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Johnson's supporters have been shown to be taking more votes away from HRC than they are from Trump; these are voters who, for the large part, will not vote for Trump but who could vote for HRC if the choice was only Trump and Clinton. I welcome Johnson's inclusion in the race and hope that his support remains steady.
Johnson's platform seemed reasonable to a lot of people , then he got on TV and he reminded me of a stoned Spicolli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High when he didn't know about Alepo or couldn't name one foreign leader he likes.
I am voting for Johnson. I feel he has a lot of good political ideas that will benefit the Country if he became POTUS. I really don't take much from the events on TV with him. He just isn't am individual that interviews well and is a very passionate individual. Still I believe he is a smart person. I am voting for him.
I'm voting Libertarian in this election too, as I have in every election since 1980. Of course Gary Johnson has no chance to win, so his qualifications or lack thereof are immaterial.... but I'm sure he'd make a better president than Donald Trump. (Heck, just about any random bum off the street would likely make a better president than Donald Trump. My cat would make a better president than Donald Trump.) The thing is, I've always been voting for the libertarian platform, rather than the candidate: I want less government interference in both personal and economic affairs, and neither of the two major parties reflects my views.
I did think very long and hard about voting for Hillary Clinton simply as a means of helping to stop Donald Trump. I would have been willing to do that if I thought my one vote would make any difference, but she has been ahead in the polls in my state all along, and every one of them is still picking her to win here (I've been looking at that handy table the NY Times updates every day). While I don't agree with Clinton on many issues, I also don't have any doubts that she is qualified, that she will take her oath to "preserve, protect, and defend" the Constititution seriously, and that she will do her best to mend the destruction to the reputation and prestige of US democracy in the international community that has been caused by Trump's candidacy.
It seems to me that the Republicans have completely self-destructed in this election cycle. Clinton had so much "baggage" that made her unpopular that the Republicans could have won this easily had they fielded a better candidate. Instead, not only did they continue to ignore the libertarian and moderate wings of the party, they picked a candidate who's alienated women, Latinos, Muslims, Jews, the handicapped, veterans, taxpayers, yadda yadda -- and those are exactly the constituencies who are now falling over themselves to vote for Clinton. The lasting stink of Trumpism is going to adhere like a turd to every person in the Republican party who collaborated with him. Never mind about "draining the swamp", the Republicans need to clean out their own sewer first!
So if the "party of Lincoln" is gone, and now the Republicans are the party of a wannabe fascist dictator, what next? What I'm hoping to see is some sort of new coalition arising from the wreckage of the Republicans -- one with entirely new leadership, that addresses a more inclusive and moderate constituency, instead of being dominated by the religious right. (IMO, Trump is just an extension of that -- he preys on people's ignorance and superstition by appeal to authority, only he proclaims *himself* as that ultimate authority instead of thumping a bible.) A strong showing by the Libertarians in this election will show both parties that we are not a constituency that can be ignored, any more than the more easily-categorized demographic groups of women, Latinos, etc that Trump has driven firmly into Clinton's camp.
It is easy for me to understand Bill Weld's position; I lived in Massachusetts when he was governor, and he was enormously popular there among people of both parties. Then Jesse Helms killed his political career because he wasn't "conservative" enough, by totally refusing to hold hearings when he was nominated to be Ambassador to Mexico. (Sound like a familiar strategy? The Republicans are still doing that.) If a political party drives away its best talent and insults and denigrates large parts of the electorate, how can you expect to win with what is left?
Anyway..... I wish Hillary Clinton well, and I hope I will be celebrating her victory tomorrow night. I very much appreciate that people who vote for her are making a good choice for our country.
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