It would be interesting to hear what our local Libertarian thinks of this. Anyone else, too. But I asked Don about the LP nominee a long time before Corona took over our lives. (If only it WERE the beer).
A conversation shift
Published by Adam Green
A 24 year Navy vet, cancer survivor, father, grandfather, assistant caregiver for my live-in mother-in-law. Enjoys golf, football (real and fantasy), being the best grandfather I can, supporting the endeavors of my children (both involved in the education of our younger generations) and tormenting my wife of 34 years. Also prefer bourbon over scotch, but will drink both, just not at the same time. Discovering craft beers and trying trying hard to get to a consistent golf swing. View all posts by Adam Green
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I would vote for him. In a heartbeat.
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Is it because it is not Trump or Biden? Or is there something else?
I’m just trying to gauge the mindsets of the folks here.
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Mostly because I dislike the two-party system and major party politics in general. I don’t know much about Amash yet, but I think he’s a stronger candidate than Johnson was in 2016.
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Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.
Amash became a celebrity this year when he walked away from the GOP over impeachment. As far as strength of candidacy, that remains to be seen.
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All Libertarian elections include ‘None of the Above’ and that is where my vote will go.
Gary Johnson was as good a candidate as we will ever have, and if he didn’t get anywhere, we need to build from the bottom up, not start at the top.
We need to elect Delegates to the General Assembly, and that’s where our energy and limited funds need to go, not on a Quixotic Presidential run.
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@Tabor
FWIW: Appreciate the non-vote and yeah, grassroots up was ALWAYS the best approach.
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“All Libertarian elections include ‘None of the Above’ and that is where my vote will go.”
What is it about Amash that you don’t care for? Is it because he ran as a Republican and got elected and the left the GOP because he felt that his values would be compromised by continuing to run with them? And he’s late to the Libertarian party? Or you think he’s a LINO?
Agree with the idea of bottom up, but to be honest, too many fringe elements in your party for candidates to be taken seriously. -IMHO
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Consider candidates 4, 19 and 20 in reference to me point above.
https://www.lp.org/libertarian-party-candidates/2020
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It is because we should not be running a Presidential candidate at this stage
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Fair enough.
But will you vote for Trump in November? Or support the LP candidate? Or just skip row a and move on down the ballot?
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It will depend on my brother
I use a vote trading system to maximize votes for the LP candidate.
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I’m not quite sure what that means. But as long as it doesn’t fall into the voter fraud category, good for you. I think.
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I’ve written about this before when the Pilot had a forum, but so you’ll know.
VA is a swing state that could go either way. LA will go GOP dependably.
The LP candidate isn’t going to win anyway, but the more votes he gets, the harder it is to keep the next Libertarian out of the debates.
So, I swap my swing state vote for as many as 4 votes in LA for the LP candidate.
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“VA is a swing state that could go either way.”
I think you are overly optimistic about VA’s swing state status. The last 4 presidential elections, not to mention 2017 and 2019 elections say otherwise.
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Agree 100%.
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That was before Northam activated rural and suburban gun owners and put his inner tyrant on full display.
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They are still outnumbered by the blue metro areas—especially in northern Virginia.
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Turnout trumps raw numbers
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I do not share in your optimism.
Virginia is now a blue state.
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@Tabor
Northam the tyrant? You going for laughs?
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@Tabor
“Turnout trumps raw numbers.”
Indeed. But what you seem blind to is that one of the strengths of the GOP is that it already enjoys very high turnouts. Those country folk whom you postulate are as mad as Hell about new minor gun laws in Virginia are ALWAYS as mad as Hell about SOMETHING. Maybe it is the “slaughter” of innocents, or gays ruining marriage, or immigrants taking all the good jobs, or somebody taking away their guns leaving them defenseless against rampaging thugs from the inner city. GOP tactics for decades has been to stoke such fears and emotions.
It is the turnout among normally more passive Democratic constituencies that is on the rise in the time of Trumpism. Just look at how the recent statewide election went in Wisconsin after Republicans tried to stifle the vote and Trump inserted himself with his endorsement of the “conservative” candidate. The Dermocratic Primary was already moot, voting was hard and dangerous and yet the turnout soared and Trump’s surrogate was trounced. And that in a state with plenty of those country folk and that had voted for Trump in 2016.
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From the point of view of winning elections the Libertarian Party has a fatal flaw that will keep them on the margins no matter whom they find to carry their flag – their beliefs, policies and agenda. To their credit, they are quite candid about their totally retrograde ideas that are more suited to the 19th century than the 21st.
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We don’t win elections because we will not promise to redistribute wealth to the collective nor will we give advantage to crony businesses.
Both major parties have sold out to one side or the other, and we won’t.
If people, or businesses want to get ahead, it is up to them to earn their way in the free market, without the thumb of government on the scale either way.
Earning ones’ own way has become unpopular in the US.
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@Tabor
I was kinda nodding my head until you went into “get off my lawn” in the last line.
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@Tabor
Yadda Yadda Yadda.
The collective? Good grief.
Your party does not win elections because it pushes a lot of truly nutty ideas. Just for example, even though you falsely accuse the Democrats of wanting open borders – we don’t – the Libertarian Party platform calls for exactly that saying that ANY and ALL non-criminal immigrants should be allowed in to compete with Americans in that “free market.”
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Yes, and I agree that, subject to background checks, those who wish to come here and compete should be welcome to do so.
of course, that means no welfare state to draw those who don’t want to work, both from outside or from here.
And, of course, those who long to live under socialism should be free to leave for a country that works that way.
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@Tabor
Thanks.
Like I said, nutty ideas are the reason that Libertarians are politically marginal at best.
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And if you can find a place that governs to your standards, you are free to move there as well.
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And yet you support Citizens United.
Understand that when it takes a billion dollars or more to campaign for president, tens or even hundreds of millions for Congressional seats and millions more for state and local elections money comes into play. And donors expect results.
“Citizens” just upped the price tag.
A democratically elected republic is wrapped around the core of representation that looks out for the constituents in federal legislation. You can start with people as pure as the driven snow until the decision to build the first road, canal, port or any other collective construction. Then the access to or location of any of those becomes a financial benefit to some.
And the rest is history.
Your contention that our lawmakers should have no pathway to influence the market, then elected officials have nothing to offer. That means legislators have to vote in such restrictions.
Major donors are not going to let that happen.
Now if, and this is a big if, campaigns were limited to 6-8 weeks, Congressmen knew their constituents by having a much smaller district, and donations were limited to the actual voters that can cast a ballot for a particular candidate we might have a shot at your kind of government.
Take the business out of politics and eventually politics will stay out of business.
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Citizens United is pretty straightforward.
A corporation is a group of people joined in a common purpose.
The Sierra Club is a corporation made up of people with a common purpose.
So is Exxon.
So, why should one have political rights that the other is denied?
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I didn’t say that. Citizens United just upped the ante of a system that is effectively broken.
Let the special interest groups make their case to the electorate without collaborating with campaigns. They are not supposed to do that now…but, wink, wink. And prohibit anonymous donations to PACs.
If Exxon wants Taylor as a Congressman, let it explain to me why he should get my vote. No money for Taylor from them. I’ll donate to Taylor if I am convinced.
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And should the Sierra Club not be similarly prohibited from donating the Luria?
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Sure. They can make their case to the voters just like I said.
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“A corporation is a group of people joined in a common purpose.”
Well so are labor unions and people within those unions don’t necessarily agree with political stances of the union as a whole. Corporations, as a whole, are NOT people.
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But corporations represent people.
The Sierra Club is a corporation, so is Exxon, why should one be able to voice its political desires but not the other?
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