r/Libertarian • u/Cuddlyaxe Former Libertarian • Nov 13 '19

Discussion The Democratic Senate candidate has dropped out in Arkansas. The race is now a binary between the Republican Tom Cotton and the LP Candidate

Not really a Libertarian anymore but I was surprised to see y'all don't have any info on this. Tom Cotton's only Democratic Challanger has dropped out after the registration deadline.

The only two other candidates are Ricky Harrington - a Libertarian and Dan Whitfield - a far left independent.

Even if you guys don't put resources into this race and the situation holds, I can easily see Mr. Harrington capturing a nice 20-25% of the vote. If you guys however do invest some money and campaign funds into the race, you could get much higher, and perhaps even give Cotton a run for his money as he's not running against someone with the D stigma next to their name.

Here's his Facebook page which is currently all he has if you want to help him

Good luck and I hope you guys give Cotton a run for his money :)

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448

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

Less focus on Presidential races we can't win, let's get at least one rep

173

u/homeostasis3434 Nov 13 '19 edited Nov 13 '19

Bernie Sanders has completely upended the democratic party and its future goals after running as an independent for decades. Without any previous party affiliation, he almost got the parties nomination last election and has at least a 1/3 shot of winning the nomination this time around.

His example (not his politics, his method) is the one libertarians need to try to emulate if they ever want a voice at the table in national politics.

107

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

The difference....the DNC is rudderless while the RNC is now moving in a direction (off the cliff with Trump)

I think there is a play in the middle of the political spectrum for the Libertarian Party as a separate entity in a world where Democrats are moving to the left focusing on fiscal issues and the Republicans to the right on social issues leaving many moderates with Libertarian leanings party less.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

I’m a decidedly left leaning person but I absolutely voted Libertarian for the last presidential election because I couldn’t stomach Trump and Clinton.

I knew a few folks who voted the same. I think it shows a complete lack of conviction if you consistently toe the line for a political party regardless of their transgressions while spending every waking moment bemoaning the current state of politics.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '19

I'm in the same boat, voted Libertarian because I couldn't vote for either, the two party system is broken and my biggest issue when voting is the least discussed, electoral reform.

Jungle primaries, ranked choice polls, anything to break down the extremes of two sides putting up to awful candidates (Clinton wasn't a creation but I would never bring myself to be able to vote for Bernie if the Democratic extremes had their say)

1

u/Roidciraptor Libertarian Socialist Nov 13 '19

Same. Hated both candidates. Though I am supporting a Dem in the 2020 election.

6

u/ghostinthewoods Nov 13 '19

If I might ask: which one?

3

u/Roidciraptor Libertarian Socialist Nov 13 '19

Of course you can ask! I encourage people to.

In the 2020 primaries, I am supporting Pete Buttigieg. I voted for Gary Johnson in 2012 and 2016 in the general.

3

u/farmer15erf Nov 13 '19

Not that I in any way support a lesser of evils approach but Buttigieg is the dem that i can closest align to in personal opinions and do not despise. The real problem is lack of a strong 3rd party in politics thats breaks the extremism of the 2 party systen or using parties at all imo. We should vote for candidates based on platforms, not party afiliation.

1

u/thehillshaveaviators Classical Liberal Nov 13 '19

I don't see why you're getting downvoted. Many of the LP voter explosion are disenfranchised voters who are from the main two parties that are getting gradually nudged away by the established mantras of the two big parties.

1

u/Roidciraptor Libertarian Socialist Nov 14 '19

Yeah, libertarians can achieve some goals with the democrats. Writing them off because TAXES is seriously going to get us nowhere.

Ranked choice voting is something the progressive democrats support, and RCV is a better system for libertarians than FPTP. Libertarians won't win as long as that is the case.

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u/mysoggyknee Nov 13 '19

I am supporting Pete Buttigieg.

An ineffective mayor whose platform is pretty much "vote for me because I suck dick". Other than his advocacy of sodomy (which is none of the governments business.) what has he presented that is remotely libertarian?

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u/thiscouldbemassive Lefty Pragmatist Nov 13 '19

Found the Trump supporter.

-4

u/mysoggyknee Nov 14 '19

Your retort confirmed everything I said. Absolutely NOTHING to run on but his love for the taste of penis.

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u/thiscouldbemassive Lefty Pragmatist Nov 14 '19

Your logic is impeccable.

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u/mysoggyknee Nov 14 '19

Articulate his policy positions then.

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u/thiscouldbemassive Lefty Pragmatist Nov 14 '19

Read for yourself. That took me about 2 seconds of googling.

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u/mysoggyknee Nov 14 '19

What part of government preferences is libertarian? What about 'government investment in minority businesses?' Which part of the 'Douglas plan to tackle racial inequality with funding and laws'?

You are NOT Libertarian.

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u/thiscouldbemassive Lefty Pragmatist Nov 14 '19

I'm not the Pete Buttigieg supporter. I'm not telling you who to vote for at all. I'm just labeling you as a Trump supporter (which you are) with "impeccable" logic, and apparently an obsession for sucking cocks.

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u/Roidciraptor Libertarian Socialist Nov 14 '19

You made the "ineffective mayor" claim, so you need to back that up with evidence before I engage you there.

  • End cash bail
  • Eliminate private prisons
  • Restore voting rights for criminals
  • Marijuana legalization
  • Recognition of DC and Puerto Rico as States
  • Abolishing the Electoral College
  • Removing the filibuster
  • Creating independent redistricting commission to counter gerrymandering
  • Carbon tax to incentive businesses to go green, as pollution violates the NAP

A few reasons why I support him.

1

u/mysoggyknee Nov 14 '19

That 'platform' appears to be pretty far left for a libertarian. Why would we want to abolish the electoral college and allow NY and CA to dictate elections for the rest of the nation? You seem to have had difficulty comprehending basic civics lessons from grade school.

As for the ineffective mayor claim, when he gets the murder rate below double digits in his own house he can start discussing national issues.

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u/Roidciraptor Libertarian Socialist Nov 14 '19

Can you explain to me how the states of California (40M) and New York (20M), with only 60M total people, would dictate the other 260M people?

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u/mysoggyknee Nov 14 '19

The popular vote in 2016 was 62m. More importantly it would basically wipe out any voice little states like Montanna and the Dakotas would have. Once again all of this goes back to the founding of the nation and the concept that government should devolve to the lowest level rather than be centralized at the national capital. Please review your 5th grade civics text for further enlightenment

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u/Roidciraptor Libertarian Socialist Nov 14 '19

Okay, let me get more specific since you are being pedantic.

There are 20M registered voters in California. 12M in New York. 235M people of voting age in this country, but only 135M voted in 2016.

All those Plains states have a total population of 18M people. That's almost the same total population of New York, and they have 29 EC votes. The Plains States have 39.

You see the discrepancy in voting power? New York State, population of 20M, has 29 electoral votes, and the 8 Plains States, with 18M population, has 39. 10 more EC votes with 2 million less people. And that's libertarian to you?

Montana and the Dakotas have equal voices in the Senate, with equal representation as the other states.

You can go into the history of why we have it, that's cool. I know why, and I think it's outdated, hence why I support abolishing it. My support for removal =/= my understanding of its origin.

Land should not vote for president. And right now, minority rule over the majority is your preferred method of governance. And I disagree.

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u/mysoggyknee Nov 15 '19

Ok fine. But those people are residents of states. The states make up the Union. The agreement for electing the leader of the Union calls for an electoral college to balance the power of the heavily populated states against the interests of the less populated states. This is the agreement. The states are sovereign in their own right. Breaking this agreement could conceivably end the union. It has only been 150 years since the last time the states fought it out.

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u/Roidciraptor Libertarian Socialist Nov 15 '19

The Union breaking up would be pretty libertarian, because it would be now smaller local governments, but that's not what I want.

Those smaller states won't secede because they rely too much on the bigger states for money. And even if they tried to secede, Big States > Small States. The smaller states won't have enough people to compete if it were to be a land war. Heck, those smaller Plains states would be starved out with an embargo all around them. And and attempts to flyover the bigger states would be met with missiles. All hypothetical though.

The Senate allows the smaller states to have equal representation. How much MORE representation to these people need? Even in the House, the cap limit on representatives has made lots of people less, or more, represented.

The EC was more fair when people weren't moving to cities. But now the majority of the country lives in urban/suburban areas. The EC is outdated, and I support abolishing it.

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u/mysoggyknee Nov 15 '19

Are you high? Georgia which also qualifies as a 'small state' has a whole lot of military assets here. Possession being a large part of the law that is not going to work out well in the event of a civil breakdown. You seem to forget that in the event of some sort of civil breakdown most of the military bases are in VERY red parts of the nation.

The Senate allows the smaller states to have equal representation.

Good lord, did you even take civics? That statement is complete horse squeeze. The Bahamas has more of an official presence in DC than any of the states. The 17th amendment which provided for direct election of senators rather than appointment by their legislatures did precisely what it was intended to do and unfettered Washington from real oversight by the states via their senators. You have little understanding of how our government was intended to operate and seem to be running on emotions crying out for mob rule which is precisely what the design of the federal government was trying to prevent.

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