Libertarian National Convention: The Bad

OK, so I covered the good in a previous post. In this post, I'll cover the bad -- and the ugly, just to get it over with.

The Libertarian Party nominated Gary Johnson for president and William Weld for vice-president.

So far as I can tell the nominations were legitimately conferred. I was in the hall. I had a vote. So the only thing I can do in good conscience is accept the result. I don't plan to actively campaign against this ticket unless they betray the party in some big way above and beyond the pre-existing reasons why they should never have been seriously considered for the nominations in the first place.

At the same time, just because a majority of national convention delegates decided to shit the bed, that doesn't mean I have to roll around in it with them for the next five months. I cannot bring myself to promote or otherwise support this ticket.

I strongly believe that Libertarian candidates should support the candidates up- and down-ticket from them. Since I can't do that this year, I have ended my campaign for US House of Representatives. To the extent that I'm involved in electoral politics between now and November, it will be on behalf of Libertarian candidates who can be supportive of the presidential slate.

This is the third presidential election in a row in which the Libertarian Party has declined to offer the American electorate a viable libertarian choice on their presidential ballots. I'm not sure how many more such fiascoes the party can survive. Heck, it may be too late to save this thing now. But I guess I'll keep trying.

OK, back to work.