By Tim Baldwin
The 2016 election season is unique to American history. After the shakedown, Americans are stuck with a Republican and Democratic candidate that have masses of would-be loyalists not willing to vote for either one. Enter Libertarian Gary Johnson: the only other candidate who will be on every ballot across the nation.
Politico opines that Johnson could realistically win. This is the most unpredictable election in decades because as undesirable as Trump and Clinton are, it is plausible that neither Trump nor Clinton will get the 270 electoral votes to win. The vote for president would then go to the House of Representatives. If Johnson is allowed to enter the debates, who knows what could happen.
Johnson appeals to as many liberals as he does conservatives. Truth be told, Libertarian views appeal to many Americans (especially younger generations). But most Americans have felt pigeon-holed in voting either “R” or “D” for so long. More voters than ever before will exit that paradigm this November.
For Americans who are voting for Trump or voted for Sanders primarily as a protest against established or systemic corruption, they will be faced with the question of whether a bigger protest would be voting for Johnson as a clear sign of rejecting the two party stronghold and wanting a party that is neither Democrat nor Republican.
By Joe Carbonari
For most, voting for Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate for president, is a cop out. Don’t kid yourself or try to kid me. Voting for Donald Trump because he will stir things up is even worse. Trump is much too risky, as is Johnson and the Libertarian platform. Do you really support weakening our national defense? Doing away with Social Security? Abandoning the war on drugs … and, no, I don’t mean just recreational marijuana. I mean the world could go up in smoke, literally.
The trouble with libertarianism is that, like pure socialism, it does not comport with human nature. Given the choice, we often opt for our own self-interest over the common good. The lazy, hazy days of summer are best kept as a vacation – not a way of life.
Yes, I know that Gary Johnson had success as New Mexico’s governor, as did William Weld, his running mate, when he served as a Republican governor in traditionally Democratic Massachusetts. More power to them, but not the power to control the levers of the most powerful country on the globe and the defender of the free world.
In 2000, just a few votes in Florida for Ralph Nader were enough to give George W. Bush the presidency. A few votes can matter. The upside of “sending a message,” by voting for a third party candidate, is a chimera. It disappears like a puff of smoke. It is not a lasting effort. It is a foolish risk. Think it through.