Last Friday night, proving what a party animal I really am, I watched the Libertarian debate during the John Stossel Show. It was a one hour part one of a two part debate. The second part will be tonight. The three candidates are Gary Johnson, the 2012 Libertarian candidate & former Governor of New Mexico; John McAfee, billionaire security software creator; and Austin Petersen, a young unknown quantity.
Stossel is a hard core libertarian, and his show is one of the few Fox shows I can stomach. It was an entertaining hour. All three hold views I generally agree with. Johnson is the odds on favorite to win the nomination again, as he has the best name recognition and track record. I found the debate interesting and completely the opposite of the Republican and Democrat circus debates. There was no yelling, screaming, accusations, or gotcha questions from faux journalists. Stossel asked good questions and the candidates answered them honestly.
Truthfully, none of the three could ever inspire a movement. Ron Paul is more of a Libertarian than any of them. Petersen was the most passionate, quoting the founding fathers at every opportunity. But he is in his thirties, hasn’t done anything of substance, and comes across as naive and child like. McAfee has certainly accomplished stuff in his life. He created a security software company and made a billion dollars. He was also on the run from the law in South America on murder charges, that were never proved. He comes across as a little weird. His statement that we are already at war with China was odd for a Libertarian. He made a few odd statements and joked with Petersen about meeting in a gay bar.
Johnson is the overwhelming favorite to win the nomination again. Denninger hates him. He comes across as if he is smoking some of that weed he has been selling. He has no charisma, no passion, and no guiding principles. He seems alright with forcing businesses to sell to people they choose not to sell to. He is Libertarian-lite. He got the most votes of a Libertarian candidate in history at 1.3 million in 2012. That amounted to 1% of the vote. I voted for him as my protest vote.
The story below was a shock to me. Johnson is currently polling in double digits. The biggest detriment to the Libertarian candidate is not getting to participate in the debates. They need to be polling at 15% or higher to get invited to the debates. The only way to explain his double digit support at this point is the absolute hatred that many Americans have for Clinton and Trump. There is no middle ground. You either love them or hate them. This does open up a door for an alternative candidate. If Ron Paul ran as a Libertarian he would get more than 15%. Those debates would be for the ages.
But, it’s not to be. Watch part two of the Libertarian debate tonight at 9:00 on Fox Business Network and see what you think of these guys. I hope Johnson doesn’t kiss McAfee again, like he did in part one.
Continue reading “WILL THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY MATTER IN 2016?”
