this post was submitted on 24 May 2024
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/15768513

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is addressing the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, DC, Friday afternoon.

Although Kennedy indicated last month he would not seek the Libertarian Party’s nomination, he has long promoted libertarian policies and values.

Democrat-aligned PAC MoveOn has invested in a mobile billboard campaign to dissuade convention attendees from supporting Kennedy.

Former President Trump will also be speaking at the Libertarian convention this weekend. Trump has been ahead of Biden in recent swing state polls. But the lead is narrow enough in some that a small number of independent and Libertarian voters could make the difference in the electoral college.

Kennedy is scheduled to appear at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

I really don't understand this new shift in the Libertarian Party. Does the new LP actually like Trump or RFK Jr? I personally strongly dislike both, and I strongly dislike Biden.

I'm trying to give this new LP leadership a chance, but signals like this really confuse me. I'll probability give this a watch out of curiosity (i.e. what do either of them think libertarians want to hear from them?), but I'm really not that interested in what the LP is doing these days and will probability change my party affiliation to Unaffiliated soon.

[–] jimmydoreisalefty 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Seems it was a push by the owner class, people at the top of the LP that may have pushed it.

RFK Jr.'s VP is also a billionaire so funding potential and influence is quite high on that end, not to mention the Kennedy name has a lot of connections.

All this people are part of the 'swamp' Trump claims to be against, but in reality that only try to tailor their talks to the working class, then once in office they continue the status quo for the most part.

I’m trying to give this new LP leadership a chance

Yes, I also prefer to make up my own mind about people instead of just hearing things about them second hand, so as to realign my views on said people.

Always good to make some time to watch major videos like this.

I already know RFK Jr. lied about being anti-war and being america first, seems he is Israel first, as well as other politicians trying to appeal to the working class.

Good luck on finding the party affiliation that fits your policy and views!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Yup, I'll probably end up Unaffiliated or Independent again... But there's a minority party in my state that's basically centrist breakoff from the local Democratic Party, and they seem to have a better shot than any of the others, while being somewhat okay.

It really doesn't matter though. I live in a very red state so Republican candidates will win pretty much every seat. But I think I'll run for state house or something someday (my rep has been unopposed as long as I remember), so I'll probably need to pick a party again at some point.

But yeah, I'll wait and see who the LP nominates before deciding whether it's something I'm comfortable aligning myself with.

[–] jimmydoreisalefty 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Oh, great that you decided already, hahaha

That was quick! Nice, none duopoly parties are much better, but they do tend to struggle to take off at the local level, grassroots takes a bit and hard work from community.

Go for it!

I would suggest to join your local council as a start, if you would like to..., and start networking with people so as to start the process required to get voters and supporters.

Sounds good, you do not want to just go off of party teams, we need to make sure to see what policies fit while what is just talk versus what will they really fight for; I've made that mistake before, hahaha

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Yup. I was "Republican" back when I was naïve enough to think they believed in small government (I grew up in a blue state, so didn't actually see how they governed), then unaffiliated until I found the LP around 2014 (Ron Paul opened my eyes). Now, the LP seems interested in courting the far right and other conspiracists, and I'd rather not be affiliated with that. It used to be an unspoken thing, but now they're saying the quiet part out loud by inviting a science denier and an election denier to speak at their convention.

If the LP won't align closely enough with my NAP views, I'll have to consider myself Independent. I guess I'll go back to being a "small l" libertarian.

Thanks for the tips! I don't even want to win, I just want another name on the ballot so people technically have a choice. My kids are getting old enough that I might be able to actually make an attempt at it soon. Winning would actually be really inconvenient because of the time commitment and limited pay, so I'm mostly in it for the debate and ballot option.

[–] jimmydoreisalefty 2 points 6 months ago

Yes, some of my friends were really into Ron Paul, they keep bringing him up not too long ago also, hahaha

I didn't know why but compared to the status quo he is much better on things that the working class would benefit from.

Yes, both blue and red team try to appeal to a certain group but they just end up losing more support in the end, hahaha

Ah, that is a good choice so as to have competition where their is none! Always best to be as direct as possible since you are not to worried about the outcome, win-win solution it seems, hahaha

Careful you might win though, hahahaha