Whew! The Libertarian Party is on the rise. This past week may have been the biggest news week for Libertarians ever. Let's break down this past week then tomorrow I will delve into an analysis of the LP of Nevada's and The Blaze's nationally televised Libertarian debate featuring Governor Gary Johnson, Austin Petersen, and tech mogul John Mcafee.
For starters, news broke out that billionaire David Koch pledges $10 million to Gary Johnson's campaign. Now, since this source surfaced, there has been debate over whether or not this is legit. Both parties have come out and claimed that this is untrue, but remember Gary Johnson has not yet become the candidate and if he should win the nomination, the truth will materialize. So, assuming it's true what does this mean? Well, the Libertarian Party will finally get the funding it deserves, which would be a long term help, but in the short term it could have some unintended consequences. (Doesn't it seem like there's always unintended consequences lurking in the shadows of politics?) First, Gary Johnson has had some trouble managing campaign money in 2012. Apparently, Johnson's campaign (namely, Gary Johnson 2012) was ordered to pay the Federal Election Commission (FEC) a little over $300,000 for matching funds provided in his last campaign. The details of this have been murky, as it deals with his brief stint as a Republican candidate that year before coming to the Libertarian Party, but the underlying theme is that the Johnson campaign might not be using their money in the wisest of ways.
Another negative that could arise is less votes from people skeptical of big money in politics, namely Bernie Sanders supporters. Naturally, Gary appeals to the left more so than say, Austin Petersen who has found his niche in the disillusioned right and Ted Cruz supporters. This could have serious negative implications if a $10 million donation from none other than a Koch brother scares away all the Bernie supporters who will not vote for Hillary. But, I do believe David Koch supports our cause and that ultimately this could lead to more funding of the Libertarian Party, which would greatly advance the Liberty movement.
As well as the potential Koch donation, Johnson has been all over the media as of late, and was featured in Fox News' general election poll - this time earning 10% of the vote, and stealing just as many votes from Trump as from Hillary.
Media coverage extended to Petersen and Mcafee as well as all three candidates were interviewed by Glenn Beck on his show, The Glenn Beck Program. Now, Glenn Beck is a Christian conservative with one of the most popular talk shows in America, reaching over 7 million listeners weekly. Yes, that is 7x the amount of votes Gary Johnson - who was the most successful Libertarian candidate in history - received in the 2012 election. Glenn Beck was a Ted Cruz supporter and part of the #NeverTrump side of the GOP, but Austin Petersen swooned him over with his ideas of liberty, and Beck said that Petersen made his "heart skip a little bit". Now, it is not an official endorsement, yet, but Petersen will visit Beck in the studio later this week and an official endorsement could be right around the corner. You can listen to the full interview here.
The Mcafee/Weiss campaign had their own way of making headlines. Mcafee finally wrote a story about his time in Belize, where he released videos of government officials in Belize plotting his assassination. He was able to explain the situation to Glenn Beck and his audience and Beck bought the story - and the proof is online. But the real news about the Mcafee/Weiss campaign is their release of the fascinating fourth campaign video. I'd suggest to also check out the campaigns' previous three videos but this one focused on government corruption, brainwashing kids, and the tyranny of the two party system. It features a segment from the Simpsons where aliens Kang and Kodos - who are running for either party - laugh that voting for a third party is wasting your vote. Maybe they need to read my last post. The video pushed the message to Kill Politics and ultimately Let Life Live, the Mcafee/Weiss slogan. It was beautifully intriguing and a great asset for the Liberty movement as a whole.
To end this week of brilliance for the Libertarian Party they will have their second nationally televised debate and the last debate before the Libertarian Convention which will be held May 27th - May 30th and the party's representative will be selected. The final debate is an effort brought to you by Nevada's Libertarian Party and Glenn Beck's The Blaze network. The debate has aired all weekend on The Blaze, and The Blaze is offering a $1 monthly trial, where those without access to The Blaze can still watch the debate. The debate will be moderated by Penn Jillette, a libertarian magician and comedian who is good friends with none other than Glenn Beck himself. The debate features questions from famous individuals and will be a great way to garner some mainstream attention.
The Libertarian primary process is coming to an abrupt end, stay tuned tomorrow for an analysis of the debate, as well as who I think the delegates need to pick in order to best advance the message of Liberty!
For starters, news broke out that billionaire David Koch pledges $10 million to Gary Johnson's campaign. Now, since this source surfaced, there has been debate over whether or not this is legit. Both parties have come out and claimed that this is untrue, but remember Gary Johnson has not yet become the candidate and if he should win the nomination, the truth will materialize. So, assuming it's true what does this mean? Well, the Libertarian Party will finally get the funding it deserves, which would be a long term help, but in the short term it could have some unintended consequences. (Doesn't it seem like there's always unintended consequences lurking in the shadows of politics?) First, Gary Johnson has had some trouble managing campaign money in 2012. Apparently, Johnson's campaign (namely, Gary Johnson 2012) was ordered to pay the Federal Election Commission (FEC) a little over $300,000 for matching funds provided in his last campaign. The details of this have been murky, as it deals with his brief stint as a Republican candidate that year before coming to the Libertarian Party, but the underlying theme is that the Johnson campaign might not be using their money in the wisest of ways.
Another negative that could arise is less votes from people skeptical of big money in politics, namely Bernie Sanders supporters. Naturally, Gary appeals to the left more so than say, Austin Petersen who has found his niche in the disillusioned right and Ted Cruz supporters. This could have serious negative implications if a $10 million donation from none other than a Koch brother scares away all the Bernie supporters who will not vote for Hillary. But, I do believe David Koch supports our cause and that ultimately this could lead to more funding of the Libertarian Party, which would greatly advance the Liberty movement.
As well as the potential Koch donation, Johnson has been all over the media as of late, and was featured in Fox News' general election poll - this time earning 10% of the vote, and stealing just as many votes from Trump as from Hillary.
Media coverage extended to Petersen and Mcafee as well as all three candidates were interviewed by Glenn Beck on his show, The Glenn Beck Program. Now, Glenn Beck is a Christian conservative with one of the most popular talk shows in America, reaching over 7 million listeners weekly. Yes, that is 7x the amount of votes Gary Johnson - who was the most successful Libertarian candidate in history - received in the 2012 election. Glenn Beck was a Ted Cruz supporter and part of the #NeverTrump side of the GOP, but Austin Petersen swooned him over with his ideas of liberty, and Beck said that Petersen made his "heart skip a little bit". Now, it is not an official endorsement, yet, but Petersen will visit Beck in the studio later this week and an official endorsement could be right around the corner. You can listen to the full interview here.
The Mcafee/Weiss campaign had their own way of making headlines. Mcafee finally wrote a story about his time in Belize, where he released videos of government officials in Belize plotting his assassination. He was able to explain the situation to Glenn Beck and his audience and Beck bought the story - and the proof is online. But the real news about the Mcafee/Weiss campaign is their release of the fascinating fourth campaign video. I'd suggest to also check out the campaigns' previous three videos but this one focused on government corruption, brainwashing kids, and the tyranny of the two party system. It features a segment from the Simpsons where aliens Kang and Kodos - who are running for either party - laugh that voting for a third party is wasting your vote. Maybe they need to read my last post. The video pushed the message to Kill Politics and ultimately Let Life Live, the Mcafee/Weiss slogan. It was beautifully intriguing and a great asset for the Liberty movement as a whole.
To end this week of brilliance for the Libertarian Party they will have their second nationally televised debate and the last debate before the Libertarian Convention which will be held May 27th - May 30th and the party's representative will be selected. The final debate is an effort brought to you by Nevada's Libertarian Party and Glenn Beck's The Blaze network. The debate has aired all weekend on The Blaze, and The Blaze is offering a $1 monthly trial, where those without access to The Blaze can still watch the debate. The debate will be moderated by Penn Jillette, a libertarian magician and comedian who is good friends with none other than Glenn Beck himself. The debate features questions from famous individuals and will be a great way to garner some mainstream attention.
The Libertarian primary process is coming to an abrupt end, stay tuned tomorrow for an analysis of the debate, as well as who I think the delegates need to pick in order to best advance the message of Liberty!