I greatly enjoyed the Free and Equal debate, which featured Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party), Jill Stein (Green Party), Virgil Goode (Constitution Party), and Rocky Anderson (Justice Party). It was moderated by Larry King, whom I thought seemed slightly dispassionate, but set himself aside and let the candidates speak.
Topics not discussed in the presidential debates were happily discussed; the war on drugs, the deficit, and civil liberties (ie. Patriot Act, NDAA). Other topics included foreign policy (with all the candidates being against the war on terror), education reform, and marijuana legilization.
The candidates were all very clear about their particular views, which was very refreshing. They all looked happy to be there, and the mood was very friendly. All four agreed that the deficit was far too large, the war on terror needed to be cut, and bills like NDAA were dangerous for liberty.
Disagreements arose when Anderson and Stein stated they supported free secondary education, which Goode and Johnson opposed. Goode also stated he was against marijuana legilization, which all three other candidates were for.
I suggest to anyone that hasn’t seen it to watch it. It was such a positive, yet sadly unusual occurrence in our current political setup (link posted at the bottom).
The Free and Equal Elections Foundation will be hosting a second debate on the 30th, which will feature Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, decided by a vote held on the Free and Equal webpage. The candidates have very different economic approaches- Johnson being right and Stein left- which wasn’t deeply delved into during the first debate.
The results of the voting
|
Candidate |
First Count |
Runoff Count |
Grand Total |
| Gary Johnson |
26,187 |
1,962 |
28,149 |
| Jill Stein |
15,013 |
292 |
15,305 |
| Rocky Anderson |
3,938 |
444 |
4,382 |
| Virgil Goode |
2,698 |
— |
— |
http://freeandequal.org/updates/winners-of-october-23-presidential-debate/
Full Free and Equal Debate:
watch?v=e0vE5CTTSFI&feature=plcp
John S.
October 26, 2012 at 5:18 am
Found it humorous that they went back and did opening statements after answering the first question, though most used the first question answer for their opening statements. It made things more repetitious at the beginning. Good to see something other than the same old junk though.
discoveringmybeliefs
October 26, 2012 at 5:30 am
Yeah I agree, I did find that part a bit awkward and redundant. Hopefully the second debate runs a bit smoother.