NationStates Jolt Archive

He would win. I'm serious. The reason the youth vote hasn't turned an election in recent years is that it's hard for them to get excited over boring candidates. But they put Jesse Ventura in the Minnesota governorship and they can put him in the White House.

http://www.internetweekly.org/images/jessie_ventura.jpg

Bye bye Hillary. Bye bye Frist. Bye bye Nader. :p


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,117215,00.html

Although I don't like Ventura, it'd be nice to see a third party Prez for a change. :)

Interesting.

I don't think he could win. Winning minnesota is one thing, the White house is another. I'm sure whichever side he disadvantages the most would start a huge smear campaign.

I would expect both the dem's and rep's would try and use any run by him to their advantage.

Anyone who meets with the Dalai Lama and asks him if he's seen Caddyshack has my vote!

Ross Perot, v.2

I vote Bruce Willis. Although he would never accept nomination.

Jesse Ventura has the best chance of winning that any third party candidate cold ever have.

Nobody currently alive even comes close. He is the perfect combination of policy, notoriety and charisma.

My only concern is that if he's not careful, his mouth will do half his opponents' work for them. Hehehe. He has habit for being completely candid.

Some background, he was a mayor, then elected governor, beating two better-funded well known Democrat and Republican opponents. It was a huge youth turnout. Why are they not surprised when a crusty Massachusetts senator does not inspire a massive youth turnout? Most older people already vote. It would be hard to get that much more older people voting. Hardly any 18-29 year olds vote by comparison. There is a HUGE amount that could turn out and swing an election.

Ventura ran under the old Reform Party (Perot's faction) before it was taken over by the Buchanan paleo-cons. Ventura is a libertarian. I'm surprised the Libertarian Party hasn't tried to get him to run under their party. Badnarik nearly beat Nader this year (which is amazing considering the amount of publicity that Nader got). With Ventura, the Libertarian Party could rise to Perot 1992 levels (Perot took 19% of the national vote that year). But Ventura has said that if he does run for president, it will be as an independant.

Jesse Ventura has the best chance of winning that any third party candidate cold ever have.

Nobody currently alive even comes close. He is the perfect combination of policy, notoriety and charisma.

My only concern is that if he's not careful, his mouth will do half his opponents' work for them. Hehehe. He has habit for being completely candid.
Ahhnold really could be considered to be a third party, but he could never run. He would definitely have a good chance of winning if he could though.

I'd vote for The Body

Some background, he was a mayor, then elected governor, beating two better-funded well known Democrat and Republican opponents. It was a huge youth turnout. Why are they not surprised when a crusty Massachusetts senator does not inspire a massive youth turnout? Most older people already vote. It would be hard to get that much more older people voting. Hardly any 18-29 year olds vote by comparison. There is a HUGE amount that could turn out and swing an election.

Ventura ran under the old Reform Party (Perot's faction) before it was taken over by the Buchanan paleo-cons. Ventura is a libertarian. I'm surprised the Libertarian Party hasn't tried to get him to run under their party. Badnarik nearly beat Nader this year (which is amazing considering the amount of publicity that Nader got). With Ventura, the Libertarian Party could rise to Perot 1992 levels (Perot took 19% of the national vote that year). But Ventura has said that if he does run for president, it will be as an independant.
That you called him a libertarian put me off for a minute there, but then I figured, would a democrat who was forced to run towards the centre do much better? Also, libertarians as third parties don't take the democrat's votes in the same way that a lefty candidate like Nader does.

Ventura, from everything I've heard, sounds like an absolutely cracking bloke. When he ran for governer, he took campaign contributions in tens and twentys; he's not in anyone's pockets. And while getting anything done in office as an independant would be tough, I gotta feeling that he'd have to reach out across the aisle to both sides, but without the kind of deathly depressing political comprimises that regular candidates have to make to hold ground for their own parties. One independant candidate, for four years, who wasn't just keeping the seat warm for the next member of their party might just make a difference. And Jesse Ventura, speaking his mind, turning up for the last job he'd ever have... that'd be a real sight to see.

That you called him a libertarian put me off for a minute there,
He is libertarian in policy, right? That was my understanding. One of his platforms he mentioned would be to abolish the income tax in favor of a higher sales tax. He also is in favor of drug legalization and prostitution, but against federal or state funding for colleges. Sounds libertarian to me.

When he ran for governer, he took campaign contributions in tens and twentys; he's not in anyone's pockets.
That could be his strongest asset...most voters don't really understand economics and taxation beyond simple buzzwords, but he could really pound that point home that BOTH the Dems and Repubs are owned by special interests and removed from the general population.

He is libertarian in policy, right? That was my understanding. One of his platforms he mentioned would be to abolish the income tax in favor of a higher sales tax. He also is in favor of drug legalization and prostitution, but against federal or state funding for colleges. Sounds libertarian to me.
I wasn't aware of that. The sales tax would be incredibly bad in my opinion, legalisation would make him unelectable... but still, we can dream.

That could be his strongest asset...most voters don't really understand economics and taxation beyond simple buzzwords, but he could really pound that point home that BOTH the Dems and Repubs are owned by special interests and removed from the general population.
I agree absolutely.