The eccentric candidate has stirred up some controversy in the Sunshine State.
Politics is foul, or so they say. This election period has proven the sentiment to be understandable at the very least. We’ve had the shady — represented by Hillary Clinton, and the silly — Donald Trump, but let me introduce you to Augustus Sol Invictus, who represents the balls-to-the-wall mental! He’s a Libertarian candidate from Florida who’s running for the former senate seat of presidential candidate Marco Rubio.
His name, in case you were wondering, translates literally to "Great Unconquered Sun," or more liberally, to "Invincible Sun Emperor." He declines to reveal his given name. It gets weirder, as he is a former member of the Ordo Templi Orientis, an organization practicing the occult system called Thelema which was developed by British occultist, eccentric, spy and mountaineer (he did a lot) Aleister Crowley.
In any case, a few years ago he personally walked from Florida to the Mojave Desert whilst praying and fasting, and concluded his wandering (and probably awesome stoner movie) with a spot of casual goat sacrifice.
Politically he is hard to pin down; he has spoken in support for the standard Libertarian fare. This includes campaigning against the war on drugs, interventionist foreign policy and is in favor of slashing the federal budget, but unusually for a Libertarian, he supports environmental regulation.
There seems to be a dark side to his beliefs though (there would be wouldn’t there?) as the chairman of Florida’s Libertarian Party has resigned to call attention to his campaign stating that he has tried to court neo-Nazis to the party, advocated violent revolution (which he apparently justified using his religion) and eugenics. He has denied all of those claims, stating that he comes into contact with unsavory people in the course of his work as a defense attorney, and published a detailed point for point refutation of all allegations. He did, however, say that people should take LSD and practice sorcery.
Whether Sol is contracting a public persona or really is that … unique, it is hard to say. It’s also hard to say whether he is a harmless libertine or a dangerous man. I’m going to put my money on the table and say that he will not win Rubio’s old seat. Whatever happens, and whoever he is, Augustus Sol Invictus is likely to go down in history as one of the greatest eccentrics of our time.
A nut he may be, but I’d like to think that he’s mostly harmless. Unlike another nut, Donald Trump, he’s popular and running for president. God help us.
Jack Davies is a sophomore studying philosophy and the Honors Tutorial College Senator for Student Senate. What do you think of this candidate? Email him at jd814213@ohio.edu.
