Congressional Aide resigns to endorse 3rd Party
Presidential Candidate

Houston - Eric Dondero, a senior aide to US
Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) has resigned his position
to help out Libertarian Party Presidential candidate
Gary Nolan.

"I am still very much a Republican," said Dondero.
"But in this year's election President Bush needs a
bit of tough love. While his foreign policy has been
a great success, his domestic policies leave a lot to
be desired. The spending increases and the government
infringements on civil liberties have greatly
disappointed libertarians."

"Many libertarian Republicans such as myself have been
supporting Bush. But lately he has abandoned his few
libertarian supporters for more moderate, centrist
voters. I have been one of the last libertarian
Republicans defending him. The latest FCC crack-down
on shock jocks like Howard Stern was the last straw
for me."

"As a Republican, I am hereby endorsing Gary Nolan's
Presidential Candidacy under the Libertarian Party
banner. I will also help launch a nationwide effort
of Republicans for Gary Nolan."

"I still hope very much, that President Bush wins
re-election. Kerry would be a horrible choice. His
policies would put us on the fast track towards
European-style welfare statism/socialism. But I'm
confident that Bush will win easily. Thus, for voters
such as myself who live in safe GOP states like Texas,
Arizona, Nevada, Alaska, Utah, Wyoming, Montana,
Idaho, Nebraska, Kansas, the Carolinas, Georgia,
Alabama and Virginia, why not send a strong limited
government message to President Bush. He needs to
know that there's a serious constituency out there
that will not tolerate ever-expanding government
spending and huge deficits. He needs to know that we
libertarians considered his tax cut to be pitifully
puny at best."

"Traditionally, the Libertarian Party polls 300,000 to
500,000 votes for President each election cycle.
Though, LP candidate Ed Clark pulled nearly a million
in 1980. In a few short months Gary Nolan has proved
to be the best candidate for the Libertarian Party
since Clark in the early 1980s. A former nationally
syndicated radio talk show host, Nolan is garnering
major media attention, even appearing on Michael
Medved's highly successful Radio Talk Show yesterday."

"With a well-organized campaign team, and a decent
fundraising effort, Nolan appears to be well on his
way to busting Clark's 1 million vote total of 1980."

"While personally, I don't think it would be terribly
wise for libertarian Republicans living in
Massachusetts, Vermont, Maryland, Wisconsin or
Washington State to vote Libertarian, for those living
in safe GOP states it makes all the sense in the world
to send George W. Bush a message."

"There's been some talk of me seeking the Libertarian
Party Vice-Presidential nomination. I'm mulling it
over. The Libertarian Party ticket needs a qualified
VP candidate with real world political experience. I
will make an official announcement later in the month
at the Arkansas Libertarian Party State Convention.
But for now, I intend to grab a clipboard and get out
on the streets in Houston and collect signatures to
help get Nolan on the ballot." (Currently the LP is
set to be on the ballot in over 40 states, and most
likely will get on in a total of 45 to 47, more than
any other 3rd Party. Texas is the biggest challenge).

"Over the years, as a libertarian Republican I've been
one of the most vocal critics of the Libertarian
Party. I still believe that the LP has some
handicaps and am very much a proud Republican. But I
also realize that every now and then when my Party -
the GOP - strays too far from limited government
principles it needs a swift kick in the ass."

"I'm hoping that Nolan's effort will provide that
swift kick and that in the years to come the GOP will
return to it's Goldwaterite/limited government roots."

*Note - Eric Dondero Rittberg has been a Republican
activist in Florida and Texas since 1989. He has
served in many Republican political campaigns in
varying capacities over the years including the
Florida Governor's race in 1990, a winning Florida
Congressional race in 1994 (Rep. Mark Foley), and
numerous GOP state legislative races in Florida, Texas
and Michigan. In 1993, Dondero won election to the
Leon County County Conservation Board of Supervisors
with 28,105 votes. He was the only Republican elected
in Tallahassee that year. In 1995 he joined Ron
Paul's first campaign for Congress serving as Campaign
Coordinator. He then went on to serve as his Freeport
Office as Senior District Aide and Coastal Issues
Legislative Director from 1996 to late 2003. He is a
graduate of Florida State University and an Honorably
Discharged Decorated Veteran of the US Navy.
Currently he is an Interpreter for Spanish and other
languages in Houston, Texas, and is the Author of two
books the "Worldwide Multilingual Phrase Book" and
"Vacation Spanish." www.portsidelanguages.com.