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http://reason.com/blog/2016/04/01/libertarian-party-2016-presidential
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the likely presidential nominees of America’s two major political parties, would be among the best-known and most-disliked candidates in history. What better time for the Libertarian Party (LP), the only third party that will be on all 50 states’ ballots, to make its move into the mainstream?
...
A recent Monmouth University poll put Johnson at about 11 percent in a three-way race against Trump and Clinton, which probably says as much about Johnson’s viability as it does about how nauseated voters are by the two leading major-party options.
But with the electorate expressing profound antipathy toward their two likely choices for president, is the 2016 election the capital-L Libertarian moment we’ve been waiting for? Or will this be another wasted opportunity by a third party to make inroads with voters who are increasingly sympathetic to libertarian principles, even if they prefer not to officially identify with the party?
...
The LP’s Executive Director Wes Benedict told Reason that the combination of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) dropping out of the GOP race and the ascension of Donald Trump has led to a spike in Libertarian Party membership. From what he’s observed in the comments left by new party members, Benedict believes a good deal of the boost is motivated by fears that a Trump presidency would lead to closed borders and a trade war with China.
When it comes to social issues, the LP’s Political Director Carla Howell calls Democrats and Republicans "Johnny Come Latelys" regarding gay marriage and criminal justice reform. Howell told Reason that the LP "would love it if [the Democrats and Republicans] co-opted our issues, but they usually don’t." She added that while Republicans talk a good game when they’re running for office, "they don’t substantively reduce government" once they’re there, and the Democrats have never shown a true interest in "disentangling the United States from the Middle East."
...
What is indisputable is that neither of the two major parties can sell themselves as a party that is reliably anti-war and pro-personal freedom.
The LP's Sarwark references a South Park episode to drive home that point. If voters can "let go of the fear" that the only two choices they have are between "the giant douche and the turd sandwich," he says, they might actually get a president committed to the philosophy of "don’t hurt people and don’t take their stuff."
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the likely presidential nominees of America’s two major political parties, would be among the best-known and most-disliked candidates in history. What better time for the Libertarian Party (LP), the only third party that will be on all 50 states’ ballots, to make its move into the mainstream?
...
A recent Monmouth University poll put Johnson at about 11 percent in a three-way race against Trump and Clinton, which probably says as much about Johnson’s viability as it does about how nauseated voters are by the two leading major-party options.
But with the electorate expressing profound antipathy toward their two likely choices for president, is the 2016 election the capital-L Libertarian moment we’ve been waiting for? Or will this be another wasted opportunity by a third party to make inroads with voters who are increasingly sympathetic to libertarian principles, even if they prefer not to officially identify with the party?
...
The LP’s Executive Director Wes Benedict told Reason that the combination of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) dropping out of the GOP race and the ascension of Donald Trump has led to a spike in Libertarian Party membership. From what he’s observed in the comments left by new party members, Benedict believes a good deal of the boost is motivated by fears that a Trump presidency would lead to closed borders and a trade war with China.
When it comes to social issues, the LP’s Political Director Carla Howell calls Democrats and Republicans "Johnny Come Latelys" regarding gay marriage and criminal justice reform. Howell told Reason that the LP "would love it if [the Democrats and Republicans] co-opted our issues, but they usually don’t." She added that while Republicans talk a good game when they’re running for office, "they don’t substantively reduce government" once they’re there, and the Democrats have never shown a true interest in "disentangling the United States from the Middle East."
...
What is indisputable is that neither of the two major parties can sell themselves as a party that is reliably anti-war and pro-personal freedom.
The LP's Sarwark references a South Park episode to drive home that point. If voters can "let go of the fear" that the only two choices they have are between "the giant douche and the turd sandwich," he says, they might actually get a president committed to the philosophy of "don’t hurt people and don’t take their stuff."
