US Presidential Contenders

[Buster's Uncle]

As I have been saying -as far back as the end of the last presidential cycle, actually- the party is deeply MPD; it's about time the small-gov wing figured out what you did 40 years ago.  I bet it doesn't take a lot of smart influential players like her doing same to start a stampede...

I always thought she was one of those righties with a lot of sense, worth listening too...

[Rusty Edge]

My favorite bit today was the a post my wife read to me from one of her groups. IIRC-

I'm a Bernie supporter, but I could be persuaded to vote for Hillary, because I'm a single issue voter. I don't want anyone to break the seventh seal on the scroll and unleash the Apocalypse.

[Buster's Uncle]

[Buster's Uncle]

Mary Matalin, Republican Strategist and Pundit, Changes Political Parties
The New York Times
By CHRISTOPHER MELE  MAY 5, 2016



Mary Matalin, a high-profile political pundit and veteran strategist for the Republican Party, changed her party registration to Libertarian from Republican, she said on Thursday.

But in an interview with Bloomberg Politics, which reported on the switch, she emphasized that her decision was not connected to Donald J. T rump’s being the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

She described herself as a voter as a “provisional T rump” and a “never Hillary,” referring to the leading Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton.

Pressed on Thursday about why she switched political parties, Ms. Matalin told Bloomberg Politics that she was a Republican in the “Jeffersonian, Madisonian sense.”

“I’m not a Republican for a party or a person,” she continued. “The Libertarian Party represents those constitutional principles that I agree with.”



Mary Matalin

 
Of Mr. T rump, Ms. Matalin said she liked his attitude and what she knew of his economic policies, adding: “I just don’t know enough. I think not only could he win, I think he could win in a landslide if he would stop his high school boy antics with women; otherwise he’s going to force suburban women to Hillary.”

She said conservatives were angry after two successive presidential elections in which they lost and with what appeared to be no response from Washington as the party was “falling apart.”

Ms. Matalin is probably best known for her appearances on television as a staunch defender of Republican policies. For more than a decade, she appeared on CNN with her husband, James Carville, a Democratic strategist.

The husband-and-wife team were two of the network’s best-known contributors. For years they were co-hosts of “Crossfire.” After it was canceled, they were regulars on “The Situation Room” and election night specials. They announced in early 2013 that they were parting ways with CNN.

Ms. Matalin was President George Bush’s campaign director and was assistant to President George W. Bush. She was also assistant and counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney, according to her website.

She worked at the Republican National Committee in 1984 as national voter contact director for the Reagan-Bush campaign and later as chief of staff to the chairman of the committee.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/06/us/mary-matalin-republican-strategist-and-pundit-changes-political-parties.html?_r=0


Reading between the lines, this sounds more like a long-term business decision than something sincere -she's a Reagan-Cheney republican, the ones who started the problem, not a libertarian- like someone had read the tea-leaves the same way I have, she herself or some actual Libertarian she respects persuaded her of the opportunity.

Prediction:  Rand Paul, if his dad doesn't come out of retirement, is obviously going to be sniffing around running for next time within two years, as an actual Libertarian, and eventually, Matalin will turn out to be his campaign manager.  Look for better-than-half-hearted efforts to appeal to left-libertarians; it's the only way to start out trying to be a real party that's competitive.

(Also if all this exodus-and-turn-it-into-a-real-party stuff comes off, the upper-level Libertarians-all-along are going to be SO vociferously miserable when they're pushed out in their own party as the flock of inept losers they, alas, are - and any policies to appeal to liberals that actually work at doing it and take root do so.)


Point the second - ZOMG, her hair!  Why? Why!?!?  Stinks of aging desperately, much like the stench of dorky failed masculinity on the Libertarian leadership she'll personally take part in getting rid of.

[Rusty Edge]

Yeah, her hair, alas!
Still better than hubbie's.

and it does sound like a business decision.
------------------
http://www.sltrib.com/home/3860581-155/libertarian-candidate-says-disaffected-voters-offer?page=1

Libertarian candidate says disaffected voters offer opening for third party

By ROBERT GEHRKE |  The Salt Lake Tribune   

First Published May 05 2016 05:42PM    •    Last Updated May 05 2016 10:39 pm




After Ted Cruz dropped out of the Republican race for the White House, there was a sudden spike in online searches for the term "Libertarian Party."

It's something Gary Johnson, the party's 2012 nominee and a candidate again this year, said he has seen over and over on the ground, as Republicans cringing at the prospects of a Donald [Sleezebag] candidacy or Sen. Bernie Sanders loyalists disenchanted with Hillary Clinton approach him looking for any other option.

"That's all I encounter," Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, said by phone from a campaign stop in Ohio. He maintains his campaign headquarters in Salt Lake City.
   
The distaste for both of the presumptive major-party nominees, combined with the fact that the Libertarian Party will be on the ballot in each state this year — it missed out on Michigan and Oklahoma four years ago — could make 2016 a breakthrough year for the party, he said.

"I predicted that [Sleezebag] was going to be the nominee for a long time. I just felt like that was going to happen, and, of course, it did happen yesterday," Johnson said. "Too bad for America, but if you were the only third-party candidate on the ballot in all 50 states, it would probably bode pretty well."

Johnson said [Sleezebag] is pitching himself as a successful businessman who will bring that experience to government, which Johnson said is similar to his message when he ran for governor of New Mexico in 1994.

"But when you start going down the litany of [[Sleezebag]'s issues], 'I'm going to deport 11 million immigrants, I'm going to build a wall along the border, I'm going to keep Muslims from coming into the country, I'm going to kill the families of militants,' " Johnson said, "There's nothing about what he's saying that is small government. There's no consistency, and it's just plain crazy."

Former state Rep. Holly Richardson is one of those steadfast Utah Republicans who is shopping for a new Election Day option.

On Thursday, during The Salt Lake Tribune's online interview program Trib Talk, she accused [Sleezebag] of "fascism," called him a "misogynist" and said his rhetoric and policies are "horrid." She's not a big fan of Clinton, either.

"I'm one of the ones who can't vote for either one at this point, so I'm looking for a third option," Richardson said, though she did not mention the Libertarian Party.

"There are a lot of Republicans who are reconsidering membership in a party that no longer represents them," she said. "I also agree that it could be ripe for a reset with the political parties in the nation."

Juan Manuel Ruiz, of Utah's Latin American Chamber of Commerce, also is a Republican who's disenchanted with [Sleezebag].

"It's probably right now we're going to see [the emergence of a third party], if it ever happens," Ruiz said on Trib Talk. "Unfortunately, I can't really vote for either one of the two" major parties' prospective nominees.

Johnson touts himself as a small-government fiscal conservative, who cut taxes and vetoed more than 750 bills during his two terms as New Mexico governor.

But it's not just conservative voters he is courting. He said of all the non-Libertarian candidates in the field, he lines up most closely with Sanders on the issues.

"Obviously, Bernie and I go separate ways when it comes to bigger government versus smaller government, free market [versus] socialism," Johnson said. "But I think there is a real crossover with Bernie supporters, and I'm talking now about marriage equality, let's not drop bombs, crony capitalism is alive and well, and let's legalize marijuana."

Until recently, Johnson was CEO of Cannabis Sativa Inc., a Nevada company that sought to market medical marijuana products. He made waves in 1999, when, as governor, he was one of the first politicians to endorse legalizing marijuana.

Now, he says, "to have 60 percent of Americans support it, I don't know about you, but the writing's on the wall. It's going to happen."

"I really think California is going to vote to legalize it at the ballot box in November, and I think overnight you'll have 20 state legislatures that will just pass the legislation," Johnson said.

Johnson is one of 17 candidates seeking the Libertarian nomination, but he is considered to be the front-runner, with computer security guru John McAfee his closest challenger. Johnson finished third in the presidential race in 2012. But, receiving just 1.27 million votes, he was more than 59 million votes behind second-place finisher Mitt Romney.

Fundraising will be a challenge for any Libertarian candidate, and Johnson raised about $279,000 as of the most recent disclosure report, filed last month.
   
 But the biggest challenge facing the Libertarians, Johnson argues, is that the party's nominee, thus far, has been excluded from the presidential debates. The rules for the debate require a candidate to get at least 15 percent in a national poll to qualify to be on the stage, but the national polls have not included Johnson's name as a choice.

So Johnson's campaign is suing the Commission on Presidential Debates, alleging collusion with the Democratic and Republican parties to rig the rules and exclude the third party.

Johnson said he believes the public wants other choices. [Sleezebag] represents 30 percent of the Republicans "who believe the scourge of the earth is Mexican immigration," he said, and Clinton is backed by 30 percent on the far left, leaving a wide swath in the middle that isn't represented.

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Normally, I'm not much for law suits, but if the media can give $1.5 billion in free publicity to [Sleezebag], they can spare a little for the Libertarians who are on the ballot in every state, The Constitutionalist who have a larger voter registration, and the Greens who have a significant global presence.

What's the harm in having them do a kid's table debate before the Hillary-Donald?  I bet it would draw viewers this year.

[Buster's Uncle]

Who are the stars already in place, besides Johnson, in the Libertarian party in the last decade or so?

[Rusty Edge]

Ron Paul.

Anybody else, I'll need to look up, because I can't recall. Even the ones I may have voted for.


"1980 Congressman John B. Anderson received 5,719,850 votes, for 6.6% of the vote, as an independent candidate for President. Libertarian Party candidate Ed Clark won 921,128 votes, or 1.1% of the total. No other Libertarian candidate has ever gotten more than 0.5% in a presidential election until Gary Johnson won 1% in 2012."

I seem to remember voting for Clark. 

Probably in 84'. In 80 I voted against Carter. I thought the inflation and interest rates were intolerable. In 84 I was upset with Reagan for turning a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon into a foreign adventure, by spying and using the battleship  ( I think NJ ) to support his favorite faction. Which led to the barracks bombing and the deaths of hundreds of US Marines. Also for breaking his "balanced budget by 1983, '84 at the latest" promise. Mondale was too liberal for my taste.

[Buster's Uncle]

See, that right there's the problem -leaving aside the nasty aspersions on anyone's manhood- an actual Libertarian can't name five party leaders off the top of his head.  Phail Phail Phail on the part of those non-leaders.  (I do believe that about many being actual wimps, compensating trying to compensate and failing.  It's based on the ones I've known IRL.)

-And there's no reason for the small-government, minimal law, party to have to be that way, (aside from the fundamental issues of governance in an anarchists' club)...

[Rusty Edge]

It is rather disappointing.

It's more of a philosophy than a party. There was the free state project, but I don't think it's done more than generate state legislators. Might have moved if I were still single, but family-

Back to the grill.

[Buster's Uncle]

Let us know how it turned out.

-The grilling, not the Libertarians; hopefully, that will be in the news.   (I'm actually rooting for them, not being entirely unsympathetic at all to the ideology...)

[Rusty Edge]

I tried to post earlier, but my laptop overheated.

I got a Kingsford grill & tools at a liquidator, to leave here at my parent's house.. It's a little different than I'm used to, but I getting to like the warming rack. I was able to use that to get a smoke flavor into the Portobello. Also, the hot dogs were done about 5 minutes before everything else, and I was able to swap them with the pineapple spears on the warming rack.
3 of the guests were late arrivals. But I figured they would be slightly, because they always are.

Shortcomings- not knowing everybody's preferred doneness, I cooked the burgers in a spectrum ( that worked well ) because of concerns over that and my brother-in-law who has cardio vascular issues and salt restrictions, I was reluctant to bury them in melted cheese. SO- I forgot to put cheese on my Cheesehead wife's burger. All of them, for that matter. Major mistake, because all burgers have American cheese; it goes without saying. So everybody chose cheese at the table.

 I got a lot of razzing on that one, but otherwise everybody seemed happy. So it was a success.

Maybe I can grill once again before we start home. I was actually planning to do a lemon-garlic pork loin, buy Mom was hungry for hot dogs, so it turned into this.  My Mom thinks of me as a baker rather than a cook, but things have changed since I've been married and she doesn't get to
eat much of my cooking. The other advantage to grilling is that it doesn't mess up her kitchen or cost as much as dining out.

We'll see how things go tomorrow. Lunch is booked nearby. I'll ask what she wants for dinner, and go from there.

[Rusty Edge]

I've been digging into candidates for the third parties I've mentioned.

Frankly, the Constitution Party candidates all sound like Ted Cruz, with the exception that they collectively  have no government experience -beyond a military service record in one case. I'd categorize them as Theocons.

So far I haven't found a Libertarian presidential candidate with qualifying gov. experience, beyond Johnson.

The Greens have 5 candidates, and all of them seem as delusional and well-intentioned  as Bernie. Dr. Jill Stein has a little local government experience, and a lot of experience as a candidate. Frankly, the Bernie people are a way better fit with her than Hillary.

One wanted a balanced budget, but pretty much all of them are socialists who seem to think that everyone has a right to employment @ $15/hr with healthcare and the right to strike.

I need to go to bed.

[Rusty Edge]

More comments on my recent organized third party research.

Just to be clear, the Libertarians have more than their share of screwballs, For example, John McAfee ( yes, that McAfee) who is also running for president. His candidacy is controversial, considering we was arrested in Tennessee for driving drunk and armed. He is also wanted in Belize, in connection with the death of his neighbor, although he says it has to do with a feud between him and that gov.
To be fair to him, I think he's the kind of guy that would start a feud with a government.
Smart as he is, I don't think he really has the disposition for the presidency.

I also came across an article from The Nation by a Chicago labor lawyer about how to destroy the Republican Party. Now seeing as how from when I was a GOP insider, plenty of members would have liked to destroy unions, so that seems fair. TANGENT- I might add that at that place and time we were not at all about suppressing the opposition vote. You can call it conceit, or call it idealism, but we believed that we entrepreneurial Republicans could outwork our counterparts when it came to turning out our membership on election day. We also believed that the problem was preponderance of New Deal Democrats who tended to vote straight tickets. We believed that that ideology was outdated, so to that end our number one priority was registration, because new voters would likely politely hear us out. We thought the smart ones would support most of our candidates. We registered lots of Democrats in the process, but it was a numbers game. We gradually got more competitive. /TANGENT

As I said, I can understand labor people seeking to destroy the GOP. What I found disgusting about it were his suggestions of openly circumventing the Constitution. It seems he believed in the principals of majority, but not of checks and balances. Kind of a sad day when Democrats are scheming to trample minority rights.

Certainly the GOP forgot the Constitution when they ratified and renewed the Patriot Act, but I can't recall them trying to deliberately circumvent it. Instead, they call for Balanced Budget and Right to Life amendments, and judges who strictly follow the Constitution, not that the GOP isn't infested with rat-bastards and deserves to die, but there still seems to be a distinction to me.

The cool thing about the Libertarian website were the words-

"Libertarians believe that all rights of all people matter all of the time"

Mother's Day interrupts...

[Buster's Uncle]

What all exactly did you do as a GOP insider?  I can imagine you humbly knocking on doors and harassing people at a legal distance outside polling places, but as smart as you are, I could also imagine you as the top guy for the county or at least reporting directly to him.  You're kinda too well-informed, I think, to have done only the knucklehead stuff...

[Rusty Edge]

What all exactly did you do as a GOP insider?  I can imagine you humbly knocking on doors and harassing people at a legal distance outside polling places, but as smart as you are, I could also imagine you as the top guy for the county or at least reporting directly to him.  You're kinda too well-informed, I think, to have done only the knucklehead stuff...

Uh, mostly knucklehead stuff on account of being a full time farmer and available hours being seasonal and my busy work times being when the elections were held. A lot of putting up and taking down signs, manning the booth at the county fair. Poll watching, which means you basically take attendance in the polling place, check 'em off your list, and call the missing Republicans about 5 o'clock. Recruiting candidates for local government offices, helping with petitions, all of that stuff [Sleezebag] didn't think mattered. Of course there were fundraisers and receptions, too.

 I became friends with the chairman of the county commissioners and later congressional candidate. I was walking out of the country club mother's day buffet today ( no we weren't members, but it's a beautiful facility that caters to outside groups to pay the bills), ... and had a flashback. I once stood on the same spot with Governor Thornburgh ( later Attorney General of the USA ) and Joe Paterno (PSU Football Coach ). For that matter I met Congressman, later governor and director of homeland security Tom Ridge there too.

So it was pretty stimulating. Looking back I wish I would have made the effort to meet the Real George Bush, but I was excited about John Connally at the time.