Matthew Ernest Ramsey, September 14, 1964 -
VP candidate for National Socialist Order of America (2008)
Running mate with nominee: John Taylor Bowles (b. 1957)
Popular vote: 0 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
I'll attempt to not get bogged down in the minutiae of Nazi factional and personality politics here.
John Taylor Bowles, a retired federal worker, was the Presidential nominee of the National Socialist Movement. His campaign headquarters was in an establishment called The Redneck Shop in Laurens, SC, which included KKK, Nazi, and Confederate paraphernalia in their inventory.
Bowles first running-mate was William "Wild Bill" Hoff, but as the Presidential candidate explained in an interview: "I had a Vice-Presidential candidate when the campaign officially began on December 7, 2006; but, unfortunately he was killed in a mysterious automobile accident 10 hours later. His name was William (Wild Bill) and he served in the USA military and was decorated with over 15 medals. Early in his political life, Mr. Hoff served as Grand Dragon for the Ku Klux Klan in New York and ran for the Senate in New York."
The Southern Poverty Law Center commented on this accident: "In December 2006, 'Wild' Bill Hoff, one of the NSM's oldest and best-known members and a 'colonel' in the group, died in a car accident at the age of 71. This was particularly notable because Hoff's anti-racist brother decided four months after the death to reveal a remarkable fact — Hoff, along with other members of his family, had black ancestors, a dreadful secret in the world of neo-Nazism."
The fate of Bowles' second running-mate foreshadowed the future: "My second choice for Vice-President was Kris Johnson; but, he was pressured to drop out because the NSM Commander wanted to sabotage my campaign. I will announce my third vice-presidential running mate choice on my campaign website (Bowlesforpresident.com) probably in March 2008. My running mate will be, of course, a National Socialist."
The third running-mate was Matthew Ramsey, also known under the alias of "Jim Ramm." Both Bowles and Ramsey either quit or had been expelled (sources differ) from NSM in Oct. 2007. It is somewhat unusual for a political group to lose their Presidential nominee during an election year. Rather than quit the campaign, Bowles formed the National Socialist Order of America and continued to electioneer, just under a new banner.
Ramsey was raised in northeast Washington State but by the mid-1990s he was living north of Seattle in Snohomish County, where he ran a public-access TV program devoted to the militia movement. It is thought this is where he invented the stage name of "Jim Ramm." Within a few years he became a very public figure with the NSM, contributing his computer and video skills. He was actually quite active in my neck of the woods and I recall his copious Youtube videos which included himself giving addresses in full uniform while attempting to imitate Hitler's unhinged full-throated speaking style. Those videos have since been deleted. Ramsey and his group were called "Hollywood Nazis" by many due to their costumes.
In 2006 Ramsey released a violent video game called ZOG's Nightmare, "ZOG" being an acronym for the conspiracy theory among white nationalists that a "Zionist-occupied government" exists.
Being a fellow who moved around a lot, Ramsey lived in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon for a spell and while there garnered some press as the supposed leader of an alleged group called the Tualatin Valley Skins. I used the terms "supposed" and "alleged" because when one reporter fact checked the background information Ramsey had provided about himself, it all turned out to be lies. His own mother contradicted him, and elsewhere another relative expressed dismay over how his nice, quiet, shy kin had transformed into a ranting Nazi.
Ramsey's true motives for his political activities became the source of conjecture among anti-fascists and Nazis alike. He tried to make sure his face was always covered with sunglasses during the 2008 campaign and was reportedly upset whenever a news photo of him without disguise was published.
Meanwhile, Bowles suffered a heart attack circa July 2008 which pretty much ended the campaign as well as his embryonic political party. Shortly after the election he joined the American Nazi Party. It is telling that when he vouched for Ramsey to join as well the ANP expressed some serious doubts over accepting "Jim Ramm." But it didn't matter, Ramsey was making moves to disappear anyway.
By 2009 Ramsey was in Michigan. Some sources have him joining the National Socialist American Labor Party which apparently turned out to be another stormy situation. In 2010 Ramsey made a statement that he was "retired" from Nazi politics and included, "Why retire? Don't get me wrong, I still deeply loathe non-whites but have very little free time available for posting on the internet, going to rallies or other activities. The little free time I have is now consumed with various day to day responsibilities." And with that Matthew Ramsey virtually vanished from the political radar.
Election history: none
Other occupations: laborer
Notes:
Washington State trivia alert!!!
