Richard Eugene Karst, December 7, 1954 -
VP candidate for Helluva Party (2016)
Running mate with nominee: William Knox Richardson (b. ca1954)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
The Helluva Party, founded by Las Vegas poker dealer and stand-up comedian W. Knox Richardson, launched in early 2015. His running-mate was musician Richard Karst of Santa Cruz, Calif.
The Party started off as an irreverent, cynical and politically incorrect take on the American political process, but as evidenced by their Facebook and Twitter posts, started to veer into serious policy statements as the campaign progressed--
Feb. 2, 2015--
Are you fed up with politics?
Are you a Liberal, fed up with the Dumb-o-crats?
Or are you a Conservative, fed up with Repugnicans?
Maybe you're a Libertarian, wondering where your liberties went.
Or perhaps a Green, green with envy as the status quo parties get all of the green political funding?
Well, we are all Fed Up. We are fed up with our so called "leaders." "Leaders" who are beholden to the corporatists, who would profit from our despair and ruin.
Which is why we have formed a new, brazen, outspoken political party, a voice for all of the Fed Up people of our United States: the Helluva Party.
Feb. 5, 2015
"Political parties are no longer about loyalty to an ideology. In my opinion, they are simply vehicles of expediency and tools for their candidates to get elected. This was demonstrated by the dozen or more Democrats who recently jumped ship and ran as Republicans to keep their seats in Congress. I believe that anyone who maintains an allegiance to a political party because of its belief system may be no more than a pawn in a vast power struggle. I invite people on both the left and the right to consider the Helluva Party which lacks any discernible ideology. We believe in only one thing: Whatever. Join the Helluva Party. For no apparent reason." -- W. Knox Richardson, announced Presidential candidate in the Helluva Party in 2016.
Feb. 12, 2015
Helluva campaign promise Number 23: If you register as a member of the Helluva Party, we promise you will receive $6,000,000 in the mail within six weeks. (Some restrictions apply. Offer not valid in Rhode Island or West Hollywood. Or during months with an R in them.)
Apr. 27, 2015
What I don't understand is why normally law-abiding individuals when joining with a mob become lawless hooligans, failing to resemble any semblance of civilized society, making up their own rules as they go along. Who do they think they are -- Multinational corporations?
July 10, 2015
As many of you know, I am running for president as a candidate in the Helluva Party. It has been brought to my attention that the only man ever elected president who was a bachelor was James Buchanan. And we're really not too sure about him. So, to streamline things, I am entertaining offers to take a wife, and possibly become the next First Lady of the United States. (Her, not me. It could happen.) But first I have a few questions.
1. Are you a woman? If yes, are you a natural born woman? If yes, proceed to question 2. If no, please list the name of your surgeon and date or dates of your surgery, and whether or not the surgery took place in either Switzerland or Beverly Hills.
2. Are you breathing? Please note that artificial life support systems count as yes.
3. Do you have all your fingers and toes? Please note that any additional fingers or toes count as extra credit.
4. Do you like brussel sprouts? If yes, thank you very much. You may leave.
Thank you. We will get back to you.
July 14, 2015
Here with the official Helluva Party response to the recently concluded Iranian nuclear agreement is Helluva Party presidential candidate W. Knox Richardson. Mr. Richardson:
"Whatever."
This concludes the Helluva Party's official response to the recently concluded Iranian nuclear agreement.
Aug. 10, 2015
The Helluva Party plan for making college education affordable and relevant.
1. Cap tuition and/or force tuition reductions at schools receiving federal funding and/or enrolling students receiving federally insured loans. Use Executive Order to implement.
This program puts the burden of change and expense on the university community who have been unyielding in their ineffectiveness to control costs by maintaining a system that long ago would have been scrapped by the private sector -- and has been by for-profit institutions. Old-world schools have been able to increase tuition since they know parents will continue to pay for a diploma from brand-name schools and students will continue to borrow to cover increasing fees. This maintains the status quo and allows an archaic, physical world paradigm to dominate thinking in a digital world. Libraries have had to adapt, so should schools.
Additionally, this cost taxpayers nothing as schools are forced to deal with real-world economics like everyone else.
2. Eliminate tenure. Outdated, outmoded hand-me-down artifact of professional academics with no or very little real-world experience outside of academia. Salaries should be competitive but so should the workplace. Schools need to retool, and tenure is no longer a luxury the outside world should pay for.
3. Eliminate/restrict tax deductions for unrestricted grants and gifts to schools or programs, including athletics. Force targeted giving directly toward academics.
4. Force schools to match capital building expenditures with digital infrastructure spending, including online curriculum development and execution. Schools continue excessive building programs that offer monolithic edifices that glorify donors and aging academics. Build responsibility for the future, not the past.
5. Create a federally funded United States Open University with a fully accredited low-cost or tuition-free, two-, three- and four-year online degree program with transferable credits and additional specialty training in high-demand occupational areas. This online program would be both competitive and complimentary to both traditional and other online programs forcing traditional public, private and for-profit schools to compete for online students by offering unique and enhanced distance programs.
This should have happened years ago. No excuses. We just can't sit by and watch while classroom scholars take all the money that should go to educating the masses, not the chosen few. We don't need more classrooms. We need to better utilize the facilities and technology we already have. The foot dragging has to stop.
Your comments, criticisms and other feedback are welcome, as always.
Aug. 18, 2015
Campaign Promise No. 2) I will go to Guam.
Nov. 1, 2015
Politicians of old used to speak for hours and not say a damn thing. Trump can do it just a few minutes.
Nov. 30, 2015
The Helluva Party has a standard response to most controversies of "whatever". But we must now register our disappointment in Donald Trump and his apparent mocking of a disabled reporter. Worst than that is his apparent inability to acknowledge his misstep and apologize. While we don't necessarily desire a modest president, we would like to see one that is caring and compassionate. Guess you can't have everything. Whatever.
Dec. 1, 2015
Jeb is the worst public speaker running for president. If his name wasn't Bush, he'd be wearing a green apron as the produce mgr at Safeway.
Dec. 2, 2015
One of Donald Trump's biggest problems is that he doesn't speak in complete.
Feb. 6, 2016
The Constitution says only a natural born citizen can become POTUS. It's my understanding that Ted Cruz was born cesarean.
Apr. 4, 2016
A Helluva Proposal: The Internal Refugee Act
Americans are such wonderful people, to everyone, but Americans.
The Helluva Party proposes a program to turn our attention inward and rebuild America from the ground up.
There are hundreds of thousands of Americans living in abject poverty, especially in inner cities where violence and despair are the norm.
Throwing money and jobs at people located in these neighborhoods are at best temporary fixes. Many of these people are barely living, more like surviving, on a day-to-day basis. Many are victimized daily. They can't get ahead. They can't break the cycle. There are many causes but here is a solution.
1. Create an internal refugee registry of people and families desiring to be relocated to other parts of the city, state, or even interstate.
2. Use eminent domain to condemn neighborhoods, entire ZIP Codes, if necessary.
3. Raze the buildings to the ground. Build a new infrastructure. Redesign the city and streets.
4. Relocate former residents as we would refugees entering from war zones.
5. Ensure relocated residents are given the greatest opportunity to succeed with proper education and economic opportunities.
6. Rebuild communities from scratch as crime-free zones. Use modern planning techniques to ensure long-term economic and social viability and security.
7. Permit relocated residents first rights to return to rebuilt neighborhoods.
How do we pay for it?
Right now the vast majority of spending is on entitlement programs which include assistance and other social programs. By eliminating the need for inner-city assistance, and providing opportunity on a distributed case-by-case basis to relocated families, we now have a the best chance ever to eliminate the costs of fighting poverty on a universal basis. Long term savings over 20 years would cover all costs - not to mention the benefits of rebuilding.
Forget the refugees from Syria. Save the people in Milwaukee. Or we could just leave things the way they are. We might have 10 years left.
Apr. 14, 2016
Bernie Sanders cries of foul against the DNC would have more credibility if he were actually a Democrat.
The Helluva Party mascot was a half-dog "half-something else, we don't know what exactly" creature named Spues. Richardson said that if Charlie Sheen was willing to be drafted, he would step aside as the Presidential nominee and allow the actor to replace him as the top name on the ticket.
The Party's Mar. 28, 2017 Twitter posting read--
The Helluva Party will announce its endorsements for the November 2016 election sometime next week. Thank you for your patience.
Election history: none
Other occupations: musician, recording engineer, natural food store worker
Notes:
The Helluva Party indicated they were going to run a candidate for President in the 2018[!!!] election.
