Is Jesse Ventura America’s saviour?

Over recent times, there has been a strange effort by much of the American left, among others, to get former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura (also known for his acting and wrestling credits — seriously), to run for President under the Green Party ticket. Now while he’s turned this down consistently, the hype is palpable, even leading to a mock TV ad of him going down that route.

At first glance, this could be somewhat promising. Ventura isn’t fully kosher when it comes to his political views (having fallen for the ‘medical marijuana’ propaganda line and supporting unicameral political government), but when it counts, he is quite sensible. He supported gay rights, is heavily critical of big government and rightly condemned the US embargo on Cuba, an old Cold War relic of the past that had no use once the Soviet Union was no longer a threat. So he seems like a genuine enough guy at first glance.

However, is Ventura worth the hype? The obvious answer, to anyone who’s bothered to study his record, is a clear no.

His main accomplishment in political life was to become the governor of Minnesota under the Reform Party ticket, which beyond being an unexpected win because of it being a third party win and his background in wrestling and acting, was the last hurrah for a party that once was promising but fully imploded post Pat Buchanan’s…