Gary Johnson wins Libertarian Party Nomination for President

For every mess of a country like Greece with 10 parties, you get countries like the UK or Canada with 2 or 3 parties in a parliamentary system. I really doubt America would have room to go beyond 3 or 4 parties. The days of regional parties (which were relatively rare to begin with) are over in the US. At worst you'd get a split of the democrats and republicans into four parties and really not much would happen beyond that.

Our system works wonderfully when parties properly cooperate but it gives so much leverage to a party that decides to be obstructionist.

Also the bicameral legislature is one of the dumbest things we have now. States like Wyoming and South Dakota getting the same number of senators as Texas is so silly. It leads to absurd policy since those members have disproportionate influence. (farm subsidies, ethanol subsidies, oil interests, etc..) If you ever go to a midwestern state, I dare you to find a senator that won't die by the sword for the yearly farm bill. And collectively those rural senators (of both parties) have enough power to get a massive farm bill even though Republicans have blocked everything else.

Our system made sense at the time it was created but I'm really starting to dislike it now. At the very least keep it and dump the Senate. Or adopt something like the French hybrid model that keeps an independent executive with limited powers with a parliamentary system.

 

The least effective multi-party systems tend to be in countries that exist because of historical accidents. Italy is actually a good example, no unified country of italy really ever existed prior to its formation and as a consequence has been a dysfunctional series of regional compromises since. Belgium is another good example with Flemish-Walloonians basically hating on each other since day 1.

 

Canada's system is in flux pretty often, though I have to add that the presence of a social democratic party definitely has pushed fresh ideas, including universal health-care, onto the forefront. Still, for those who track Canadian politics carefully, there has been a series of years where a party advocating for the separation of Quebec, a protest vote at best, held the balance of power in minority governments, and was at one point the official opposition. So yes, it's a trade-off between innovation and new perspectives, and a little bit of chaos.

 

You are right. A couple hundred years of modern democracy, which we deserve credit for creating ,has shown the limits of our system and newer constituions have improved on our original scheme.

We need some constitutional amendments and not just for junk issues like gay marriage.

Our current status is blocked by five government haters on the S. Ct. who
allow unlimited money by the rich to corrupt our politicians. We can't cope very efficiently with present problems -- or provide a decent life for all in accord with our wealth.

 

BUMP
With the possibility of a socialist vs Trump, could Johnson actually make a dent (obviously not winning) in the election?

 

Doubt it

 

About as much chance as Von wafer entering the nba again and averaging 20ppg. Pretty gooooood

 

Libertarians are like the non-violent, non-religious Qutbists. They believe if we all just read the holy book (Atlas Shrugged) and forced the hijab (no taxes) on everyone, then the world would be a better place. Unfortunately, that's not a plan - it's fantasy.

 

No, Trump is actually a great reminder of how bad fringe politics would be for a country this large and diverse. Figure out a way to endorse public education and repudiate past complaints about the Civil Rights Act in your official plank; otherwise it's just too easy for journalists and commentators to scare away mainstream voters.

 

Just FYI..
Ayn Rand was not a libertarian

And to say force no taxes makes no sense. Taxes are forced; ending mandatory taxation would not be an act of force. If someone REALLY LIKED paying their taxes then they could do so voluntarily.

 

How many Libertarian Mayors. . . Senators. . . State senators etc?
They have to build small to big instead of thinking symbolic runs for president move the needle at all

Rocket River

 

IIRC (and it's been a while since I've read/cared about this)...

The original purpose of the Libertarian Party (and having a Presidential nominee) was to spread the ideas of libertarianism, not necessarily to win.

So I guess the idea was that they'd be heard every 4 years and eventually the ideas might gain traction, which could then lead to victories in smaller elections like you mentioned.

Obviously, if that was the goal, it's been a massive failure.

AFAIK the Libertarian Party is primarily made up of Republican party has-beens or people who never even became prominent enough to now be considered a has-been. Yes, there are some good libertarians within the party, but the whole party could disappear overnight and it wouldn't matter.

 

Hilarious!!! If it were official campaign gear, I would buy one!

 

JOHNSON/DEEZ NUTS 2016