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By Dan Lowrey
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
He’s been called a communist, even a fascist. But Robert Buchanan prefers to think of himself as a patriot.
The Libertarian Congressional candidate scoffs at the negative perception to his party’s principles by some 10th District voters. After all, he wants to take the government out of people’s pocketbooks and out of their lives. What could be more patriotic?
He chalks up their reactionary labels to their failure to truly understand his message, which he believes many voters agree with.
“[Critics] never question the regurgitated garbage people are feeding them,” Buchanan said. “If anybody thinks I’m radical, they must think our founding fathers were radical.”
Raised in a lower-middleclass family that he describes as “apolitical” and that regarded government officials with suspicious minds, Buchanan naturally latched onto the Libertarian message while in high school.
He supported both Democrats and Republicans in the past, even though sometimes he had trouble distinguishing one from another.
After college he began voting for Libertarians and soon fell in with several local party bosses, who convinced him last year to run for state delegate.
He managed to get 6 percent of the vote in the 31st District, convincing him that Libertarian principles were hitting home with some. And when party leaders approached him to run for Congress this year, he agreed.
“I’ve always had a dream of being a politician,” Buchanan said. “I’ve always wanted to change things for the better.
“I’m not interested in the six-figure income,” offered the 35-year-old snack food manager from Marshall.
“I’m not interested in their free parking or all their other perks, that’s not what makes me tick,” Buchanan said.
95.5%