertarian candidates don't have successful non-political careers before they go into politics?
We had a counselor run for Pa. State House twice, so I don't see the historicity of it all.
I'm glad he's running and all, but what makes his candidacy so 'historic'?
Dan -
I'm not complaining at all. In fact, I'm glad that our candidates are successful in the private sector, whereas the candidates from the two major parties almost always seem to have party hacks or people from think tanks that propose policies that are detrimental to this country.
Indeed it very well may be BECAUSE of private success that people run as Libertarians.
I still want George Carlin to run as president as a Libertarian.
After reading "Potential LP Candidate Makes Front Page Splash" my eyes were immediately drawn to the headline "Man sent to jail in battery case". I couldn't fathom why the LP would report on such a thing, then I noticed the other column. A cropped version of that picture might be better.
Good luck to Jim!
TOM SELLECK!! Libertarian candidate for president! Pass it on!!
Is he regarded as a thinker? Hmmm, I thought George Carlin had some great insights that if he spoke intelligently people might listen. Someone else comes to mind like that, Gallagher.
Why can I only come up with comedians?
Wait a minute - Hulk Hogan!
"Man sent to Jail" -- Oh that's NOT the article you're refering too? What a surprise!
How about John Stossel 2008 or Bob Barr 2008? They will be more credible than Selleck or Carlin.
As much as I like Carlin, I think he's more of a leftist than a libertarian. He is very anti-elite, which could lead to massive entitlement increases by taxing the rich to help the poor rather than letting the market decide things. Maybe I misinterpret his comedy to that conclusion, but I read him as expecting the government to help people when they need help and his criticisms of government are because of their lack of effort to that end. I have not heard him say anything to lead me to believe he wants less government. Although he might be in favor of more efficiency with present tax revenues which I guess we would all favor at the very least.
Actually I have no clue about his political views. It just seems to me in his routines that he makes points that makes people go "yeah, I was thinking the same thing." Which is why *I* joined the Libertarian Party.
The other point about him is his brand recognition. Bob Barr may be moderately well-known in POLITICAL circles, but I can guarantee my wife has never heard of him. I could also guarantee she would pick George Carlin out of a crowd.
So I guess the bottom line is that instead of a pure-bred politician, I think we need at least one election where we run a celebrity. I think this would get a lot of people's attention. 9 out of 10 people don't even know there are choices other than Republican or Democrat. We could woo all those people that never agree with one side or the other consistently.
I found the Libertarian Party by accident. We need a better recruitment tool than accidents.
Coach, you're right that a celebrity would get the attention we're looking for. I fell upon the party when researching candidates for the '04 election because I couldn't in good conscience vote for those two jack holes. I read a dozen candidate platforms and only Badnarik was even close to my view of what this country should be. If like most people I didn't really care about my vote I wouldn't have found the LP either.
Badnarik was the best candidate in the 2004 elections. Unfortunately, 99% of the voting public wasted their votes on Bush and Kerry.
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Is it me or does just about every political candidate with a libertarian or traditional conservative (not neocon, social conservative, or Religious Right) seem to have a successful career in the private sector before running for office?
Posted by: Stan at February 20, 2007 09:24 PM