Jeremy "Spike" Cohen (born June 28, 1982) is an American libertarian political activist, entrepreneur, and podcaster. He is the founder of Muddied Waters Media, a platform for libertarian commentary and discourse, which he has used to advocate for individual liberty, voluntary solutions to societal issues, and reducing government overreach.[1][2] He has also been a prominent advocate for private charity and mutual aid networks as alternatives to government welfare programs, emphasizing the importance of community-driven initiatives.[3] Cohen frequently engages with grassroots organizations and local communities, promoting education on libertarian principles and supporting efforts to dismantle systemic barriers to personal and economic freedom. [4][5]
Spike Cohen | |
|---|---|
_(cropped,_high_quality).jpg) Cohen in 2022 | |
| Born | Jeremy Cohen June 28, 1982 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Libertarian |
| Spouse |
Tasha Cohen (m. 2010) |
| Website | Official website |
He was the Libertarian Party's nominee for vice president of the United States in 2020, serving as Jo Jorgensen's running mate.[6] As the Libertarian Party's vice presidential nominee in 2020, Cohen focused on a range of issues, including ending qualified immunity for law enforcement, criminal justice reform, scaling back U.S. military interventions, and reducing federal taxation and regulation.[7][8]
Early life
editCohen was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1982.[9][10] Cohen's father is Jewish, and he was raised as a Messianic Jew, including having a bar mitzvah.[11]
He purports to have chosen the nickname "Spike" at the age of 3, after the character from the 1986 children's film My Little Pony: The Movie.[10]
Career
editIn 1998, at the age of 16, Cohen began learning web design and subsequently started a profitable business within a few years.[10][self-published source][12] In 2016, after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Cohen sold his web design business and turned his focus to libertarian messaging, entertainment, and activism.[10]
By 2017, Cohen's retirement culminated with him becoming the co-owner of, and a podcaster on, Muddied Waters Media. He is the co-host of The Muddied Waters of Freedom, and the host of My Fellow Americans.[13][10]
2020 vice presidential campaign
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Cohen ran as the proposed running mate of presidential candidate Vermin Supreme in the 2020 Libertarian presidential primaries, and was actively involved in campaigning.[14][15]
After Supreme lost the Libertarian presidential nomination to Jo Jorgensen on May 23, 2020, Cohen remained in the race for the party's vice presidential nomination. Despite Jorgensen having expressed a preference for John Monds to be her running mate over Cohen and Ken Armstrong, Cohen defeated Monds with 533 delegate votes to Monds' 472 after three rounds of voting.[16] As the Libertarian Party's vice presidential nominee, Cohen became the first Jewish vice presidential nominee of a political party since Joe Lieberman in 2000.[11]
Political positions
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Cohen has asserted that his and Jorgensen's platform was derived from the Libertarian Party platform. This includes reducing the national debt by reducing the size of government, extensive criminal justice reform and the immediate release of those incarcerated for victimless crimes, demilitarization of the police and the creation of police accountability programs.[17][18][12]
Cohen supports presidential pardons for Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, Ross Ulbricht, and Leonard Peltier.[19][20][21]
Cohen, a former ally of performance artist and perennial candidate Vermin Supreme, ran during his vice presidential primary campaign on a largely satirical platform promoting free ponies, mandatory tooth brushing, "zombie power", killing "baby Hitler" and "baby Woodrow Wilson", and promoting anarchy.[22][10][23] Cohen promised that should these not be achieved within the first 100 days of his vice presidency, he would resign and be replaced with Baby Yoda.[10]
After officially receiving the Libertarian vice presidential nomination, Cohen acknowledged that such humor tactics were "all fun satire to bring people in", adding "(t)hen you hit them with the actual message. The actual Libertarian message of self-ownership and non-aggression and voluntary solutions and property rights, and so forth."[18]
Personal life
editCohen has been married to his wife, Tasha, since 2010.[24] He lives in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.[22]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Muddied Waters of Freedom". Muddied Waters of Freedom. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
- ^ Onneweer, Nienke (September 15, 2020). "The Other Candidates: Libertarian Spike Cohen makes a case for college students". Mesa Legend. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
- ^ "An Interview with Libertarian Spike Cohen". The Dartmouth Review. April 22, 2024. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
- ^ "Interview with Spike Cohen-The Libertarian Party's Jewish VP Nominee". May 30, 2020.
- ^ Bass, Paul (September 29, 2020). "VP Hopeful Veers Right, & Left".
- ^ Doherty, Brian (May 24, 2020). "Libertarian Party Picks Spike Cohen as Its Vice-Presidential Candidate". Reason. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ "Group Hopes To Ask Voters To End Qualified Immunity In Ohio". The Statehouse News Bureau. May 4, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
- ^ Onneweer, Nienke (September 15, 2020). "The Other Candidates: Libertarian Spike Cohen makes a case for college students". Mesa Legend. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
- ^ "Spike Cohen's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Spike Cohen for VP". Vermin Supreme 2020. Archived from the original on May 25, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ a b Fox, Blake (May 30, 2020). "Interview with Spike Cohen-The Libertarian Party's Jewish VP Nominee". The Times of Israel. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
- ^ a b O’Sullivan, Joseph (September 7, 2020) "Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee Spike Cohen stumps in Western Washington, calls for ending ‘every single bad policy’ ", Seattle Times. Retrieved September 17, 2020
- ^ "Spike Cohen". Podchaser. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
- ^ Winger, Richard (January 1, 2020). "Two Libertarians Seeking National Office Campaign in Libertarian North Carolina Presidential Primary". Ballot Access News. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ Kilgore, Ed (May 27, 2020). "Libertarians Decide to Become a Joke in 2020". New York Intelligencer. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ Winger, Richard (May 24, 2020). "Libertarian Party Nominates Spike Cohen for Vice-President". Ballot Access News. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ L.P. Colorado (June 5, 2020). "A Message from Spike Cohen, Jo Jorgensen's Running Mate".
- ^ a b Houck, Taggart (May 30, 2020). "2020 Libertarian presidential ticket candidates sit down for first time with WYFF News 4". WYFF4.com. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- ^ "Spike Cohen". m.facebook.com. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
- ^ Montgomery, Lisa Kennedy (December 23, 2020). "Libertarian: Trump should pardon Snowden, Assange before end of term". Fox Business. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
- ^ Howman, David (June 25, 2020). "Libertarian VP Candidate Calls For Release of Imprisoned Native American Activist". The Libertarian Republic. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
- ^ a b Papantonis, Nicholas (January 30, 2020). "Myrtle Beach man plans to ride ponies and plutonium to 2020 VP nomination". WPDE. ABC News. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ^ Kilgore, Ed (May 27, 2020). "Libertarians Decide to Become a Joke in 2020". New York Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
- ^ Newlands, Ettie (August 14, 2020). "Local VP candidate says Libertarians' time has come". MyHorryNews.com. Waccamaw Publishers. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
External links
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