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The third party debate sponsored by Free and Equal is on CSPAN-1 right now. Shut out of the CPD’s debates, Jill Stein of the Green Party, Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party, Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, and Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party are debating each other.
Topic 1: The top-two primary that was recently passed in California and is on the ballot in Arizona:
Jill Stein: Top Two throws all the candidates from all parties into one primary, and allows candidates to be dishonest about their party affiliation. The candidates with the biggest budget win. Green Party is in favor of many electoral reforms, including campaign finance.
Rocky Anderson: Top Two is attempt of duopoly to restrict choices. Many issues avoided by Romney and Obama, including military spending.
Virgil Goode: Big money (especially PACs) wins under Top Two. It’s a state issue.
Gary Johnson: Opposes Top Two, but it’s a state issue. Romney or Obama will lead to increased police state and intervention abroad. Medicare spending unsustainable.
Opening statements:
Jill Stein: Everyday people need choice not paid for by Wall Street. Jump-start green economy and end umeployment. Destruction of civil liberties. Climate in meltdown.
Rocky Anderson: Millions have lost their homes. Increased inequality. US worst industrialized country on many health indicators. Opposes NDAA.
Virgil Goode: Different from Obama and Romney on balanced budget, near moratorium on green card admissions until unemployment below 5%, banning PACs, and term limits.
Gary Johnson: Marriage equality. Bring troops home from Afghanistan. Don’t bomb Iran. End Drug War. Repeal NDAA and Patriot Act. Submit balanced budget.
Topic 2: War on Drugs:
Rocky Anderson: End War on Drugs. More Americans in prison for drug offenses than the entire prison population in Western Europe. Pardon everyone who is arrested only for drug crime.
Virgil Goode: Cut spending on War on Drugs. Against legalization of drugs, including marijuana. Should be mostly a state issue.
Gary Johnson: Legalize marijuana now; should tax and regulate it. Half of law enforcement budget is for War on Drugs. Legalize hemp as well.
Jill Stein: Marijuana is dangerous because it is illegal, not the other way around. Health problems associated with marijuana are from drug trade. Legalize hemp as well.
Topic 3: Foreign policy and defense spending
Virgil Goode: Favors strong defense, but opposes $2 trillion increase by Romney. Bring troops home; don’t be world’s policeman.
Gary Johnson: Favors strong defense. Reduce military spending by 43% (2003 levels). Stop interventions and drone strikes. Picking winners and losers in foreign countries results in blowback. End drone strikes. Opposed Iraq from the start. Should have left Afghanistan after first 6 months.
Jill Stein: Cut budget and bring troops home. End drones both here and abroad; should be treaty banning them. Foreign policy should favor human rights. Focus on fighting climate change. Need formal of declaration of war.
Rocky Anderson: Military spending should be focused on jobs, education, and climate change. No wars of aggression. Congress cannot delegate decision to go to war.
Topic 4: College costs and federal support
Gary Johnson: Subsidies are shielding universities from cost control. Free things come at a big cost.
Jill Stein: College is essential. Need to bail out students rather than Wall Street. Free public education.
Rocky Anderson: Can’t afford not to send students to college. Student debt should be discharged in the same way as other debt.
Virgil Goode: Can’t afford to spend more on student aid.
Topic 5: Civil liberties
Jill Stein: Repeal NDAA indefinite detention, authorization to assassinate, FISA weakening, and Patriot Act.
Rocky Anderson: Obama asked for rights of NDAA in 2009. We’re on the road to tyranny.
Virgil Goode: Agrees with Stein and Anderson.
Gary Johnson: Best candidate in Democratic or Republican primaries according to ACLU.
Topic 6: Constitutional amendment of choice
Rocky Anderson: Equal rights by gender and sexual orientation
Virgil Goode: Federal term limits of 6 to 12 years. May need to grandfather for current Congresscritters.
Gary Johnson: Federal term limits. Glad to be term-limited as Governor.
Jill Stein: Corporations are not people and money is not speech.
Closing statement
Virgil Goode: Balanced budget, near moratorium on green card admissions until unemployment below 5%, banning PACs, and term limits.
Gary Johnson: Should make immigration easier. Wasted votes are on candidates that you don’t believe in.
Jill Stein: 90 million voters are sitting this election out. Appeals to students. Green New Deal will stop climate change.
Rocky Anderson: Oppose military intervention. Need to fight climate change.
20 Comments
C-SPAN link
Thanks!
AJE link. ;o) (you go, vagreen!)
Thank you, and rec’d.
What a refreshing and informed debate. I’ve never a debate with so much good and common sense being put forward. Even though I have some pretty fundamental ideological differences with libertarianism, I’d even gladly pick Johnson over Robomney. Virgil Goode seemed a little creepy and odd but even he made sense at times. Rocky and Jill connect with me, not that they are perfect but they are so much better than what we have now that I couldn’t in good conscience vote for anyone else (I already voted Stein).
Agree Kurt. I lasted through the hole debate even though Virgil Goode is a nutcase and there are Johnson’s positions I don’t agree with. Lots of substance and hardly any fluff.
Thanks, vagreen, for this. Topic 6 is the one that separates the candidates best, and I go with Jill Stein on this one. Corporate $peech is what will kill the US.
Agreed! I would be *so happy* for the ‘least evil’ of this bunch to be prez!
Go to the Fair and Equal website to vote for your choices for who won this debate. Whichever candidate gets the most votes will debate in a runoff next Tuesday. Only two of the four candidates will advance to next week’s debate, and therefore get the exposure.
http://live.freeandequal.org/stream.html
I am sure Gary Johnson the Libertarian will get a landslide of votes.
So I hope you vote Jill Stein and Rocky Anderson! They need your support! The deadline for voting is tomorrow evening.
Well, dang. I could have been here watching with some other pups. It was a very good debate and I actually *liked* Gary Johnson a little bit.
I’m voting for Jill, but I really thought that Gary did a good job during the debate.
Agree Goode is creepy…something not quite right with him.
He did, and I’m surprised how many issues I agreed with him on. That as the first debate where I’ve seen Jill Stein and not just heard her. She’s better in sound than pictures.
Ideology aside Johnson is IMO the technically best speaker and debater of the bunch by a significant margin, I can see how he was elected and re-elected governor, then I’d give Anderson a small edge over Stein who is good but no better than good and finally Goode who really looked awkward and uncomfortable on stage.
I’d prefer Anderson and Stein were teamed up, I think the pair would be pretty formidable together and they are close enough on policy for the differences to be bridgeable.
Ah, yes, the Libertarians start peeping out of the closet, bit by bit.
You all should listen to Greenwald. Srsly. He’s a God-like oracle of truth, no?
A libertarian-Green coalition. Bring Rocky and creepy Virgil into the tent too.
The whole is greater than the sum of the
partsbits.Coalitions, people. Building Coalitions.
Herstory demonstrates this the only way forward in our sham of a democracy, for the wealthy by the wealthy as intended by the founding fathers.
I actually enjoyed Jill Stein. Her blinking is a bit distracting but I thought her positions and how she framed them were good(probably a minority opinion). Johnson actually lost me a little with his position on our deficit and how he’d address things going forward economically although I can appreciate his position on things like gay marriage. Virgil, I was unsurprised to learn, was once a Democrat before he became a Republican- can anyone say Blue Dog? Anderson was a strong wingman to Jill. I wish they could figure out a way to merge a bit because I did not see HUGE differences between him and her on actual issues. It should be interesting to see what, if anything, is done with the Justice Party.
It’d have to be Green-libertarian for me to hop on board. As a female, I am well aware about what happens to my gender after we help drag other groups across the finish line. We get thrown under the bus and told not to complain about it. Not gonna happen with this chick.
I particularly have problems with the broad swath of libertarians that think discrimination or oppression is acceptable if it’s done on a state level. I’m not willing to be a sacrificial lamb or make my daughter one either.
well, OK, but the reality (dirty word, I know) is that the larger more popular leads the coalition.
I guess the poll on which 2 won the semifinals and make it to the lightening round will help determine the order.
And one can only wonder what Ron Paul would tally as the Libertarian Candidate.
Shudder to even think about it. I know the GOP certainly did, which is why Paul wouldn’t dare venture off the party line. His son has a very secure future within the GOP, y’know.
What an interesting, lively debate. Here’s a link to the archived video
http://www.c-span.org/Events/Third-Party-Presidential-Debate/10737435220-1/
Thanks for posting this, vagreen! Recommended.
I haven’t had a chance to watch, but will do so soon.
From what I’ve seen, both Jill and rocky are candidates I could vote for without qualms. Reading the excerpts above doesn’t change that.
It would be tough for me to decide between the two if it came to it, but Jill made it on the ballot in my state, whereas Rocky did not, so Jill will get my vote.
I’ve also sent money to her campaign, the first time I’ve given money to a politician since getting suckered by Alan Grayson and Dennis Kucinich during the run-up to the Health Insurance Corporate Welfare Act.
The next Free and Equal debate will be on October 30!