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“Politics, just as economic pursuits, may be a man's avocation or his vocation. One may engage in politics, and hence seek to influence the distribution of power within and between political structures, as an 'occasional' politician… Politics as an avocation is today practiced by all those party agents and heads of voluntary political associations who, as a rule, are politically active only in case of need and for whom politics is, neither materially nor ideally, 'their life' in the first place…
There are two ways of making politics one's vocation: Either one lives 'for' politics or one lives 'off' politics. By no means is this contrast an exclusive one. The rule is, rather, that man does both, at least in thought, and certainly he also does both in practice. He who lives 'for' politics makes politics his life, in an internal sense. Either he enjoys the naked possession of the power he exerts, or he nourishes his inner balance and self-feeling by the consciousness that his life has meaning in the service of a 'cause.' In this internal sense, every sincere man who lives for a cause also lives off this cause. The distinction hence refers to a much more substantial aspect of the matter, namely, to the economic. He who strives to make politics a permanent source of income lives 'off' politics as a vocation, whereas he who does not do this lives 'for' politics. Under the dominance of the private property order, some--if you wish-- very trivial preconditions must exist in order for a person to be able to live 'for' politics in this economic sense. Under normal conditions, the politician must be economically independent of the income politics can bring him. This means, quite simply, that the politician must be wealthy or must have a personal position in life which yields a sufficient income.”German sociologist Max Weber, in his paper Politik als Beruf (Politics as a Vocation), January 1919
Weber summed up everything almost perfectly, and there’s hardly anything more to add, apart from two obvious points:
• A politician with an established career prior to entering the realm of politics, potentially possesses an array of unique skill sets, world views and a sectoral network.
• A career politician meanwhile, has the advantage of an established legislative, executive and community network, as well as a sharpened political sense and an understanding of how to work the system.
So the question is, which of the two would make a better president in real life? Alternatively, should we be looking at a combination of both instead?
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Declared 2012
Libertarian Presidential Candidate
Former Chair of the Libertarian Party of Texas
Roger Gary
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Gary Career
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• In 1993, won election for Director of San Antonio River Authority and served two terms.
• In 2010, Roger Gary gained more votes than the Libertarian running for governor. However, Gary was running for Texas Railroad Commission and finished 3rd.
• May 16, 2011 – Gary officially files with the FEC to run for President of the United States in the 2012 election as a candidate for the Libertarian Party.
• Appointed to local board of the Selective Service System by then- President Reagan and served for 15 years as Vice-Chairman.
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Gingrich Career
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Gingrich started teaching at West Georgia College on his last year at Tulane University, where he was pursuing his doctorate. He was the history professor there until 1978, when he left for Congress following his success at winning the Georgia House seat at the third attempt, after losses in 1974 and 1976.
The young and charismatic firebrand reveled in Washington, and quickly impressed the party leadership with his energy and ideas. He co-founded the Congressional Conservative Opportunity Society, Aviation and Space Caucus, and Military Reform Caucus (MRC) during his first few years in the Congress and was one of the main personalities in the eventual resignation of Democrat Jim Wright in 1988 following allegations of campaign finance improprieties.
Gingrich was elected as the Minority Whip for the Republicans in 1989, and began to prepare for an assault on the Democrats four decade rule of the House. Aided by Larry Hunter and a few fellow conservative Republican, Gingrich introduced a campaign manifesto for the 1994 Congressional Elections, Contract With America, which was based on former President Ronald Reagan’s 1985 State of The Union address.
The Republicans did spectacularly, winning both the Senate and the House of Representatives, for the first time in forty years, and Gingrich was widely credited with the stunning performance. Deservedly, he was elected as the Speaker of the House in the same year and became the public face of the Republicans in their tussle with the Democratic administration led by President Bill Clinton.
After a fiery start that featured several Congressional filibusters, Gingrich started to lose control of the Republicans in the House following poor showings in two consecutive Congressional Elections (1996 and 1998). Matters were not helped when he was fined $300,000 by the House for ethics violations in 1997. In 1998, Gingrich resigned from his position of Speaker, and subsequently as the House Representative of Georgia.
After leaving Washington, Gingrich returned to his first love, history, and authored 18 semi-fictional books in the past 13 years. In his spare time, he founded several bipartisan organizations, such as the Center for Health Transformation and American Solutions for Winning the Future, which dealt with issues that affected the average Americans. Gingrich is also a member of a number of conservative think tanks, most notably, the Hoover Institution and American Enterprise Institute.
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Declared 2012
Libertarian Presidential Candidate
3-Tour Combat Vet, Philosopher and Law Student
RJ Harris
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Harris Career
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National Guard Officer, Aviator, Philosopher, Statesman, J.D. Candidate
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Declared 2012
Libertarian Presidential Candidate
Former Governor of New Mexico
Gary Johnson
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Johnson Career
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In the summer of 1974, while still studying at the University of New Mexico, Johnson decided to work part-time as a handyman, doing various types of work which included simple plumbing, remodeling and even construction jobs. His early success prompted him to start Big J Enterprises in 1976, soon after he graduated. It began as a small one-man operation which suddenly grew to multi-million dollar firm after he secured a contract from Intel for an expansion of their manufacturing facility in Rio Rancho, Sandoval County.
The company, built on a solid platform of worker's welfare and good business ethics, continued to grow in strength. By the time Johnson decided to sell the firm in 1994, following his victory in the gubernatorial election of New Mexico, Big J Enterprises employed over a 1,000 workers. The $38 million deal had a clause in it that prevents the retrenchment of existing workers by the new owners.
After finishing his two terms as Governor in 2002, Johnson rejoined the business sector and currently has interests in three firms in the state – Alpha Security Group Corp (a defense-related investment firm), High Beta (a venture capital firm) and GEJ Enterprises (a consulting firm). Johnson is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce.
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Karger Career
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Karger had his first brush with politics at the tender age of 14 while accompanying his father, who was the Republican Precinct Chairman for Glencoe, Illinois, in numerous party related activities. Nevertheless, the family expected him to join the family stockbroking firm upon graduation.
However, as luck would have it, Karger and his frat brothers from the University of Denver gatecrashed the 1972 Academy Awards. His interest in show business was piqued and right after getting his degree, young Fred went to seek his fortune in Hollywood. He made a small name for himself, appearing in several TV shows and commercials.
He left Hollywood after five years and joined the Dolphin Group, a political consultancy specialist. It was here that Karger finally found his true calling. He was with the company for the next 27 years, and retired as its Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in Dec 2003. He is widely credited as one of the earliest proponent of modern opposition research strategies.
His retirement was interrupted only a few months later when he discovered that Boom Boom Room, an iconic gay bar near his home in Laguna Beach, California, was scheduled to be demolished for a new hotel development project. This proved to be the launching pad for Karger to go into the realm of gay rights activism, and he has been in the thick of action ever since.
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Lane Career
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•Babysitter
•Waitress
•Security Guard
•Truck Driver
•Warehouse Worker
•Dental Assistant
•Medical Assistant
•Real Estate Agent
•Restaurant Manager
•Avionic Installer
•Avionic Lead
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Declared 2012
Democratic Presidential Candidate
Current President of the United States
Barack Obama
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Obama Career
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Obama’s first official job was as a financial writer for a New York-based international consulting firm, Business International Corporation. He joined the firm soon after graduating from Columbia University in 1985.
Less than two years later, Obama moved to South Side, Chicago, to take up the position of Director for the Developing Communities Project in Roseland and Altgeld Gardens in Chicago’s South Side, a church-based social action group dedicated towards enhancing the living conditions of people in the outlying neighborhoods. His responsibilities ranged from the mundane, day-to-day support service (utilities, regulatory, legal, employment), to those involving organizing and developing outreach and educational programs for the community.
While studying in Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Obama worked as a summer associate in the law firms of Sidley & Austin and Hopkins & Sutter (now known as Foley & Lardner).
After graduation, he returned to Chicago and practiced civil rights law with Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland. He was attached to the firm from 1992 until 2004. In the same period, he also taught at the University of Chicago Law School on the subject of constitutional law.
Obama at the University of Chicago
He took his first step into politics by heading the Illinois Project VOTE, a Clinton-campaign sponsored voter-registration initiative. Under his leadership, the program managed to successfully register over 150,000 new voters in 1992. His next foray into politics came four years later when he ran for and won the Illinois 13th District State Senate seat. He repeated the feat in 1998 by defeating Republican Yesse Yehudah, securing an incredible 89% of the votes in the election.
In 2000, Obama made a step up and attempted to contest the House of Representatives seat of Illinois District 1. He was, however, soundly beaten in the Democratic primary by the incumbent Bobby Rush, losing by a huge 30.67 points. Rush has the distinction of being the only candidate to defeat Obama in an election for public office. Obama remains unfazed and regrouped to defend his State Senate seat in 2002, winning unopposed.
In 2004, Obama, who has risen to the chairmanship of the Illinois Senate's Public Health and Welfare Committee, made another attempt for national office. He won the Illinois Senate seat after routing his Republican challenger, Alan Keyes, in November 2004 by winning 70% of the votes. His victory is widely credited to an acclaimed keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Boston that year. He was sworn as US Senator on January 4, 2005.
Amidst a breakneck senatorial career that saw him either sponsoring or co-sponsoring a total of 627 bills, Senator Obama announced that he was running for president of the United States on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois. Obama was officially unveiled as the Democratic nominee on August 2008 after a closely fought primary battle with fellow nominee Hillary.
In the 2008 Presidential Election, Obama, with Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his running mate, comprehensively defeated Republican John McCain by winning 365 electoral votes to his opponent’s 173. Obama was inaugurated as the President of the United States of America on January 20, 2009.
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Paul Career
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• Ron Paul has had two main careers, his medical practice and his political career.
• Ron Paul did his internship and residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI.
• He became an obstetrician and gynecologist, delivering over 4,000 babies to date. He opened his own practice in Texas.
• He decided to enter politics in 1971 when President Nixon closed the “gold window” and Paul realized that all money would be political rather than having real value.
• He became a delegate to the Texas Republican Convention and the Republican candidate for US congress but was defeated in 1974.
• He won a special election to fill that seat in 1976 when Congressman Robert Casey was given a presidential appointment but lost it in the general election by less than 0.2%.
• He won the seat again in 1978 and was re-elected in ‘80 and ’82 while continuing to deliver babies. After an unsuccessful 1984 run for the senate he returned to medical practice full time.
• Ron Paul ran for president in 1988 as a Libertarian, more to spread the libertarian ideas than to actually win the office, then returned to his medical practice and co-owned a coin dealership.
• He won a congressional seat in 1996, his third win as a non-incumbent. He was re-elected in 1998 and 2000.
• Paul ran for president again in 2008 and lost out early in the process. He won his 12th term in Congress in 2010 with 80% of the vote.
More on Paul
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Declared 2012
Libertarian Presidential Candidate
New York attorney and founder of the Paralegal Institute
Carl Person
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Person Career
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• In 2006, ran for New York Attorney General, but failed to gain Green Party nomination.
• In 2010, ran for New York Attorney General on Libertarian Party nomination, but finished third in voting.
Established “National Private Court” during the 1980’s as a for-profit, private court system.
• Founded Paralegal Institute in 1972, developing a field that now includes over a thousand paralegal training programs.
• After dropping out of high school, worked a pin-setter for a bowling alley, milk deliveryman, dishwasher in a diner, and a driver for Firestone.
• First job was at the age of nine, delivering newspapers in Nebraska where his father was practicing law.
More on Person
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Romney Career
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• Governor of Massachusetts, 2003-2007;
• Chairman, Republican Governors Association;
• Bain Capital, founded by Romney in 1984;
• Salt Lake Organizing Committee (2002 winter Olympics);
• Bain & Co. vice president, 1978-1984;
More on Romney
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Santorum Career
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After graduating with his law degree from Dickinson School of Law in 1981, Santorum worked in the office of Pennsylvania Senator Jacob Coyle Dorman Jr. as an administrative assistant for a year. He left to become the Director of Pennsylvania’s Senate Transportation Committee for five years, following which, he joined Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC, a law firm whose biggest client was the World Wrestling Federation (now known as the World Wrestling Entertainment).
After spending four years with them, Santorum, who was inflicted with the political bug while interning for the Senate campaign of John Heinze during his college days, decided to contest the Pennsylvania House of Representative seat. Santorum pulled off a major upset, defeating 7-time incumbent Dough Walgreen.
As his term approached its end, Santorum took another step forward and contested the state’s Senate seat. He engineered another upset, defeating the incumbent, Harris Wofford. He repeated the feat four years later by defeating Democrat Ron Klink. A second reelection attempt in 2004 ended in disaster, as Santorum lost by a massive 18 point margin to Bob Casey Jr. – the biggest losing margin in the last 30 years.
Santorum now is a regular contributor to Fox News, and is a regular speaker in the Republican speaking circuit. He also co-hosts a nationally-syndicated radio show, ‘Morning In America’, and continues his fellowship with The Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative advocacy group.
More on Santorum
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Snyder Career
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• Construction worker
• Teacher
• Waiter
• Picture framer
• Salesman
• Coach
• Truck driver
• Tutor
• Landscaper
• Business owner
More on Snyder
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Declared 2012
Democratic Presidential Candidate
Pro-life Activist
Randall Terry
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Terry Career
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1986-90: Founder and Director of Operation Rescue
More on Terry
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Woodring Career
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•Member of the United States Army
•35 years veteran of the telecommunications industry; Consultant
More on Woodring
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Declared 2012
Libertarian Presidential Candidate
Libertarian Activist
R. Lee Wrights
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Wrights Career
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• Lee Wrights has served as an editor for several news and political commentary papers and sites including Eagle News, Free Market Daily, Rational Review News Digest, and International Society for Individual Liberty.
• In 2000, with J. Michael Bragg, he founded LibertyForAll.net, a website dedicated to free speech without censorship that does not turn down any contributor.
• Wrights has been active in the Libertarian Party since 2000 and is a lifetime member.
• In Forsyth County, he was both secretary and chair of the local chapter of the Libertarian Party and vice-chair for seven years the North Carolina Libertarian Party, where he also spent two years as ballot access director.
• On the national level, he has served the Libertarian Party as at-large member, vice chair, on the platform committee, and is currently on the LP judicial committee.
• Currently residing in Burnet, Texas, R. Lee Wrights is Senate District 24 representative to the Texas Libertarian Party Executive Committee.
• In 2008, Wrights served as campaign manager for Mary Ruwart’s run for Libertarian Party presidential candidate.
• “Lee is president of the Foundation for a Free Society, a 501c3 non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting the principles of liberty, personal sovereignty, private property, and free markets in order to create a more free and prosperous society.”
• Wrights also works for pharmaceutical start-up company Sativa Science as secretary and communications director.
More on Wrights
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Wuensche Career
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• He began working on farms picking cotton at age eight and later chopping peanuts, hauling hay and such.
• He worked his way through college working for Kash Karry Grocery, the U. S. Post Office and the Texas Highway Department.
• Upon graduation from the University of Texas he went to work for Arthur Andersen & Co. as and auditor and then later Peat, Marwick Mitchell & Co. as a tax consultant (now KPMG).
• He later worked for a series of companies including several large homebuilders.
• He started his own company Woodmark Homes, Inc. in Houston in 1975, and over the next 35 years built volume homes, luxury and medium priced custom homes, remodeling of all kinds and kitchen and bath design and construction. He built in Houston, Austin and Dallas. His projects were all high quality. No lawsuit was ever filed over product quality in 35 years. Yet throughout the years there were difficulties. In 1986 when the price of oil dropped to $10 per barrel and Houston fell into a depression, he was advised daily by his lawyer and friend to file bankruptcy. Wuensche refused and obtained one remodeling job in Houston, one in Dallas, and one in Austin, and managed the three jobs by driving the 1000 miles per week of this Texas triangle for a year to survive his business. But to mention one success, Wuensche’s company built a large luxury home in Houston for a nationally prominent lawyer which was one of seven projects in Texas to receive a design award from the Texas Society of Architects. An unsuccessful competitor on this project later built the home of President George H. W. Bush.
• While running his business he was involved continually in politics and campaigns at all levels.
• He participated in local party politics, having served as a precinct chairman and election judge and attending all state conventions for 38 years, usually as a state delegate.
• In 2008 he ran for President, campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire visiting 6,000 business in 242 towns over 100 days, placing tenth in both states.
More on Wuensche
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