Peter Diamondstone
Peter Isaac Diamondstone was an American lawyer and socialist politician from the U.S. state of Vermont, best known as a perennial candidate and co-founder of the Liberty Union Party. He ran for various Vermont political offices, all unsuccessfully, in every election cycle from 1970 until 2016.
Early life
Diamondstone was born in the New York borough of The Bronx in 1934 and raised in the borough of Queens. His father was a dentist and a socialist. In 1944, Diamondstone got a job passing out flyers for the fourth presidential campaign of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He served in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956.Diamondstone received a J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1960 and moved to Vermont in 1968, and soon began his involvement in politics there.
Career
Diamondstone, along with former U.S. Congressman William H. Meyer, Bernie Sanders, and others, founded the Liberty Union Party in 1970. From then until his death, he ran every two years for various political offices, never receiving more than 8% of the vote in general elections.Diamondstone arrived late to a debate for U.S. Congress in 1980, and was told he would not be able to participate. He remained in the debate area and was arrested. He was also arrested in 1996 while attempting to participate in a debate for U.S. Congress, for which he was a candidate. In 2006, Diamondstone was escorted off stage and charged with disorderly conduct after cursing at students in the audience and repeatedly speaking past his allotted time during a U.S. Senate debate.
Once a friend and political ally of Bernie Sanders, the two gradually drifted apart as Sanders transitioned into mainstream electoral politics. In 1984, Diamondstone passed out anti-Sanders flyers, calling him a "Quisling" and criticizing him for endorsing Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale. He did not endorse Sanders' 2016 presidential candidacy and referred to him as a war criminal for supporting the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.
Political positions
Diamondstone was a supporter of Vermont seceding from the United States. He advocated for community ownership of the means of production as well as nationalization of the healthcare system and increasing the number of paid leave and paid vacation days. Diamondstone also believed in disbanding the Vermont National Guard and replacing it with a civilian militia. He opposed water fluoridation, genetically modified food, and the HPV vaccine, which he referred to as a "Big Pharma sham". Diamondstone was an advocate of eliminating the voting age. He also wanted to open hearings to investigate the September 11 attacks.Ideologically, he identified as a "nonviolent revolutionary socialist".
Personal life
Diamondstone and his wife, Doris Lake, whom he married in 1957, had four children: Aaron, Jessy, Ian, and Paula; as well as 14 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. He was an atheist.Diamondstone died on August 30, 2017, at age 82. According to his wife, he was suffering from several ailments, including heart and kidney diseases, and had been recently released from the hospital. Diamondstone also suffered from leg sores which required him to wear shorts to stay comfortable.
Upon his death, Bernie Sanders said, "I first met Peter Diamondstone over 45 years ago. While I have not had any real contact with him for many, many years, I have the feeling that he never changed. Peter was a very independent thinker, unafraid to express his point of view on any subject. As a result, he forced people to examine and defend their own positions. No small thing. In his own way, Peter played an important role in Vermont politics for many decades."
Electoral history
Scattering votes are not included.1970s
Vermont Attorney General Democratic primary, 1970- Thomas P. Salmon – 19,513
- Peter Diamondstone – 9,553
- Jim Jeffords – 85,515
- Thomas P. Salmon – 60,373
- Peter Diamondstone – 1,987
- Kimberly B. Cheney – 20,307
- Natt L. Divoll – 18,300
- Robert E. West – 13,095
- Sten E. Lium – 5,009
- Peter Diamondstone – 3,669
- Kimberly B. Cheney – 101,480
- Richard Gadbois – 67,884
- Peter Diamondstone – 5,989
- Francis J. Cain – 9,415
- Margaret A. Lucenti – 3,384
- John J. Welch – 3,004
- Francis J. Esposito – 2,804
- Dennis J. Morrisseau – 2,623
- Peter Diamondstone – 1,426
- M. Jerome Diamond – 89,839
- John P. Meaker – 71,960
- Peter Diamondstone – 7,153
- Jim Jeffords – 90,668
- Sarah Marie Dietz – 23,228
- Peter Diamondstone – 6,505
1980s
- Jim Jeffords – 154,274
- Robin Lloyd – 24,758
- Peter Diamondstone – 15,218
- Jim Jeffords – 114,191
- Mark A. Kaplan – 38,296
- Robin Lloyd – 6,409
- Peter Diamondstone – 2,794
- Morris Earle – 1,733
- George E. Trask – 1,407
- Jim Jeffords – 148,025
- Anthony Pollina – 60,360
- Jim Hedbor – 9,359
- Peter Diamondstone – 4,858
- Morris Earle – 3,313
- Jim Jeffords – 168,403
- John T. McNulty – 7,404
- Peter Diamondstone – 7,060
- Morris Earle – 5,850
- Peter Plympton Smith – 98,937
- Bernie Sanders – 90,026
- Paul N. Poirier – 45,330
- Jim Hedbor – 3,109
- Peter Diamondstone – 1,455
- Morris Earle – 1,070
1990s
- Dolores Sandoval – 5,979
- Peter Diamondstone – 5,711
- Bernie Sanders – 2,005
- Bernie Sanders – 117,522
- Peter Plympton Smith – 82,938
- Dolores Sandoval – 6,315
- Peter Diamondstone – 1,965
- Bernie Sanders – 162,724
- Tim Philbin – 86,901
- Lewis E. Young – 22,279
- Peter Diamondstone – 3,660
- John Dewey – 3,549
- Douglas M. Miller – 2,049
- Jeffrey Amestoy – 176,857
- Peter Diamondstone – 11,210
- Joseph P. Mulcahy – 7,753
- Ted Talcott – 7,062
- Bernie Sanders – 140,678
- Susan W. Sweetser – 83,021
- Jack Long – 23,830
- Thomas J. Morse – 2,693
- Peter Diamondstone – 1,965
- Robert Melamede – 1,350
- Norio Kushi – 812
- Bernie Sanders – 1,661
- Mark Candon – 524
- Jack Long – 465
- Peter Diamondstone – 352
- Mark Candon – 23,101
- Jack Long – 15,716
- Peter Diamondstone – 8,327
- Bernie Sanders – 136,403
- Mark Candon – 70,740
- Matthew S. Mulligan – 3,464
- Peter Diamondstone – 2,153
- Robert Maynard – 2,097
2000s
- Peter Diamondstone – 20,539
- Bernie Sanders – 1,337
- Bernie Sanders – 196,118
- Karen Ann Kerin – 51,977
- Peter Diamondstone – 14,918
- Stewart Skrill – 11,816
- Jack Rogers – 4,799
- Daniel H. Krymkowski – 2,978
- Michael J. Badamo – 931
- Peter Diamondstone – 412
- Jim Douglas – 103,436
- Doug Racine – 97,565
- Cornelius Hogan – 22,353
- Cris Ericson – 1,737
- Michael Badamo – 1,380
- Joel W. Williams – 938
- Patricia Hejny – 771
- Marilynn Christian – 638
- Peter Diamondstone – 625
- Brian Pearl – 569
- Martha Abbott – 375
- Peter Diamondstone – 190
- Jim Douglas – 181,540
- Peter Clavelle – 117,327
- Cris Ericson – 4,221
- Patricia Hejny – 2,431
- Harland Arthur Macia III – 2,263
- Peter Diamondstone – 1,298
- Bernie Sanders – 171,638
- Rich Tarrant – 84,924
- Cris Ericson – 1,735
- Craig Hill – 1,536
- Peter Moss – 1,518
- Peter Diamondstone – 801
- Jim Douglas – 170,492
- Anthony Pollina – 69,791
- Gaye Symington – 69,534
- Tony O'Connor – 3,106
- Sam Young – 2,490
- Peter Diamondstone – 1,710
- Cris Ericson – 1,704
2010s
- Patrick Leahy – 151,281
- Len Britton – 72,699
- Daniel Freilich – 3,544
- Cris Ericson – 2,731
- Stephen J. Cain – 2,356
- Peter Diamondstone – 1,433
- Johenry Nunes – 1,021
- Bernie Sanders – 207,848
- John MacGovern – 72,898
- Cris Ericson – 5,924
- Peter Diamondstone – 2,511
- Peter Moss – 2,452
- Laurel LaFramboise – 877
- Peter Shumlin – 89,509
- Scott Milne – 87,075
- Dan Feliciano – 8,428
- Em Peyton – 3,157
- Peter Diamondstone – 1,673
- Bernard Peters – 1,434
- Cris Ericson – 1,089
- Patrick Leahy – 192,243
- Scott Milne – 103,637
- Cris Ericson – 9,156
- Jerry Trudell – 5,223
- Peter Diamondstone – 3,241