Libertarian V.P. nominee Judge Jim Gray launches campaign at the Bowers

Judge Jim Gray and Joey Pedroza

A couple weeks ago I took my son Joseph “Joey” Pedroza back to UCLA.  It’s a long drive and we got to talking about politics.  He said he was a liberal and I had a good laugh.  No you’re not, I said.  And so we talked about the issues.  By the time we got to his dorm he felt that perhaps he might be a Libertarian instead.

So today Joey stopped by the Libertarian rally at the Bowers Museum, just a few minutes from our home.  We held the rally to welcome back my good friend Judge Jim Gray, who was recently nominated, at the Libertarian Party convention in Las Vegas, to be our party’s Vice Presidential nominee, along with our Presidential candidate Gary Johnson, the former Governor of New Mexico.

The LPOC put the event together fairly quickly.  The folks at the Bowers were very helpful as was the SAPD’s Mike McCoy, who handles public event permits for the City of Santa Ana.  At one point I panicked and emailed Santa Ana City Manager Paul Walters, but we got our permit on Thursday.  I sent out the press releases the same evening.

We weren’t sure how many folks would turn up but we ended up having a nice turnout, with over fifty in attendance, including one of our Congressional candidates, Steve Collett.  Some folks drove from as far away as Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire.  This turned out to be the Johnson/Gray campaign’s first event in California.  I was thrilled to be able to conduct the event right here in my city, Santa Ana.

Gray was mesmerizing as he inspired us to dare to make a difference.  Oh how I would love to see Gray debate that buffoon Joe Biden!  Or whoever the Republicans come up with as their desperation pick for V.P.  Bring it on!  Memo to California’s Republican voters – don’t throw your vote away on Romney.  He isn’t going to win California.  Vote instead for the Libertarian Party and ensure that our candidates get to debate in November.  Gray and Johnson will wipe the floor with Obama and Romney, of that I am sure.

Judge Jim Gray at Art Pedroza's Home

Afterwards I invited everyone to my home.  My wife Camille was nice enough to clean up the place and my sons Jimmy and Joey helped set up the tables and chairs outside, on our patio.  Camille picked up a few snacks last night and we raided our pantry for more.  It went pretty well.

Joey ended up with a nice Gary Johnson t-shirt.  He says he will wear it at UCLA, which is great.  We’re going to need those college voters!

British General Lord Cornwallis Surrenders

My daughter,  Rebecca “Becky” Pedroza, hasn’t converted yet.  We can’t win she says.  You know they once said that about our Founding Fathers.  Most of the patriots who signed the Declaration of Independence paid with their lives or lost all their property.  They took on one of the most powerful empires in the world and with less than 15% of the colonists involved in the war, they won.

Voters in November will be faced with choosing either Romneycare or Obamacare.  On the one hand they can go with a GOP that hates Latinos, gays, Muslims and most every other minority.  Or they can go with Obama, who killed our economy, doubled deportations, rekindled the drug war, and still has us mired in the unwinnable war in Afghanistan.  I hope instead that Americans choose Freedom and vote for the Johnson/Gray ticket.  Something tells me my daughter will come around…