Rate the Libertarians - 1972 to present

[undergroundrr]

So how good is the LP at picking nominees? With all the invective about Johnson/Weld, I thought it would be informative to look back and see if they're better or worse than past prez/VP tickets.

So, anybody who has an opinion, please rate each of these on a 1 to 10 scale. 10 is most pro-liberty, 1 is statist whore.

1972 John Hospers/Tonie Nathan
1976 State Representative Roger MacBride/David P. Bergland
1980 Ed Clark/David H. Koch
1984 David P. Bergland/James A. Lewis
1988 Congressman Ron Paul/State Representative Andre Marrou
1992 State Representative Andre Marrou/Nancy Lord
1996 Harry Browne/Jo Jorgensen
2000 Art Olivier
2004 Michael Badnarik/Richard V. Campagna
2008 Congressman Bob Barr/Wayne A. Root
2012 Governor Gary Johnson/Judge Jim Gray
2016 Governor Gary Johnson/Governer William Weld

[Chaotic Neutral]

So how good is the LP at picking nominees? With all the invective about Johnson/Weld, I thought it would be informative to look back and see if they're better or worse than past prez/VP tickets.

So, anybody who has an opinion, please rate each of these on a 1 to 10 scale. 10 is most pro-liberty, 1 is statist whore.

1972 John Hospers/Tonie Nathan
1976 State Representative Roger MacBride/David P. Bergland
1980 Ed Clark/David H. Koch
1984 David P. Bergland/James A. Lewis
1988 Congressman Ron Paul/State Representative Andre Marrou
1992 State Representative Andre Marrou/Nancy Lord
1996 Harry Browne/Jo Jorgensen
2000 Art Olivier
2004 Michael Badnarik/Richard V. Campagna
2008 Congressman Bob Barr/Wayne A. Root
2012 Governor Gary Johnson/Judge Jim Gray
2016 Governor Gary Johnson/Governer William Weld

The Libertarian Party jumped the shark in 2008 with Barr and has pretty much been a joke since that time.

Barr would rate around a 2 or 3, Johnson perhaps 3 to 5.

Let's just say the LP has gone to hell in a handbasket in recent years.

[Anti Federalist]

Gary Johnson is no Harry Browne.

[r3volution 3.0]

So how good is the LP at picking nominees?

Not good, to put it kindly, but it doesn't really matter until/unless they have a realistic chance of winning.

Currently, the game is about getting press for libertarianism.

They could nominate an actual chimpanzee and libertarians would be dumber than said chimp to not vote for that ticket.

[Feeding the Abscess]

Not good, to put it kindly, but it doesn't really matter until/unless they have a realistic chance of winning.

Currently, the game is about getting press for libertarianism.

They could nominate an actual chimpanzee and libertarians would be dumber than said chimp to not vote for that ticket.

There aren't more than a few hundred thousand libertarians of voting age in the country. I'm open to listening to arguments for compromise or coalition candidates, but not until there are a few million voting age libertarians.

[AZJoe]

Harry Browne 1996 LP Acceptance Speech: http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4582314/harry-browne-1996-lp-nomination-acceptance-speech



Michael Badnarik 2004 Speech (2 parts):


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r-6mezBxrs


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHIugG2qU0M

[Lovecraftian4Paul]

Ron Paul and Badnarik were excellent. Bob Barr, pretty bad. The others, I'm not familiar enough with them to say.

[undergroundrr]

Harry Browne is widely considered a top notch libertarian.

Andre Marrou eventually landed in disgrace. But he was Ron Paul's VP candidate. Did Ron hand pick him or was he independently nominated by the body as VP?

[erowe1]

Harry Browne is widely considered a top notch libertarian.

Andre Marrou eventually landed in disgrace. But he was Ron Paul's VP candidate. Did Ron hand pick him or was he independently nominated by the body as VP?

I don't know much about Marrou. But from his wikipedia article, it looks like the negatives about him mainly came to light in '92, not in '88.

[FindLiberty]

Love RP but IMO,

Harry Browne was the best Libertarian communicator of the whole bunch!

Combining LP and GOP efforts,
Ron Paul wins on official government (anti-government) service, voting record, youth voter inspiration*,
popularity and huge #s of grass roots loyalists that turned out at rallies that were not seen on MSM.
*OB/GYN baby deliveries earns him the title of, "seeing more naked women" than both Clintons put together.
(GOP Ron Paul deserved his blimp, all those money bombs and he handled this Borat/Bruno movie fiasco with class)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHVnDQOsOic

Bob Barr ...well funny guy for the LP choice, and he did try the "breast milk cheese" in this Bruno/Borat movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjKR9Bfaur4

overall score for LP: 3/10
(they deserve 9/10 for effort)

[farreri]

Harry Browne was the best Libertarian communicator of the whole bunch!
Yes!

[surf]

I've voted for all of them since Bergland (excepting Barr, of course, when I wrote in a congressman).

what others have said about Browne is true. I could have recited Harry Browne's stump speech by November (as he talks about how gov't involvement in birth control will lead to him needing an abortion). i'd rather not rate them all on purity or effectiveness, and just appreciate that I have someone to vote for.

[francisco]

1972's philosopher John Hospers was probably the only 10 on the list. He was my first presidential vote, at age 18. (Ironically thanks to Nixon, who pushed for lowering the voting age from 21). I had to write him in on the New York State ballot. Roger MacBride was the "faithless" Republican elector who gave that ticket an electoral college vote. (Hosper's running mate Toni Nathan garnered the first electoral college vote ever received by a woman). A meeting in Hosper's living room started the LP.


Barr was *ugh* the worst rating a 3 at best. But I voted for him because a vote for the LP was far better than one for McCain or Obama.