The Monday Daily Egyptian (SIUC student daily)
http://www.dailyegyptian.com
September 28, 1998
ELECTION 2000: Candidate discusses different views and ideas to crowd Friday.
BURKE SPEAKER DAILY EGYPTIAN REPORTER
High on morphine in a Chinese restaurant, R.U. Sirius watched the '96 presidential elections in Berkeley, Calif. when an inspirational message flashed through his mind "Derision '96: F*** the Vote!"
Sirius attempted a half-hearted political campaign to spread his message at the time, starting a webpage and getting a small response.
"I sort of laid down for president," Sirius said.
Two years later, wearing cowboy boots and a leather jacket, Sirius announced his presidential candidacy for the 2000 election at a press conference Friday at 11 a.m. in the Student Center.
Sirius, whose legal name is Ken Goffman, chose Carbondale as the first stop in his campaign because it was not too large of a city and media center.
 Presidential Candidate R.U. Sirius |
"People here have genuine thoughts and ideas," Sirius said.
Sixteen SIUC students attended the conference where Sirius introduced his official campaign slogan, "Victory Over Horseshit."
The conference gave the San Francisco-based Sirius a chance to discuss alternative political ideas that he believes the American people are ready for.
In spite of ideas to the contrary, Public Relations Spokesman Don Elwell said R.U. Sirius, presidential candidate for 2000, salutes participants as they enter the Illinois Room in the Student Center Friday for a press conference. Sirius, who represents The Revolution Party, is known for combining humor with politics.
Sirius' bid for president is indeed a serious issue.
"It's not any scarier than what's going on in Washington right now," Elwell said, referring to the President Clinton scandal.
The Shawnee Green Party, the local branch of the ecologically based political party, sponsored Sirius in Carbondale because members share Sirius' concerns that many people are not being represented.
Elwell said Sirius represents the non-voter, people who think politics is a joke and others who are ignored by the mainstream media.
"This campaign targets those who feel excluded from the whole political process," Elwell said.
Justin O'Neill, a junior in philosophy from Brookfield, said the conference was interesting. He was glad he had the opportunity to attend.
"I liked his ideas on social programs and how he interacted with the audience," O'Neill said.
Sirius, 46, began the conference by speaking about his political party, The Revolution, which boasts a 15-point party platform for national politics.
Sirius explained his political ideas such as making college education free and legalizing gambling, prostitution and most "pleasure drugs."
Sirius said he believed most or all drugs should be legalized because the black market in the U.S. is causing social deterioration.
"The state shouldn't be able to say what you can put in your mouth or mind," Sirius said.
He said he is hesitant on legalizing harder drugs such as PCP and methamphetamine.
The Food and Drug Administration, Sirius said, should be used to regulate the quality of drugs.
"And no free samples," Sirius said.
Other points to the 15-point plan included putting environmental concerns over jobs. Sirius said certain jobs such as logging would be eliminated but the environment would be protected in the long run.
Sirius said some communities in America are getting so desperate for jobs they are turning to extremes.
"They are begging toxic producing plants to come to their area to get jobs even though their kids will get cancer," Sirius said.
Questions were raised by audience members about the developing technology in society and how that would effect jobs. In response, Sirius said there needs to be a system in place that would compensate workers if and when technology replaces their jobs.
The 15-point plan also calls for the termination of the CIA, repealing laws to keep politics simple and reducing the Pentagon's budget by at least 50 percent. The money would instead go the United Nations and its causes.
Sirius has fought for many different causes in the past when he first began his career in alternative politics.
During his high school years in Binghamton, NY, Sirius pioneered an underground newspaper named the Lower Left Corner, which espoused left-winged democratic views.
After participating in the hippie movements of the 1960s, Sirius was left disillusioned after witnessing near revolutions on college campuses. Sirius said the youth movement to rebel against social norms almost became a reality.
Sirius later went on to write the book "How to Mutate and Take Over the World," about a post-millennium scenario that dealt with the government controlling the daily lives of individuals.
Sirius later co-founded Mondo 2000, the first cyberculture magazine, in 1989 before the Internet became part of popular social culture.
Although Sirius has yet to face any known opposition to his candidacy, he expects that many high ranking individuals would be opposed to his libertarian ideas.
Elwell said Sirius is not registered as a political candidate, but is currently in the process of getting all the paperwork together, even though he believes the profession to which he aspires is based on a level of absurdity.
"Only a fool-would run for president," he said, "and I'm only happy to play the fool if that's what is necessary."
