Michael Joseph Sobran Jr., February 23, 1946 (Ypsilanti, Mich.) – September 30, 2010 (Fairfax, Va.)
VP candidate for Constitution Party (2000)
Running mate with nominee: Howard Jay Phillips (1941-2013)
Popular vote: 923 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Although withdrawn VP nominees normally are not included in this blog, Joe Sobran of the Constitution Party somehow still managed to be on the official ballot in one state for the 2000 election and gained some popular votes, so he is counted as among the third party Vice-Presidential candidates as far as my definition goes.
At their convention in Sept. 1999 the US Taxpayers Party changed their name to the Constitution Party (an alternative name that lost the vote was "American Heritage Party") and for the third time nominated Howard Phillips for President. His running-mate was Joe Sobran. US Sen. Bob Smith of New Hampshire had previously sought the US Taxpayers Party nomination for President after failing to gain much traction in the national Republican primaries. But shortly before the USTP convention he declared himself an independent candidate for President. That campaign came to an end quickly and he rejoined the Republican Party, endorsing Bush.
Phillips' chief opponent in securing the nomination was none other than his own 1996 running-mate, Herb Titus. Titus said that if he got the nod he would select (Washington State trivia alert!!!) Ellen Craswell as his VP.
The Party platform included: anti-choice on abortion, opposed euthanasia, wanted to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Reserve, privatize Social Security, restrict legal immigration, promote states' rights, end US involvement in the United Nations-NATO-IMF-NAFTA and World Bank, cutting the federal budget by 75%, eliminating Affirmative Action, and it declared a "full submission and unshakable faith" in Jesus Christ.
VP nominee Sobran was not without controversy. In 1993 he was fired from his position with the National Review by his mentor William F. Buckley with the chief charge being an anti-Semite but with assorted other unpleasantries tossed in. Although denials were made, shortly after the 2000 election Sobran was among the speakers at a Holocaust-denial group, making his earlier protestations somewhat disingenuous.
Sobran took a leave of absence from his newspaper column in order to run. In his Sept. 9, 1999 piece he quipped, "With a little luck I will be inaugurated as your vice president in January 2001. I look forward to presiding over the Senate and attending funerals of world leaders."
Sobran was back in the columns within six months. In early March he wrote: In life we sometimes do have to choose the lesser evil rather than the positive good. This is the basis of armed robbery. Forced to choose between your money and your life, you give the mugger your wallet. But though you walk away with relief that your life was spared, you'd be a fool to feel it was a profitable transaction for you. For conservatives who vote Republican, every election is like that.
By the end of March, Sobran had concluded running for office was more work than he bargained for and withdrew from the race. Sobran was eventually replaced by Dr. J. Curtis Frazier.
Yet, the Phillips/Sobran ticket remained on the ballot in Kentucky, where they placed 7th out of 7 with 0.06% of the popular vote in the Bluegrass State.
Election history: none
Other occupations: journalist, columnist, radio commentator
Buried: Andrew Chapel Cemetery (Fairfax, Va.)
Notes:
Believer in the Oxfordian theory that Edward de Vere actually wrote the plays attributed to William
Shakespeare.
