Libertarian Thread

[Enduro]

Any predictions?

[Enduro]

I'm beginning to lean toward John McAfee myself.

[Enduro]

My opinion of the debate:

Gary Johnson wasn't very presidential, he allowed the other two candidates to take center stage. Almost none of his answers were memorable, except his flops. I no longer want him to be the party's nominee, and I hope that the delegates realize that his best moment (a third party needs to get in the debate to win) is very true, and he'll do terrible on that stage. If he's the nominee, I'll still vote for him.

John McAfee really surprised me at how good he is at speaking, he gave me new things to think about when it comes to issues I've been thinking about for years. His bit about isolationism stood out, and he expertly deflected the question about his past. I might be a McAfee supporter after this.

Austin Peterson was impressive, and had some of the best sound bites. The highlight of the debate, to me, was when he talked about government being charitable. Peterson could definately beat Trump, and Clinton, and that's what we want from our nominee.

[Enduro]

sparkey, there appears to be serious, noticeable negative momentum for Johnson as of late, but is it enough to prevent him from getting a majority of delegates in your view? Can one of the other candidates (most likely McAfee) be able to create a large enough coalition to usurp Johnson?

After this debate, I'd say John McAfee has a better chance than ever to beat him. Johnson's campaign is probably at it's weakest point.

[Enduro]

Former Virginia gubernatorial candidate Robert Sarvis endorses Gary Johnson. He got 145,000 votes, but he is probably the least libertarian member of the party, does this help or hurt him?

[Enduro]

*blows dust off forum account*

Glad some of you now can see what an intelligent man John McAfee is.  Also, no one is stronger and privacy or understands cyber-security better than him. 

But wouldn't you like to see him drill Trump into the ground in a debate? I sure the heck would. 

Yes, I would like to see that, if I could choose one thing to happen this election season. It would be for him to win, but schooling Trump in a debate is a close second.

[Enduro]

Are they seriously considering anyone other than Johnson?

Yeah, John McAfee and Austin Peterson are becoming serious contenders.

[Enduro]

So under what circumstances would the Libertarian nominee be granted a podium in a general-election debate? I heard that mentioned several times in the debate.

The current rule is 15% in national polls. 

Yeah basically, but there is also the fact that the debate commission is controlled by the republicans and democrats. That might pose a problem.

[Enduro]

A Libertarian Future poll:

Gary Johnson 51%
Austin Peterson 34%
John McAfee 10%

[Enduro]

The last poll I posted was actually from a few weeks ago; A Libertarian Future is actually conducting it's first poll after the debate now.

[Enduro]

Libertarian Party Poll - Who won the debate?

Petersen - 45%
Johnson - 23%
McAfee - 19%
Other - 13%

Three way:

Petersen - 51.5%
Johnson - 26.5%
McAfee - 22.0%

I tend to agree. I was disappointing with this debate, even though its just for Stossel's show. All the candidates seemed to have dramatic up and down moments of the debate, Johnson especially is just awkward in his speaking and seems like he never rehearsed or cared. Petersen is the Marco Rubio of the libertarian party presentation wise, and the most libertarian-lite of them all ideologically. He's the candidate that probably doesn't have the best policies but the one that is the most polished who seems very pragmatic and reasonable. McAfee is somewhat weird with his questioning of Stossel, definitely the one that could be casted as 'out there' or whatever, but very polished on some answers with good confidence. I would vote for all three of these guys so I don't mind who gets nominated, what I really want though is for the libertarian party to become much more high-profile than it has been. Its really sad seeing good alternatives being shut out by the corporate media. Its quite sad that this qualifies as an official 'forum' for a political party, and that previous debates that look like they were filmed in a potato and get 88 views on Youtube. Things really need to change...

Well said.

[Enduro]

Alright, I'm going to add a poll to this.

[Enduro]

Why is Vermin Supreme a Libertarian? We already have enough to deal with having Darryl Perry in serious contention for the nomination.

[Enduro]

An interesting development in the race is the growing McAfee/Petersen friendship, and their coordinated attacks against Johnson. On McAfee's Facebook, he calls Johnson the "past" of the party and claims that "Gary must know that he cannot win," while at the same time calling Petersen the "future" of the party. Petersen, meanwhile, is posting attacks against Johnson ("Gary Johnson is immature") while writing out a detailed defense of McAfee regarding his Belize adventures: "I feel the need to defend my friend here. He was only accused, and everyone is innocent until proven guilty. He was accused by a corrupt government who was trying to extort him. I have quickly grown to like him, and even trust him a little."

An endorsement pact between Petersen and McAfee, whereby they promise to endorse one another should one drop out before the other during balloting at the LNC, could significantly increase both of their chances.

This news is the first thing I've seen that could put Johnson's campaign at risk of losing the nomination. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[Enduro]

Libertarian should be rooting for Donald Trump to secure the nomination, here's why.

1. Ted Cruz can't be trusted, even if he promises the libertarian platform in the Oval Office, he lies.
2. Donald Trump's independant run would ruin all the momentum we've been building.
3. All of our momentum going forward depends on Trump alienating republican voters, one could argue that Cruz would alienate Trump voters, but do we want them, and Trump's independant run would get those voters.

Also, I know that our momentum depends on Clinton alienating Sanders voters as well, but it won't give us the voters, money, and momentum that a third of the Republican Party could.

[Enduro]

Johnson really struggled this time.

[Enduro]

I'm no Libertarian, but god Johnson is awful. Does he still have a lock on the nomination, or can McAfee usurp him? I honestly think he would do far better.

Johnson keeps acting like he has some sort of big career ahead of him, and he has to be tepid and unsure of core Libertarian positions (like prostitution, drug legalization, etc.).

Johnson will likely be the nominee, but it's becoming more and more unsure.

[Enduro]

What are the candidates convention strategies?

[Enduro]

Darryl W. Perry Has Been Cheating And Buying Votes For Online Polls

http://alibertarianfuture.com/2016-libertarian-party-nomination/darryl-w-perry-cheating-buying-votes-online-polls/#sthash.7ZVnTMoF.dpbs

Woo! Now that he's discredited his campaign, I don' have to worry about him pulling an upset at the convention.