Chase Oliver: What Does the Libertarian Presidential Candidate Really Believe?

The L.P. presidential candidate clarifies his views amid criticisms that he is too "woke."

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Chase Oliver: What Does the Libertarian Presidential Candidate Really Believe?

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Who, exactly, is Chase Oliver? And what does he really stand for?

Oliver is the Libertarian Party's 2024 presidential nominee, selected after six rounds of voting at a contentious party convention in Washington, D.C., this weekend, which featured speeches from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Vivek Ramaswamy, and former President Donald Trump, who suggested himself as the nominee to a chorus of boos. Oliver was not the preferred candidate of the Mises Caucus, who remains in control of the Libertarian Party, and several of their higher profile members, such as Dave Smith, have said they will not vote for him, with several accusing him of being too woke, too pro-immigration, and too soft on COVID restrictions. We'll ask him to address all of that today. 

Oliver, a 38-year-old sales executive, rose to prominence in the party as the 2022 Libertarian Senate candidate in a highly competitive race in Georgia, where he pulled 2 percent of the vote and forced it into a runoff, which ultimately resulted in the Democratic candidate winning, tipping the balance of the Senate in their favor.

Watch the full conversation on Reason's YouTube channel or the Just Asking Questions podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, or your preferred podcatcher.

Sources referenced in this conversation:

1. Dave Smith saying he won't vote for Oliver
2. The "anti-woke" criticism of Oliver
3. Oliver's December 2021 tweet on vaccines as misrepresented by Tim Pool
4. The actual tweet quoted above.
5. Donald Trump's full speech at the Libertarian National Convention

Timestamps:

• 00:00 Introduction to Chase Oliver
• 01:40 Campaign Message and Strategy
• 04:02 Foreign Policy Stance
• 06:31 Internal Party Divisions
• 12:07 Controversial Positions and Clarifications
• 13:31 Transgenderism and Parental Rights Debate
• 25:41 Immigration and COVID Policies
• 30:07 Debating Vaccine Mandates and Property Rights
• 31:17 Cultural and Legal Perspectives on Mandates
• 32:37 Impact of State-Imposed Mandates
• 33:37 Economic Consequences of Mandates
• 36:34 Libertarian Views on Free Trade and Tariffs
• 38:01 Addressing Criticism and Building Unity
• 42:08 Libertarian Outreach and Big Tents
• 44:51 Trump's Speech at the Libertarian Convention
• 48:51 Libertarian Party's Strategy and Goals
• 52:16 Addressing Past Statements and Moving Forward
• 57:04 Final Questions

Photo Credit: Robin Rayne/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom

• Producer: John Osterhoudt

Comments

[Chumby]

Liz and Zach, congrats on doing this interview. You both win a pony.

[SIV]

One horse is enough for their cosmotarian throuple.

[Chumby]

You think they’ll interview Sarah Jessica Parker next?

[n00bdragon]

Yeah, this is a pretty good interview. It's not fawning either. I want to thank Liz especially for doggedly going after Oliver about a number of issues including Israel and trans kids. Those were some sharp words and Oliver didn't manage to parry all of them super well. He's a flawed candidate, clearly, and Liz did a fantastic job of exposing that. I'll probably still vote for him though, because flawed as he is he's far less flawed than anyone else running.

Zach, you did a great job of pulling the dogs apart, moderating, and keeping the interview going.

[Square = Circle]

I’ll probably still vote for him though, because flawed as he is he’s far less flawed than anyone else running.

^

With the caveat that for those of us who live in hyper-partisan areas where the election is no contest at all, this is any easy decision to make.

[n00bdragon]

If I lived in the magical district of the magical state that was 49.99999% Trump and 49.99999% Biden and it was my vote that would determine the course of the election I'd still vote L. The lesser evil is still evil and I won't participate in that. If the more nefarious devil wins out that's not on me, that's on the 49.99999% who affirmatively selected it.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

That's a silly distinction. The two are not equivalently evil. The difference between 90% evil and 95% evil is still a difference.

[sarcasmic]

The difference between 90% and 95% of a baseball bat being shoved up your ass is still a difference. If you refuse to choose then you're a terrible person.

[JesseAz]

The 95% of the bat is getting shoved up your ass as you virtue signal if Biden wins.

You think by not voting the bat won't get shoved up your ass? Lol.

[Mother's Lament]

Except the choice isn't degrees of a baseball bat. It's the difference between having 100% of a baseball bat up your ass or a bullet through your brain.

Only the dumbest of the professed libertarians here cannot recognize that the Democrats are currently an existential threat. Not a "choice".

If n00bdragon would prefer the bullet in the brain rather than the baseball bat up his ass, because he chose Chase, then he's suicidal rather than principled.

[SQRLSY One]

SSuicidal is all WUNDERBAR to death-lusting Moose-Mammary Farter-Fuhrer Necrophiliac Necrophilian Reptilian Marxist Moose-Fucker! Tell us the Sacred WORD, Oh Perfect Death-WorShitter One!

Mammary-Necrophilia-Farter-Fuhrer, Supreme Demonic Director of Decay, Destruction, and Death, will now SPEAK! HARKKK silently and RESPECTFULLY, all ye lowly heathens, as She Directs Death, and announces WHICH few of us MIGHT deserve to live, and WHO all deserves to DIE-DIE-DIE!!!

https://reason.com/2022/01/25/did-these-three-officers-willfully-deprive-george-floyd-of-his-constitutional-rights/?comments=true#comment-9323626
“You should really join ᛋᛋqrlsy, ᛋᛋhrike. You two goosestepping fascists offing yourselves would definitely be a mitzvah.”

-Quote MammaryBahnFuhrer the "Expert Christian Theologian", AKA Mother’s Lament, with a head full of cement

So Mammary-Necrophilia-Fuhrer, Supreme Demonic Director of Decay, Destruction, and Death... WHEN are You going to STOP stealing the IDs of Your victims, and then posting kiddie porn in THEIR names, and then blaming THEM?

Inquiring minds want to KNOW, dammit!

[mad.casual]

And, per his own idiocy, either Oliver is some sort of perfectly moral deity made flesh or is some portion evil that n00bdragon actually will support and then just pretend that he didn’t, or that it doesn’t count, or that he didn't say "The lesser evil is still evil and I won't participate in that."

[CE]

And the difference of one vote either way never matters.
And if it ever did, there would be an automatic recount and the totals would somehow change.

The only value of your vote is to create a permanent record of how many people supported each candidate. Don't waste your vote on someone you don't support.

[JesseAz]

Expected values.

Get 40% of what you want at 48% chance.
Get 0% of what you want at 48% chance.
Get 70% of what you want at 2% chance.

Which do you choose?

This incessant need to think virtue signaling being worth more than just minimal analysis to see what your choice leads to always amazing to me.

[n00bdragon]

Which major party is offering me 40% of what I want? Wow, that would be stellar. Oliver here is running about 25% for me. I wouldn't throw a life preserver at a drowning Biden or Trump.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

Why don't you show what percentages you think they are offering, multiply that by their chances of winning, and show why you suck at arithmetic?

[JesseAz]

Lol. So to you unless society matches your desires 100% you'll take your ball and go home.

What you actually seem to truly want is for you to dictate to everyone else what must be done. Not even an iota of compromise with others.

Go live in the woods as a hermit. That is probably what you would prefer.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

Yes, the proper virtue signal is to not vote at all. Voting implies you think the outcome matters, and that you think your vote contributes to that outcome. By "allowing" all other voters to make that decision while you pretend to virtue signal is no virtue at all.

It's one reason I despise Confederates so much. If they had refused to participate in the election, if they had seceded before the election, or if they had waited for Lincoln to be inaugurated and actually do something, I'd at least respect their principles in that regard. But they'd have been mad as hell if their candidate had won and the northerners seceded or cried like little babies. Bunch of sour grape pansies.

I have no idea if Lincoln would have been as big a baby if he'd lost, because he didn't lose. My disgust with him lies elsewhere, and the Confederates seceded before he got a chance to show his foibles.

[Quicktown Brix]

A virtue signal vote is still worth the same as a lesser evil vote, which is indistinguishable from nothing.

But is it a virtue signal if it's anonymous or is it just doing what you think is the right thing?

[JesseAz]

Except it isnt. For example the Reason narrative on Chase Oliver.

Chase and Reason brag for his 2% vote to force a run off that Democrats won.

What is the result of the Democrats winning? The Senate giving Joe Biden all the spending he wanted.

So for your virtue signal you have spent 20% inflation and 1T in debt every 100 days.

Was your virtue signal worth that cost just so you can brag with Chase and Reason that they fucked over an election to get 2%?

But is it a virtue signal if it’s anonymous or is it just doing what you think is the right thing?

I mean Chase and Reason bragging about it isnt really anonymous now is it?

[Mother's Lament]

The conceit that the evil the Republicans present and the Democrats present are equal is the stupidest thing.

Yes the Republicans are unprincipled retards who act like street thugs and used car salesmen. Veritable Hazzard County Boss Hoggs.

But when the choice is between Boss Hogg and the Chicxulub meteor, you shouldn't have to wonder who to vote for. The Democrats are a civilization destroying cult.

[Quicktown Brix]

As long as most people think like you, we will do no better than Boss Hogg. If most people thought like me, we'd all get Cooter.

[JesseAz (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

The 2% of the people bragging they helped enable the spending the last 3 years?

Change doesn't start at the top. It starts at the bottom. The MC understands this and pushes local elections. Not virtue signaling a 2% vote.

[Chumby]

Chase should aim for the bottom first?

[EISTAU Gree-Vance]

I’d prefer Flash. Nice, mellow energy. Doesn’t bark much.

[Quicktown Brix]

Given Chase's positions on the issues, do you really think he was "stealing" more R votes than D votes? How confident are you that Chase cost McConnell the leadership?

So for your virtue signal you have spent 20% inflation and 1T in debt every 100 days.

Come on now. As opposed to 20% inflation and 1 T in debt if the R's won the senate like they did in the House?

[JesseAz (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

I laugh at his 2%. I’m not the one declaring him the spoiler as a benefit. That is media, Reason, and Chase himself.

Come on now. As opposed to 20% inflation and 1 T in debt if the R’s won the senate like they did in the House?

You can go look at the roll call on those votes. Doubt you will.

If you dont think Schumer being able to control bills in the Senate matters, I dont know what to fucking tell you. Youre naive. See HR 2 being in his desk for 2 years.

[Quicktown Brix]

Who is being naive; the one that trusts Republicans to do what they say or the one that doesn't? A 50-51 vote is political theater. If they needed one R vote they'd get it with a back room deal.
0% chance HR 2 would have passed if there was 1 more R senator.

[Chumby]

Giant Meteor 2024. Don’t take him for granite and help him rock the vote this November.

[mad.casual]

The lesser evil is still evil and I won’t participate in that.

You know you're voting for a guy that advocated masking, federal-level access to but not funding of (More legal murder everywhere but you don't have to pay for it! Yay!) abortion, and supports transing, the modern day equivalent of transorbital lobotomies, right?

NOTA or abstain I could understand but you're rather obviously trying to pretend that the evil things you/he supports just aren't evil because you just float above the rest of us and everyone else is just obviously way moar evil-er than you.

[Medulla Oblongata]

And increased federal minimum wage and interest free student loans (retroactive to existing loans).

[Zeb]

I think the other commenters are right. The only way to avoid voting for any evil is not to vote at all.

[sarcasmic]

Given the current choices, yes.

[Square = Circle]

The lesser evil is still evil and I won’t participate in that.

As others are noting, Oliver isn't 100% evil-free, so it's really a choice of how pragmatically you're going to move things in a direction you approve of.

For me, in the SF Bay Area, it doesn't matter even a little bit for who I vote for. I could not vote, in which case I get dumped into the "non-participant" bucket, or I can vote LP, which dumps me into the "I didn't vote for you, because this other guy is much more in alignment with me."

In the 35 years I've been participating in the electoral process the only thing I've ever seen move either party in either direction is facing challenges from minor-league candidates who have no chance of actually winning.

OTOH, if I were in one of the states that is up for contest I would be facing a much more difficult dilemma in that I do sincerely believe that the Biden administration has been worse for this country than the Trump administration was, and this election could wind up being very close.

[CE]

Closest states in 2020:

Arizona: 10,457 votes
Georgia: 11,779 votes
Wisconsin: 20,682 votes

One vote didn't come close to mattering anywhere.

[Square = Circle]

No, but at that scale you can at least make the argument that you may be part of a like-minded number of people that might, theoretically, have made a difference - e.g. where the libertarian candidate got more votes than that margin and obviously drew from one side more than another.

And even then, I see it more as a difficulty in which I can understand people making a pragmatic argument for supporting the lesser evil among the two major parties. In a state like CA I really see no point at all.

[Chemjeff, NAMBLA CEO and Radical Pedophilia Enthusiast]

If you think that Biden and Trump’s deficits are anywhere near equivalent, then you are a total moron.

[JohnZ]

Maybe so but...you will not be able to escape or ignore the effects of doing so.

[Sevo, 5-30-24, embarrassment]

"If I lived in the magical district of the magical state that was 49.99999% Trump and 49.99999% Biden and it was my vote that would determine the course of the election I’d still vote L."

Spoken like a true TDS-addled steaming pile of shit.

[A Thinking Mind]

He did call what’s happening in Gaza “carpet-bombing.” He says he would negotiate a ceasefire, but with such a juvenile understanding about what is happening there, I can’t imagine how.

[Square = Circle]

He says he would negotiate a ceasefire, but with such a juvenile understanding about what is happening there, I can’t imagine how.

Agreed - he's being unbelievably naive, but he is proposing cutting off US funding for Israel, Palestine, and Ukraine. If he accomplished that and then failed at the thing that everybody else is also failing at, I'd call it a win.

[Social Justice is neither]

So he's proposing being impeached according to the rules established during the Trump term to cheers from Reason.

[Square = Circle]

Isn't everyone.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

Yeah, negotiate anything with Hamas. What kind of a dork thinks that's even possible? What's he gonna do, send them to their rooms without dessert if they don't negotiate in good faith?

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

You convinced me to give it a try, but about ten minutes was all I could stomach.

His inconsistencies with his published platform are typical political quibbling.

He calls the Gaza operation genocide, then admits all Israel is doing is telling them to leave. Does he not have a dictionary?

There are two simple things here.

* Hamas started this, and their published manifestos explicitly and expressly call for genocide. The people of Gaza have had years and decades to show they are responsible adults and not in favor of genocide. They have failed, and I have no sympathy for them as a “country”.

* Taxation is theft, and whatever I might donate to Israel (or Ukraine) on my own, governments have no business making that choice for me.

So fuck you, Chase. You’re just another hypocritical pedo politician.

ETA: And sorry not sorry, but puberty blockers are child mutilation, by definition; and trans surgery is no more acceptable than pushing a kid off a roof because he thinks he's Superman, or amputating an arm so the kid can get a role in a Fugitive remake.

[Square = Circle]

Taxation is theft, and whatever I might donate to Israel (or Ukraine) on my own, governments have no business making that choice for me.

This is the only relevant point. Beyond this, I don't really care what people think about Israel-Palestine.

[sarcasmic]

You gave him about four minutes and judged everything based upon a few statements you disagreed with.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

You can't even read.

about ten minutes was all I could stomach

And I read his platform. Did you? I guess that must have been the minus six minutes you threw in.

[sarcasmic]

I’m still listening to this, 25 minutes in. His words don’t match what you tell me he is saying. I guess that means he's a liar.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

Your arithmetic doesn't match what I wrote. Your change of subject doesn't fool anybody.

[mad.casual]

Chase Oliver - The only libertarian candidate principled enough to make a case for the modern day equivalent of transorbital lobotomies.

[A Thinking Mind]

He used the phrase “carpet bombing,” which is hilarious. It shows an utter ignorance of terms and situation.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

He's probably talking about what he does to kids.

[mad.casual]

Again, the dude carries what appears to be a S&W Model 10 Military and Police .38 Special revolver. A pistol so unimaginably douche-y it makes Gucci-glock and CZ-carrying hipsters look like serious competitors.

If it wasn’t your Dad or Grandpa’s and you weren’t trying to land a role in a Dick Tracy movie, I can’t imagine why you’d carry it except to signal “I’m a gun guy.” the same way you’d signal “I’m a car guy.” by showing off your ’78 MG Midget or your ’89 Mazda Miata.

[Kyfho Myoba]

Please. Have a memory that goes beyond 10/7. Hamas didn't start this, Israel pushed the inhabitants of Canaan into the Gaza strip 75 years ago and kept them in an open air prison since then. The areas that Hamas attacked were militarized kibbutzim with mostly military inhabitants. The vast majority of both casualties and hostages taken were listed in the newspaper with a rank in front of their names. It is typical of Israel to accuse their opponent of exactly the crimes that they, themselves, committed, and in this conflagration, the truth is coming out quickly. No, Hamas didn't murder and babies, IDF did. No, Hamas didn't mass rape civilian women, IDF's top rabbi gave permission for IDF to do that.

[Nardz]

"I’ll probably still vote for him though, because flawed as he is he’s far less flawed than anyone else running."

Found the pedo

[PatrickM]

Great interview, particularly Liz asking the tough(er) questions.

[Don't look at me!]

Gay. No chance.

[Chumby]

You don’t think he could come from behind to finish on top?

[Brandybuck]

If you vote LP then you turn gay. It's how they get new gays.

[JesseAz]

It isnamazing watching the arguments the dems who joined the Big L and thought themselves edgy are making.

Nobody cares he is gay. They do care he wants to used Federal government to push specialized class rights.

But then again, youre not actually libertarian. Youre a California Democrat trying to be edgy.

[Square = Circle]

Nobody cares he is gay.

This is really obviously untrue, but nevertheless it's dishonest to pretend that this is the only reason anyone has a problem with him.

[Don't look at me!]

Americans aren’t ready to take a chance on him, anymore that they are ready to take a chance on a woman for president.

[Square = Circle]

Meh - I also think "he's got no chance because he's gay" is overstated. But you can see from some of the comments that have been made right here in this comments section that there's a non-zero percent who reject him for that reason alone.

Mainly he's going to lose because he's not Uniparty and he'll be ignored by the media completely, especially the Gay Rights folks who normally would be celebrating the first gay actual-nominee-for-president and accusing anyone who criticizes him of homophobia.

My main thing against him is that he's too young, but all the other candidates are way too old, which is arguably worse.

[sarcasmic]

It's not the only reason, no. Thing is, politics is genetic. He's gay, and that means he's genetically predisposed to being a leftist. Duh. That's all you need to know. If he says or writes anything that contradicts him being a leftist, he's lying.

[JesseAz]

Poor sarc.

[JesseAz]

Where is being gay on the list of voter concerns?

[Square = Circle]

Recall that you used the word "nobody." I said "not nobody."

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

^F "not nobody" calls you a liar.

[Square = Circle]

Gosh, I suppose you got me. I didn't literally use that exact phrase.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

OK. Show us in the comments what you actually wrote that was the equivalent.

[Square = Circle]

Square = Circle 2 hours ago

Nobody cares he is gay

This is really obviously untrue, but nevertheless it’s dishonest to pretend that this is the only reason anyone has a problem with him.

I'm really not sure why you let that bug get so far up your butt about this.

[JesseAz]

It is called hyperbole. But I still maintain there isnt a single voter that would change their vote solely because he is gay. If they agreed with him 100% it wouldn’t matter if he was gay.

It is so far down on list of concerns that nobody cares.

Ironically I do believe with the identitarian focus of the left he will pull votes from Biden.

[Square = Circle]

But I still maintain there isnt a single voter that would change their vote solely because he is gay.

Again, I think this is facially untrue, but also untestable in that anyone who would have a problem with him being gay would also have problems with a lot of the rest of his platform anyway.

[mad.casual]

it’s dishonest to pretend that this is the only reason anyone has a problem with him.

Some might say it’s specifically, even intentionally, between dishonest and insane that one has nothing to do with any of the other. That, through no choice of the observer, LGB and T (and BLM and Joe Biden and public schools and Disney and Bud Light) have decided, politically, to present themselves as a unified whole in all sorts of places where it makes no sense.

Even rabid baptists, lutherans, catholics, episcopalians, etc. will at least all objectively admit that loaves and fishes and thou shallt not murder is a, more or less, commonality among them.

[Kyfho Myoba]

In none of his platform does he want to "used Federal government ot push specialized class rights."

[sarcasmic]

If you don't hate gays then you're a leftist.

[JesseAz]

Really having a bad day aren't you.

Just so glad you overcame your struggles so you offer so many insightful posts this morning.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

He's been very productive, just not in a productive manner.

[Don't look at me!]

Needs more muting to be effective.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

That's a gray area. You don't want to box him in. He might shit all over.

[sarcasmic]

Everything that idiot says is a grey area.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

How would you know he's an idiot if you can't read what he writes?

See, we know you're an idiot because we read what you write.

[sarcasmic]

Because I occasionally unmute idiots when I see them reply to something where I think they must be saying something other than a cheap personal attack, and I'm always wrong.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

Got something right for a change!

I’m always wrong.

Go ahead, give yourself another gold star, you've earned this one.

[Mickey Rat]

Or if you do not want to establish LGBTQ + ideology as the state religion and establush blasphemy laws protecting it, then you are not for liberty.

[sarcasmic]

The guy in the interview didn't support any of those things. Not that it matters. When what someone says about what they think and believe contradicts the narrative about them, well that just means that they're lying. How dare they contradict what people say? The fact that he dispelled all kinds of narratives just shows what a leftist he really is.

[JesseAz]

Oliver noted his support for federal LGBTQ anti-discrimination protections, but then pivoted to mention how the Republican candidate for the seat has been “demonizing LGBTQ people.”

https://www.wabe.org/georgia-gops-top-candidates-move-harder-right-on-lgbtq-issues/

Special protection at the federal level you retarded shit. He is the one saying it.

I get it. Your strongest talking point is your ignorance.

Some of us look to inform ourselves instead of being ignorant. But not you buddy.

[Mickey Rat]

I suppose sarc's excuse is that Oliver does not much elaborate on what such protections mean, so he can pretend that it does not include censorship, compelled speech, the end of sex segregated spaces (forcing females to undress and compete with males) and so on.

[JesseAz]

Him supporting chemical castration of kids is enough for me to to understand his views are caught in a woke cult.

With the evidence of the damage and no evidence of it being a benefit, it shows how much Chase puts in narratives over basic facts.

[sarcasmic]

Or you could ask and listen instead of making stuff up and calling me a liar when I disagree. Nah. That would be honest. Can't do that.

[JesseAz (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

I quoted directly from Chase you retarded fuck. Go drink yourself to death based on NYC.

[Chemjeff, NAMBLA CEO and Radical Pedophilia Enthusiast]

It apparently turns their members into people who nominate far left Obama lackeys.

[Super Scary]

I don't really care where he inserts his penis, but I do find it tiresome that people like him have to be sure everyone knows by branding themselves with rainbows all the time.

Being gay isn't a personality.

[Square = Circle]

I do find it tiresome that people like him have to be sure everyone knows by branding themselves with rainbows all the time

Yes - I would like him 100% more if he said "well, if you must know, yes I'm gay, but I really don't feel a need to wave a flag about it."

[Chemjeff, NAMBLA CEO and Radical Pedophilia Enthusiast]

Oh, it absolutely is. And not just personality, but the entire persona of many leftists. Think how many gay leftists are an empty shell without their gayness.

[Uncle Jay]

Chase Oliver is a cheerleader for BLM, defunding the cops and "policing" (read censoring) the internet.
So, fuck him.

[JesseAz]

Most of the criticism was pulled from his own website.

Federal subsidized loans.
Federal protections for special classes.
Open borders without any welfare reform.
No word on political prosecutions.
No plan for reducing taxes or regulatory reform, just generic pablum.

He sounds like he has no understanding of libertarianism outside of what he sees from Twitter. Dave Smith would destroy him in a debate. There is no depth there.

You even push his big win was 2% vote share on Ga lol.

[A Thinking Mind]

Shame Hazel ran for senate two years earlier, got 2.5%, 30,000 more votes, also forced a runoff. Who the fuck outside of Georgia has ever heard of him?

It’s not an achievement for Chase, it’s a failure.

[JesseAz]

The LPs biggest means of gatekeeping is through their failures.

[Chumby]

Should they change their name to the Washington Generals?

[damikesc]

Hey.

The Generals beat the Globetrotters three times (not THAT unheard of. Pro wrestling has had the "wrong" guy win more often than one would imagine).

Worlds better than the LP.

[A Thinking Mind]

His great achievement that he boasts about, which defines his entire resume, is losing half the votes a different libertarian drew six years earlier. Or, if you look two years earlier, Shane Hazel drew 30,000 more votes in a different race that also forced a runoff.

His “achievement” is a spin on failure. He gets credit because a ton of liberal media loved the resulting win for the Democratic candidate, not because he was actually winning anything for libertarians. And less than a month after losing that race and losing libertarian votes, he announced he was considering a run for President. He loves running campaigns, I just don’t see him as a candidate that would ever do anything.

[Social Justice is neither]

If only your last sentence was his history and platform he might not be so horrible. "Chase Oliver for president, a man who plans to do nothing"

[sarcasmic]

Libertarians, plotting to take over the world and leave people alone.

[Chemjeff, NAMBLA CEO and Radical Pedophilia Enthusiast]

What would you know about it? You’re just a leftist drunk.

[A Thinking Mind]

I’m not so sure. I remember that was the lame justification used for why Biden was better for libertarians-the idea that he was too listless and feeble to do anything. It turns out that when the President is feeble, the federal government is strong enough to keep on rolling without him.

I’d prefer someone who actually has strategies and the energy to fight the entrenched bureaucracy instead of bland platitudes. Milei came into office wielding a literal and figurative chainsaw and had strategies for forcing the reduction in government that he was promising. Oliver promotes it but his ideas are bullet points and not strategies.

I agree with a lot of his policy goals, but he has no path to implementing them because he doesn’t present himself as a threat to win. I want candidates who act like they’re going to win and know what they plan to do for the entire time they’re in office, not just the first hour when they sign a stack of pardons.

[Social Justice is neither]

Oh it was only comparing nothing to his actual stated preferences. Add in the inertia and motivation of the State itself and nothing isn't nearly enough, just pointing out an empty seat would provide as much a hindrance to the State and wouldn't have it's own detrimental motivations.

[Zeb]

That's why, despite having plenty to disagree with him on, I really liked Vivek. He actually had plans to get government in check. Some of which he might actually be able to implement if he's ever elected.

[JesseAz]

Vivek is still the only candidate with an actual plan on how to cut down the power of the bureaucracy.

[Mickey Rat]

The person running the Biden Administration is a full authoritarian and believer in the Imperial presidency with autocratic tendencies, as evidenced by the attempt to use OSHA regulations to create a vaccination mandate without Congress, the student loan forgiveness bypassing Congress, and the horrible new Title IX regulations eliminating the rights of the accused and reason with regards to women's sports.

[A Thinking Mind]

There no one person in charge of the presidency right now. It’s a series of top bureaucrats, focus group selected administrators given free rein to expand their powers. Biden may actually weigh in here and there but he’s just a small part of the iceberg of democrat administrative power. I’ll submit that he doesn’t know what’s going on in a large number of his departments in even the grand scale, much less the day-to-day basis.

Bureaucracy is self-sustaining and doesn’t need help. It needs constraints and guardrails when it doesn’t need a chainsaw.

[Square = Circle]

^

[Mickey Rat]

You may be right, but the person or Inner Party committee certainly do not believe the executive needs restrictions or guardrails. At least, not when their ilk holds power

[JesseAz]

Chase Oliver will be no different. He would have no allies. No experience. No plans. The deep state would drive right over him.

[Chumby]

They would chase him out pf the decision making process?

[Square = Circle]

He would have no allies. No experience. No plans. The deep state would drive right over him.

So . . . like Trump?

[JesseAz (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

Trump ran on multiple things in 2015 that he worked with his senate allies on. Tax Cuts, First Step Act...

So no?

[Nardz]

Except he's a gay race communist pedo

[sarcasmic]

True libertarians (Trump supporters) understand that all gays are leftist pedophiles.

[ChemJess HorseshoeShill]

Some of them are BBB pedophiles too. Chamber of commerce republicans, you see, are worse than leftists. Because they are leftists in their hearts, plus they pretend to be republican for the sweet sweet tax breaks.

First against the wall!

[Chemjeff, NAMBLA CEO and Radical Pedophilia Enthusiast]

Yes, they are among the RINO collaborators that should be cleansed, along with democratkind.

[JesseAz]

I've noticed lately you keep trying to turn insults towards you onto others. It doesn't work buddy. Lol.

I mean did they even take a test?

[damikesc]

Weird how many are fond of Ric Grenell, ain't it?

[Social Justice is neither]

Sorry but you are the company you keep and I'm not about to throw my reputation in with antifa like Chase and Reason have, you can keep that marxist ideology. There is nothing about this dude that is not straight up progressive leftist and that's working out so swell right now.

[Butler T. Reynolds]

"antifa like Chase and Reason"

You Trumpkins are just knuckle-dragging stupid.

[Sevo]

Now please do an examination of the views of the local dog-catcher candidates; they might get elected.

[Rick James]

The trans issue is a deal killer for me, and I was a bit shocked that anti-racism and DEI wasn't discussed given how prominently they feature in our culture.

As far as vaccine mandates go, he provides a 'pure' answer, but not one that addressed the practical effects of government mandated bans on private businesses that had any tangential association or contracts with the government. Unfortunately, it's very similar to "you can carry concealed guns except in sensitive places" and then you discover everything is a sensitive place.

[Square = Circle]

The trans issue is a deal killer for me

That's where he's the worst, yes, and I'm hoping someone shows him the Cass Report and he uses the opportunity to say "shit, sorry - I was wrong on that one."

[mad.casual]

I’m hoping someone shows him the Cass Report and he uses the opportunity to say “shit, sorry – I was wrong on that one.”

He's still on his Twitter feed in 2021 getting the latest mask, wearing it indoors, bragging about how he wouldn't force other people to do so.

He'll, like Reason, read the Cass Report sometime in 2026, declare you grant him amnesty for the stupid shit that he couldn't possibly have known, despite abjectly evil morons like Donald Trump knowing them, and then proceed as though nothing changed.

You are deliberately retarding yourself for him.

[Square = Circle]

You are deliberately retarding yourself for him.

Do you have some minimum number of times a day you have to go be an asshole to someone?

“The lesser evil is still evil and I won’t participate in that.” - mad.casual

[mad.casual]

Do you have some minimum number of times a day you have to go be an asshole to someone?

Do you think crying because I said your wish for him to read the Cass Report and apologize was farting in the wind makes you look like less of a sycophant?

And, to answer your question, no.

[Square = Circle]

Do you think crying because I said your wish for him to read the Cass Report and apologize was farting in the wind makes you look like less of a sycophant?

lol

You are such a pissy little man.

[A Thinking Mind]

Also they didn’t go into the big issue of NIH guidance, where businesses just followed federal recommendations. There were a lot of “soft” mandates, where businesses were afraid of acting in violation of government guide posts for fears of liability. He doesn’t address that, making me concerned he may not even be aware of how pervasive the issue of public health is.

A lot of missing the mark, and when you’re six months out from an election, you really do need to be on point.

[Square = Circle]

He doesn’t address that, making me concerned he may not even be aware of how pervasive the issue of public health is.

Probably correct. This goes back to my concern that the guy is very young, and there's probably a lot about the world he has no idea about.

[Zeb]

That's what bugs me the most about him and many in the LP. There are a few really big and critical liberty issues on the table right now. Gay and trans rights isn't one of them. (That battle has been won politically and libertarians shouldn't be worried about some people still being bigots.) Public health authoritarianism is.

[Square = Circle]

There are a few really big and critical liberty issues on the table right now. Gay and trans rights isn’t one of them. (That battle has been won politically and libertarians shouldn’t be worried about some people still being bigots.) Public health authoritarianism is.

Indeed.

[shadydave]

But I doubt he sees it as authoritarianism. I think he supports it. Just that he can just hide behind the fact that it was imposed by "private companies" when of course the implications that come with CDC Guidelines means they really weren't.

I think his main deviation from boilerplate Democratic dogma is that he genuinely supports guns and that's just a no go zone for the Democratic party right now.

[Zeb]

Well, whether he actually supports it, or just thinks it's old news and time to move on, it's not good.

[A Thinking Mind]

I honestly think this might be the weakest presidential candidate the libertarian party has put out since Marrou. Say what you will about Bob Barr, he was a 4 term US Rep before he ever ran for president as a libertarian.

He'll probably do better than people like Barr, but it's worth remember that libertarians weren't getting anywhere near 1% of the vote until 2008-2012, which I largely credit to Ron Paul.

A lot of the fault doesn't go to him, but to the Mises Caucus for not coming up with anyone better than Rectenwald to run against him. I would not be surprise if the L party dipped back below 1% for the first time since 2008.

[JesseAz]

I can't find it now due to the dozens of stories about his selection, but I had read he supported the medical misinformation censorship during Covid.

[shadydave]

I think he's probably aware, it's just that he agreed with said mandates and so this gives him the option of supporting them by saying they were privately imposed. Which of course they really weren't.

His beliefs are almost certainly much further left than the median libertarian, but he rightly figured that all he had to do is couch his left views in libertarian speak to win the hearts and minds of enough libertarians to win.

I'm pretty sure that this is someone who would vote for AOC over Thomas Massie, and such a person is just not a libertarian in any way.

[JesseAz]

Yeap. Fully agree with your assessment. All of his views are very weak and coded to really say nothing of substance.

[Rick James]

It's truly a Gordian Knot of coercion based on governmental lies and deception. There were so many layers of "just following orders/just following the science/just using the WHO guidelines" that had a direct, measurable and severely damaging impact on peoples lives, that this 'sitting on the sidelines' shit just doesn't quite cut it.

I don't have anything against Chase 'HR Representative' Oliver, except that he leans too heavily on his personal identity politics and is weak tea on other areas.

His take on immigration isn't terrible, but it suffers from blinders. He does indicate he wants immigrants to come through a "legal port of entry" but that the pathway to work should be as smooth as possible. Hell, I don't disagree with that and people think my views on immigration should require umlauts over the vowels.

But he says something telling when he describes a restaurant owner that "wants to hire immigrants but he can't because they don't have work visas". There is a LOT to unpack there.

Why doesn't he hire legal migrants? is it because Mr. Restaurant owner doesn't want to pay the minimum wage or benefits? That tears at the very fabric of what this unchecked immigration issue has become: sidewalks lined with unemployed Americans, legally capable of working, and undocumented immigrants willing to work for less than the mandated minimum wage but can't because the business owner doesn't want to get fined.

Does the answer to the above seem as simple as it looks to me?

[Social Justice is neither]

More welfare benefits? Looks like we got some bbn people left off the gravy train that might vote for the Dems.

[sarcasmic]

He says he's got no use for hatred and division. Calls it "bullshit". So leftist.

He wants parents, not politicians, to make healthcare decisions. So leftist.

He keeps repeating that he wants decisions to be made privately, not by government.

So leftist.

[Rick James]

He says he’s got no use for hatred and division. Calls it “bullshit”. So leftist.

Right, so let’s agree to disagree and just pay the reparations.

He wants parents, not politicians, to make healthcare decisions. So leftist.

Right, so let's agree to disagree and keep fast-tracking minors and prepubescent teens into life changing hormone therapies and sterilization surgeries.

He keeps repeating that he wants decisions to be made privately, not by government.

Right, so let's agree to disagree and not let anyone return to work due to wrongthink if the employment industrial complex deems them a deplorable.

[sarcasmic]

Those are great counterarguments to things he didn't say. Unless I missed something.

Ohhh, I'm sorry. You are providing counterarguments to the narrative.

My bad.

[Night Watchman]

I won't vote for him, because if I decide on seriously compromising on a candidate, I will compromise for one that actually has a shot of winning or moving the needle.

So, instead, I'll probably write in Joshua Smith or some other unknown libertarian. Same result for me, but I feel better.

[Nardz]

https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1796183434252931383?t=7ceo_LWyfXjmtmsf-q5xWA&s=19

NEW: Woman who attacked a Chicago police officer, stole his squad car and ran him over, acquitted of all charges.

Insane.

Cook County Judge Tyria Walton found Whitley Temple not guilty of attempted murder.

Temple can now walk free after the judge said she was not guilty by reason of insanity.

She was also found not guilty of two counts of aggravated battery to a police officer, vehicular hijacking, and possession of a stolen vehicle.

After Temple stole the car, she sped off, reaching speeds of 90mph before running into 4 cars.

The police officer suffered a concussion and needed multiple stitches.

Temple will only have to show up to court for a meeting with mental health officials for a treatment plan.

[damikesc]

....decent odds says she will not show up and nothing will happen.

Might be necessary to have Feds step in here. These Soros DA's seem to permitting mass violence to citizens for no reason.

[sarcasmic]

Ha! He said BOAF SIDEZ! Only leftists say that. What a leftist.

[Bertram Guilfoyle]

Sarc is slowly becoming the guy at the end of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, just pointing and screaming wildly.

[shadydave]

My concern with Oliver is that he's a non-libertarian that is trying to couch his views in libertarian-speak because that's how he gets this platform. This does nothing to assuage those concerns. Being a Barack "You Didn't Build That" Obama supporter (and an enthusiastic one) ought to be a hard label to shed.

The left-libertarians can't just hand wave away their abysmal reaction to 2020 as real authoritarianism descended on the country and their response was to cheer it on. Whether or not the Mises Caucus deserved to win the party, the Jorgensen/Oliver wing desperately deserved to lose it.

But being a "right winger" is apparently icky in ways being a "left-winger" somehow isn't, so here we are.

[I, Woodchipper]

no one with an ounce of libertarian belief would have "enthusiastically" supported Barack

[A Thinking Mind]

What I really wanted asked was how he felt about losing votes in the libertarian races in Georgia. Nobody ever seems to point that out, and it would be nice if he addresses it, either to own some issues with his campaign, or to talk about how to reverse the trend and get libertarians back to the polls.

[charliehall]

The real argument for libertarian or libertarian adjacent policies is that they will be better for the economically disadvantaged and the people oppressed by bigots. In other words, a woke argument. But most anti woke people are defenders of bigotry. Libertarian adjacent policies would cause those bigots to suffer economic damage and that would be a very good thing.

[Sevo]

You.
Are.
Full.
Of.
Shit.

[damikesc]

True libertarians are wokesters. Interestingly fucking moronic take.

[Diarrheality]

But most anti woke people are defenders of bigotry reality.

Fixed it for you, dumbshit.

[Square = Circle]

The real argument for libertarian or libertarian adjacent policies is that they will be better for the economically disadvantaged

There is no "The Real Argument," but this is definitely an angle that libertarians have historically neglected, ceding the field to Democrats who only over screw over the economically disadvantaged. Some have been taking it up recently, and that's encouraging.

and the people oppressed by bigots

This is a bit of a non-sequitur. It seems like "nobody should be oppressed by anybody, full stop" is a better stance, as I don't see anything in libertarianism that singles out bigotry per se as being a special form of persecution.

In other words, a woke argument.

Not at all. To the extent that "woke" is a thing, it is explicitly about race and explicitly about using the force of government to achieve some elusive concept of "equity" as if the economy is some kind of racial team sport. This is not libertarian in the least.

But most anti woke people are defenders of bigotry.

Most anti-woke people are defenders of free speech, which includes speech categorized as "bigotry." Most are not defenders of the bigotry itself.

[JVT]

As a decades, long subscriber to Reason magazine, a financial supporter of the Foundation, and listener to all of the podcasts since day one, I think Zack does an excellent job of “just asking questions.” I believe that Liz often crosses the line from asking to advocating, on issues that she feels strongly about (trans and business mandates in this episode). It’s tedious to hear her asking the same question in slightly different ways trying to get the interviewee to say something that satisfies her. I offer this in the spirit of constructive criticism, as I think she has the potential to be a great Reason interviewer.

[NoVaNick]

It’s pretty much already decided who will win the state i live in. Sooo, my choices are:
1. Vote for this Oliver guy
2. Vote for RFK Jr
3. Not vote

I am leaning towards RFK at the moment since he pisses the progs off the most and I think he has some good ideas to balance out the bad ones, I have voted for the third string JV LP candidate the past two elections, but this guy doesn’t even seem to make that cut.

[aldousd666]

I matched with Chase 90% on ISideWith.com so I can't really say anything bad about the guy.

[JohnZ]

I wonder what the L.P. thinks of Trump's conviction based on phony and dubious charges?
So what are they going to think when the leftists come for them? Don't think for a moment they won't. The leftists who are now in power will see the L.P. as just another political enemy.
You're next.

[NoVaNick]

The leftists already consider the LP and libertarianism in general to be “far right.”, but not enough of a threat, yet, to be considered an official enemy of the state.

[Butler T. Reynolds]

I checked out Chase's website for the first time. Looking at the Platform section, I'm bewildered at the Mises crowd. OK, he's not their style of populist, I get that. But damn, don't make him out to be something he's not -- leave that kind of dishonesty to the progressives, Tucker, and Hannity.

[TheReEncogitationer]

Perhaps a better term for The Mises Caucus is Mises Skin-Suiters, because they don't act like they've read a word that Mises ever wrote.

[Kyfho Myoba]

Sorry to break it to you, but ethnic cleansing (like Liz Wolfe described - warning inhabitants to "get out of the way" of an advancing army) is a subset of genocide according to US law.

[Uomo Del Ghiaccio]

It will be difficult for me to support Chase Oliver who represents and supports much of the vile stances of the Democrat party. Personally, I don't care what his sexual preferences are, but I do care that he uses his sexual preferences as why he is qualified to be president.

The reality is that sexual preferences is not relevant to higher office. Making it a rallying call makes him less qualified versus more qualified.

I agree with him on some issues and disagree with him on some issues. How he presents himself on the various issues is particularly off-putting.

Much as when Jo Jorgenson made the comment of being actively anti-racist is off-putting because simply not being racist should suffice.

I'm seriously considering voting for RFK Jr. even though he does not meet as high of a percentage to my beliefs. He however is not as off-putting as Chase Oliver. This will be a difficult decision, but Chase Oliver represents the insidious essence of wokeness.

[LIBtranslator]

I can recall back when Zack was a data-driven, in-touch-with-reality guy. Now that he's been absorbed by Florida Trumpanzistas and teamed up with Squeaky Fromme II he is more like the 75% of students tested in the Solomon Asch Experiment on Opinions and Social Pressure. "Now that all of you antichoice MAGAts mention it, the 3-inch line does look just like the 5-inch line on the chart." And "Chase Oliver is inconsistent for not sticking his head into this same legalize child-molesting noose conservatives tricked the LP into endorsing in the 1980s." I'm sure Zack'll be missed, once anyone notices he's gone.