Last night there was a debate between 3 of the candidates for Senator in Washington state – they put the full debate online here. I enjoyed it, mainly because for once a Libertarian candidate was able to put together enough money to get into a televised debate alongsinde a Democrat and a Republican. Bruce Guthrie had to mortgage his house and donate that money to his campaign in order to meet the criteria for inclusion.
To my surprise, he didn’t come off as sounding crazy, like so many Libertarians do. He approached the issues fairly moderately, effectively saying we’d take steps to gradually move towards Libertarian ideals (decriminializing drugs, lowering spending, etc). He appeared a little nervous and not as polished, but I was still impressed. He called out both Democrats and Republicans for their failures – both being big spenders, playing politics with every issue, etc. He joked that rather than testing people on welfare for drugs and alcohol (as McGavick wants) they should be testing congressmen.
From one article:
But if anyone “won” the televised exchange — Cantwell’s and McGavick’s second and final formal debate — it was a third candidate, Libertarian Bruce Guthrie, just by being there.
Is there a generally accepted Libertarian stance on the death penalty? (i.e., Democrats no, Republicans fry ’em up). If so, what is it?
There is no codified stance on the death penalty in the Libertarian party as far as I know. However, I believe that most Libertarians oppose the death penalty on the grounds that it is too dangerous a tool for the state to control.
Good to hear. Libertarians (or any 3rd party, really) need more representation in the House and Senate before we can elect one as a President. And speaking of, did I mention that I’m running for President?