Aaron Russo
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Aaron Russo is an American entertainment businessman and political figure.
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Entertainment Career
During his career in the entertainment industry, Russo was manager for Bette Midler and The Manhattan Transfer, and the producer of the films The Rose and Trading Places.
He was awarded an Emmy for a Bette Midler TV special, and a gold record for producing the Soundtrack to The Rose.
Political Career
Russo became political in the early 1990s when he produced and starred in a video entitled Mad As Hell in which he criticized NAFTA, The War On Drugs, the concept of a National Identity Card, and government regulation of alternative medicine.
Russo ran for governor of Nevada as a Republican in 1998, coming in second in the party primary with 26% of the vote against three opponents. He then endorsed the Democratic candidate, Las Vegas mayor Jan Laverty Jones, over his primary opponent Kenny Guinn. Guinn won the general election. Russo subsequently split from the Republican Party. He planned to run for governor again in 2002 as a Libertarian, but he was temporarily sidelined by cancer.
In January of 2004, he declared his candidacy for the Libertarian Party's nomination for President of the United States, and was considered a leading candidate for the nomination. Some people considered him to pose a serious threat to incumbent President George W. Bush, pulling enough votes from otherwise likely Bush voters to effect the outcome in battleground states, in the same way that Ralph Nader was considered to be concerning to Democrat John Kerry.[1] (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/5/14/02051/7441)[2] (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/21/politics/main619019.shtml)
At the Convention in May, Russo won a plurality on the first two ballots, but not a majority. He was defeated on the third and final ballot by nominee Michael Badnarik by a vote of 423-344.
Stances
- Supports the immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, and encourages the Iraqi people to become self-reliant.
- Supports the immediate repeal of the USA Patriot Act.
- Supports cutting both spending and taxes.
- Supports medical marijuana.
- Supports weakening the control of the IRS and the Federal Reserve over the economy.
- Strongly opposes gun control; was considered by a few to be a possible recipient of NRA backing should George W. Bush support the extension of the federal assault weapons ban.
External links
- Internet Movie Database page for Aaron Russo (http://imdb.com/name/nm0751567/)
- Russo for President Website (http://www.russoforpresident.com/)