Brian Moore presidential campaign, 2008
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The 2008 presidential campaign of Brian Patrick Moore, a local activist from
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, began when he announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, on October 19, 2007. The same month he was declared the nominee of the
Socialist Party USA The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America,"The article of this organization shall be the Socialist Party of the United States of America, hereinafter called 'the Party'". Art. I of th"Constitution o ...
for the 2008 presidential election. The SPUSA
national convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...
elected Stewart Alexis Alexander of
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as Moore's vice presidential nominee. During his campaign, Moore focused on the American-led wars abroad, labor rights and community ownership of corporations. Throughout his campaign Moore failed to gather much support in the states he had access to, and ended in 11th place overall, receiving 6,555 votes nationwide. Moore was not able to increase the party's voter base, and instead, it lowered itself from 10 to 6 thousand votes nationwide from the previous presidential election. Moore's campaign raised $9,516. While minor, Moore managed to earn much needed media interest in the later part of the election mostly due to John McCain's
red baiting Red-baiting, also known as ''reductio ad Stalinum'' () and red-tagging (in the Philippines), is an intention to discredit the validity of a political opponent and the opponent's logical argument by accusing, denouncing, attacking, or persecuting ...
against
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
and making an appeal to the 5th US Circuit Court to get
ballot access Elections in the United States refers to the rules and procedures regulating the conditions under which a candidate, political party, or ballot measure is entitled to appear on voters' ballots. As the nation's election process is decentralized b ...
in the state of
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. His media campaign included writing articles in several leading newspapers such as ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
'' and the '' National Journal'' and making appearances on television, most notably ''
The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...
''.


Chronicle


Campaign developments

On October 19, 2007, the Socialist Party USA held their
national convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...
in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
. Brian Moore was voted the party's presidential candidate, with four out of 11 opponents earning fewer votes than him combined. He earned the majority during the third election round. Later,
Stewart Alexander Stewart Alexis Alexander (born October 1, 1951) is an American democratic socialist politician, presidential nominee for the Socialist Party USA in the 2012 election, and former SPUSA nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 2008 ...
was selected by the party as Moore's
Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
ial candidate. A week later, Moore stood as a candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party, against
Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the U ...
,
Gloria La Riva Gloria Estela La Riva (born August 13, 1954) is an American perennial political candidate, and communist activist with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and the Peace and Freedom Party. She was the PSL's nominee and the Peace and Freed ...
, and Cynthia McKinney. Nader became the presidential candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party, Moore then stood as a candidate for the
Natural Law Party The Natural Law Party (NLP) is a transnational party founded in 1992 on "the principles of Transcendental Meditation", the laws of nature, and their application to all levels of government. At its peak, it was active in up to 74 countries; it con ...
in Michigan, where he was again defeated by Nader. Moore won the nomination of the Natural Law Party of Mississippi. After not completing the necessary paperwork in time to field candidates in the state of
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, the Socialist Party USA along with the
Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...
lost their respective privileges to field write-in candidates and party affiliated candidates in the state. Mark R. Brown of the Libertarian Party, along with Moore, made an appeal. The 5th US Circuit Court overturned US District Judge James Brady's order to include the Libertarian candidate on the Louisiana ballot, but upheld their ruling towards the Socialist Party USA, concluding that they had "filed too little, too late". Another reason is that the Socialist Party USA is an "un-recognized" organization according to the law of the state of Louisiana. This election marked the first time since the days of the Socialist Party of America, that a socialist candidate was on a ballot in the state of
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. Following legal challenges,
US District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
Judge Edmund Sargus ordered Moore's name placed on the Ohio ballot. During their presidential campaign, the party earned little funding from supporters, with Moore remarking that the only candidates able or having a slim chance to win were "millionaires, or sellouts to corporate America". He further commented that it would be impossible for a third-party candidate to win an election without ballot access in all fifty states. While highly vocal that he did not even have a slim chance of winning, he believed there would be a good chance of getting on the ballot in at least 20 states, because of the
financial crisis of 2007–2010 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...
.


Results

Moore ended in 11th place overall, receiving 6,555 votes nationwide out of over 125 million cast. He thus missed, by a large margin, the 5 percent needed to qualify the Socialist Party USA for federally distributed public funding in the next election. His best showings were in Tennessee, where he received 1,326 votes out of over 2 million votes cast, and in
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, where he managed to receive 2,731 votes. His weakest showings were in
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
and
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, where he managed to gain 7 votes in each state. Moore was not able to enlarge the party's voter base, but instead the voter base shrunk by over 4 thousand votes nationwide from the previous election fronted by Walt Brown.


Position and beliefs

Being a former member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
, Brian Moore said he moved to socialism because the system wasn't as bad as it was made out to be, further stating that it was "mixed up with McCarthy and
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
and the Red Scare". He ended his thoughts on the matter by clearly stating that socialism wasn't
communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...
. He has also noted that even before joining the Socialist Party, he "always promoted a national socialized health plan, antiwar, favored a guaranteed annual income, advocated worker control and elimination of corporate control." Moore has stated at various times that he promoted a platform to inform Americans of an alternative option in American politics. He believes that
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
was a selfish system which focused on the wealthy and not the weak and the poor. Moore felt that "capitalism is an economic system where decisions are made at the top and come down in a dictatorial fashion" He felt that redistributing the wealth between the rich and the poor would give the United States a stronger
public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, inf ...
, which would in turn focus more on renewable energy and the needy. During his presidential campaign he claimed that the current economic system was falling apart because of capitalist greed. Moore guaranteed an income of "approximately $10,000 per family a year and decent housing for all families". He also called for the "elimination of exorbitant executive salaries, outsourcing of jobs and companies, and calls for an end to for-profit corporations". When asked what made socialism better than capitalism, Moore said; Moore has publicly criticized claims that
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
is a socialist, saying he is offended by this characterization. According to the weekly periodical, ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...
'', Moore said Obama along with John McCain was "bought and sold" by Wall Street, saying that the two major candidates cannot change their opinion, since they are both "imprisoned" by the "corporate machine". Moore was against the wars in
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, and supported free and accessible health insurance for all. He also wanted to transfer ownership of corporations to the workers. When discussing the
War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...
, Moore felt it was destroying small communities throughout the country with higher taxes and more pressure on the local governments. Moore and vice presidential candidate Stewart Alexander supported a 50% reduction of the
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
spending, and using the other 50% to improve veteran benefits. Alexander proposed that retired veterans with 10–30 years of military service should receive an income of $15–30 thousand annually from the state.


Media campaign

Moore along with America First chairman Jonathan M. Hill appeared on Al Jazeera English, discussing strategic development plans for third parties in the United States. The broadcast was viewed by over 100 million viewers worldwide. He also made two appearances on
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, first on the TV special ''The Rescue Rumble'' and later on '' Your World'', both shows were hosted by
Neil Cavuto Neil Patrick Cavuto (born September 22, 1958) is an American television news anchor, executive, commentator, and business journalist for Fox News. He hosts three television programs: '' Your World with Neil Cavuto'' and ''Cavuto Live,'' both on F ...
. He later appeared as a guest on the
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...
TV series ''
The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...
'', a
news satire News satire or news comedy is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism, and called a satire because of its content. News satire has been around almost as long as journalism itself, but it is particularly popular on t ...
show about modern American politics. According to Moore, the decision to have him on the show came from
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...
, the current host for the TV series. A spokeswoman from Comedy Central would not comment on the motives behind the selection. Moore also wrote several articles in ''The Nation'', ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
'' and '' National Journal'', and the newspapers ''
St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...
'', the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' and the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
''. The question of whether or not
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
was a socialist, led to an increased interest in Moore during the election. The Left Party, a Swedish
democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...
political party, officially endorsed Moore for president during a televised debate in Sweden.


References


External links


Campaign site
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Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...