The Libertarian Party candidate for president is Chase Oliver. His views are neither Republicans nor Democrat. In general, the Libertarian philosophy is to reduce government spending, and thus the immediate appeal of everyone paying less taxes. The battle cry of Libertarians is that we spend too much for what we don’t need. The problems of our country can be solved through private enterprise.
The problem comes in almost immediately on policies which would have terrible consequences, here and abroad. They would withdraw all military assistance to Ukraine, and pull out of NATO. Russia would be overjoyed and crush the democratically ruled Ukraine and then quickly send their forces into neighboring countries.
There has been slow progress on reducing emissions of greenhouse emissions, contributing to Climate Change. Economic incentives for new sources of renewable energy is essential, but Libertarians would seek to pull out of the Climate Change accords, and eliminate renewable energy incentives.
The Libertarians view of most problems outside of the US is simply, “It’s not our problem.” This is isolationism. The war in Gaza is now a humanitarian crisis, and Libertarians rigid philosophy would get in the way of finding practical solutions. Israel force the Gaza population living close to their border to flee to the southern area of Rafah. Many in refugee camps are approaching starvation, and Israel has been frustrating food shipments from Egypt. The US army and navy constructed the Trident pier, which will supplement the food shipments, by allowing trucks to pour into Gaza by sea.
I’ll post more on Rafah aid. It is great to see the US be part of the immediate humanitarian needs to the people of Rafah.
Stars and Stripes article, UN resumes transporting aid from US-built pier in Gaza
CBS Reports on Rafah Aid
Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy both wanted to be the candidate for the Libertarian Party. Of course, Donald Trump will be the presidential candidate for the Republican party, but being endorsed by the Libertarian party would be a nice boost to his popularity.
Libertarians oppose all trade tariffs, as they run counter to capitalism and free enterprise. This has been a tool used against both China for unfair trade practices and Russia for their invasion of Ukraine. So, it is easy to see why Libertarians eliminated Trump in the first round of voting.
In sum, the global problems require global solutions. Russian expansion under Putin is one of them. The rise of authoritarian regimes in many parts of the world, including Iran, North Korea, China and Russia need a united global response. And it requires huge funding.
Their Presidential candidate is Chase Oliver, who was affiliated with the Democratic Party until year 2009. Some issues, like gun ownership, is closer to Republican party platform. His pro-choice stance on abortion is more aligned with the Democrats.
Neither Robert Kennedy nor Chase Oliver has ever held elected office. However, Oliver has run for both the US House and Senate seats, and won only about 2% of the vote. Below is a brief biographical summary of Chase Oliver:
I have to admit, that I admire the conviction of the Libertarians, for rejecting the well financed candidates, Robert Kennedy and Donald Trump, and going their own way. They had a real convention, with each candidate lobbying for support. Chase Oliver was selected on the seventh round of voting.
I recommend not voting for any candidate who has never held any elected office. Or any candidate that is likely to be convicted of serious criminal offenses. This effectively eliminates Kennedy, Oliver and Trump.
Stay tuned,
Dave
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