U.S. Democratic Party presidential candidate Darcy Richardson of Florida took some time to answer a few questions from Wikinews reporter William S. Saturn.
Richardson, 55, is a political activist that helped form the New Democrats in 1989 and founded the progressive Battleground Blog earlier this year. He is also a political historian, and has authored six books covering third parties and presidential elections, including A Nation Divided: The 1968 Presidential Campaign (2002).  His current work, The Spirit of ’76: Eugene McCarthy’s Struggle for Open Politics, chronicles the late Democratic Senator Eugene McCarthy's 1976 presidential campaign for which he volunteered.  Richardson admires McCarthy, and served as manager for his 1988 presidential run. Recently, Richardson advised Brian Moore's Socialist Party USA presidential campaign in 2008.
In addition, Richardson himself has sought political office, albeit unsuccessfully. In 1980, he ran for Pennsylvania Auditor General, and in 1988, vied for one of Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seats as a member of the Consumer Party.  Last year, he ran for Lieutenant Governor of Florida as the running mate of gubernatorial candidate Farid Khavari.
Richardson has criticized President Barack Obama's policies for being too similar to those of former President George W. Bush. He hoped to convince several prominent progressives to challenge Obama in the Democratic primaries, but none were available to do so. Last month, Richardson decided to begin a campaign himself and announced through his Battleground Blog that he would challenge Obama in the Democratic Party primaries as a progressive candidate. So far, he has qualified for the New Hampshire primary in January and the Missouri primary in February. In an interview with the Independent Political Report, Richardson proclaimed his campaign slogan as "no fourth term for George W. Bush."
((William S. Saturn)) When did you first meet Senator Eugene McCarthy, and what attracted you to his campaign?
((WSS)) In 1980, to the surprise of many, Senator McCarthy endorsed Republican Ronald Reagan for president.  Did you agree with this decision?
((WSS)) You are (or were at one time) a member of the Boston Tea Party, a minor third party whose platform supports "reducing the size, scope and power of government at all levels and on all issues, and opposes increasing the size, scope and power of government at any level, for any purpose." Do you agree with this platform?
((WSS)) Which presidential candidates have you supported over the past twenty years?
((WSS)) How have your political views changed in the past twenty years?
((William S. Saturn)) If you had been elected president in 2008, what would you have done differently than Barack Obama?
((WSS)) Do you believe Obama has done any good things as president?
((WSS)) What necessary freedoms are currently lacking in American society?
((WSS)) Do you disagree with any parts of the current U.S. Constitution?
((WSS)) What are some of your policy proposals, and if elected, how would you implement these?
((William S. Saturn)) You wrote that you had wanted somebody like former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, economist Jeffrey Sachs, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), or former Representative Alan Grayson (D-FL) to challenge President Obama in the primaries.  You mentioned that you had "encouraged several of them to run".  Which of these individuals did you contact and what were their reasons for declining?
((WSS)) Of the candidates currently running for the Republican Party nomination, which do you most admire?
((WSS)) What campaign activities have you taken part in and where do you base the campaign?
((WSS)) Have you or do you plan to file with the FEC?
((WSS)) Would you consider running as a third party or Independent candidate?

Have an opinion on this story? Share it!
Share this: 






This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Wikinews interviews Darcy Richardson, Democratic Party presidential challenger to Barack Obama