Vermin Supreme

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Vermin Supreme
Vermin Supreme 2012.jpg
Vermin Supreme in January 2012
Born Rockport, Massachusetts
Nationality American
Education Gloucester High School
Occupation Performance artist, anarchist, presidential candidate, and activist
Years active 1984 – present
Home town Baltimore
Political party Libertarian

Vermin Love Supreme[1] (born c. 1961) is an American performance artist and activist who has run as a candidate in various local, state, and national elections in the United States.[2][3][4] Supreme is known for wearing a boot as a hat and carrying a large toothbrush,[5] and has said that if elected President of the United States, he will pass a law requiring people to brush their teeth.[2][6][7][8] He also campaigned in 2012 on a platform of zombie apocalypse awareness and time travel research,[9] and promised a free pony for every American.[10]

In 2011, he participated in the Occupy Boston protests.[11] He is the subject of the 2014 documentary, Who Is Vermin Supreme? An Outsider Odyssey, which follows his 2012 campaign and explores his life as an activist and political prankster.[12][13]

Personal life

Supreme grew up near Boston, Massachusetts[14][15] 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 he dropped out and began booking bands for underground clubs.[16]

In 1986, he joined the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament in protest of nuclear weapons.[1] In 1987 he began running for public office.[17] He legally changed his name to Vermin Supreme in the 1990s while still in Baltimore.[1]

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

Political views

Supreme discussed his political views in a 2008 promotional video. He stated he was registered as a 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,"[18] 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."[18] Supreme's vision of anarchism holds no need for government, but 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 that end, Supreme called for a gradual dismantling of the government, while citizens take up the slack. He asserted that Americans no longer know how to be citizens, placing some of the blame on schools that teach in "very twisted and jingoistic fashion".[18]

In the video, Supreme discussed his presidential campaign. He describes his "joke humor" campaign as a response to the lies people are fed by the media and by the government.[18]

Campaigns

Vermin Supreme working the crowds during the New Hampshire primary

2004

Supreme campaigned in the Washington, DC Presidential primary in 2004,[17] where he received 149 votes.[19]

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 (FEC), he also received 43 votes, nationally, in the general election.[20]

2012

Supreme glitter bombs Randall Terry during a forum at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in December 2011.

Vermin Supreme campaigned as a Democrat in the 2012 U.S. presidential election.[21][22][23]

The following are some of the milestones in this campaign:

  • October 29, 2011: He participated in a satirical debate against a representative of the campaign of deceased British occultist Aleister Crowley.[27]
  • February 2, 2012: Supreme participated in a live debate with Republican fringe candidate Jimmy McMillan in honor of Groundhog Day[31]
  • He was a participant in the Anti-NATO protests at the May 20–21 Chicago NATO Summit.
  • In May 2012, he visited the second largest regional high school in Maine to give a speech about his campaign style to a government class.[32]
  • July 14, 2012: Supreme made an appearance with The Yes Men at 2600: The Hacker Quarterly's HOPE Number Nine conference during the Saturday keynote.[33][34]
  • August 25, 2012: Supreme announced his new political party, the Free Pony Party, and that he has chosen fellow fringe opponent Jimmy McMillan as his running mate. Conversely, McMillan stated he was still running for president on his own Rent Is Too Damn High platform, and that Supreme would be McMillan's running mate.[35]
  • October 5, 2012: He participated in a debate hosted by Peter Schiff in the Peter Schiff Radio Show, which featured a panel of overlooked presidential candidates including Jimmy McMillan on the Rent Is Too Damn High Party ticket; Santa Claus, independent write-in candidate, and Edgar Lawson, write-in Republican presidential candidate.[36]

2016

Supreme is making another presidential run in 2016.[37] He has embarked on a tour of 20 cities to build support for his campaign and is seeking to qualify for matching funds from the Federal Election Commission (FEC).[37][38] He filed as a candidate in the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary on November 21, 2015,[39] and received 259 votes in the primary on February 9, 2016, coming in fourth after Martin O'Malley.[40] He was, however, not invited to return to the Lesser-Known Democratic Candidates Presidential Forum, due in part to glitterbombing Randall Terry at the event in 2011.[41] Shortly before the primary, he was observed questioning Republican candidates Chris Christie and Ted Cruz through a bullhorn.[42][43] On 4 March 2016, he switched his affiliation to the Libertarian Party.[44]

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.[45][46]

In 2012, Supreme starred in a web series entitled Learnin' With Vermin that uses a fictional version of his presidential campaign as a platform to teach political concepts such as voting methods.[47]

A documentary following Supreme on the 2012 campaign trail and exploring his life and work as an activist and political prankster called Who Is Vermin Supreme? An Outsider Odyssey was funded through a Kickstarter campaign and premiered at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival on April 9, 2014.[48] The film was directed by Minneapolis-based filmmaker Steve Onderick and features founder of the Rent is Too Damn High Party, Jimmy McMillan, and Boston-based singer-songwriter and comedian Rob Potylo.[12][13] The film was released to the general public on Vimeo on Demand on January 30, 2016.[49]

Supreme has also collaborated with performance artist, activist, and musician Rob Potylo in the web series Quiet Desperation.[50]

Filmography

List of acting performances in film and television[51]
Title Year Role Notes
Who Is Vermin Supreme? An Outsider Odyssey 2014 himself documentary
Learnin' With Vermin 2012 himself educational
Vote Jesus: The Chronicles of Ken Stevenson (documentary) 2009 Ken Stevenson film
2008 Uncut 2008 himself TV series
Winning New Hampshire 2004 himself documentary

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Garance, Franke-Ruta.Running Gag: A campaign veteran comes to the D.C. primary Washington City Paper. 9 January 2004. Web. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ "Screw Iowa Fails Again", Des Moines Register, January 12, 2012
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The HS visited was Mount View High School in Thorndike, Maine. He introduced himself to the assembled students by saying: "I am Vermin Supreme and I am from the internet."
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/has-a-presidential-candidate-switched-to-the-libertarian-party/
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Vermin Supreme at the Internet Movie Database

External links

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