The Libertarian party just can't get it right

There is a saying that happens in Libertarian circles that is kind of smug and certainly doesn't help to attract new members. It goes something like this: Most people who claim to be Libertarian are actually confused Republicans. There is a lot of infighting among Libertarians about what it actually means to be Libertarian and I would imagine that they consider me to not be truly Libertarian. I may not be, but I just know that I don't identify with Republican party platforms and definitely do not identify with 90% of what Democrats espouse to stand for.

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I feel as though in the past 3 election cycles the Libertarians had a novel opportunity to really gain some ground as a third party choice but they just manage to screw it up every time. When Gary Johnson, an already successful politician popped onto the scene in 2016 he really didn't do himself any favors in the way that he talked during interviews. Sure the media was definitely trying their best to make him look stupid, but he didn't do himself any favors by actually appearing to be seriously stupid in the interviews he did get.

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Despite the fact that the media was doing everything they could to make Johnson look like a terrible candidate, he did quite well (for a 3rd party) all around the country and people started to take notice of the party for the first time. He was even featured as a 3rd picture on a lot of the poll reports coming in. Then in 2020 a lot of people started to forget that there was a 3rd party because of how heated the Trump/Biden rivalry was. Jo Jorgensen was a very forgettable candidate and people didn't really pay much attention to her. She pulled down about 1.8% of the overall national vote. This was about 1/3 of what Johnson/Weld managed to get.

Still, I think that a lot of people are disenfranchised by the two-party system and would be open to the idea of having another option but the Libertarians have put forth an absolutely terrible candidate for the Presidency this time around.

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His name is Chase Oliver and even though they don't even bother talking about him very much the media has a very easy job making him look like someone that isn't even worth considering voting for.

His support for Drag Story Hours and support of Antifa rioters in the past are just two of the things that make me wonder, what the hell are the Libertarian delegates thinking? They turned down a potential nomination of RFK Jr. and while this does make sense since Jr.'s support of increased spending on just about anything goes totally against the small-government mind of Libertarianism, he would have had a much better chance of getting some attention for this fledgling party.

I don't think the media is going to bother paying much attention to Oliver, and when they do it is going to be in an almost completely negative light. I think that Trump will likely not even mention the guy's name and why should he?

I would love it if the Libertarian party could gain some traction of some sort but they just always seem to be a lot more concerned with strictly sticking to party ideals rather than focusing on actually winning every now and then. It would be wonderful if parties actually DID strictly stick to their ideals but that just isn't the way that politics work right now.

I believe that Chase Oliver is going to do more damage than good for the Libertarians because I have no enthusiasm for this guy. I don't really have much enthusiasm for any of the candidates this year but I am just so disappointed that the Libertarians are once again completely missing a novel opportunity to "cash in" on voter apathy and disdain for the 2-party system.