Former Samizdata contributor and full-time Tea Party/libertarian rabble-rouser Andrew Ian Dodge has been endorsed by the Libertarian Party of Maine for his independent US Senate run.
Libertarian Party of Maine Chairman, Shawn Levasseur spoke on Dodge’s change in party affiliation, “Andrew has been a long time friend of the LP in Maine. So when the news broke that he was leaving the Republican party, and would be petitioning to get directly onto the November ballot, we asked him to run as a Libertarian. He has often described himself as a libertarian. The only difference now is that he’s now capitalizing the ‘L’.””
Maine is an odd state that goes against the logic that only two parties matter in US politics. Maine, like Vermont, is perfectly happy to elect independents to high office.
Not content to just run for office he continues to publish his writing, despite being banned by his campaign from blogging. Andrew and his wife Kim just published Drifting into Oblivion about his, so far, successful battle against colon cancer.
The irony is that he will be 5 years free of cancer on election day in early November.
Good luck mate!
The RINO Senator in Maine is standing down at the end of her current term.
This leaves the Republican Primary open (only one candidate the last time I checked).
Surely the course of action would be to stand in the Republican Primary for the candidate for the United States Senate.
Maine (as far as I know – I could be wrong) does not have Proportional Representation or two rounds of voting (the French system).
So I do not undertstand the idea of standing as a Libertarian. Surely this just gives the Senate seat (and possibly the U.S. Senate as a whole) to the Democrats?
As if one can not win a Primary election one is certainly not going to win the General election.
However, there may be factors that I am not aware of.
I would be interested to learn more.
I have now read the article – and do not know any more.
What is “GOproud”?
Where is the argument about how a Libertarian candidate will win the election?
Why was there no effort to run in the Republican Primary?
Was it not allowed by rules tricks?
What is going on?
Dodge, who was running in the GOP primary, very publicly dis-enrolled from the Republican party after what he called the “seemingly purposeful disenfranchisement and vote suppression” of the very badly-run Maine presidential caucus.
This was a week before Snowe announced that she would not seek reelection.
I think it would seem a bit opportunistic for him to suddenly say “oh I didn’t mean it, I think the Maine Republican Party is wonderful” now that the most viable opposition has withdrawn.
I’m not sure how serious his candidacy is. He seems to be as yet below $5k on donations and below 2k on signatures to get on the ballot. This might be more a tactic to get his ideas before the voting public and then withdraw than a tactic to run all the way to the election.
I just re-read my own comment and thought that I could spin it better:
One week after learning that she would face Andrew Ian Dodge in the general election rather than in the closed Republican primary, three-term Maine Senator Olympia Snowe announced that she would not seek reelection.
It would be highly opportunistic and dodgey to jump back in the primary race after she dropped out. This is especially the case since the reason I left, Charlie Webster, is still at the helm of the Maine Republican Party with a ringing endorsement from the Republican State Committee. Instead of calling for his resignation loyalists are attacking all those that criticize him and his handling of the caucus.
There are now 6 people running for the Republican nomination for US Senate and 3 people running on the Democrat side.
Change your party to “Libertarian” and you might as well change your name to “Who?” If the LP were ever going to be ready for Prime Time, it already would have been.
Maine isn’t so much an ‘independent’ state as it is an ‘establishment’ one where the establishment has members from both parties. Angus King, our former ‘independent’ governor, was really part of the state’s elite as host of a long-running and popular liberal-ish talk show on public TV. Olympia Snowe is married to another former governor, Jock McKernan. One of our two US Representatives, Chellie Pingree (D), just married a billionaire who has now bought one of the state’s largest newspapers. And somehow, when new business ventures are started, the names involved are mostly familiar. It’s all very cozy.
Needless to say, Andrew isn’t going to be invited for cocktails.
The last election worked a complete change as the Tea Party put control of the state government into Republican hands for the first time in almost fifty years. But the Republican Old Guard doesn’t like the new governor, so maybe it’s a new age in Maine, but my guess is that the next senator will be a Republican or Democrat who’s already a known, if not inspiring, ‘player’.
After the debacle of the caucus I stopped collecting signatures to get on the Republican ballot which I was very much on my way to achieving. Running as an independent I have to get 4000 signatures but any Maine voter can sign the petition and the deadline is 1 June.
My candidacy is very serious and I plan to run to win. I suspect that I will be raising issues that will be ignored by the other in the general election race. With a party behind me we give it all we got in the most wide-open Federal office race in Maine for many a moon. These sort of opportunities do not come often and we plan to take advantage and see if we can make political history.
Congrats to Andrew, I only wish he’d joined the FSP and come to New Hampshire next door, his talents would be very useful here, perhaps after the election if its not successful? Also congrats on being five years free of cancer!
I considered moving to NH and joined the FSP. However I was loath to disert the land of my father for easier pastures. The other trouble is I have a rather odd need for being close to the Atlantic Ocean.
Have you people met Dodge? I knew him back when he creepily hung around Conservative Future events and had drinks thrown over him for creepiness to girls. Oddball with a Capital O.
London Liberal, Andrew is one of my friends. If he was a “creep”, then he was remarkably open about being the kind of eccentric he proudly is. And I bet he has helped drive a RINO senator out of Maine. Good for him, I say.
Well for one thing I never attended a CF event I wasn’t invited to. I have never had a drink poured over my head ever at any event not by a woman or anyone else. I think you are confusing me with someone else or are misinformed. Truth be told I had quite a few CF friends who were young ladies and I have known to save a few from unfortunate attention by over-keen uncouth young CF males.
Then again baseless accusations by someone under a pseudonym is par for the course on the internet.
Ahh, Maine: The Welfare State of New England! It’s actually two different states; the thin strip of coast from Freeport down to the New Hampshire border, home to the 1% and wealthy Massachusetts vacationers, and the benighted rest of the state, commonly known as Up In The County, known for its hardscrabble reality. There’s also a growing population of Somalis brought in to prop up the state’s crime rate, as it was obvious the native white Mainers weren’t committing enough crimes.
The Senate seat is Angus King’s to win or lose, no matter who else joins the race. I think even Mr. Dodge would tell you that.
Andrew “London Liberal” is what is techincally called “a liar” – sadly there are lot of them about.
I understand your position a bit better now.
You are angry over the rigging of the Maine Caucus events in favour of Romney and against Ron Paul.
And you fear that the Republican Primary for U.S. Senate would also be rigged against a Libertarian.
I think you are mistaken on two grounds.
Firstly it is harder to rig a Primary than it is to rig Caucus events (one reason I detest the whole caucus concept).
Secondly – if a man can not win a Primary he can not win a general election.
That is just the way it is – as Gary Johnson will discover.
However, as I have said, I now understand your position better than I did.
So it no longer seems crazy to me (because I see you have reasons for your actions), just mistaken.
By the way I am sorry to hear you had a bout of ill health – and I hope you remain healthy.
Ah a return to sensible comments… bliss.
Yes Angus is the man to beat however his ego and belief that Maine is the same state that it was when he left office might be his undoing. His support (and investment in) for the incredibly unpopular wind industry will hurt him in Northern/Western Maine.
Paul I understand the notion that I made a mistake yet I have no regrets. I believe that it would be to the benefit of Maine and New England if Maine had a strong Libertarian Party.
At the risk of sounding a bit pompous I have predicted chaos in the Senate race since early 2011. Jon can attest to this. I had no idea why it would be be “an interesting” race but I knew it would be. It has defied logic and the experts so far there is no reason to think it won’t continue to do so. As they say… watch this space.
Up the irons and full speed ahead.
Andrew I can understand your desire to live near the Atlantic.
Sadly the bit of New Hampshire near the Atlantic is rather expensive.
As for Somalis in Maine.
Well the Welfare State (both Federal and State) will go bankrupt soon.
So they will have to turn to honest ways.
Or be dealt with by people in the future (near future) chaos.
At least the area now known as the United States will not face demographic problems in future – the curse of the Teddy Kennedy Immigration Act of 1965 will be lifted.
Millions of people will no longer come to the area now known as the United States seeking government benefits – as these benefits will no longer exist.
And the honest people in Maine (and elsewhere) will be able to defend themselves and their property – without government “civil rights” or other interventionism.
Back to the hard days (and they were hard) when people in Maine had to really “hard scrabble” to make a living – and to defend themselves against wild animals and criminal elements.
Thin soil (and a lot of rocks) – no wonder you have so much forest cover.
Although the forests still being privately owned in Maine helps.