cannabisnews.com: Golden Man On N.H. Ballot





Golden Man On N.H. Ballot
Posted by FoM on December 26, 1999 at 11:49:45 PT
By Kieran Nicholson, Denver Post Staff Writer
Source: Denver Post
Ever since he was a boy, Vincent Hamm dreamed of becoming president of the United States. Now 40 and the owner of a small computer consulting business, Hamm continues to pursue the dream from his Golden home, which doubles as the "Hamm for President'' campaign headquarters. 
Hamm, a Democrat, ran in the 1996 New Hampshire primary and received 72 votes - compared with 76,754 for President Clinton. He was not discouraged by the lopsided showing. "I was very pleased. My goal when I woke up the morning after the primary was not to have a zero next to my name,'' he said. "I was just amazed at the number of votes I received.''The candidate, who has never held public office, also will be on the New Hampshire primary ballot in February.It's the only state primary in which he runs because he can't afford to run in others, he said."I have intentions but no money,'' said Hamm. "I don't expect to get any funding. It is difficult in that anything that I do spend comes out of my pocket.''It cost $1,000 to register on the New Hampshire ballot. Even though the odds are stacked against him, Hamm won't throw in the towel. When talking about his plans for the presidency, Hamm prefaces many statements with: "If elected . . .''The candidate was raised in Golden and received a degree in philosophy with a minor in math and English from the University of Colorado. He's been a member of the Greater Denver Chamber of Commerce and the Governor's Small Business Council, among other civic organizations. Hamm gets involved in local issues, and he's addressed the county commissioners several times over the years, he said. As president, Hamm would make a balanced budget his first priority. Next is his much more controversial platform: Decriminalizing drugs. "The main reason why drugs are such big business is because there is a huge profit in selling them. Decriminalizing drugs would eliminate the danger, profit and intrigue in importing them to our country, thus lowering the cost of the substance. The money that now goes into the pockets of drug lords would go into the pocket of every American,'' Hamm contends on his Web site at www.h4p.org."There is a significant amount of money leaving the American economy each year to drugs - in some cases this amount has been nearly equal to the annual inflation rate.''Hamm - who says he does not take drugs - would slap a heavy tax on drugs and use the money to fund substanceabuse programs and reduce the federal deficit.Decriminalizing drugs would not make them legal, instead they would be controlled substances like alcohol and tobacco, he said. Hamm said he'd fight to see that First Amendment rights carry over into cyberspace, and he'd try to improve "technological accessibility across class lines'' by getting computers into more lower-income homes. Hamm said he's running "because I can. There is no other country in the world where any citizen can aspire to the highest office. That is a privilege that we have.''He said his family - his wife, mother and a brother - support him, and that support keeps him optimistic. "If I increase my vote count tenfold every time I run in a primary, 2008 is my year.'' Newshawk: SledheadPublished: Sun, 26 Dec 1999Copyright: 1999 The Denver Post
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Comment #2 posted by sean on December 27, 1999
 at 16:24:29 PT:
Vote Libertarian
Vote Libertarian to end the madnesswww.lp.orgwww.harrybrowne2000.org
Harry Browne - Libertarian Presidential Cadidate
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Comment #1 posted by military officer guy on December 26, 1999
 at 14:02:38 PT
decrim drugs, and i'd vote for him...
subject enough said...vote for him...
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