Before you run away screaming, Ventura wasn’t the worst governor Minnesota ever had. He did blunder away the state’s rainy day fund to con man Al Checci, but he did some good judicial appointments, and he was a friend to school teachers. Unlike Republican governors, Ventura did not go out of his way to harm the 99 percent.
As a presidential candidate for the Green Party, Ventura could represent the most formidable third party contender in a long, long time. He is far more charismatic than Creepy Joe Melty Brain, and his blunt style of speaking appeals to the same hind brain thinking that motivates a large chunk of Trump’s base. At the same time, Ventura doesn’t carry a load of racist, misogynist or bigoted baggage, and he does view both parties as mostly or entirely corrupt, which is hard to argue against.
On first assessment, you might figure that Green Party Ventura would poll what, maybe five percent of the vote? But that is disregarding the party’s platform, and his political posse. What if the Green Party adopted the Green New Deal as its platform? What if Ventura tapped Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren (or Nina Turner, by god) as his VP? Green New Deal + Progressive VP + Plain-spoken President could equal a formidable ticket, more than just a Perot/Nader/Stein spoiler. Add to that some other smart cabinet picks, like Robert Reich, Paul Krugman, establishing a Secretary of Science and Technology as a cabinet position, top scientists at key spots to fight the pandemic, top teachers to rebuild our public schools, etc. Imagine your own list of people and things the DNC has smothered in the crib.
We already know the DNC has delivered us a shit sandwich in Creepy Joe. The Green Party has a chance to represent all the progressives that are getting screwed by the DNC and the GOP. If that means voting for an ex-All Star wrestler for president… doesn’t the choice between Biden and Trump look a lot worse? Ventura, for all his weirdness, has a strong independent vibe. Wouldn’t it be nice to vote for a candidate (or at least the stuff around them) because you liked what you saw, rather than voting to avoid the worst of two bad choices?