When Buddy Roemer takes his long-shot presidential bid to the Real Time with Bill Maher show on HBO tonight, the former Louisiana governor says he’ll continue pushing a message centered on campaign finance reform that’s failed to gain traction on the national stage thus far in the GOP race.
“My point will be that we need bank reform, we need budget reform, we need tax reform, we need jobs reform, we need trade reform and we need energy reform,” Roemer tells Daily Report. “But none of that will happen until we have campaign finance reform.”
Since launching his candidacy last year, Roemer has been beating the “Washington outsider” drum harder than anyone else in the race, never missing an opportunity to lash out at what he calls “crony capitalism” in Washington, D.C, whereby “politicians are bought and sold by lobbyists and special interests.”
While Roemer may have become a buddy to disenfranchised American voters by refusing to take campaign contributions over $100, opposing Super PACs and publicly backing Occupy Wall Street, those moves haven’t made him many friends in his own party. He’s yet to be included in a national debate with the leading GOP candidates, and the little national press he’s gotten largely paints him as a candidate with novel ideas and ideals—but a less than zero chance of winning the nomination.
“It’s been a struggle,” Roemer admits, “but the struggle has not been the message, it’s been getting an audience. There’s been 20 national debates, and I haven’t been included in a single one. How do you run for president and not get on a single debate? That’s been a struggle that I did not anticipate.”
In light of this struggle, Roemer has been toying with the idea of seeking the third-party Americans Elect nomination as an alternative to the GOP nomination, which looks to be out of reach. Americans Elect expects to gain access to the ballot in all 50 states. Roemer says he’ll be meeting with key officials from Americans Elect in California on Saturday morning. “I might have an announcement to make when I get back to Louisiana early next week,” he adds.
“This last month has been our best yet,” Roemer says. “We’ve raised more money, gotten a better standing in the polls—I think 3% in the most recent one—and we’re hopeful there will be a chance yet to debate,” he says.
Prior to his 9 p.m. appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher, Roemer will be holding an online town meeting with the media and public at 6 p.m., and you can participate here. As for how he’ll be received on Maher’s show tonight, Roemer is unsurprisingly optimistic, but nonetheless sounds like someone who’s used to having his message fall on deaf ears.
“I’m sure I will bore them silly with it, but I will continue to press the point,” Roemer says. “I think Bill agrees with me on a lot of this; I’ve heard he does. I guess we’ll find out (tonight).”
For more on Roemer from Business Report, check out this story by David Jacobs from last summer, when Roemer was launching his campaign in Baton Rouge.
