Freeman and LaRouche 2010
Debra Hanania Freeman, b. ca1953 (New York, NY) -
VP candidate for National Economic Recovery (aka Independent aka Democrats for Economic Recovery aka Hawaiians for National Economic Recovery) (1988)
Running mate with nominee: Lyndon LaRouche (1922–2019)
Popular vote: 25,562 (0.03%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
As usual, Lyndon LaRouche began the Presidential campaign by running in the Democratic Party primaries. But by August he was filing in various states under various party names. His running mate was longtime LaRouche loyalist and employee Debra Freeman of Maryland.
Also as usual LaRouche's political message contained dire warnings about catastrophic economic disaster waiting just around the corner. He wanted to colonize Mars by 2027 and transform the Federal Reserve System to serve as a "Hamiltonian National Bank." The Washington State Voters Pamphlet entry for LaRouche modestly said, "History will say that Lyndon LaRouche was the greatest economist of the twentieth century ..."
His complicated conspiracy theories, which were numerous, were probably ramped up by the raids and arrests starting in 1986 by law enforcement directed toward his organization regarding charges of mail fraud, credit card fraud, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and tax fraud.
At one point in the campaign Democrat Bob Kerrey who was running for the US Senate in Nebraska brought up the historical connection between LaRouche and New Alliance Party founder Fred Newman. LaRouche and Newman did indeed work together in the 1970s but supposedly officially parted company, yet some critics had their doubts they really severed connections. VP nominee Freeman was forced to make a public statement, "There certainly is no connection, nor was there ever any connection, between LaRouche and the New Alliance Party."
There must not have been a lot of time for traditional campaigning for LaRouche in 1988. News coverage of his actual Right-wing, pro-nuclear power, anti-Deep State platform was overshadowed by his legal struggles and occasional personal smears against other candidates. By the end of the year he was convicted of numerous offenses and then sentenced to 15 years in federal prison starting in Jan. 1989. 13 of his associates were also convicted and sentenced. Naturally the LaRouche followers considered these people to be political prisoners. Other observers considered LaRouche to be a con artist and cult leader.
The LaRouche/Freeman ticket was on the ballot in 13 states + DC. In Iowa they placed third. Their strongest showings: Alaska 0.41%, North Dakota 0.30%, Iowa 0.29%, Washington 0.24%, Ohio 0.18%.
In the event they had won the election, LaRouche's incarceration would not have prevented him from taking office and he probably would have pardoned himself if that was possible.
Freeman remains active with the LaRouche organization to the present day.
Election history:
1978 - US House of Representatives (Md.) (US Labor Party) - defeated
1982 - US House of Representatives (Md.) (Democratic) - primary - defeated
1983 - Baltimore (Md.) City Council President (Democratic) - primary - defeated
1984 - US House of Representatives (Md.) (Democratic) - primary - defeated
1986 - US Senate (Md.) (Democratic) - primary - defeated
Other occupations: various executive offices in the LaRouche organization
Notes:
Moved to Baltimore ca1974.
Masters in English from Columbia, Ph.D. in Public Health from Johns Hopkins.
Her husband Larry Freeman was running for Governor of Maryland at the same time she was running
for the US Senate in 1986.
After her 8-1 loss in 1978 she charged voter fraud and began setting up her transition team preparing
to take office even as her legal challenges were denied. She wrote in a LaRouche publication:
"January 15, 1979 will indeed be a very joyous day. On that day, I will become the first U.S. Labor
Party member ever to take a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. And, on that day, the citizens
of the 7th Congressional District of Maryland will finally be freed from eight years of brutal,
terrorizing rule by the cult of bestiality headed by lame duck Congressman Parren J. Mitchell." Her
case went all the way to the US House.
