Television journalist John Stossel recently interviewed Libertarian Party Chair Nicholas Sarwark about the 2016 election and whether 2018 could be “the year of the Libertarian Party.” Here are highlights from the Jan. 2 episode of “Stossel on Reason”:
“Many of us hoped [the 2016] presidential race would be the election where a Libertarian finally broke through,” opened Stossel.
Sarwark explained that success is a long-term process — it’s not about one particular election.
“We tripled all previous records,” said Sarwark. “In the 45-year history of the Libertarian Party, we’ve never had that kind of support from the electorate. …
“We’re growing and [the Republican and Democratic parties are] dying. Voter registration identity with [them] is dropping. Voter registration identity with Libertarians is the only party [where] that’s growing. …
“More people are seeing that when you elect Republicans, you don’t get the sort of small government they run on. If you elect Democrats, you don’t get civil liberties; you don’t get any of the standing up for the little guy that they say that they’re all about. Both parties are fighting over the ability to take your tax money and give it to their corporate special-interest friends.”
After explaining why the media cooperate with the older two parties’ ongoing, explicit, and regulatory efforts to keep Libertarians off the ballot, Sarwark assured Stossel that “[Libertarian presidential nominee Gov. Gary Johnson] brought a credibility to the party and a popularity that we’re building on now.
“But the Libertarian Party is not about any particular candidate…[it’s about] millions of Americans who’ve come together and said, ‘We want a right to live our life, to pursue happiness any way we choose — as long as we don’t hurt other people and we don’t take their stuff.’
“And the two old political parties, that’s not what they’re about. They’re about taking power and controlling you.”
