Gary Johnson secures nomination

Occupant said:
Yep he would be the most ineffective president since Carter.
Neither side would support him.

Would be interesting to watch though.
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A truly effective party would have to take a majority in congress before hoping to win the presidency. That's incredibly difficult. There have been third party governor's who've won in a freak accident before. They had no legislative support, and were soon sidelined and became incredibly unpopular because of their inability to do anything. The tempting target of the presidency in our system does third parties a great deal of harm.
 
I sometimes find it hard to believe that the Green and Libertarian parties will run some of the idiots that they have put up. Sometimes, such as with Barr, they just pick a guy with name recognition, and run them, even though the candidate holds views contrary to their very existence.
 
Of course, third parties have problems winning legislative seats as well, because unless they're able to negotiate for a position in the Democratic or Republican caucuses (after which, let's be honest, they are Democrats or Republicans anyway), they do not get committee assignments, and are soon sidelined and thrown out due to their ineffectiveness. They would really have to win a majority, or at least enough to deny any one party a majority, all in one stroke. That would take at least getting 30 percent of the vote in a house of representatives election; any less than that and, due to the nature of our system, gains rapidly fall away. A new party that isn't established in any specific region that gains, for instance, 20 percent of the vote nationwide, would likely win no seats at all. Parties like the Liberal Democrats are only able to survive specifically because they heavily target certain seats, and have a few traditional bases of support.
 
Watermark said:
I sometimes find it hard to believe that the Green and Libertarian parties will run some of the idiots that they have put up. Sometimes, such as with Barr, they just pick a guy with name recognition, and run them, even though the candidate holds views contrary to their very existence.
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Barr didn't even improve on Badnarik's figures. It was just a disaster all around.
 
Voltaire said:
Of course, third parties have problems winning legislative seats as well, because unless they're able to negotiate for a position in the Democratic or Republican caucuses (after which, let's be honest, they are Democrats or Republicans anyway), they do not get committee assignments, and are soon sidelined and thrown out due to their ineffectiveness. They would really have to win a majority, or at least enough to deny any one party a majority, all in one stroke. That would take at least getting 30 percent of the vote in a house of representatives election; any less than that and, due to the nature of our system, gains rapidly fall away. A new party that isn't established in any specific region that gains, for instance, 20 percent of the vote nationwide, would likely win no seats at all. Parties like the Liberal Democrats are only able to survive specifically because they heavily target certain seats, and have a few traditional bases of support.
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Another reason why I support proportional elections.
 
Voltaire said:
God, Bob Barr. That was just sad.
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Interesting. Bob Barr, like Allen West, denied ( vehemently) any connection to their African-American roots....(Barr, essentially, "passed") and Allen West wishes he had never been born black. Sadder than you thought.
 
Capt Billy the Kid said:
well, you're dumb, because if a libertarian was elected it would imply there is a massive shift in how society views public policy.
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Incorrect. It would indicate that people did not like either of the other 2 candidates at all.
But not a policy shift.

You think most people actually vote based on the candidates policies?
 
Occupant said:
Incorrect. It would indicate that people did not like either of the other 2 candidates at all.
But not a policy shift.

You think most people actually vote based on the candidates policies?
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Of course they don't...they vote along party lines.
 
LOL, here's a good pick for Johnson's VP slot - fellow New Mexican Michael Wiener.

o-MICHAEL-WIENER-570.jpg
 
Grind said:
Well, obviously. But a Libertarian win in the White House would certainly fuck up Congress good. Shake things up.
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I don't think it would change anything at this point. Compromise is a dirty word. Congress would work against him because he isn't one of either of them. You will have to get a few more third party Congress persons.
 
Threedee said:
Both the left and right generally vote along party lines, unfortunately.
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Not I. It is why I don't have a party. I registered Libartarian one year because they were going to lose their place on Alaska ballots and I thought that to be bs. I later changed it to undeclared to vote in a Republican primary for my friend, Bill Walker.
 
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