Johnson & Weld are the Best Thing to Ever Happen to the Libertarian Party

by Josh Guckert

Libertarians have had plenty to complain about with the two 2016 major-party candidates. Donald Trump is one of the most openly authoritarian individuals in recent memory. Hillary Clinton is so fundamentally dishonest that it’s difficult to keep track of her many untruths over the last 30+ years. Both share in common a belief in the force of government to improve the lives of Americans.

Gary Johnson and William Weld have capitalized on the unpopularity of the Republicans and Democrats, reaching near-unprecedented levels of support for the Libertarian Party. Their exposure has not only led to their own success in national and state polls, but also accomplishments for down-ticket Libertarians. In Alaska, former Republican Senate nominee Joe Miller will run as a Libertarian this November. In Colorado, Lily Tang Williams was invited to the Senate debates. Meanwhile, in Florida, Paul Stanton seems likely to do the same.

It remains frustrating that Johnson was not invited to the first presidential debate. However, his candidacy has done wonders for a political party which had previously never received more than 1.06% of the federal popular vote. Through their campaign, Johnson and Weld have put a serious face on the Libertarian Party. This is due to their status as former governors, as well as candidates appearing on all 50 state ballots. Even the modest success they see now would have been likely impossible without their respective records of accomplishment.

Moreover, Johnson and Weld’s fashion of marketing libertarianism is likely more effective than any other politicians in American history. Rather than engaging in grandiose philosophical platitudes, they present the ideas of liberty in a cognizable fashion. Though Ron Paul was excellent in explaining the deep underpinnings of liberty, he could rarely articulate to an audience outside his existing supporters the merits to his ideas. Accordingly, he found himself with both a clear ceiling and basement, not conducive to growth of the movement.

If nothing else, Johnson and Weld have (perhaps unknowingly) evicted from the movement those who have conspicuously wandered their way in without actually believing in libertarian principles. This largely encompasses the alt-right, as many so-called libertarians criticize Johnson for being for “open borders” and supporting Black Lives Matter. While having these individuals on-board may provide a short-term boost, it will do more harm to the philosophy in the long-term. This also includes the anarchists who have alienated moderate voters from libertarianism with their extreme and unreasonable rhetoric, while being unwilling to compromise one bit.

Hopefully, Libertarians can follow this playbook in future elections as they hopefully build on Johnson and Weld’s successes. This ticket easily has the potential to reach the necessary 5% of the popular vote to receive matching federal funds as well as ballot access in future elections. However, if the Libertarian Party returns to its past follies, it can just as easily squander this golden opportunity.