Former presidential candidate and former Louisiana governor Buddy Roemer predicted a November election that will bring no change to America to a full-capacity crowd in the Manship School of Mass Communication’s Holliday Forum on Tuesday.
Roemer spoke about the failing economy as well as corruption in President Barack Obama’s and Mitt Romney’s campaigns, relating the country’s current state to someone treading water.
“The nation is in trouble,” Roemer said. “Eight million Americans have quit looking for jobs and are no longer counted in the unemployment rate. Many people have to take part-time jobs because they cannot find anything else.”
He placed a large amount of the blame for the current economic state on the Obama administration.
“Obama came in promising change. But, we are in a great recession,” Roemer said.
His optimism for the future was limited, saying there is no end in sight. The debt will shrink the nation, Roemer said. He used Napoleon’s decision to sell the Louisiana territories as an example.
“After finishing three wars, Napoleon was in a lot of debt,” he said. “After the sale, France disappeared from the new world.”
Roemer reserved his final criticism for corruption in modern-day politics. He said “the guys with the money run the show.”
“Corruption is when the head of FEMA gives a $10 million check to Bush and gets the job,” Roemer said. “Citizens over 58 are doing the best economically. The ultra-wealthy are having their best days.”
Roemer offered several solutions to eliminate corruption.
One of his solutions involved making candidates disclose campaign contributions within 48 hours of receiving money. He also proposed prohibiting lawmakers from becoming lobbyists within five years of leaving office.
Despite criticism of the Romney and Obama campaigns, Roemer did not offer an alternative choice to the “corrupted candidates.”
“It doesn’t make a difference who you choose,” he said. “We keep sending the same version of the corrupt president to office.”
However, he did mention voting for Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson in passing after the speech.
Roemer represented Louisiana’s fourth district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 1988. Afterward, he served one term as the governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. In March of 1991, Roemer switched to the Republican Party.
After a stint in private business, Roemer announced his presidential candidacy in January 2011. He attempted to gain the nomination of Americans Elect and the Reform Party. Roemer is currently a member of the Independent Party.
