ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, July 7, 1996 TAG: 9607080092
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: The Washington Post
Twenty-five years after its birth, the Libertarian Party began another push for big-league political status Saturday by nominating as its presidential candidate a man who made a personal fortune by predicting economic ruin.
Harry Browne, the 63-year-old best-selling author of such books as ``How You Can Profit from a Monetary Crisis,'' won an easy first-ballot victory over five rivals in voting by 605 delegates at the Libertarians' weekend convention here.
Jo Jorgensen, 39, a Greenville, S.C., computer software company owner, won the vice presidential spot of the party that promises to radically reduce the federal government, abolish virtually all federal taxes and shut down both overseas military bases and the ``war on drugs,'' in order to increase individual freedom.
The Libertarian presidential candidate won more than 900,000 votes in 1980, but in 1992 its nominee won only 291,000 votes, despite being on the ballot in all 50 states.
Browne and Jorgensen, in their acceptance speeches, insisted that the rebellion against ``big government'' and the other parties, by both Generation Xers and their parents, could make this a breakthrough year for the Libertarians, who argue that their platform would restore the Founders' concept of limited government.
``We are not alone,'' Browne told the cheering delegates. ``The American people are fed up with this wasteful, extravagant government. They are on our side now. We are mainstream.''
Jorgensen said Republicans who promise smaller government and lower taxes ``give us the equivalent of 1-900 sex. They tell us how much they want us and how good it's going to be. But when we hang up, we realize they've cost us a lot of money ... and they're never going to come over.''
Browne, a polished platform and television performer, said in an interview that his immediate goal is to show enough support in the polls that he is invited to join President Clinton, former Sen. Bob Dole and the nominee of Ross Perot's Reform Party in this autumn's TV presidential debates.
``If I'm at 10 percent, they won't be able to keep me out,'' he said. ``If I'm at 1 percent, I shouldn't be included. It won't be easy, but it is possible, and no other single step would do as much to establish our credibility.''
Party aides said it has ballot position already in 33 states and expects to qualify in all the others by late summer. Browne, who has been campaigning for the nomination for two years with personal funds, said he is about to pass the $1 million mark in fund-raising, adding, ``If we can raise $10 million, we can be a major force in this election.'' |AP Nominee Harry Browne and his wife, Pamela, greet party members Saturday. He was a first-ballot winner.
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICSby CNB