Why Should You be a Fan of Ben Barnes, Democrat Politician and the former Lt. Gov of Texas?

There are a lot of reasons to be a fan of Ben Barnes. And we're not talking about the actor, who is scheduled to appear in the movie Prince Caspian, the second installment in the Chronicles of Narnia.

The Ben Barnes we're talking about is the Democrat and former Lt. Gov of Texas, Ben Barnes, who at one point in his career was heralded by Lyndon B. Johnson as the next candidate in line for President of the United States. Ben Barnes is a resident Democrat of Austin, TX and a proponent of bipartisan politics.

The politician Ben Barnes is immensely popular for a variety of reasons. His first claim to fame was his decision to run for a seat on the Texas state House of Representatives at the youthful age of 21. Ben Barnes showed that young people were not only interested in politics, voting, and the future of America, but could be driven participants in the political process. Ben Barnes ran for a seat in the House of Representatives following his work with the Texas State Department of Health, a position he held while still in school and experienced first hand the result of corruption in government. Ben Barnes reported a discovery of financial records that led to the indictments of the Texas' state health commissioner. After this experience, Ben Barnes ran for a seat of the House of Representative at the young age of 22 and won in a shocking upset.

Three years later, Ben Barnes became the youngest Speaker for the House of Representatives in the state of Texas. With an articulate voice and passion for his work, the young Ben Barnes was the charismatic and popular choice. He was also the youngest Speaker of the House to date, attaining his seat at the age of 26.

Ben Barnes continued to rise in the legislature and became Lt. Gov of Texas in 1967. He held this position until 1973, and even supplemented his responsibilities as a US representative to NATO and a UN ambassador to Geneva. While serving on the legislature, he became the protégé of democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson, who remarked that Ben Barnes could very well be the next President of the United States.

Ben Barnes retired from the political scene in 1973 when he lost the race for Governor due to implication in a political scandal of which he was later cleared, but he continued to be a mover and shaker in the world. He founded a business consulting and lobbying firm called the Ben Barnes Group, and was a heavy supporter of President John Kerry in the 2004 election. In 2006, Ben Barnes wrote a book called "Barn Burning Barn Building" in which he discusses his role as Lt Gov in the State of Texas and the problems that modern America experiences by being overly partisan to the point of "mud slinging" and the negative effects that result from being unwilling to compromise, even for the over all benefit of the nation. The former Lt. Gov talks specifically about the problems of dirty campaigning, especially slander, which had an impact on his personal career. As a protégé of Lyndon B. Johnson and a man who was close to Kennedy during an era when America was politically united, Ben Barnes calls for the American people to put differences aside and make positive changes in their country and in the world by working together.

Ben Barnes continues to promote this viewpoint today, calling for a return to bipartisanship and the commitment to democracy and individual voice that makes America the great nation that it is.