CNN to host town hall with Gary Johnson on June 22nd at 9 PM Eastern

[RJ Liberty]

By Alex Weprin
06/15/16 02:19 PM EDT
CNN will host a primetime town hall with Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson and vice presidential candidate William Weld, the cable news channel announced Wednesday.
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo will moderate the town hall, which will air Wednesday, June 22 at 9 p.m. It will be held at CNN's headquarters in New York's Time Warner Center, with Johnson and Weld being asked questions by voters.
CNN has held 10 town halls so far this election cycle, with most of the Republican and Democratic candidates. Libertarian candidates have generally not had the same media exposure that their Republican and Democratic counterparts have. Fox Business Network held a two part Libertarian party debate back in April, but primetime on CNN is a more high-profile venue for the party.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-me...h-libertarian-candidates-224387#ixzz4BhQ5xar4

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[69360]

That's a big deal for Johnson and the LP. I don't think the networks have devoted prime time to any third party since Perot.

 

[RJ Liberty]

That's a big deal for Johnson and the LP. I don't think the networks have devoted prime time to any third party since Perot.

Yep. And not even '96 Perot; it would have been '92 Perot.

 

[NewRightLibertarian]

Guess this is the type of stuff the LPers sold their souls for.

 

[Champ]

This is actually a pretty big deal. Not that I love Johnson, and definitely not Weld, nor them representing the LP, but the msm giving primetime coverage will legitimize some of the basic ideas regarding libertarianism. Imagine if Ron Paul had received this treatment in 1988 during his run.

It's not real, unless it's on TV.

 

[RJ Liberty]

This is actually a pretty big deal. Not that I love Johnson, and definitely not Weld, nor them representing the LP,

Weld represented the LP as early as 2006, when he ran for governor of New York, endorsed by the LP.

but the msm giving primetime coverage will legitimize some of the basic ideas regarding libertarianism. Imagine if Ron Paul had received this treatment in 1988 during his run.
It's not real, unless it's on TV.

Yes. These CNN town halls have attracted up to 4 million viewers. Imagine a few million Americans being exposed to libertarian ideas like opposition to the so-called PATRIOT Act, attempting diplomacy with Iran, ending occupation in Iraq, opposition to eminent domain, etc, for a full hour.

 

[CaptUSA]

That's a big deal for Johnson and the LP. I don't think the networks have devoted prime time to any third party since Perot.

Well, it worked to get one Clinton elected...

This is good news, but let's not forget that the network is still putting on a play. Does anyone really think they'd be doing this if the internal polling of the DNCNN showed it could hurt Clinton?

My hope is that Johnson loses his quirky twitchiness for one night and just offers reasonable solutions. Paint the whole Clinton/Trump thing as batshit craziness and maybe come across as reasonable. I don't know that Gary has it in him, but at least we'll get a chance to see.

 

[RJ Liberty]

This is good news, but let's not forget that the network is still putting on a play. Does anyone really think they'd be doing this if the internal polling of the DNCNN showed it could hurt Clinton?

Polling seems to indicate that Johnson takes about equally from both sides, and conservatives aren't CNN's base viewership.

My hope is that Johnson loses his quirky twitchiness for one night and just offers reasonable solutions. Paint the whole Clinton/Trump thing as bat$#@! craziness and maybe come across as reasonable. I don't know that Gary has it in him, but at least we'll get a chance to see.

I think Gary's less twitchy than Ron Paul. He'll at least be able to (correctly) portray Trump/Clinton's positions as crazy, though I don't trust CNN not to attempt to portray Gary and Weld as crazy, maybe add some "gotcha" questions. I hope we all remember CNN's Dana Bash's "interview" with Ron in 2012.

Still, a full hour of prime time television dedicated to liberty topics, on a major cable channel...

 

[Krugminator2]

Weld represented the LP as early as 2006, when he ran for governor of New York, endorsed by the LP.

Yes. These CNN town halls have attracted up to 4 million viewers. Imagine a few million Americans being exposed to libertarian ideas like opposition to the so-called PATRIOT Act, attempting diplomacy with Iran, ending occupation in Iraq, opposition to eminent domain, etc, for a full hour.

I read that as serious and not sarcasm but it could be sarcasm given your curious choice of examples. So I am not totally sure.

Weld supports the Patriot Act. Weld was actually a spokesman for Bush in promoting the Iraq war. And Weld strongly supports eminent domain on the same level as Trump. He pushed eminent domain to build a sports stadium along with low income public housing.

 

[r3volution 3.0]

Big opportunity here...

I hope Gary and Bill realize that CNN is going to try to do a hatchet job, though.

...better be abnormally well prepared.

 

[RCRanger03]

Does anyone know if they're accepting questions via email/twitter/youtube etc?

 

[axiomata]

Guess this is the type of stuff the LPers sold their souls for.

If you're going to sell your soul, you sure as hell better get something for it.

 

[RJ Liberty]

I read that as serious and not sarcasm but it could be sarcasm given your curious choice of examples. So I am not totally sure.

Weld supports the Patriot Act.

Gary never supported it. And while he supported the PA in the past, this is not the position Bill Weld holds now. From his Facebook account:

Dear Friends,

I would like to make some clarification regarding the Patriot Act.

I hope that I have made it very clear that I loathe the type of warrantless searches and amassing of information regarding innocent civilians that have occurred under the Patriot Act and other post 9-11 statutes. My views on the current use of the Patriot Act by federal agencies:

“It is important that the implementation of the Patriot Act hew closely to its original intent and scope—something that has unfortunately not always happened over the past ten years. Even Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, one of the authors of the Patriot Act and the Chairman of the House Judiciary when it was enacted, has in recent years worked to roll back several of the law’s provisions.

I do not believe the Act was or should have been intended to permit the government to spy on U.S. citizens without any more predication than a desire to amass a dossier of information. Such a practice would be reminiscent of activities undertaken by the FBI in its early days at the direction of J. Edgar Hoover, and would not be consistent with the observance of civil liberties that we all have a constitutional right to expect.

I have long viewed the protections of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution against unreasonable searches and seizures as being among the most important provisions of the entire Bill of Rights.

In this respect, we need to be vigilant to ensure that a law purportedly intended to undergird our safety does not instead end up by undermining our liberties.”

It is and always has been my intent to protect all of us, from the unnecessary intrusion into our lives by government agencies. I will continue the fight with your help.

Sincerely,
Bill Weld

Weld was actually a spokesman for Bush in promoting the Iraq war.

That's true. however, Gary never supported it. He opposed it from the very beginning, like Ron Paul, even at a time when nearly every other Republican supported George W Bush, and people who didn't support him were labeled traitors to the American people.

And Weld strongly supports eminent domain on the same level as Trump. He pushed eminent domain to build a sports stadium along with low income public housing.

Gary's position against ED has been clear, and Bill Weld's position has been mixed. He has opposed it at times, including the Scullay Square project.

 

[RonPaulGeorge&Ringo]

Weld represented the LP as early as 2006, when he ran for governor of New York, endorsed by the LP.

Weld won the nomination, but he never actually did represent the LP -- because Weld quit before the election and the LPNY leadership had to scramble to find a replacement candidate to represent them on the actual ballot.

 

[RJ Liberty]

Weld won the nomination, but he never actually did represent the LP -- because Weld quit before the election and the LPNY leadership had to scramble to find a replacement candidate to represent them on the actual ballot.

It's good to know that Weld dropped out. However, my point about Bill Weld still stands: why the wringing of hands about Weld in 2016 when the LP endorsed him ten years earlier, and he's been mostly out of politics ever since?

It takes big balls to tilt at windmills the way third party candidates have to, to run against well-funded, big-league candidates. It's unfortunate that Weld pulled out. (I feel like that Ron and Rand pulled out too soon, too.)

 

[RonPaulGeorge&Ringo]

I would imagine most Libertarians unhappy with Weld were not among the couple dozen who voted for him at the 2006 LPNY convention. The few who are probably include some who are still mad at him for quitting.

 

[NewRightLibertarian]

Big opportunity here...

I hope Gary and Bill realize that CNN is going to try to do a hatchet job, though.

...better be abnormally well prepared.

If you haven't noticed, they are being pushed aggressively by the mainstream media.

That's what happens when you put up a feckless ticket of sell-outs, as the LP clearly has done. You get a nice big pat on the head from your masters.

 

[RonPaulGeorge&Ringo]

It might be fair to call Gary a sell-out for choosing Weld and his big money connections.

It is not fair to call Weld a sell-out, however. Weld has always been a globalist crony of the Bush-Clinton Crime Family. To say he has just now "sold out" would imply that he was ever anything else.

 

[CaptUSA]

I find it incredible to hear Trump supporters bash Johnson or Weld. I mean, the LP could have certainly done much better. Buying comparison to the authoritarian, Trump?! It's not even close.

 

[NewRightLibertarian]

I find it incredible to hear Trump supporters bash Johnson or Weld. I mean, the LP could have certainly done much better. Buying comparison to the authoritarian, Trump?! It's not even close.

Trump would steamroll a light-weight like Johnson. As far as a comparison between the two, at least Trump isn't marketing his BS as 'libertarian' like Johnson and Weld are.