Joseph Fidler Walsh, November 20, 1947 (Wichita, Kan.) -
VP candidate for Blues Party (1992)
Running mate with nominee: David Lee "Goat" Carson (b. 1946)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
David Lee Carson, more popularly known as "Goat" ran for President in 1992 under the Blues Party banner with rock legend Joe Walsh as his VP. Carson is a musician, writer, and self-described "shaman."
The Carson/Walsh ticket had the slogan "We Want Our Money Back!" Years later Carson explained to an interviewer the policy behind the words, "I would shut down and audit the federal government and go after every penny they've stolen from the people."
Walsh had run for President in 1980 under the Continuous Party, but I could not identify any running-mate in that one. In real life he has actually considered running for Congress. He announced he was campaigning for Vice-President in Sept. 1991 with the slogan, "Enough is Enough."
Some Walsh quotes during the campaign:
I'm sick of seeing people and their children living in shopping carts and cardboard boxes. The Vice-Presidency can be an attractive format for taking care of domestic issues.
Quayle doesn't have a clue. He's debating Murphy Brown, and Murphy Brown doesn't exist. Why doesn't he debate me? I'm real, and I'll give him Hell-- I know how to spell 'potato.'
If we're going to have officials who smoke pot, we should have officials who smoke it right. I inhale. I know how to smoke pot.
MTV is why kids can't read. It's brainless, meaningless noise with no validity whatsoever. It is not constructive for society. You're supposed to listen to music, not watch it.
Walsh released an album in 1992 called Songs From A Dying Planet that included the song Vote for Me:
"Vote for Me"
written: J. Walsh and J. Vitale
I'd like to announce my candidacy,
I'd appreciate it if you'd vote for me.
I want to be Vice President.
Vote for me.
If I was Vice President you know what I'd do?
Pretty much anything I wanted to.
Vote for me. Vote for me.
I'd have a first class seat on Air Force One.
An awesome pad in Washington...D.C. (If you vote for me)
Play golf all day with heads of state,
If they brought beer wouldn't that be great? I can't wait!
Vote for me. Vote for me.
Well there are an awful lot of issues important to me.
Here's my campaign policy,
Legislation, education,
occupation, arbitration,
conversation, equalization,
immigration, itemization,
immigration, race relations,
imitation, hospitalization...
I'm freaking out vote for me!
Well it's the land of the brave, the home of the free.
That's the funny thing about democracy.
A vote for me, is a vote for me!
The really odd part here is that I cannot find any primary documents linking Carson and Walsh in 1992. Carson did not file with the FEC and all mention of his candidacy I located was from secondary sources citing his effort as historical fact without providing evidence. The Walsh VP run was indeed covered at the time but his Presidential standard bearer was never brought up. Like I said, really odd.
One secondary source made the improbable claim that the Carson/Walsh ticket earned 100,000 write-in votes.
In 1996 Carson was ordained in the Power of Faith Ministries and became known as "Rev. Goat."
Election history:
1980 - US President (Continuous Party) - defeated
Other occupations: rock musician, philanthropist, President of the Santa Cruz Island Foundation, one of the greatest guitarists of all time
Notes:
Was present during the student killings at Kent State University in 1970.
Is into amateur radio.
