AP Show Interview: Libertarian VP Candidate Wayne Root

That's right. Martin and Justin get a chance to interview the Libertarian party's VP candidate, Wayne Root. This interview takes place very soon (48 hours from this post), so post your questions in this thread NOW!

The mandate handed down to us by The Amigos is to go "above." We've done it. We couldn't get Ron Paul, but we have managed some time with Wayne Root, who is the author of several books on American politics. He's also an articulate man who can say what he means.

Martin and I are taking advantage of a very lucky shot in the dark. We didn't use a PR firm to get this one. We resorted to good old fashioned detective work, and "weaseling."

So, let's have your best questions for this high-profitle guest.

Flag and Star this thing so everybody knows!

[edit on 17-6-2008 by Justin_Case]

My question to Mr Root would be how does the Liberarian Party raise its profile not only in the Us but globally. I was not aware there was a Libertarian Party in the US.

What actions would the Libertarian Party to improve the US ecomony?

reply to post by Justin_Case

That's right. Martin and Justin get a chance to interview the Libertarian party's VP candidate, Wayne Root. This interview takes place very soon (48 hours from this post), so post your questions in this thread NOW! The mandate handed down to us by The Amigos is to go "above." We have managed some time with Wayne Root, who is the author of several books on American politics. He's also an articulate man who can say what he means. Martin and I are taking advantage of a very lucky shot in the dark. We didn't use a PR firm to get this one. We resorted to good old fashioned detective work, and "weaseling."

The Republicans began as a third party supporting abolition of slavery. 1856. The Progressive (Bull Moose) Party was a decisive factor in the 1912 election. The States Rights Democratic Party received 39 electoral votes, more than any other third party in the 20th century. 1948. The outcome of the 1992 election is still debated as pundits try to allot the nearly 20% of the votes Ross Perot received.

The 2000 election showed a closely divided America, with the 2 parties separated by merely 500,000 votes out of 100 million cast. The 2004 election was not so close, 53 million to 50 million.

Q. Mr Root, do you think the Libertarian Party's 2008 campaign strategy should use a rifle’s single bullet approach rather than a shotgun’s scatter approach and choose a single issue that is easy to understand and simple to articulate, to gain the most bang for the buck? Much like the Prohibitionist party or the famous 1844 campaign’s winning slogan, “Fifty-four Forty or Fight!”


[edit on 6/18/2008 by donwhite]

reply to post by Freedom ERP

What actions would the Libertarian Party to improve the US ecomony?

Root supports smaller government, reduced spending, reduced entitlements, reduced bureaucracy, dramatically lower taxes and more freedom for the individual. In the area of education, he supports more parental control, more emphasis on school choice (moving education to the state and local level), and increased competition through vouchers. Root and his wife choose to home-school their children.

He is also a strong supporter of gun rights for the individual. He believes that the two major parties both bribe the electorate to achieve power- thereby spending America and our children and grandchildren into bankruptcy. He is a fiscal conservative in the mode of his heroes Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater.

He is socially tolerant, believing that most social issues should be determined on the state and local level. Root holds that "the Iraq war is a disaster." He states the answer is to "use the success of the surge to declare victory and make plans to get out of Iraq as soon as reasonably possible." He also questions Central Intelligence Agency information on Iran, would use "any diplomatic means," including the United Nations, in order to "avoid another war.

Root graduated as Valedictorian from his high school, then graduated from Columbia University in 1983 as a Political Science major (in the same class as Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama). en.wikipedia.org...

I cannot understand how otherwise intelligent people can actually claim less government than we now have is the solution. It is the gutting of the various regulatory agencies - CFTC - FDA - FDIC - SEC - FHA - FAA and more, that has bought our country to the brink of the worst financial disaster since 1929. Less government has given us among other social disasters, the home mortgage meltdown. A broken infrastructure. Lack of gun controls has given America the MOST murdered people by handguns in the whole world. Indirectly it has given us the half trillion dollar annual Federal deficits. America also has a half trillion dollar annual trade imbalance. We barely notice all this borrowing because (in 2001) America was valued at $45 trillion. Losing our "value" at a trillion dollars a year or more is hard to see around us but it is happening! At some point in time we will see what we have done then it will be too late to undo it. I gasp at anyone who seriously supports the notions of Libertarianism.

In-terest-ing. We must not have very many Libertarians on ATS. Otherwise, they might have jumped at this chance to ask questions. Looks like we may have learned something here. Even so, I am glad that we've got a shot at this interview...which will happen in just a few hours.

Posted by Justin-Case

In-terest-ing. We must not have very many Libertarians on ATS. Otherwise, they might have jumped at this chance to ask questions. Looks like we may have learned something here. Even so, I am glad that we've got a shot at this interview...which will happen in just a few hours

I did not mean to imply I wanted you to debate Libertarianism with Mr Root. I'm willing to grant him the right of holding WRONG views. I was responding to another poster Freedom ERP. You already knew my view of Libertarianism. Yet, for example, I like Pat Buchanan even though I think he is left over from the Revolutionary War. I'm not sure I would have liked William F. Buckley, Jr. I still remember him being caught in a bald face lie when he was running for the Senate in Connecticut. I always figured he was TOO smart to believe the stuff he wrote.

I'm looking forward to the interview. Be sure to send me a link.

We've just finished our interview with Libertarian VP candidate Wayne Root, and it was good! You'll be able to hear this next week.

Posted by Justin-Case
We've just finished our interview with Libertarian VP candidate Wayne Root, and it was good! You'll be able to hear this next week.

Where is our link?

This guy is about as libertarian as I am Nazi. Libertarians who understand what the word means are left wingers, mainly extreme left wingers.
This form of right wing libertarianism promotes the legalization of the law of the jungle, thats it. Bunch of faschists....

I just stumbled in here, did the interview already happen? Where can I find the link? I would love to hear more about the Candidates.