This election cycle has been trending on bizarre for months now. A year ago, nobody thought Donald Trump would be the Republican nominee. Nobody even thought he’d come within a mile of the coronation celebration in Cleveland. Like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Party, this was meant to be former Governor Jeb Bush’s parade. Pundits called it for the heir to the Bush Dynasty for months and even as he stumbled under the pressure, those in the mainstream media and political elite still thought Bush had it.
History would be written differently.
Jeb Bush would be resigned to telling his own supporters to clap while running an awkward, uninspired campaign for the Republican nomination. He wasn’t the only one being outmatched however. Other types, such as Senator Marco Rubio, were falling down. A prominent warhawk and youthful neoconservative, Senator Rubio’s fall was a surprise to many of the same people who predicted Bush’s ascension to the nomination.
But it failed. And the common denominator among many fallen Republican candidates, including Jeb Bush and Senator Rubio, is the support for pro-interventionist, pro-surveillance state big government.
Donald Trump stands as the nominee after spending the election cycle slamming the invasion of Iraq and subsequent occupation. He ripped the Bush family on national television straight to Jeb Bush’s face.
Whereas the Bush Dynasty has long been around, including seeing George W. Bush serve two terms as President, it has now fallen.
Naturally as the American people move away from the eagerness to go to war and massive surveillance programs by the government, the Libertarian Party would rise up. Carrying the name of the libertarian agenda, it is expected they would carry on the principles. Indeed, with favorability ratings for both major candidates freefalling, a third party has never had a better opportunity.
The Libertarian Party’s official Facebook page shared a meme from OutreachUSA encouraging voters to vote Libertarian, because we should declare “No More Bushes, Clintons, or Pauls.” Again, this isn’t entirely surprising given the name of the party. Libertarianism itself has never been in a better position to sell itself to the American people.
Apparently the Libertarian Party wasn’t serious, however.
In a press release responding to former Governors Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney considering support for Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson, Party Chair Nicholas Sarwark declared “The Libertarian Party is delighted that Govs. Bush and Romney are considering voting for our candidates, Govs. Johnson and Weld.”
No more Bushes? Welcome more Bushes!
Aside from the Libertarian Party welcoming warhawk neoconservatives like Bush and Romney, both Johnson and his running mate Bill Weld have had this bizarre trend of avoiding negativity towards Hillary Clinton. Weld has never passed up an opportunity to compliment her, also noting on separate occasions he doesn’t feel she’s done anything wrong and has committed no criminal acts.
Oppose Bush and Clinton? Say no more of them? That ship sailed when the Libertarian Party decided that a neoconservative former Governor in Bill Weld should be the party running mate. It sailed after Chairman Sarwark offered a conflicting message about opposing the big government Bush Dynasty.
The Libertarian Party certainly has its issues. One thing that bugs me is that they could be supporting libertarian leaning Republicans already elected to office such as Paul, Amash, and Massie. Instead of taking the high road and supporting candidates that have very similar values the Libertarian party chooses to actively campaign against them. They act just as petty as the two major parties only worried about growing there power base and ignoring the values they state they stand for.
Th Libertarian Party should have a problem joining hands with the Bush’s and the Bush Doctrine. Our failed Middle East Policy is because of them. Apparently, those who wish to grow the Libertarian Party quickly will let anyone in.