Back in 1980 there was also a junior varsity table at the presidential debates, not within the GOP primary, but for the “third” parties. Barry Commoner, presidential candidate for the Citizens’ Party (precursor to the Greens), debated Ed Clark, the Libertarian.
I was something like 19 and I attended. I believe it was in Madison, Wisconsin. (I worked on the Clark campaign). But there is no internet evidence (there was no internet then). (If anyone has video I’d love to upload it.) The high point was when Clark, an ARCO lawyer, accidentally said something about reducing the military budget and abolishing regulatory agencies so “America could be a prosperous company again.” To which Commoner said “Thank you Dr. Freud.”
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| Barry Commoner |
Today there is a petition to have an update of this event with Republican Rand Paul and now Democrat Bernie Sanders. From Ben Swann’s TruthInMedia website:
“As debates for the 2016 presidential election ramp up, one question on the minds of many liberty lovers is this: what would a Bernie Sanders and Rand Paul debate look like?
It was just two weeks ago at a meeting of the Kentucky Republican Party that Sen. Rand Paul reportedly told activist Donald Meinshausen that he was willing to debate Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders “anytime, anyplace.”
Discussions are bubbling up across the Internet about getting Sanders and Paul on stage together for what many expect would be a lively discussion on topics ranging from NSA mass surveillance to the drug war, health care to net neutrality.
We at Truth In Media have tuned into these discussions and hear you loud and clear. That’s why we’ve taken matters into our own hands to prepare what could be the most influential dialogue of the 2016 presidential election— a town hall event this fall in an important battleground state, New Hampshire, with these two candidates.
We are actively in dialogue with both candidates, but we need your help to make this happen.”
And then share the link! For Liberty!
The Insomniac Libertarian 