Libertarian Candidate John McAfee

[asmo]

My mistake...I thought from the parts I heard McAfee was THE candidate...not A candidate. I guess the L party selects their candidate next week.

Correct, and the candidate will be Gary Johnson. The other two John McAfee and Austin Peterson are just also-rans.

Having two ex-govenors on ticket is pretty damn enticing. While I make no illusions about the Libertarians actually winning, it does send a very strong message in the absolute worst case.

In the best case, enough people voting Libertarian prevents any party from getting the majority - in which case the House of Representatives gets to pick the President.

[Zundfolge]

Correct, and the candidate will be Gary Johnson. The other two John McAfee and Austin Peterson are just also-rans.

This is why I don't believe that Libertarians (large L ... as in the party) ever really want to win anything. They're going to choose Gary Johnson as their candidate but Austin Peterson is the actual serious one of the bunch. I don't think even LP types take McAfee seriously.

If they'd pick Peterson I'd actually believe that they intended to build a party that would someday win instead of just being a bunch of "political hipsters". They like to vote for "a candidate you've never heard of" and getting mainstream success would cause many of them to leave the party because its not cool and elite anymore.

Oh well, I've long held that one of the biggest impediments to the implementation of libertarian ideals is the Libertarian Party.

[asmo]

This is why I don't believe that Libertarians (large L ... as in the party) ever really want to win anything. They're going to choose Gary Johnson as their candidate but Austin Peterson is the actual serious one of the bunch. I don't think even LP types take McAfee seriously.

My problem with Austin, whom a good friend of mine is very good friends with, is that he has zero executive leadership experience (his media consulting firm is rather small, consisting of himself solely) - and doesn't have damn near any concept of leading a large public services organization (let alone the entire executive branch). He is an idealist, a good speaker, and makes good twitter/facebook posts, but that does not a presidential candidate make.

[Aloha_Shooter]

My problem with Austin, whom a good friend of mine is very good friends with, is that he has zero executive leadership experience (his media consulting firm is rather small, consisting of himself solely) - and doesn't have damn near any concept of leading a large public services organization (let alone the entire executive branch). He is an idealist, a good speaker, and makes good twitter/facebook posts, but that does not a presidential candidate make.

Presidents who have also had zero executive leadership experience prior to assuming office include:

• Abraham Lincoln
• John F. Kennedy
• Lyndon B. Johnson
• Barack H. Obama

Presidents who had executive leadership experience prior to assuming office include:

• Ulysses S. Grant
• Theodore Roosevelt
• Ronald Reagan
• Jimmy Carter

Executive leadership experience is just one factor in the whole person and frankly I consider less important than basic honesty, Constitutional philosophy, and appreciation for our common American heritage and traditions.

[Aloha_Shooter]

In the best case, enough people voting Libertarian prevents any party from getting the majority - in which case the House of Representatives gets to pick the President.

That is only if they get enough ELECTORAL votes. That means people not only voting Libertarian but winning states. The much more likely outcome is enough people voting Libertarian ensure Hillary wins.

[asmo]

Only if Bernie runs as an independent. It's a safe bet that moon bats are not going to defect towards a... gasp...libertarian. You might as well try to convince them to vote for pedo-bear. Hillary could win in that circumstance even with only 40-35% of the popular vote - would be quite easy.

Actually, quite a bit of polling is showing that ~10% of Democrats *say* they would vote for a Libertarian vs. Hillary. But that aside, Trump isn't going to win a popular election. Hillary is going to be the next President anyway* - so might as well vote your conscience.

* <tinfoilHat=on>The political machine won't let someone they don't control actually win.