Michael Anthony Peroutka, September 7, 1952 (Baltimore, Md.) -
VP candidate for Constitution Party of Montana (2008)
Running mate with nominee: Ronald Ernest Paul (b. 1935)
Popular vote: 10,638 (0.01%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
In 2008 Ron Paul was still a sitting member of the US House of Representatives for his district in Texas. Although he had indeed been a member of the Libertarian Party and was even their Presidential nominee in 1988, he always operated as a card-carrying Republican when holding public office, albeit somewhat as an outlier.
Rep. Paul had been running for President in the Republican primaries in 2008, usually standing out in the debates as being the most vocal candidate to oppose the foreign military adventures that had been initiated by the George W. Bush administration. By June 2008 it was obvious lightning wasn't going to strike and Paul dropped out of the race with not enough delegates to really make an impact.
Some call him conservative, or a libertarian Republican, but I have always thought of Ron Paul as a political party unto himself beyond conventional classification not unlike Ralph Nader. Paul enjoys a base of support that some commentators describe as a personality cult. Many of his followers refused to allow his campaign to die in 2008 and by November he was either a certified write-in or actually on the ballot in a couple states. Paul's role in all of this seemed to be mostly passive.
The Draft Paul movement resulted in write-in votes from five states: California (with VP Gail Lightfoot), Illinois, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. In California his name was associated with both the Republican and Libertarian parties, but in the other write-ins he was merely a Republican. He was also on the ballot in two states. In Montana he was listed under the Constitution Party with Michael Peroutka as his VP and in Louisiana under the Louisiana Taxpayers Party with Barry Goldwater Jr. as the running-mate. Paul earned a combined total of 42,426 reported popular votes (0.03%) in 2008.
The Constitution Party of Montana, like several other state chapters across the nation at the time, had disaffiliated with the national party in 2006. It seems many state groups did not agree with factions of the national Party that abortion was acceptable in cases of rape, incest, or saving the life of the mother. Also in that same year they elected their first member to the Montana State House of Representatives. Meanwhile, across the country in Maryland, another state where the local Constitution Party took a walk, 2004 Constitution Party Presidential nominee Michael Peroutka jumped ship and considered himself part of the American Heritage Party.
Rather than support Chuck Baldwin, the official Constitution Party nominee in 2008, the Montana group on Sept. 5 filed the names of Ron Paul and Michael Peroutka as their ticket of choice. State Party Chair Jonathan Martin told the press, "Ron Paul did not seek it, but he did not oppose it. He allowed it." Ballot Access News reported, "Ron Paul was aware that the party planned to do this, and has said that as long as he can remain passive and silent about the development, and as long as he need not sign any declaration of candidacy, that he does not object."
It seems Rep. Paul had a change of heart and wrote in a letter dated Sept. 10 to the Montana Secretary of State, "It has come to my attention that I was nominated by the Constitution Party of Montana as its presidential nominee. While I certainly appreciate the Constitution Party of Montana’s nomination, and all the hard work of its members, I am writing to respectfully request that you remove my name from the ballot in Montana as I did not seek nor consent to this nomination." Paul's request was denied on Sept. 15 on the grounds he acted too late.
Earlier in the campaign season Peroutka had endorsed Rep. Paul for President in the Republican primaries. His statement on Sept. 2007 included some views quite contrary to the Libertarian Party philosophy--
I endorse Rep. Ron Paul for President. And I endorse him not because he is the lesser of two evils. A Christian can never endorse any kind of evil. I endorse Rep. Paul because — from a Christian/Biblical and Constitutional perspective – he is, by far, the best candidate running for President.
— Rep. Paul believes, correctly, that the Bible is the infallible, inerrant word of God and thus it is not the role of God-ordained civil government, at any level, to feed, house, clothe or educate anybody.
— Rep. Paul takes his oath to God as a Congressman seriously and believes, correctly, that the Constitution is the highest man-made law in our land, that it severely restricts what the Federal Government can legally do, and it must be obeyed. This is why, as he states on his campaign web site, he has: never voted to raise taxes; never voted for an unbalanced budget; never voted for a Federal restriction on gun ownership; never voted to raise Congressional pay; never taken a government-paid junket; and has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
In addition, Rep. Paul has voted against: the Patriot Act; regulating the Internet; and he voted against the Iraq war. He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program. He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.
— Rep. Paul, again correctly, is truly pro-life and believes that there are no circumstances under which it is OK to murder by abortion any innocent unborn babies.
The Paul/Peroutka ticket did pretty well for being such reluctant candidates. Pulling in 2.17% of the vote in Montana at third place, it was the best showing in all of the states where the Draft Paul effort had either gained ballot or registered write-in access.
In the end, Rep. Paul endorsed Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party for President.
As a point of trivia, Peroutka was also a write-in candidate for President in Georgia in 2008, where he took 23 votes.
Election history:
2004 - Reform Party of the United States of America nomination for President - defeated
2004 - US President (Constitution Party) - defeated
2008 - US President (Constitution Party of Georgia) - defeated
2014-2018 - Anne Arundel County Council (Md.) (Republican)
2018 - Anne Arundel County Council (Md.) (Republican) - primary - defeated
Other occupations: attorney, US Dept. of Health and Human Services employee, founder of the Institute on the Constitution, radio host, board of directors of the League of the South, Board of Trustees of The Conservative Caucus Research Analysis & Education Foundation, Board of Governors for Council for National Policy,
Notes:
The Human Rights Campaign called Peroutka an "active white supremacist and secessionist sympathizer" Dec. 2012.
Became a Republican in 2014.
One of Judge Roy Moore's biggest financial political donors.
