Vermin Supreme/Photo by Campaign
This week, the Amarillo Pioneer will be bringing our readers interviews with a few of the candidates for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination. The Libertarian Party will select its candidates for President and Vice President in a nomination vote this weekend and the party’s ticket will be one of four eligible to appear on the Texas ballot in November.
Some candidates may seek office in an election cycle that comes and goes without ever being remembered. It is safe to say Libertarian presidential candidate Vermin Supreme is not one of those candidates.
Supreme, a Massachusetts-based performance artist, is one of the top contenders for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination in 2020. With his running mate, Spike Cohen, Supreme has run a campaign which has attracted global attention for the campaign’s unusual antics. With a boot on his head - called a “magic boot” by Supreme - and a pledge to go back in time and “kill Baby Hitler,” Supreme has attracted attention, especially among young voters, for his humorous campaigning style and his activist roots. However, the candidate has shown in past debates that his campaign is very much one built around serious issues.
“If you are voting for Vermin Supreme and the Libertarian Party, you are voting for positive change,” Supreme said in an interview with the Pioneer on Friday.
If elected, Supreme plans to focus on a number of issues, which align with Libertarian Party platform principles, the candidate says. Among these issues are ending foreign wars, pardoning non-violent drug offenders and those serving time for “victimless crimes,” and ending the drug war. Supreme mentions the issue of mass incarceration is inherently woven into the issue of the drug war, saying this would be on the top of his list of priorities in the Oval Office.
On the issue of the coronavirus, Supreme stays true to his satirical roots, pledging to make COVID-19 illegal and to go back in time and “kill baby COVID.” Supreme also says he plans to create “COVID-19 free zones,” satirically poking fun at gun free zones, adding “they work so well for things like guns and drugs.”
However, on a more serious note, Supreme says the Trump administration should have paid better attention to information about the virus and should have been better prepared for the virus with increased accessibility of testing. Supreme also says his approach to dealing with the virus in a serious manner would be much different than that of the current administration.
“A Libertarian administration would not be prone to conspiracy, fear mongering, or blaming the other party,” Supreme said.
While his campaign has obvious comedic and satirical elements, he invites Americans to be “#InOnTheJoke,” mentioning that his campaign’s satirical elements are a joke on both the Republican and Democratic parties.
“People are worried putting up someone perceived as a joke candidate may reflect badly on the party,” Supreme said. “But, I think it’s perfectly within the framing.”
As for why Republicans and Democrats dissatisfied with President Trump and Joe Biden should consider voting for him? He says it comes down to his principles aligning with the voters.
“People have a right and a duty to vote for people who resonate with them,” Supreme said.
For more information about Vermin Supreme, visit verminsupreme2020.com or his policy website, inonthejoke.net.