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Will the Libertarians Spoil McCain's Chances?
Newsweek ^ | 5-21-2008 | Sarah Elkins

Posted on 05/22/2008 8:55:57 AM PDT by Turbopilot

Playing the Spoiler Role?

The Libertarians say they're not out to ruin McCain's chances. But they could cost him.

At Tuesday night's Libertarian debate, the party's most celebrated presidential candidate wasn't even there. In fact, he isn't even a Libertarian. And yet his name was invoked almost a dozen times in the course of the hourlong debate leading up to this weekend's Libertarian convention.

(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008; barr; libertarian; libertian; marines; mccain; paul; thirdparty
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The only thing spoiling McCain's chances is McCain's liberalism. If he loses votes because a better candidate runs on a third party ticket, it's no one's fault but his own.
1 posted on 05/22/2008 8:55:57 AM PDT by Turbopilot
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To: traviskicks

Ping


2 posted on 05/22/2008 8:56:34 AM PDT by Turbopilot (iumop ap!sdn w,I 'aw dlaH)
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To: Turbopilot

Newsweek = Liberal crap...move on...nothing to see here.


3 posted on 05/22/2008 8:56:58 AM PDT by HappyinAZ
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To: Turbopilot

So tired of this election. Screw em all.


4 posted on 05/22/2008 8:57:40 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Voting CONSERVATIVE in memory of 5 children killed by illegals 2/17/08 and 2/19/ 08)
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To: Turbopilot

Precisely. As much as I love my fellow Libertarians, we aren’t going to be spoilers this time around. We have a better chance going to Europe and running our candidate there.


5 posted on 05/22/2008 8:59:26 AM PDT by arderkrag (Libertarian Nutcase (Political Compass Coordinates: 9.00, -2.62 - www.politicalcompass.org))
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To: Turbopilot
You could write a story saying “Will the Communists Spoil McCain's Chances?” and that would be equally absurd. They are assuming that Libertarians are McCain's natural constituency but that is idiotic.
6 posted on 05/22/2008 9:00:50 AM PDT by DManA
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To: Turbopilot
Considering the libertarians are also running on an anti-war platform, it may also split some of the dems. Libertarian candidates, unlike Reform party (for example) generally pull from both sides.
7 posted on 05/22/2008 9:02:01 AM PDT by mnehring
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To: Turbopilot
It looks like this country is going to make a big turn to the left. Thinks are looking bleak with the dimocRATS taking full control of Congress and at a minimum 70% of the presidency. Every crackpot left wing idea will get passed and liberal Supreme Court judges will be appointed.
8 posted on 05/22/2008 9:03:04 AM PDT by Parley Baer
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To: mnehrling
"Considering the libertarians are also running on an anti-war platform, it may also split some of the dems."

Exactly!

9 posted on 05/22/2008 9:03:33 AM PDT by lormand (GOP - the new Populist Party)
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To: Turbopilot
The only thing spoiling McCain's chances is McCain's liberalism...it's no one's fault but his own.

Hear Hear!!!!

10 posted on 05/22/2008 9:03:48 AM PDT by DaveyB (Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself - John Adams)
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To: Turbopilot

Yep. When a candidate loses, they have no one to blame but themselves. The voter is not to blame.


11 posted on 05/22/2008 9:04:12 AM PDT by alicewonders (I'm a conservative, and I'm hated by the GOP & the Dems - I must be doing something right!)
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To: Turbopilot

Yes, the Libertarians could ruin McCain’s chances at the Presidency. My only concern about this is that we’ll then have Obama or Clinton picking our judges and putting ‘universal health care’ in place (which we will then be stuck with forever).


12 posted on 05/22/2008 9:09:00 AM PDT by MEGoody (Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall cause you to vote against the Democrats.)
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To: Turbopilot

“Will the Libertarians Spoil McCain’s Chances?”

Hope so!


13 posted on 05/22/2008 9:09:24 AM PDT by gunnyg
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To: Turbopilot

Well, it’s easy enough to fathom Newsweaks purpose in writing this. “They wish!” They want to stir up trouble. But Ron Paul is no Ross Perot. He will appeal to Paulbots, but not to a wider circle of voters.

Perot did as well as he did because people were more naive in 1996, more inclined to believe the media. Also, because of Bush Senior’s stupid, stupid “read my lips” statement, followed up by his foolish credulity that the Democrats would not punish him for signing their tax rise bill.

No, as already noted, the real problem is that McCain is a weak, lousy, liberal candidate. Oddly enough, the left wing press won’t be able to use that argument during the election campaign, however. Instead, they will predictably portray him as a crazy, senile, right wing warmonger, and let the conservative base worry about such things as McCain-Feingold and McCain-Kennedy and the Gang of 14.


14 posted on 05/22/2008 9:11:15 AM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: gunnyg

McCain is spoiling the Libertarian’s chances!


15 posted on 05/22/2008 9:14:54 AM PDT by MoreGovLess (If Hillary wins in November, blame Rush!)
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To: Parley Baer

I agree. Conservatives have already lost the election. The fact is, we lost elections we thought we had won.

The only difference that I can see between Dims and Pubs, is that they like to spend money on different things and violate different rights. Anymore though, they seem to have agreed to spend money on everything and violate all the rights.


16 posted on 05/22/2008 9:15:33 AM PDT by LeGrande
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To: Turbopilot

“The only thing spoiling McCain’s chances is McCain’s liberalism.”

Absolutely true. When considering Reverend Wright, William Ayres, a thoroughly unlikeable whiny wife, the most liberal track record of any current Senator, the lack of experience and the inability to dispatch another thoroughly unlikeable wife in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama should be easily defeated in the fall. If McCain loses to this chump, he should be ashamed. And we’ll all be the worse for it.


17 posted on 05/22/2008 9:15:46 AM PDT by raptor29
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What happened to Ralph Nadar Mr. Newsweek ? Total silence of sicko Wright,Ayers and other but suddenly this is HUGE story re Bob Barr. Just more liberal trash bias.


18 posted on 05/22/2008 9:22:24 AM PDT by libscum (don't sit out- vote Mccain)
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What happened to Ralph Nadar Mr. Newsweek ? Total silence of sicko Wright,Ayers and other but suddenly this is HUGE story re Bob Barr. Just more liberal trash bias.


19 posted on 05/22/2008 9:22:27 AM PDT by libscum (don't sit out- vote Mccain)
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To: Turbopilot

The short answer is Yes.

The long answer is Yes.


20 posted on 05/22/2008 9:27:32 AM PDT by SMARTY ('At some point you get tired of swatting flies, and you have to go for the manure heap' Gen. LeMay)
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