More News From The Smither Campaign

Smither’s picking up some major MSM coverage lately.

The New York Times noted his campaign:

The bleak prospects for Republicans in the 22nd District has prompted some to consider an alliance with the Libertarian candidate, Bob Smither, an electrical engineer, who does have a place on the ballot. “I’m not convinced a write-in will succeed,” said Jerry Patterson, commissioner of the Texas General Land Office and a Republican running for re-election. At least Mr. Smither, he said, would vote with the House Republican leadership, “denying Nancy Pelosi a vote for speaker.”

Meanwhile, the Houston Chronicle had this to say about Smither:

The write-in campaign is a long shot even in the Republican-leaning district, and party leaders have said they want to unite behind a single contender to improve GOP chances of beating Democratic nominee Nick Lampson. Libertarian Bob Smither also is on the ballot and says he is receiving support from some Republicans who want to keep the seat out of Democratic hands.

…

In an open letter Monday to voters in the 22nd District, Smither wrote that he “firmly subscribes to the Libertarian ideals of small government, individual liberty, and personal responsibility. But I have decided that if elected I will vote for a Republican speaker of the House.”

Smither, the co-founder of the Laura Recovery Center for missing children, has lived in the Friendswood part of the district since 1990.

“It will be in the best interest of Republicans to throw their support behind our candidate rather than giving this seat up to Democrats,” said Shane Cory, executive director of the Libertarian National Committee.

“Republicans’ only shot at retaining a conservative vote is to back Bob Smither. We have a chance of taking this seat with their support.”

No Libertarian has won a congressional seat during the party’s 35-year existence.

The outpouring of MSM coverage for Smither’s campaign is a good sign-I’d say that his campaign has a rather good chance of succeeding at this point, if we keep the momentum up.

posted Aug 17th, 2006 by Stuart Richards
  • Devious David

    Good show!

    The double edge is that it entrenches the Libertarian-Republican sympathetic causes myth.

    Smither looks like he knows how to manuever, by insisting he would vote for a Republican speaker. We know who that would be.

  • michelleshinghal

    Is there a doctor in the house?

  • Devious David

    Huh?

  • michelleshinghal

    I assumed you meant Dr. Ron Paul. Sorry that the reference went over like a lead balloon.

  • Devious David

    Yeah, I’m dense and busy making tea.

  • michelleshinghal

    Or I suck at making a point.

  • http://www.chuckmoulton.org/ Chuck Moulton
  • DAP

    The NYT article would have been perfect if they mentioned just one thing: “The Libertarian Party is conservative on economic issues and liberal on social issues.”

    The article paints the LP as a conservative party; however, any attention is welcome attention.

    Afterthought: It may have been a blessing in disguise that the NYT didn’t mention this, as we expect most of our votes from conservatives.

  • http://www.chuckmoulton.org/ Chuck Moulton

    He needs more than momentum. He needs donations and volunteers. People can volunteer from all over the country by helping with phone calls through Ballot Base. Smither’s Democrat opponent has raised over $2 million. As of the last FEC filing, Smither only had around $1500.

    If you say you’d like to see a Libertarian elected to Congress, put your money where your mouth is. I’ve already donated to the Smither campaign and I make a monthly pledge to the Badnarik campaign. As soon as it’s possible, I’ll start a monthly pledge to the Smither campaign as well.

    Who’s with me?

  • DAP

    expect news soon: “Several Republicans have offered themselves as write-in candidates for the seat, and Republican leaders in the district plan to gather tonight for a closed-door meeting at a church in a Houston suburb to decide which candidate to endorse.”

  • George Whitfield

    Hello Chuck,

    I am with you. I have contributed several times to the Smithers campaign hoping that the stars would allign. Now that he has such a great opportunity, I have contributed again and pledged to give the legal maximum. Because of the time zone differences, I can’t make phone calls. I appreciate all those people who are making those calls. We have a chance, lets make it.

  • nemo

    Time zone differences? What country do you live in? I’m on the east coast and was setup last night for phone calls.
    Ballotbase apparently is active ’till 21:00 EDT, assuming I was given Washington, DC time by LaBeaume.
    If one is on the east coast, like me, CDT is only an hour off of EDT.
    I plan to try calling at lunch – taking lunch an hour late to try and match other folks lunch hours, but hey, there are lots of reasons for people to be home during the day – and this evening from 18:00-21:00 EDT. If you think folks in Texas are in bed by 20:00 CDT…

    Hopefully “In wrong timezone” means “I live in Hawaii”
    Hm. Actually Hawaii is still quite doable and could even be an advantage.

  • http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bennett4Illinois2010USSenate/ Chris Bennett

    Nemo,

    I believe Mr. Whitfield lives in Korea but contributes much money to LP candidates. At least he does his share by contributing monetary unlike many Libertarians.

  • nemo

    That would definitely qualify as wrong timezone.
    While I’ve worked with teammates in Australia it was a hit-or-miss affair and only in narrow windows.
    And I put my money and my mouth in the same place. :)

  • Timothy West

    My voice is too affected by my chemo to do much with BallotBase. I’ll just give da gift of money.

  • Timothy West

    I keep wondering about the new platform. Would we have seen a platform based attack on Smithers from social conservatives if the 2004 platform were still in place? Will we still see one?

    Maybe the possibility of a lib dem has shut them up, but I cant see the bible thumpers just laying down. I keep wanting to know when the other shoe drops. They do have complete control over the R’s after all.

    P.S. good timing about Smither’s pledging to support a R speaker. Probably split any opposition to him with that one move.

  • Adamson

    No, it’s not a good thing. His pledge to vote for a R speaker of the house made me immediately decide not to support his candidacy. It plays right into the Libertarian=Republican stereotype that libertarians desperately need to smash.

  • Brian S

    We need Pelosi as speaker to be sure we have a divided government and to have a chance of moving forward toward impeachment. Otherwise Smither looks pretty good. Odds are the Ds will get enough seats that they won’t need Smither to get Pelosi as speaker.

  • http://360.yahoo.com/pong_god Robert Mayer

    “His pledge to vote for a R speaker of the house made me immediately decide not to support his candidacy.”

    I think this is a pretty weak reason not to support Smither. You have to understand that the ONLY chance he has of winning is to convince the largely Republican base in his district to vote for him. That’s a pretty small concession to make and doesn’t in any way tarnish his libertarian credentials. Do you feel the same way about Ron Paul simply because he has an “R” by his name?

  • Pingback: Hammer of Truth » Smither Gets Blogged

  • nemo

    Anyway, his promise means (assuming what was written earlier on HoT wasn’t just rumour) to support Ron Paul.
    Since I strongly suspect the Republicans will be forming a coalition to vote, that essentially puts him in a two
    person voting block outside the Democrat/Republican furor.

    Relatively little damage to any “Libertarians aren’t Republicans” credibility in my opinion. Not that there is really much to fear there anyway. He’ll distinguish himself just fine in his voting record and public appearances, one hopes.