PolitickerKY reports
The Libertarian Party of Kentucky will reconsider its endorsement of Senate candidate Sonny Landham Wednesday evening, just days after initially disassociating their party from his bid. This news comes after the office of Kentucky’s secretary of state announced yesterday that Landham would need 5,000 new petition signatures to secure ballot access to run as an independent.
“We’re really stuck,†said Libertarian Party chair Ken Moellman. “We don’t necessarily want to kick him off the ballot.â€
The requisite signatures for Landham’s ballot access were already reportedly obtained by Libertarian canvassers, but – without the Libertarian endorsement – Landham would need original signatures for an independent candidacy.
With an August 12 deadline for petition submissions, Moellman has said obtaining 5,000 new signatures in that window would be “impossible.â€
Landham was initially stripped of the Libertarian Party’s endorsement in a unanimous 9-0 vote of their executive committee on Monday night. That vote came after Landham made a series of anti-Arab comments that culminated in his advocacy for a potential Arab genocide.
“When you are in a war, you kill every thing that moves,†responded Landham, when asked if he supported such a dramatic position.
Libertarian Party leaders initially sought to distance themselves from Landham’s comments, with Moellman noting they were not in line with the Party’s philosophy.
With his candidacy in the balance now, Moellman says Kentucky’s difficult ballot access process has the Party reevaluating its decision.
“Now, he will have one of two options,†said Moellman. “A – he runs as a Libertarian or, B he doesn’t run.â€
“Our goal was not to kick him out,†added Moellman. “We are in a tough spot.â€
Moellman said the ten-person state Libertarian Party Executive Committee will use an “online†voting system tonight to determine whether to reinstate Landham’s endorsement.
“We’re trying to work it out,†added Moellman.
Moellman said their dilemma would not exist if Kentucky’s ballot access procedures did not require 5,000 signatures for “third-party†candidates.
“I wish ballot access was a heck of a lot easier,†said Moellman, who said the number of signatures required for Democratic and Republican candidates was two – a far easier number for Landham to obtain as an independent candidate.
At
Delaware Libertarian, Steve Newton explains why this is of national significance:
A Secondhand Conjecture is not a Libertarian blog, although it certainly displays some pretty consistent libertarian leanings.
As I read this post analyzing the Sonny Landham flap and the Libertarian Party of Kentucky, I think Lee hits it right on the money:
Looks like the Libertarian Party of Kentucky has dumped Sonny Landham, previously their clinically insane pick for US Senate. Good for them. Even if given the psychopathic nature of Landham’s views, I feel a little like I’m congratulating them for breathing.
While the Obama campaign might like to think that the LP could pose a serious threat to John McCain in Georgia, the Landham misadventure only reminds me yet again of the extraordinary amateurishness that seems to characterize almost all Libertarian Party political campaigns. There’s simply no excuse for failing to properly vet a candidate you intend to challenge for the seat held by the Senate Minority Leader.
As a former Hollywood actor and convicted criminal, it wouldn’t have been particularly difficult to uncover Landham’s violent imagination or deplorable associations with rightwing hate groups. A simple YouTube and Google search might have sufficed in fact.
I recently quoted a representative of the Libertarian Party of Texas noting that we need fewer paper candidates, and more people out there actually campaigning. True. But we also have to stop feeling so needy that we open our arms to accept people who are not only not Libertarians, but whose calls for bombing other countries over trade issues make us look like total losers.
Reminder: there’s still a
petition for the LPKY to not give its ballot line to Sonny Landham.
The LPKY has voted again – hopefully for the last time – to keep Landham off the LPKY ballot line.
http://www.politickerky.com/treypollard/1219/landham-rejected-second-time-libertarian-vote
Why is the primary only for Republicans and Democrats? In my home state of Wisconsin you have to turn in signatures before the state’s primary not afterward. If there’s more than two candidates for an office in any party, then you have a primary otherwise you move on towards the general election.
Thew alternative of course, is what we are witnessing in Kentucky, where any joker that can collect 5,000 signatures can claim any party ballot line he wants regardless if that party wants him or not. Still, the LPKY should have done a better job of vetting Landham.
By the way, I think a good case can be made that running candidates such as Landham hurts not just the Libertarian Party, but other independent and smaller parties (other than the Fascist Party and National Socialist Movement, which would be a good ideological fit for Landham).
After all many people currently only know three categories, Democrat, Republican and Other. Landham hurts everyone who is classified by these folks as Other.
So, if you are a Green, Nader Supporter, Independent, Boston Tea Partyer, etc., or a Republican or Democrat who for whatever reason supports making independent and smaller parties more competitive, please also contact LPKY (and possible LP national) and let them know what a wide ranging embarrassment Sonny Landham really is.
Sounds like the multiple turn-ins would work, if possible. Hope so.
Did they collect them with an agreement to be paid? If yes, then pay them.
If they can identify exactly how many signatures the Landham campaign gathered, and if more than one turn-in is allowed, turn just those signatures in now. Landham would fail to make the ballot.
Certainly do not burn any signatures. That would be wrong, and criminal.
How many signatures did the Landham campaign gather exactly? I bet not very many.
What do you think about the petitions the Landham campaign gathered, paulie? Pay him for them? Burn them?
From http://freestudents.blogspot.com
One thing I don’t understand and maybe someone in Kentucky cane help me with my question, wasn’t there a primary last May?
I’m not sure what month it was, but yes there was a primary. May sounds right since I remember some stories about how overwhelmingly Obama got beat and speculation about racism being a factor in that.
Is that only for Republicans and Democrats?
Yes.
All you have to do to run on a non-major party line in Kentucky is collect 5,000 signatures?
5,000 valid. Yes.
Does Kentucky law state that if one cnadidate is disaffiliated the whole ticket is?
No.
Look, they may very well be stuck with Landham on the ballot
The only reason they would be stuck with Landham is if they want to be. Otherwise all they have to do is file the petition after the deadline for Senate (Aug. 12) but before the deadline for President in September. Barr, Root and Landham are the only candidates on the petition. Thus Barr and Root would be on the ballot and Landham would not, unless he petitions again without LP help between now and Aug. 12, and even if he did that at least he would not be on the ballot as a Libertarian.
So hopefully, the LPKY will choose this wise choice of action and preclude Landham from appearing on the ballot as a Libertarian. If it prevents him from being on the ballot at all, so what? It is not the job of the Libertarian Party to ensure that fascists, racists, economic nationalizationists and culture warriors appear on the ballot. We are not a ballot access charity for nazis and klansmen. Or at least shouldn’t be.
I strongly urge all Libertarians, and everyone else for that matter, to contact LPKY and LPHQ to the extent they have any influence, and urge them to keep this embarrassing psychopathic buffoon from appearing on the Libertarian Party line on the ballot. This should not even be necessary, but it is.
One thing I don’t understand and maybe someone in Kentucky cane help me with my question, wasn’t there a primary last May? Is that only for Republicans and Democrats? All you have to do to run on a non-major party line in Kentucky is collect 5,000 signatures? Does Kentucky law state that if one cnadidate is disaffiliated the whole ticket is?
Look, they may very well be stuck with Landham on the ballot, but the LPKY should make it clear they do want anything to do with him and encourage their members to vote for someone else.
I think the write-in laws are joke. You have to peition just to be a write-in candidate? Yuck!
Yep, for anyone who listened to last night’s show (archives available) that was what one of my two comments was.
Thanks for proving that I was right, and I’m sorry you are going through that. As I said on the air, Landham is an embarrassment to Libertarians in EVERY state.
As I said over at LFV…
I got an email on Monday asking if I “Share the same views as the guy in Kentucky”
Having to convince people that I’m not a racist is not a productive way for me to spend my time campaigning.
What the LPKY needs to realize is, this is making things tough on the rest of us. It has become national news, thanks to the internet.
Steve Newton explains at Delaware Libertarian
Notice that Landham’s domestic agenda is zero percent libertarian?
From Zaitchik:
But Sonny Landham is a political
animal, always has been. As a student
in the 1960s, he supported the far-right
presidential tickets of Barry Goldwater
and George Wallace. A religious na-
tive of Georgia, Landham says he had
“mixed feelings†about the “commu-
nist-funded†civil rights movement. In
2003, he ran as an anti-establishment
candidate in Kentucky’s GOP primary
for governor. He soon pulled out of the
race, citing personal reasons.
As Landham mulls another run for
the governor’s mansion, he remains a
staunch advocate of “states’ rights for-
ever.†Estranged from the “communistâ€
government of George W. Bush, he has
found a political home as an honorary
board member at the Council of Con-
servative Citizens, a hate group that
grew out of the segregationist White
Citizens Councils.
Landham recently
lent his star power to the new CCC-
produced film “America Under Attack.â€
Who is attacking America?
“The camel dung shovelers,†Land-
ham explained to the Intelligence Report.
“Abdul, Fuzzy Wuzzy, and rest of
the camel jockeys are our enemies,â€
he said. “The answer is air power. We
should bomb every man, woman and
child in the Muslim countries. They’re
hiding weapons and breeding terror-
ists. We need to commence genocide in
the region. Islam is not a religion.â€
When asked how this policy pre-
scription fits with his professed evan-
gelical Christianity, Landham scoffed.
“Un-Christian?†he asked. “Nobody
said that after Dresden! They’re the
enemy. Bomb every house. Then send
in the troops to see if anything is left.
Who are we kidding? The camel dung
shovelers can’t even spell ‘democracy.’â€
Landham offers a slightly more
progressive domestic agenda. It includes
affordable health care, random drug
testing for doctors, reindustrializ-
ing America (“we need to be a steel
economyâ€), bringing back the draft,
overturning Roe v. Wade, and purg-
ing Arab and communist influence
from Hollywood, which Land-
ham says is pushing a “pedophilic
agenda†to rot America from within.
“Hollywood has gone berserk,â€
said Landham. “There is a lot of
pedophilia in that town. It has a
long history. Judy Garland was
servicing Columbia’s Harry Cohen
as a young girl.â€
Landham also is alarmed by the
oil conspiracy. “Big Oil is backing
Greenpeace to keep the Alaska
Natural Wildlife Reserve closed
and drive up prices,†he explained.
“When I think about running for
governor, I wonder, ‘Can I afford the
gas to campaign across the state?’â€
Space does not allow for a full
mapping of Landham’s America-de-
stroying coalition of communists, civil
rights activists, pedophiles, oil execs,
environmentalists, and camel dung
shovelers. To get the whole story, con-
tact the Sonny Landham Foundation
about speaking engagement rates and
availability. For $1,000, Landham will
explain the world and regale guests
at your private or corporate function
with stories from the sets of TV shows
like “Hardcastle and McCormick†and
films like “Predator,†which may yet
produce another governor.
Let’s just hope it’s Carl Weathers.
mscrib,
If enough people contact the LP of KY and say that exact same thing, maybe they’ll budge.
I really can’t believe that these people are wussing out like this.
I will give the KYLP $250 the second they bump Landham from the ballot…
Landham in 2006:
Who is attacking America?
“The camel dung shovelers,†Landham
explained to the Intelligence Report.
“Abdul, Fuzzy Wuzzy, and rest of
the camel jockeys are our enemies,â€
he said. “The answer is air power. We
should bomb every man, woman and
child in the Muslim countries. They’re
hiding weapons and breeding terrorists.
We need to commence genocide in
the region. Islam is not a religion.â€
from: http://www.zaitchik.com/Landham.pdf
I cannot believe this is still an ongoing question.
The LPKY has already heard from me. All Libertarians should likewise make their voices heard.
Listening to the show now. Moellman is making all sorts of excuses for Landham. Disgraceful.
I called in and made a short comment that the idea that knocking Landham off the ballot would knock Barr off the ballot would be false, they could just turn the signatures in between the two deadlines. And that I certainly hope they would do so as Landham is a major embarrassment to Libertarians all over the country.
However, later Moellman was still saying it would somehow knock Barr off the ballot, etc., etc.
None of it added up to legitimate excuses. The show’s hosts and callers were all skewering Moellman and still are at this time.
They will be back on on Wednesday but it sounds like they are leaning to putting Landham on the ballot.
Moellman and Landham will be back on the air again – I think Wednesday, after it is official.
I hope between now and then they hear from a lot of Libertarians who are outraged by this.
and Paris Hilton is a better known name in KY than Landham.
That doesn’t mean that the KY LP petitioners would be all the more likely to mention her name when wielding their clipboards.
I’d like to see some evidence of petitioners using Landham as their ballot access selling point for signatures.
“Landham is better known name than Barr in Kentucky…”
If true, this is even further proof that the KYLP should have known better than to endorse this guy in the first place.
I agree.
They really shouldn’t wimp out on this.
If the guy loses his ballot line, tough shit. Landham made his bed with his comments and getting tossed off the ballot by the folks that put him on it are the consequences of it.
The real election law problem is that Kentucky is one of eleven states with no means for a group to transform itself into a qualified party, before an election. Instead, all Kentucky has are candidate petitions. What Kentucky ought to have is a petition that just plain qualifies the Libertarian Party, without naming any candidates. Then, when the petition succeeds, the group is on the ballot and free to choose its candidates.
KYLP Chair Ken Molleman will take your calls (347-205-9993) tonight on the Weekly Filibuster during the 10:00 hour.
http://www.weeklyfilibuster.com
From my experience petitioning all over the country, I highly doubt Mr. Landham was mentioned as the subject of the petition very often if at all, regardless of him being somewhat known in Kentucky.
Actually, no.
Posted on the previous thread
Houillion // Jul 30, 2008 at 4:14 pm
To answer questions and avoid further speculation:
Petition for Barr and Landham were gathered in conjunction. Title page for both candidates were required to be shown by petitioners upon request of signature.
Moellman and Combs are state candidates and they would need to turn in their own petitions for ballot access.
Ed Martin is a US House candidate in KY-3. he likewise has turned in his own petition.
Write-in votes for Rand Paul would be worthless. Write-in candidates must likewise go thru a petition process to be a write-in candidate. This would be the only time I would categorize something as a “wasted†vote.
Secretary of State only changed their mind when media started to hound them. Would have accepted the split petition, but informed LPKY that it could be open to challenge. With media attention, SOS decided to avoid all together.
Landham is better known name than Barr in Kentucky, so Landham was most likely stated as subject of petition (speculative as i was not present at any petitioning except my own)
Hope that helps out some.
Completely missing from this article is the apparent fact that if they dump Landham they also have to give up ballot access for I believe 2 other LP candidates.