So, seriously, has nobody yet rubbed sand in the faces of....

[fisharmor]

...all those Gary Johnson supporters?
http://heavy.com/news/2016/11/how-m...get-in-the-presidential-election-libertarian/

All third parties combined got 4%.
Johnson absolutely DOMINATED that field with 3.5% total votes cast.

Is it time to recognize that the L is supposed to mean something? Or are we going to see the same thing in 2020 - swearing again on a stack of Bibles that the "most electable" candidate is more important than the one with principles?

Can we give this "ideological purity" thing a go next time around, maybe, since we've proved over and over that what's getting done isn't working?

 

[CaptUSA]

Or perhaps someone who could maintain a coherent thought in public?

You know... either/or...

 

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

I'm still rubbing it in the face of ZippyJuan and TheCount. What will they do since all of their Hillary supporting posts seem to be in vain?

 

[TheTexan]

I'm still rubbing it in the face of ZippyJuan and TheCount. What will they do since all of their Hillary supporting posts seem to be in vain?

I love the taste of liberal tears

Goes great with coffee

 

[Natural Citizen]

I wonder if they'd have gladly taken the federal money had they got to 5%.

Johnson did a little better than I thought, though. I called 2%.

 

[JohnM]

Maybe you underestimated how much people disliked Trump and HRC.

 

[euphemia]

I was no Trump supporter, but Gary Johnson was a hideous candidate. At no point did he even attempt to look anything more than an aging hipster who wanted to use big government to give rights that cannot be given and take rights that cannot be taken. He was a mess. Maybe now he will just settle down and marry his fiancee and give up the idea he has anything helpful to contribute to the cause of liberty beyond casual conversation at a cocktail party.

 

[69360]

I was hoping he would get 5, he got 3.5

Not bad, still the best the LP has ever done and I believe the best 3rd party showing since Perot when I was a kid.

Nobody here expected Johnson to win or even come close to winning.

A "purist" LP candidate would get maybe .1%

 

[Lovecraftian4Paul]

Sadly I think it gets even harder for third party voters from here. I already see hysterical Dems on Facebook attacking friends who voted Johnson or Stein. They truly believe Hillary was entitled to every non-Trump vote. They cried the same thing after Nader tipped Florida in 2000, and the third party vote in 2004 was abysmal.

 

[Suzanimal]

I was hoping he would get 5, he got 3.5

Not bad, still the best the LP has ever done and I believe the best 3rd party showing since Perot when I was a kid.

Nobody here expected Johnson to win or even come close to winning.

A "purist" LP candidate would get maybe .1%

I disagree. I would vote for a "purist" and I suspect most of the folks who voted for Johnson wouldn't have gone Trump or Clinton because the LP candidate was too pure. Would you? Mr Animal held his nose and voted Johnson but he would've actually actively campaigned for and donated to a purist.

 

[jkob]

Third party candidates over poll when given as an option, I didn't believe the third party vote would break 5% combined. 3.5% is a respectable result for the Libertarian Party, Johnson/Weld were awful candidates and they still got the greatest result in party history. To bad they're not libertarian anymore...

 

[fisharmor]

A "purist" LP candidate would get maybe .1%

The fact is, you don't know, and you are going to try your damnedest to keep from finding out.

 

[P3ter_Griffin]

Asking us will literally get you no where. Best bet if an individual cares about this is to join their state's LP party (and convince others to join as well) in attempts to become a delegate for the 2020 Libertarian convention. You'd have to remove the sand from your ______ to rub it in someone's face.

 

[euphemia]

This is the time for some real libertarians to start putting their ideas out there. This was a very close election, so I think there is a need for alternative thinking. That is, how does a government downsize itself in a way that does no harm?

 

[69360]

I disagree. I would vote for a "purist" and I suspect most of the folks who voted for Johnson wouldn't have gone Trump or Clinton because the LP candidate was too pure. Would you? Mr Animal held his nose and voted Johnson but he would've actually actively campaigned for and donated to a purist.

I would have been ok with most of the candidates. Probably not the greasy guy Perry who wanted to legalize sex with children. Not the fat dude who stripped.

The fact is, you don't know, and you are going to try your damnedest to keep from finding out.

Honestly I don't care that much either way. I think their best shot is somebody like Johnson, not a nobody. Weld burned his bridges already so you don't have to worry about him anymore.

 

[Jamesiv1]

I love the taste of liberal tears

Goes great with coffee

I enjoy them with fava beans and a nice glass of Chianti.

 

[H. E. Panqui]

...all those Gary Johnson supporters?
http://heavy.com/news/2016/11/how-m...get-in-the-presidential-election-libertarian/

All third parties combined got 4%.
Johnson absolutely DOMINATED that field with 3.5% total votes cast.

Is it time to recognize that the L is supposed to mean something? Or are we going to see the same thing in 2020 - swearing again on a stack of Bibles that the "most electable" candidate is more important than the one with principles?

Can we give this "ideological purity" thing a go next time around, maybe, since we've proved over and over that what's getting done isn't working?

...seems to me you'd have to be a trifling goddamned fool to waste any time crapping on the LP...they've never had any power, never had any money...they are certainly not responsible for the mess we're in...

...?your goddamned republican fools [and the stinking democrats] is where any enlightened rage, contempt, etc., will be directed...

 

[afwjam]

McAfee was a better choice. Him and Weiss are still putting out videos showing that they "get it", better then anything Gary said or accomplished in this election. did we forget the original libertarian bill weld?

 

[cjm]

A "purist" LP candidate would get maybe .1%

Historical average is closer to 0.4% in presidential elections.

Asking us will literally get you no where. Best bet if an individual cares about this is to join their state's LP party (and convince others to join as well) in attempts to become a delegate for the 2020 Libertarian convention. You'd have to remove the sand from your ______ to rub it in someone's face.

Actually, I think the LP would be more successful if they...

1. developed good candidates at the local level before running them
2. trained volunteers in electioneering, not focus entirely on the philosophy
3. run in races that have unopposed incumbents
4. run in races that have infrequently opposed incumbents*

The Dems put someone up against our incumbent GOP congressman every once in a while, but in 2010 our choices were (R), (LP), and independent. LP took third and it was due to bad campaign. They actually recruited a great candidate but then they abandoned him. He, like myself, has since joined the GOP.

 

[jonhowe]

2008: .4%
2012: 1%
2016: 3.5%

But yeah, let's mock them instead of supporting the rise of a third party which has historically been 100% on our side. Gary Johnson is not a libertarian, he's a centrist. He did a good job getting the name out there. Now let's capitalize on that.