Peter Schiff, a conservative-leaning libertarian and author who is contemplating a run against Democratic Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, was on the Daily Show last night to talk about his latest book as well as the current state of our economy. Now, I was only vaguely familiar with Schiff prior to his Daily Show appearance, as Schiff is well known in paleolibertarian circles and shares a political philosophy that is similar to Ron Paul’s. However, his appearance on the Daily Show was the first time I had seen him in such a high profile venue and in front of a left-leaning crowd that might be hostile towards some of his political views. However, Schiff actually came across rather well in the interview, with Jon Stewart going so far as to showing old footage from the cable news networks showing pundits ridiculing him even as he offered economic predictions that, in retrospect, have actually proven to be fairly accurate.
Towards the end of the interview, he hinted at running against Dodd. Running as a Republican in a liberal state against an entrenched Democrat, Schiff would probably be an underdog. But Dodd’s connections with the banking industry cannot be helping him all that much at a time when the government is giving billions of dollars to Wall Street in the midst of an economic recession. And a win by Schiff would put in the U.S. Senate a libertarian-leaning, indepedent-minded Republican who, like Ron Paul in the U.S. House of Representatives, would be critical of the political leadership of both political parties.
Birthplace: San Diego, CA
Birthdate: That’s for me to know
Political Party: Independent
Political Philosophy: Libertarian-liberal