Gary Johnson and William Weld on Hillary, Trump, and Why You Should Vote Libertarian
The Libertarian candidates are gaining ground in national polls. Can they keep it up?
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Google"The dragon that I'm jousting against this year is this frozen monopoly of the two parties that have frozen a lot of people's thinking in place," says William Weld, former Republican governor of Massachusetts and current Libertarian party vice presidential candidate. "And they think, 'I have to be a right-winger,' or, 'I have to be a left-winger.' They're not thinking, 'What do I think?'"
Weld and his running mate, former Republican governor of New Mexico and Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson, are trying to pry open the vise grip that the Republican and Democratic parties have held on electoral politics for decades. They believe the historic unpopularity of the major party candidates gives them a unique opportunity to present their brand of fiscal conservatism, social tolerance, and a non-interventionist foreign policy to the American public.
The candidates point out that a plurality of the public already broadly reflects their views. If they can make their pitch successfully, they believe they'll garner 40 to 50 percent of the vote, enough to pull off one of the biggest electoral upsets in American history. But what is their pitch to different constituencies, and are these optimistic projections actually within the realm of possibility?
Reason TV's Nick Gillespie sat down with Johnson and Weld at FreedomFest in Las Vegas earlier this month to discuss their platform, prospects, and pitches to disgruntled Republicans and Democrats. The Libertarians have reached new heights in national polling in the weeks since, drawing 13 percent in the latest CNN/ORC survey (at the time this interview was taped, their best result to that point had been 12 percent in a July 8-12 CBS News/New York Times survey).
In a wide-ranging discussion, the nominees clarify how they would handle balancing the budget, scaling back the war on drugs, reforming entitlement programs, selecting Supreme Court justices, addressing immigration and national security policy, and more. Watch the video above for the full interview, or scroll down for downloadable versions.
About 19 minutes.
Hosted by Nick Gillespie. Produced by Justin Monticello. Shot by Meredith Bragg and Jim Epstein. Music by RW Smith.
Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive notification when new material goes live.
This is a rush transcript. Check any quotations against video recording.
NICK GILLESPIE: Hi, I'm Nick Gillespie with Reason TV, and today we're talking with William Weld, former governor of Massachusetts and vice presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party, and Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico and the presidential candidate nominee of the Libertarian Party, at Freedom Fest in Las Vegas. Thank you guys for talking.
GARY JOHNSON: Yeah, thanks.
WILLIAM WELD: Thank you so much.
GILLESPIE: Let's get right at it. You are, according to a most recent New York Times poll, you're at 12 percent. Why is that happening, and where does it end?
JOHNSON: Well, it's happening because, first and foremost, arguably the two most polarizing figures in American politics today, Trump and Clinton, so that's the primary factor. But secondarily, two Republican governors, two term, getting re-elected in states that are heavily Democratic. I mean, I think there's a lot here in the Libertarian ticket. I think, I think we're reflective of most Americans which, speaking with a broad brushstroke, is being fiscally conservative and socially tolerant, liberal, whatever, as long as you don't force it on me. And a big unoccupied space too, is nobody is standing up and saying, "Let's stop dropping bombs. Let's stop with the military interventions. They're having the unintended consequence of making things worse, not better." There's no peace candidate.
GILLESPIE: What is the worst aspect of a potential Trump presidency, and what is the worst aspect of a potential Clinton presidency?
WELD: I'll start with Trump. You know, I don't think Mr. Trump has made a great study of the issues. I'm not sure he's read deeply in history as it might apply to current political decisions, so I see a shallowness.
GILLESPIE: So, we'll talk, but immigration. Isn't that what people want? They want to restrict immigration. They want restrict Syrians or Arabs or Muslims.
JOHNSON: You know, having been in New Hampshire and having been in the Midwest, what I have recognized is that 30 percent of Republican voters believe the scourge of the Earth is Mexican immigration. Now, it was my voice in 2012 that said "No, that's not the case," but I know that that group exists. And you know, when things are bad, you look for a scapegoat and, in this case, "They're taking jobs that U.S. citizens could have!" Well, no, they're not. They're not murderers and rapists. And the notion of rounding up eleven million undocumented workers, how's that going to work out in New Mexico where 50 percent of the population is Hispanic? Well, they're gonna…the federal government's going to start knocking on doors? It goes and on.
Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time. Report abuses.
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Go ahead, but also pay my fines, legal fees and the rest when the weight of the state tries to destroy my business when I refuse. It's not about the cake - you can bake it, but they will destroy me if I refuse to.
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The age old question if Johnson can keep it up.
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If these guys really believe they can get 40 to 50 percent of the vote (they don't) they're fucking delusional enough to make McAfee look normal. Saying something like that just proves they're either full of shit or crazy.
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There's no reason they can't get 40 percent of the vote. Take away the D, R and L labels and make people vote blind based on issues and experience, and they would get 60 percent. The only question is if voters will realize they actually have a choice before November.
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I want them to win too but this is delusional. They stand a zero percent chance. Libertarianism may be popular on certain specific issues but, as a whole, it scares the hell out of people. It simply isn't that popular.
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You mean that buying AR-15s and drugs out of vending machines doesn't appeal to everyone? People are weird.
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Where do I sign up!
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You mean that buying AR-15s and drugs out of vending machines doesn't appeal to everyone?
Least of all the two Libertarian Party nominees.
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Good thing they aren't running on a libertarian platform, I guess.
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I agree that 40-50 percent of the vote is unlikely. But 20 percent? I don't think that's delusional. And the LP getting 20 percent of the vote would be a game changer. Even more so if they managed to capture a significant number of electors. But, even if not, whichever party lost would know that libertarians represent a constituency that has to be satisfied.
Think about it this way, if Trump loses to Clinton, and the LP gets more than the spread, guys like Paul or Amash or Massey are going to be in a very strong position within the GOP to push policy in their preferred direction.
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Gah! Massie!
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They can get 40+% of the Neocon nuke and Nazi cake vote.
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If Johnson and Weld get 40% of the vote we will be calling it a landslide victory. 50% and the electoral map will look much like 1984 except with a different color. The only question is which color with the LP get stuck with?
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Bingo. Between Weld's "Breyer and Merrick" hilarity and Johnson's "73% Bernie" stupidity you can scratch any votes from the right of Mao. These two jackasses are just liberals too embarrassed to admit it.
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Where are the national TV ads? Tell people you are serious candidates, and they have a choice. Hardly anyone knows who Gary Johnson is, and most people think Libertarians are loons. Change the narrative.
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most people think Libertarians are loons
The Hihns of this world make a good case for that.
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Mr Bean and Wild Bill are prima facie evidence.
But such is an insult to loons. -
their platform
Drug Prohibition
"Humanitarian Wars"
30%+ Federal Consumption Tax
Nazi Cakes
Taxpayer-Funded Abortions
A Bigger Stronger EPA -
So the question is, how good are Nazi cakes?
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I wouldn't mind an Ilsa, She-wolf to jump out of a Nazi cake.
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Xyklon B flavored cakes! They're a gas!
30% tax on tuberculosis? -
As opposed to Trump's platform, which is basically give him the One Ring and let him loose.
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BREAKING NEWS - Libertarian Candidates on Voters: "They don't think."
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"The dragon that I'm jousting against this year is this frozen monopoly of the two parties that have frozen a lot of people's thinking in place"
Now, some people may think that it's kind of a mangled metaphor to speak of a dragon freezing something.
But obviously Weld is speaking of the Chrome Dragon:
"A chrome dragon has two breath weapons: a cloud of freezing crystals 50' long, 40' wide, and 20' high; or a bolt of solid ice 20' long and 5' wide, firing out to 100' from the dragon's mouth. A creature caught in the freezing cloud must save vs. breath weapon or have his dexterity cut to 3, suffer a -4 penalty on all attack rolls, and a -4 penalty on all saving throws due to numbing. A successful save prevents the dexterity loss and reduces both penalties to -2. Creatures caught in the path of the ice bolt are allowed a save vs. breath weapon for half damage. A chrome dragon casts its spells and uses its magical abilities at 8th level plus its combat modifier."
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I assumed he was talking about chasing the dragon.
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so supposed libertarian(ish) ex-NFL punter Chris Kluwe has stated that while he voted for Johnson in the last election that as a moral necessity he will be voting for Secretary Clinton.
I imagine there will be quite a few such public declaration from certain Libertarian quarters if it holds up that the libertarian vote is hurting _her_ rather than the GOP candidate.
This will put some downward pressure on making it to the 15% poll number to get into the debates.
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There is going to be a stampede of "
libertarians for Hitlery" Tim Kaine. Not good news for GayJay. -
Chris Kluwe is about as 'libertarian' as Hillary Clinton. He's just a regressive who wants to be 'hip' so rather than just saying he's a regressive Democrat, he goes with something exotic like 'libertarian'. This is the same guy who wants more gun control and thinks more capitalism would be a bad thing (as he wrote in the oh-so libertarian publication, Slate).
People like that makes squishy moderates like Gay Jay look like John Galt.
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This reminds of 1996, when at the Libertarian convention (which I believe was held in south half of the Aztec Conference room at the Holiday Inn. I think it was the American OxyClean Manufacturers Association of America annual mtg in the other half), the announcement came:
"And now, the next President of the United States, Harry Browne!"
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Weld looks like a serious alcoholic. The type of guy who gets plastered at your Christmas party and tries to mack on your spinster aunt while his wife is in the same room.
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This interview illustrates nicely why Johnson would get creamed if he ever gets into the debates. The few times a question is directed at him (with the moderators trying diligently to make it a Trump-Clinton show), Trump will interrupt almost immediately, talk over him; GJ will either shut up and take it, or the moderator will try to end the chaos and then move on without ever giving him a chance to answer. Remember what happened to Rand?
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*vise* grip. I know vices can be pretty gripping as well, but still...
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Apparently there are 6 pages which reason insists on clickbait so they can make money. I don't have time for that.
Marx said capitalists will sell communists the rope used to hang them.
Libertarians will try to monetize everything in such an obnoxious way to render their arguments either irrelevant or disingenuous so as to lose the debate before it begins.
Like Mr. Bean and Wild Bill (thx @Jason_Stapleton, who blocked me, whom I disagree with on the margin, but is spot on in many places)
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You expect the people who provide this site to do it out of the goodness of their hearts?
There are ways to disable the ads. As I do not want to take food out of the mouths of Reason employees I will not share the details here. The key is there are tools available to prevent your problem. The fact that Reason allows us to make that choice unhindered, unlike many other sites, means they are practicing what they preach, even though it may cost some profit.
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These fucking guys act like using the words 'freedom' and 'liberty', and calling Hillary a grafting liar are gonna get them on a no-fly list.
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Holy crap! Breyer and Garland are seriously anti-libertarian judges. Breyer especially, as he believes that a fundamental liberty is the liberty of the collective people to legislate. See his book called Active Liberty. He has voted on the government's side in a higher percentage of cases than any other sitting Supreme Court judge (Anthony Kennedy at the other end of the spectrum). From what I hear, though I don't know his jurisprudence as much personally, Garland is equally inclined to defer to government agencies, even to the prosecution in criminal cases, something Democratic appointees are usually better on.
This is a disaster. I'm going to have to reconsider my vote in November.
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You're right. On Supreme Court picks Weld is positively dangerous. The first name should have been Janice Rogers Brown even if she is 60 years old.
The "No Litmus Test" line from Weld is the worst line I've heard from any candidate this year. Of course there has to be a litmus test based on whether any law passed by a majority should be upheld by the court simply because it was passed by a majority. Either the court should be actively engaged in enforcing constitutional limits to legislative power or you end up with another "Rubber Stamp" Roberts who will pretzel the law to uphold a disaster like Obamacare.
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For a typical Democrat voter the same words are heartening. The only partial valid reason I have seen for Clinton is SCOTUS nominees.
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"Say something bad about Hillary Clinton"
"Eh, she's an old friend, but she spends a bit much, and Libya I guess?"Fuck
You -
Their names need to be in the polls for a fair fight! I've been following them for the past couple of days and I'll definitely be voting for them. They actually do make a lot of sense and I really like that they recognize the government and how they want to change it. The fact that they want this to be a partnership I'd brilliant and level-headed.
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Holy shit at Weld naming Ayotte and Collins as friendly senators, and not Rand Paul. Dude legitimately thinks he's running for VP on the Moderate Party ticket.
This was about what you'd expect, highlighting the same strengths and weaknesses we already knew Johnson and Weld had.
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100 people a day! At that rate, it will take 4106 years to get to the 150 million people needed for 50% of the vote. So, mark your calendars, folks: the Libertarian Moment is coming in the year 6122!
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Is there someone here who can direct me to information about the detail of the consumption based tax plan?
I don't see a way to keep the bureaucracy from making this into a complex morass. One issue raised during the Brexit debate was that the EU mandated VAT on feminine hygiene products amounts to a tax on only women. There are thousands of other cases like this that will need to be debated. Granted it will keep the bureaucracy busy but is it really worth the tax dollars to re-write the rule book?
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I voted for Gary Johnson in 2012 but I can't see voting for him again. Listening to Nick Gillespie's interview with Johnson and Weld I see a pair of mainstream statist candidates picking popular liberal and conservative positions with zero libertarian principles guiding them. Weld seeing Maine's Susan Collins as admirable, praising Obama SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland as acceptable, shows utter contempt for the Bill of Rights scandalous for a Libertarian Party ticket even given past nominees who fail a libertarian litmus test. On the Second Amendment alone, if I felt compelled to vote, I would have to vote against this ticket.
I hope Johnson and Weld fail to make it into the presidential debates if for no reason other than denying these two RINO Republicans the opportunity to spread disinformation on what libertarians, even of the political stripe, actually believe.
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Johnson is meh. Weld is an embarrassment.
