Kokesh won’t quit (Updated)
As I predicted, Adam Kokesh, IVAW diva, announced that, although he could only attract 16% of the delegates in new Mexico’s 3rd District GOP pre-primary race, he won’t quit;
“Our campaign is energized, and we’re committed to winning the primary election,” Kokesh said in a news release. “We are a grassroots campaign, and over the next two and half months we will be calling on our many supporters to help us win this important election, and do our part to unseat the Luján-Pelosi-Reid Congress and stop the Obama agenda.”
Typical Ron Paul tactic – ignore that fact that he’s unelectable and keep charging ahead with a useless campaign until the party is so fractured that the Democrat wins. Then he’ll claim that its the Party’s and the media’s fault because no would would crown him the candidate despite the wish of voters. Someone explain to me how Kokesh, who now has the support of one in seven voters, is going to turn that around in 10 weeks – he’s already been campaigning for a year, but a couple more weeks is all he needs.
I wish someone would start a nationwide remedial math class for Paulians.
Thanks to COB6 for the link.
UPDATED: Below the jump is Kokesh’s latest campaign letter forwarded to us by a former IVAW member;
Greetings!
When former Mayor of Corrales, Gary Kanin, was asked what he thought of the state convention, he declared “I’m for Adam Kokesh!” “Mullins can get the Republican vote, but he’s not gonna do diddly in Santa Fe and Rio Arriba. If you can’t get the Democratic vote as a Republican, you’re not gonna win.”
Kokesh got only 19.5% of the delegates’ vote, which means he’ll have to collect signatures in order to make it on the ballot for District 3. That fact, to Kanin, is “embarrassing: They’re too glued to a successful, business-oriented candidate who cannot win the election.”
Read about the convention here, their story on Adam here, and their extended interview here.
Now here’s what we need you to do:
1. Download a nominating petition and other materials here.
2. Write your County at the top of the petition sheet, sign the petition, and get every Republican you know to sign it today.
3. The next day mail the signed petitions to us at 6771 Camino Rojo, Santa Fe, NM 87507.
4. Take another petition to collect signatures this week and mail them back by March 20th.If you would like to meet Adam and join the Kokesh Team, here’s how to find us:
Adam will be in:
1. K-Bob’s Steakhouse in Raton at 7PM on Wednesday March 17th. Click here for details.
2. KRTN 93.9 FM being interviewed at 8AM MDT on Wednesday March 17th. Click here for details.
3. The Rabbit Ears Restaurant at 6PM on Thursday March 18th. Click here for details.
4. Lunch in Logan on March 19th.
5. Dinner in Tucumcari on March 19th.
6. Dinner in Clovis on March 20th.
7. Dinner in Edgewood on March 21st.
8. Dinner in Albuquerque on March 22nd.
9. Dinner in Rio Rancho on March 23rd.Mark will be in:
1. The Roosevelt County Republican Dessert Party at 6PM on Tuesday March 16th. Click here for details.
2. The Java Loft in Clovis at 6:30PM on Thursday March 18th.
3. Clovis/Portales from March 16th – 22nd.Michael will be in:
1. Chama on March 16th.
2. Dulce on March 17th.
3. Farmington/Aztec on March 18th and 19th.
4. Gallup on March 20th and 21st.
5. Rio Rancho on March 22nd and 23rd.Jeff will be in:
1. Los Alamos on March 17th and 18th.
2. Santa Fe/Espanola on March 20th.
3. Edgewood on March 21st.
4. Bernalillo on March 22nd.
5. Rio Rancho on March 23rd.For details on any event visit http://kokeshforcongress.com/events or call the campaign phone at (505) 470-1917.
It’s now or never.
This next week is the most important week of this campaign. We are building the greatest grassroots organization this district has ever seen and we hope you want to be a part of it! Please contribute any way you can. Call the campaign phone at (505) 470-1917 to get involved with “boots on the ground” activities or click here to provide financial support for this massive effort.
The Good Ol’ Boy Republican establishment hasn’t won a regular election in this district since….. Hmmm….. Have they ever? It’s time the grassroots had a chance!
Let’s get Adam on the ballot!
Yup, all that matters is getting his unelectable ass on the ballot.
Category: Antiwar crowd, General Whackos, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Ron Paul, Usual Suspects
‘Someone explain to me how Kokesh, who now has the support of one in seven voters, is going to turn that around in 10 weeks – he’s already been campaigning for a year, but a couple more weeks is all he needs.’
You are missing the obvious, John. As long as he is still campaigning and getting donations, he has a meal ticket. And he also still has an excuse to hold public events that glorify his own ego.
Getting elected doesn’t have to be in his actual plans-being a candidate is the important part.
Is there a link in there Jonn?
And we can thank Kokesh’s low rating in large part to the continued efforts of Jonn (TAH), and others in the blog-o-sphere who continue to tell the TRUTH.
Thanks.
Great analysis! I’ve been saying for years that the Paulians are just a bunch of leftists. Everything they do is designed to hurt the right. A trojan horse tactict which seems to be working.
I agree with everything Ron Paul says right up to that 1 wacko statement he just can’t seem to help himself saying in every speech. Dave is right: If he quits he probably would have to get a job and we can’t have that. From the first time that POS stuck his head out of the shit-pile it has been about him and his ego first and foremost.
Courtesy of Opensecrets.org
Adam Charles Kokesh (R)
Raised: $142,630
Spent: $137,767
Cash on Hand: $4,863
Last Report: December 31, 2009
PAC contributions $1,150 (1%)
Individual contributions $135,807 (95%)
Candidate self-financing $5,353 (4%)
Other $320 (0%)
Thomas E. Mullins (R)
Raised: $45,274
Spent: $14,300
Cash on Hand: $30,973
Last Report: December 31, 2009
PAC contributions $0 (0%)
Individual contributions $43,274 (96%)
Candidate self-financing $2,000 (4%)
Other $0 (0%)
Anyone want to guess what he spent 137K on?
RE comment #6:
Didn’t get much “bang for the buck”, did he? Maybe he only got higher. More than 3 times the money raised, but has only about 1/6th of the delegates. That is an “energized campaign”? Maybe he oughta set up a lemonade stand and sell his refrigerated piss. The Kool Ade drinkers might love it. Just like with Obummer- who in hell believes this guy? What sort of “short bus” rider is even that dumbassed in their thinking?
Nuf Sed
Sadly, Kokesh is part of a larger trend where the Paulistinian candidate (see Texas gubernatorial GOP primary as another example) either won’t quit or won’t endorse the winner. These people would find it perfectly acceptable to garner attention by shitting in the punchbowl. The sooner Dr. Nutz and his Stormfront troofer Xanax-munching window lickers go away, the better.
I have said before that I believe Kokesh is a stealth candidate run by the left in order to fracture conservative elections and throw them to the socialists and other democrats.
A leopard cannot change his spots, and nothing Kokesh has done to date can convince me that he is a real supporter of Conservative values, ley alone this great nation of ours.
Tim–I’m betting dude could barely read his LES, so what makes anyone think he can understand the intricacies of “deficit neutral spending”, whatever that means this week?
The good ol’ boy network? Mullins kicked your ass and spent 90% less than you?? The only “grass roots support” he has is when he steps off the sidewalk……
I think the campaign letter bears out my point. 8 of the 9 campaign events are at restaurants. If you can’t get a real job, run for Congress and get people to give you money instead.
Seems Kokesh is doing the same thing the Paulian is doing for Harry Reid in Nevada, if the Nevadan is even a Paulian and not just a shill for Reid. But, I think Tim is probably right, he’s a lefty stealth candidate. And the restaurant gig is probably right, too. If you can’t get a real job, run for Congress, at least you’ll get a meal….
I can see that you all are definitely not experienced with libertarian politics. Before Ron Paul became so popular in recent years, libertarians usually ran on the Libertarian Party ticket, not Republican, and if a Libertarian were to get so much as 16% of the vote, in comparison to their usual results, it would be considered an absolute smashing success. I mean, you’re kidding me, right? You didn’t know that? Kokesh’s popularity is phenomenal (again, comparatively speaking…)
With the crowd who stores their urine in the fridge. You left something off your post Debra. So, in the Libertarian, Ronpaul mind, losing is “an absolute smashing success”?
UpNorth, you’re looking at this from a too narrow mindset. Nobody knows the infamous TAH story about what Kokesh used to store in his fridge, or whatever, except for TAH readers – which I’m sure is an even smaller percentage of people than the number of New Mexicans who support Kokesh. Not only does nbody know about it, except for TAH readers, nobody cares about it either. It’s irrelevant. You’re just not looking at the big picture. What do you think politicians are, anyway? Angels from God? Pure as the driven snow? I haven’t met one yet.
To answer your question – no, losing is not considered to be a smashing success in the Libertaran mind. But, percentage-wise, 16% is much higher than what most libertarians get. Besides that, most folks who have been libertarians for a long time – whether actively engaged in the political scene or not – do not usually have any great expectation for mass success, no matter how much effort is expended. Yes, devoted LP members do continue to try (and should); yes, there actually ARE some successes on the local and state levels (which, in many respects, is more important anyway), but there are other very important reasons for continuing the effort even if one does not realistically expect to win. The effort can still be the same, even the hopeful expectation can be the same, but when it’s all over and done and one has lost, the gracious loser still has the opportunity to reflect upon the deeper values of running for office, the educational benefits of the experience (which should always be kept in mind along the way regardless), the influence and impact of the campaign on the public (especially on the young people), the importance of living out beliefs and values and attempting to make it happen – even if you fail (which requires a high level of integrity), and the network of friends and associates that evolves along the way.
Or didn’t your mother teach you that winning isn’t everything; it’s how you play the game.
Debra, Mr. Kokesh stated on his website that he has been a card carrying Republican for years. Of course, that’s after he claimed, later taken down and replaced by the republican statement, that he was a card carrying libertarian for years. He is a political opportunist of the worst sort changing his beliefs to fit whats hot to stoke his massive ego.
Oh, and your last statement about winning isn’t everything its how you play the game? That was written by losers to make other losers feel better.
Debra, Kokesh pulling 16 percent of the delegates is akin to what’s known as the “Elvis Factor”.
JonP, As I have mentioned before, it is very common for libertarians to be members of the Republican Party, or for members of the Libertarian Party to be registered as Republicans, or for libertarians to move between the Republican Party and the Libertarian Party, or even to be members of both parties simultaneously (particularly in the case of life members of the Libertarian Party). I, myself, am a life member of the Libertarian Party, have been for many years, and was registered as a Republican when I lived in Georgia. This type of thing is so unremarkable and un-newsworthy to me, it continues to surprise me that others point the finger at Kokesh about being in the Republican Party. It is common knowledge that there is a better chance of winning an election running as a Republican as opposed to running as a Libertarian Party candidate, which I’m would imagine is why Kokesh is doing it. In the case of Ron Paul, he has always been a libertarian in the Republican Party, but ran for president the first time as the Libertarian Party candidate. There are lots of members of the Libertarian Party who had always been Republicans, and they may not have necessarily left the Republican Party for good, but simply got sick of its hypocrisy, i.e., talking the talk, but not walking the walk, and perhaps like to dabble in the Libertarian Party while keeping another foot in the Republican Party, while others may devote theselves exclusively to the Libertarian Party. Within Libertarian Party circles, there is a wide range on the scale of libertarianism, ranging from your Neal Boortz-type libertarians all the way to your non-interventionist anarcho-capitalist-types. It is readily observable that there is no real difference between Republicans and Democrats in what they actually do; they just have different rhetoric while doing the same thing, so I’m not sure what your point is anyway. At least libertarians do have some sort of actual integrity, regardless of what party or non-party they are in. The point is, JonP, the complaints you and others are trying to make… Read more »
He actually got 19.5%. The most popular governor in recent NM history only squeaked out 21% in the same contest. It’s not over until it’s over.
@brownneckgator: Why would you suggest voters should guess? The disbursements should be shown in the campaign’s FEC report. That’s sort of the whole point.
Angela is one of those trolls who drifted over here from the 9-12.org discussion. She’s campaigning to be the mother of Kokesh’s child apparently. Among her myriad mutant powers, her misconceptions are impervious to facts.
Oh, goody, Angela–pray tell you’re going to let us know just who that was too, right?
Debra, my problem is not with switching parties. I have dumped the Republicans and am now a registered independent only because my state does not have a libertarian option. My problem is with someone saying they are a proud, life long Libertarian and run around yelling that to everyone who will listen and then changing their webpage claiming to be a life long republican when deciding to run for office. If a libertarian runs as a republican making it clear they are doing that because that is how they are going to get on the ballot then I guess I can swallow that but that is not what he did. I also have a major problem with someone that travels overseas to attempt to formant insurrection among our troops, runs around with communist and anti-american/military groups, holds “hearings” on supposed military atrocities with the purpose of undermining our troops moral and turning the population against our troops, disobeying direct orders while in the military and not obtaining an honorable discharge and proudly disrespecting our flag by flying it upside down on the capitol steps.
He also said when asked that if he lost the primary he would support his opponent 100% and now that he lost by a gigantic margin will not. He has no character or honor. That is my problem with him and as someone that supports our military like you do I cannot understand why you would go anywhere near this POS. There are many good Libertarians out there to support and that deserve our support. He is not one of them.
Also, I went to your blog again: You are too modest, you don’t need beauty sleep 🙂
Debra, Kokesh has been described by others after your post at #16, so I won’t address that. But, you fail to see life’s lessons with your loser quote that “winning isn’t everything, it’s how you play the game”. In your post at #20 you bail on striving to do one’s absolute best by saying that if you strive to win and don’t, one’s “false value system” will lead to an unhappy life. Sorry, could not disagree more. If you settle for second best, you’ll end up with a second best life. “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is” is actually the quote from Vince Lombardi. If you’re willing to accept sub-par effort, that’s what you’ll get.
As to Eric Garris and Antiwar.com, who cares? This is a site that has headlines today like “The Virtues of Gorbachevism”, “The Rogue Nation” referring to the U.S. because of our use of drones, and “the Show Goes On” about the “show trial” of Slobo Milosevic. So, does Antiwar.com have any credibility, I guess in the lefty progressive blogosphere, maybe.
JonP, I understand what you’re saying about Kokesh saying he is a proud, lifelong libertarian, and then also saying he’s a proud, lifelong republican, however, again, I still don’t see what the problem is with that. A person can be both a libertarian and a republican at the same time. That he pulled the Republican card out to enhance his chances of winning – why do you think that’s so terrible if he really is a Republican? I honestly do not question the authenticity of his basic political value system and I would bet that your own areas of divergence with him boil down to two things: 1) his personal conduct, and 2) his opposition to the war and activities expressing that opposition. But UpNorth and others here think that that winning is everything anyway, so what the heck is the problem with pulling out the Republican card if it is the truth? I personally don’t think that winning is everything, even in an election, however, I also don’t consider there to be anything even remotely unethical about Kokesh running as a Republican regardless of whether he has been a lifetime member of the Republican Party or not. He is obviously following the example set by Ron Paul in being a libertarian within the Republican Party and his political views are obviously REPUBLICAN (as well as libertarian)… so, again, I’m just not registering your complaint on that point. Kokesh is both a Libertarian and a Republican, whether you want to use the capital letters or the small letters; that’s the bottom line, and what does it matter? So am I. I also (taking a proactive approach) have individualist anarchist leanings – have for many years – and all of this together forms my overall political outlook. While it may, in a sense, represent some contradictions that tend to meld together as a compromise between my political ideals and the reality of living in this world, it is nonetheless, to me, a very cohesive worldview that allows me to function on a practical level without experiencing severe cognitive dissonance. I don’t… Read more »
For the love of GOD, enough jacking the bandwidth!!!
Will it cause TAH to crash? Because I wouldn’t want that to happen.