Vermin Supreme

Vermin Supreme
Vermin Supreme, January 2012
Born	Birth name unknown June 1961 (age 50) Rockport, Massachusetts
Nationality	American
Education	Gloucester High School
Occupation	Performance artist, anarchist, activist
Years active	1984 - present
Home town	Baltimore, Maryland
Political party	Democratic Party
Website
VerminSupreme.com

Vermin Love Supreme^[1] (born June 1961) is an American performance artist, anarchist and activist who is known for running as an alternative candidate in various local, state, and national elections in the United States.^[2][3][4] Supreme is known for wearing a boot shaped hat and carrying a large toothbrush.^[5] He claims that if elected President of the United States, he will pass a law requiring people to brush their teeth.^[6][7][8][2] He also campaigned in 2012 on a platform of zombie apocalypse awareness and time travel research,^[9] and he promises a free pony for every American.^[10] Supreme claims to mock the political system.^[11][2] In 2011, he participated in the ongoing Occupy Boston protests.^[12]

Personal life

Supreme grew up near Boston, Massachusetts and is said to be the oldest of three children.^[1] He graduated from Gloucester High School in the 1980s, then moved to Baltimore to attend art school, but dropped out and began booking bands for underground clubs.^{[citation needed]}

In 1986, he joined The Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament in protest of nuclear weapons.^[1] From 1987 onward, he began running for public office.^[13] He legally changed his name to Vermin Supreme in the 1990s.^[1]

In 2006, Supreme donated one of his kidneys to save his mother.^[1] He is married and has no children.^[1]

Political views

In a video promoting Vermin Supreme, Supreme discussed his political views. He stated he was registered Republican at that time, but that he leaned toward anarchism. He asserted that libertarians "are just about abolishing the government and letting shit fall where it may,"^{[citation needed]} which he called a mistake; he also asserted that Republicans want to nullify the government, but "offer no alternative to helping people other than charity."^{[citation needed]} Supreme's vision of anarchism holds no need for government, but also depends on citizens to take responsibility for themselves and for others, citing "mutual aid and support and care to our fellow citizens" as key elements. To reach that end, Supreme called for a gradual dismantling of the government, while citizens take up the slack. He asserted that Americans do not know anymore how to be citizens, placing some of the blame on schools that teach in "very twisted and jingoistic fashion [sic]".^[14]

In the video, he also discussed his own campaign. He describes his "joke humor" campaign as a response to the lies people are fed by the media and the government.^[14]

Campaigns

1988

Supreme ran for Mayor of Baltimore as an Independent, in which he lost to Kurt L. Schmoke. He also ran for Mayor of Detroit as an Independent, in which he lost to Coleman Young. Finally, he ran for Mayor of Mercury, Nevada, but was unsuccessful in doing so.^{[citation needed]}

2000

In 2000, Supreme proclaimed himself the "Emperor of the New Millennium". He has been doing so ever since and it has become a focal point of his presidential campaigns.^{[citation needed]}

2004

Supreme campaigned in the Washington, DC Presidential primary in 2004,^[13] where he received 149 votes.^[15]

2008

Supreme campaigned in the New Hampshire Republican primary in 2008. He received 41 votes (0.02%) in the New Hampshire primary. According to the Federal Election Commission, he also received 43 votes, nationally, in the general election.^[16][17]

2012

Supreme glitter bombs Randall Terry during a forum, December 2011

Vermin Supreme is currently campaigning as a Democrat in the 2012 U.S. presidential election.^[18][19][20]

The following are some of the milestones in this campaign:

• April 14, 2011: Participated in the First Debate of the New Election Cycle at the IGLO Dissidents’ Convention which also included Jimmy McMillan, Jill Stein and others.^[21][22]

• October 29, 2011: He qualified to be listed on the 2012 Democratic Party primary ballot in New Hampshire.^[23]

• October 29, 2011: He participated in a satirical debate against a representative of the campaign of deceased British occultist Aleister Crowley.^[24]

• December 19, 2011: He participated in the Lesser-Known Democratic Candidates Presidential Forum and "glitterbombed" fellow candidate Randall Terry, claiming that Jesus told him to turn Terry gay.^[25]

• January 3, 2012: He was a candidate in the Iowa Democratic caucuses and received 1.4% of the votes.^[26]

• January 12, 2012: In the Democratic Primary in New Hampshire, Supreme received 833 votes. (Barack Obama won the primary with 49,080 votes)^[27]

• February 2, 2012: Vermin Supreme participated in a live debate with Republican fringe candidate Jimmy McMillan in honor of Groundhog Day^[28]

• He was a participant in the Anti-NATO protests at the May 20-21 Chicago NATO Summit.

Film career

Supreme co-wrote and stars in the 2009 film Vote Jesus: The Chronicles of Ken Stevenson in which he poses as a right-wing political candidate to gain access into the world of American Fundamentalism.^[29][30]

Filmography

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vermin Supreme

• Frivolous political party
• Political satire
• Screaming Lord Sutch, a similar satirical politician in the United Kingdom, who founded the British Political Party Official Monster Raving Loony Party, which has comparably unusual election pledges.
• Surreal humour

External links

• Official website
• Vermin Supreme on Americans Elect

References