Wow! People really are starting to take Michael Munger seriously

I know, I know, Libertarians aren't supposed to use the "W" word, and we're wackos who only play the part of spoilers.

Except....

I've already covered a commenter on the Progressive blog BlueNC coming out for Dr Michael Munger, the Libertarian candidate for Governor of North Carolina, over Democrat Bev Perdue....

...and the GOP-leaning Meck Deck discussing why Perdue should be happy Munger wasn't invited to the last debate.

Now, two other sources chime in.

Here's Bryan C. Hanks of the Kinston Free Press:

It does in North Carolina. According to this SurveyUSA Election Poll, Libertarian Mike Munger is “complicating” the governor’s race. While Bev Perdue leads Pat McCrory 47-44 percent, Munger is pulling down 5 percent (with 5 percent undecided).

My take: And yet, they’re not allowing Munger to debate with Perdue and McCrory. The Libertarian Party is an official party again in North Carolina — despite what the Republicans and Democrats have done to destroy the party. The party has a gubernatorial candidate and is being shut out by the mainstream media in debates. What are the Rs and Ds afraid of — that folks will begin to follow the Libertarians and siphon money and votes from them?

Yep.

More significant, I think, is this from Freedom Democrats:

LP Candidate for North Carolina Governor Mike Munger will get one chance to debate Pat McCrory and Bev Perdue in person, but in the interim, it's been interesting to observe how much respect Munger has been getting from local mainstream media in his quest to inject his relevancy into the NC gubernatorial race.

If you ever wandered how a Libertarian Public Choice Theorist might govern a State, click here to listen to Munger's hour long shadow debate critique on 101.1 FM talk radio of the recent McCrory v Perdue Gubernatorial Debate. Frankly, Munger is likely correct that more people tuned into his critique over 101.1 FM than actually viewed the original debate on local television.

If Munger had 2 times the funds of either major party candidate to get his message out over paid media, I think he would a legitimate shot to win. As a resident, I can attest to the fact that North Carolina has become one of the more interesting political demographic mixes you will find in any State. A Libertarian like Munger, if he had the money, could pull together a coalition from the Research Triangle, Mecklenburg county, the ideologically progressive areas in the western part of the state(where issues like ending the death penalty and drug decriminalization would peel off voters), and could attract significant votes from both the african american and exploding hispanic communities. In a 2-way race, not a chance. But in a 3-way race with money, a chance.

Despite NC having the highest percentage influx of immigrants the past decade of any State, there is little if none of that Ron Paul type of xenophobia in the NC LP. And the there is very little of the Paul type social conservatism in the party either. The uniting issues among NC libertarians are coercive municipal annexation, high personal and corporate taxes, Real ID, and State waste.

Which again raises the question of what the hell the national Libertarian Party is doing with the money it should be funneling into State and local races like Mike Munger's?