Tag: Jill Stein

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Vinland?

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Agreeing with a murderer is … uncomfortable. Even if the agreement is only in part.

Over the weekend, the news hit that one Jeremy Joseph Christian was in custody for a stabbing spree on one of Portland, Oregon’s MAX trains. According to reports, Christian had been yelling religious slurs at two hijab-​wearing women when three men intervened in defense. Christian then stabbed the men … two to death.

The next day, quadrennial Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein politicized it in the now-de rigueur point-​scoring manner: “Another heartbreaking tragedy in Trump’s America, as a white nationalist shouting anti-​Islam slurs murders 2 on Portland, OR subway.”*

Immediately, other Twitterers (tweeters?) rushed to point the finger back at her. It turns out (investigation courtesy of BuzzFeed) the accused’s Facebook page showed the knife-​wielder as supporting first Bernie Sanders and then … Dr. Stein herself.

But that is just the side story. Christian appears to have a long criminal record. It seems likely that he took to white nationalism as well as free speech — he brought a baseball bat to the recent Portland free speech rally I wrote about a few weeks ago, the police say, to “attack left-​wing protestors” — and even progressive politics simply to fill his personal rage quota. The fact that he saluted Nazi-​style, shouted “Hail Vinland,” and called himself a “nihilist” strongly suggest that he’s mostly unhinged.

You and I support free speech; he said he supported free speech. But free speech doesn’t include stabbing people. We can all agree that Stein is off the hook.

As is President Trump.

As are we.

We, after all, don’t support murder, heiling Hitler, or … Vinland?

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

 

* Portland has no subway; MAX is an on-​the-​surface light rail system.

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Accountability ideological culture media and media people national politics & policies political challengers Regulating Protest

The Media’s Job

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Do nearly two-​thirds of Americans want Libertarian Party presidential nominee and former two-​term Republican governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson in the presidential debates?

Snopes​.com, the hoax-​busting website, investigated the truthiness of a widespread Internet meme making just that claim.

The verdict?

It’s true.

An August 25th Quinnipiac University poll showed 62 percent of likely voters saying yes, “Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate for president, should be included in the presidential debates.” Among 18-​to-​34-​year-​olds, a whopping 82 percent felt Johnson deserved a podium.

Or perhaps more accurately, these voters want an opportunity to hear about all their choices, not just Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton —deliciously dubbed “the unloved presidential candidates” in the Quinnipiac news release. Which leads to the most important number in the survey: 68 percent felt they “haven’t heard enough” about Gov. Johnson to even form an opinion.

He still garnered 10 percent support overall and was the only candidate with a higher favorable* than unfavorable rating.

Voters are dissatisfied with the major party choices, so why limit the debate to just Trump and Clinton? Because the Commission on Presidential Debates is a crony organization, a wholly owned subsidiary of the DNC and the RNC. With 68 percent of the public totally uninformed about Johnson, he’d have to win nearly a majority of everyone else to hit the 15 percent support required to get in the debates.

Where’s the Fourth Estate? Doesn’t the American voter deserve enough information about Johnson and Stein to form an opinion?

Or will they be broadcasting rigged debates?

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

 

* By the way, once again, the contest was closer when the polling included Libertarian Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein. While head-​to-​head Mrs. Clinton bested Mr. Trump by a full 10 percentage points, 51 – 41, with Johnson and Stein included, Clinton’s advantage shrank to 45 – 38 percent, a seven point lead.

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media and media people national politics & policies political challengers

The New Centrism?

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Have you noticed that CNN has been offering multiple “town hall” presentations of the Libertarian and Green Party presidential candidates?

I think this is not only great for the Libertarians and the Greens, but also good for the country — and I hope it proves good for CNN.

When the Cable News Network started, it was the only player in its league. Then Fox News pulled away its right-​leaning viewers. MSNBC followed, offering a safe space for the far left. And there remains the center-​left of the rest of major media.

So CNN has to distinguish itself. Why not appeal to those left … out of the political process?

By opening up to libertarians and radical environmentalists, CNN may bring in more viewers. And temper its well-​known bias.

With the libertarians, though, CNN may really be just appealing to the new center.

Which is now libertarian … -ish.

Surely, with Trump harrumphing from the apparent “right” and Hillary Clinton dominating the neo-​con left — and Dr. Jill Stein trying to soak up the far left — moderates need a voice.

And with moderate libertarian Gov. Gary Johnson and libertarian-​leaning centrist Gov. Bill Weld, there does exist a reprieve from the scary extremes. Surprised? Well, that is precisely the case Johnson and Weld make. They pitch themselves, as Walter Olson perceptively argues in Reason, as “the ‘sane’ choice, the ‘responsible’ and ‘adult’ ticket … campaigning not on fear and anger but on a positive message of problem-solving.”

More of that, please.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

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