Not sure what I think about this:
(Indianapolis, Ind.) - “Survivor” fan favorite Rupert Boneham is hoping he is just as popular with Indiana voters as he was with viewers.
The former reality show contestant announced Tuesday he is entering the race for Indiana governor. Boneham has filed paperwork to establish an exploratory committee as a Libertarian candidate in 2012.
Rupert says he hopes to be Indiana's version of former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura.
"I do not see anyone that has an understanding of what daily life is like for many Hoosiers nor anyone who appears to understand the harm that misguided government policies are doing to our communities," Boneham said on his website. "It is obvious that career politicians are not the answer because they are often the problem."
Rupert is a high-profile, popular ex-contestant on a reality TV show, so his very presence would give the Libertarian Party more press than it has usually gotten. So that's good. Libertarians have always seemed more interested in purity of philosophy than in actually doing what it takes to win elections, such as recruiting well-known people to seek office under their banner. Oh, for a Penn Gillette or a Drew Carey.
On the other hand, Rupert is a high-profile, popular ex-contestant on a reality TV show. His candidacy would not be likely to impress people with the seriousness of the libertarian cause. In the absence of winning elections, the best libertarians can do is try to influence the Republican Party the way socialsists did the Democratic Party in the 1920s and 1930s. All things considered, it's nothing short of a miracle that libertarians have influenced the GOP as much as they have. We shouldn't encourage anything that might diminish that influence.
And the reference to
Comments
It would be foolish to write him off. Ronald Reagan was a B-list actor and even Sonny Bono made it to Congress. And Bono's replacement is a woman famous only for having been married to Sonny. Weirder things have happened.