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This time, a Libertarian in the 2010 race for governor could rattle Democrats

4:23 pm March 24, 2009, by jgalloway

If you’re weighing a run for governor in 2010, there’s this to consider: Not only is there likely to be a runoff in the GOP primary, but we could see another general election runoff as well.

Libertarian John Monds has put out word that he’ll formally enter the race on Wednesday with a state Capitol announcement.

Monds ran against Republican incumbent Doug Everett in the 2008 race for Public Service Commission. He was trounced, 67 percent to 33 percent — but he did become the first Libertarian to break the 1 million-vote mark. There was no Democrat in the race.

Complicating the calculation: Monds, from Cairo, is African-American. President of the Grady County NAACP, in fact.

In other words, Monds wouldn’t necessarily drain support from the Republican side, as Libertarian Allen Buckley did last year during U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ bid for re-election.

This time, you can see the possibility of a Libertarian candidacy tapping the strength of the Democratic nominee.

For instant updates, follow me on Twitter.

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23 comments Add your comment

MaxieGrrrl

March 24th, 2009
4:45 pm

Just as with Republicans, this does not matter. Monds has zero name ID with African Americans and no ability to usher the level of funds necessary to change that. Besides, African Americans have long been known to follow the Democratic ticket no matter the color. If the dynamic you describe were true Blackwell and Steele would have won their governor’s races. Blacks are just as distrustful of Libertarians as they are of Republicans.

Long story short, Monds can beat his chest and scream “I am a Black man” all day if he likes. He won’t get anymore AA votes than the last Libertarian on the ticket.

Aaron Burr V. Mexico

March 24th, 2009
5:49 pm

Libertarians have to start getting their talking point and news from different sources than Republicans to sound different. They also have to be willing to fund their own party, which they’re not willing to do.

Monster5

March 24th, 2009
6:41 pm

“Libertarians have to start getting their talking point and news from different sources than Republicans to sound different.”

You can’t really tell what Republicans believe these days, especially here in Georgia.

Jeff

March 24th, 2009
6:50 pm

We Ls do have our own sites, such as Reason and Cato.

John is an AMAZING candidate, able to grab people from constituencies traditionally ascribed to BOTH halves of the Big Government Party.

And something Jim forgot to mention, John is the first black man since Andrew Young to run for Governor, and because he will be the LP-Ga nominee, he will be the FIRST black man in GA history to be on the General Election ballot as a candidate for Governor.

Oh, and I have the honor and the pleasure of getting to be at the LP-Ga convention next month as a voting member and get to witness history being made first hand! :)

RGB

March 24th, 2009
10:27 pm

“Monds, from Cairo, is African-American. President of the Grady County NAACP, in fact.”

Let me get this straight….Monds is a Libertarian (who presumably would assert that government’s responsibilities are extremely limited) who is president of the Grady County NAACP (which believes that government is responsible for everything cradle-to-grave).

Will one of you Libertarian wunderkinds explain how a voter can reconcile a person being a member of two diametrically opposed organizations? Does he have multiple personality disorder?

Aaron Burr V. Mexico

March 25th, 2009
1:13 am

Monds and Cato are legitimate sources, but the talking points my Libertarian friends spout, “There is no Global Warming” and “FDR Did not End the Depression” are carbon copies of Heritage Foundation Talking Points.

Jeff

March 25th, 2009
5:47 am

Aaron:

Your friends are probably the more conservative-leaning libertarians. I also know several online who are more liberal-leaning libertarians.

What distinguishes us from the conservative/liberal model – and this helps to explain Monds’ participation in both LP/NAACP – is that while we PERSONALLY believe our own things, we believe you have the right and freedom to believe as you want as well.

A personal example: I am pro-choice but anti-murder, meaning I believe a woman has the choice between keeping her baby or giving it up for adoption, but I do not believe abortion is a valid option, as it is murder. This is due to my personal belief that life begins at conception. So I personally have no problems working with pro-life groups.

That said, I know others who believe life begins when the baby leaves its mothers’ body. They have no problems killing it before that point, as they see it as nothing more than a parasite, but do not in any way condone killing it after that point

With all of that said, the libertarian/Libertarian friends I have can at least agree to this: In the absence of conclusive scientific evidence either way, the Government should stay out of the issue completely.

In fact, here is the relevant quote from the LP-Ga Platform page:

“Recognizing that abortion is a very sensitive issue and that libertarians can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe the government should be kept entirely out of the question, allowing all individuals to be guided by their own consciences.”

Hopefully I’ve described that sentiment accurately, and hopefully it also begins to explain how Monds can work both with the LP and the NAACP.

Aaron Burr V. Mexico

March 25th, 2009
9:39 am

Hey, generically speaking, I accept the fact that Libertarians, unlike Republicans, actually BELIEVE what they say they believe. I truly want them as the opposition party as compared to the Republican-Neo-Communist party, but Libertarians want government on the cheap and therefore elections on the cheap.

*I* donated more to the Libertarian party last year than a lot of my Libertarian friends did.

GoOx

March 25th, 2009
9:44 am

Ox wins hands down. Take primary with no runoff, the romps in general. Ox is right on every issue.

Bob

March 25th, 2009
10:49 am

RGB hit the nail mostly on the head.

Don’t confuse Grady county with Grady hospital though.

The NAACP should be in favor Black rights, not free government give aways and entitlements. Sometimes the NAACP wants those but my guess is Monds isn’t that kind of guy. Perhaps his reason for being in the Grady County NAACP is for some other item he differs from the average white on.

To qutoe from votemonds . com:

“we need to stop wasting the taxpayer’s money with mandated long term incarceration of individuals for non-violent victimless infractions of the law”

Perhaps he cares about drug offenses costing me 40k each a year and how too many of those who are actually jailed for drug offenses (and not slapped on the wrists) are black. That still sounds like an NAACP issue to me.

From what I’ve seen he looks like a stand up guy and he’ll likely be getting my vote come next election.

Jeff

March 25th, 2009
11:04 am

Bob,

Thank you very much! If you’re not an LP-Ga member, could I possibly convince you to become one? http://www.lpgeorgia.com

Bob

March 25th, 2009
11:47 am

I’d love to be a member, but I’m not going to donate my money for any kind of politics. Votes should determine who wins an election, not money.

So long as any party *charges* me to be a member I’ll remain independent.

Jeff

March 25th, 2009
3:26 pm

Bob,

Fair enough. I can respect that. LP-Ga leadership might get mad at me, but honestly I’d rather have your vote than your money any day – particularly election day! :)

Copyleft

March 25th, 2009
3:59 pm

Why does the column assume that just because a candidate is black, he will somehow attract liberal voters?

I wasn’t aware that blacks all voted in lockstep on the basis of race… or any other basis, for that matter. Nor have I heard that liberals in general prefer black candidates–there certainly wasn’t a lot of love among the liberal base for Clarence Thomas, Condi Rice, etc. etc.

If Obama’s election indicates the progress we’ve made in overcoming race-consciousness, why does the media keep bringing it back up as if race = destiny?

Jeff

March 25th, 2009
4:07 pm

Copyleft:

Obama got somewhere between 75-95% of the black vote. In a two-way (three-way) race, math dictates that the vote should be roughly 50-50 (33-33-33), even accounting for all other factors.

Want to try again?

Week in Review March 26, 2009 : KSU Owl Radio

March 25th, 2009
5:48 pm

[...] the Governor’s Race A Libertarian announces and he’ll [...]

Copyleft

March 25th, 2009
7:51 pm

Jeff: In the 2004 race, Kerry got over 90% of the black vote too. Blacks don’t vote for the black candidate; but they DO tend to vote for the more liberal candidate. (Not being millionaires or idiots, that’s just common sense.)

So, no–a black candidate doesn’t automatically translate into black voters supporting him. Especially if he’s a right-wing loon.

Want to try again, Jeff?

Bob

March 25th, 2009
7:58 pm

Kerry’s oponent wasn’t black. I wish it didn’t matter what a candidates race was, or anyone’s race was for that matter. We should be race blind. Vote based on someone’s merits, not the color of their skin.

LibertyBell

March 26th, 2009
4:30 pm

If Bob Barr can be a supporter of ACLU and the Marijuana Policy Project… John Monds can certainly be a leader of NAACP. John leads with a libertarian perspective. Stop stereotyping black folk and libertarians. The Liberty tent is getting bigger. If John can get 20% of the votes in Georgia he will give the Libertarian Party full political party status. Meaning the LP will have access to the primary voting system and access to voters. Politics in Georgia will forever change. The GOP did not have a statewide victory until the 1990s. Perdue was the 1st GOP gov. since the 1880s. With a move toward socialism and the collapse of the GOP. Libertarian Party may be next next big thing!

Roger in Woodstock

March 26th, 2009
6:10 pm

The Libertarian Party has be relegated to a footnote in American electoral history. It’s a shame really. If the candidates were not so rigid in their anti-government ideology, the voting public might show an interest. BTW, what the heck was Bob Barr doing as their Presidential candidate in 2008? When he was in Congress, he was anything but libertarian.

BradFinATL

March 26th, 2009
9:29 pm

RogerInWoodstock, Some people change minds and ideologies along the way. Some for principles, and some for political advancement. Remind me, wasn’t Perdue previously a democrat? Sure, Bob Barr wasn’t very libertarian in most of his career in congress, however, the party cannot grow if it only accepts those graced enough to be born libertarian. And while I’m not a paying member of the LP, votes matter more. The hurdle we are reaching for is 20%, to enable us to run in local elections, municipal, county, and congressional races.

PeacheyKeen

May 26th, 2009
7:05 pm

Maxiegrrl,

You’re wrong. John Monds’ decision to enter the governor’s race changes the dynamics considerably. Monds has a strong chance of capturing the majority of the African-American vote. Georgia’s African-American voters are reluctant to support Thurbert Baker because of his “anti-black” stances on various issues, as well as his huge part in the Genarlow Wilson case and keeping the black teen in jail for having consensual sex. The Black Community will NOT forget what Thurbert baker did in that case. John Monds is a refreshing option and I hope Black Atlanta leaders will support him in his run for the Governor’s seat. NOTHING could make me vote for Thurbert Baker! Most African-Americans feel the same way.

PeacheyKeen

May 26th, 2009
7:22 pm

Frankly, I am going to seriously consider supporting and voting for John Monds. I would have never thought I would even consider voting Liberatarian but he seems like by far the most sound candidate in the Governor’s race yet. The Democratic side is really pathetic with Thurbert Baker running. Blacks won’t vote for him because of his past foibles and rural Whites will never vote for him because they know he can’t be trusted. I’m going to look up John Monds website…hopefully he has one. GO MONDS!