2012 Contender Series: Buddy Roemer
We’ve held off on some candidates due to their lack of political support. Fred Karger and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, are some examples. But one candidate that I think deserves some recognition is former Louisiana Governor and House Representative Buddy Roemer.
Charles Elson Roemer III actually has the creds to run for President. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1981 to 1988 and served as Louisiana’s Governor from 1988 to 1992. He was formerly a Democrat but switched party affiliations in his last year as Governor (the second Presidential Candidate to have done so). This caused all sorts of conflicts with both Democrats and Republicans.
Buddy Roemer at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Debate
The biggest stain on his record, depending on how one looks at it, is that he lost the Gubernatorial race to not only the previous Governor he had defeated but also to David Duke; then the head of the Ku Klux Klan. His defeat in 1992 led to a perception of ineptitude that has followed him ever since though many pundits believe he could have been one of Louisiana’s greatest politicians. However his overly ambitious legislative agenda combined with an inexperienced staff and a string of miscalculations led to his exit from politics.
Consequently, many of the media outlets have ignored Roemer’s attempt to return to politics and his run for the Presidency though he has actually scored some appearances on liberal media; most notably Rachel Maddow and the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. In both cases he performed fairly well.
With limited campaign funds it’s unclear whether or not Roemer will be able to sustain a prolonged campaign unless he gets some airtime on one of the debates as Gary Johnson did recently. Now that the field is all but set, perhaps he will.
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