Addressing the Elephant in the Room
Making the most of the chance to rebut Trump.
Two days ago the news dropped that former President Donald Trump will address the Libertarian Party’s National Convention this May in Washington, DC. Predictably this announcement has caused widespread commotion, as it is unprecedented that a former U.S. president attend our convention. Some Libertarians welcome being courted by the former president, whilst others spurn the courtship precisely because of Trump, for myriad reasons.
What is undeniable either way is that this encounter presents a unique opportunity. As it is currently scheduled, former President Trump will address the convention, then a poll will select one of our presidential candidates to offer a rebuttal. It is here that demands could be made on the presumptive Republican nominee for president… and any un-Libertarian policies from Trump’s presidency highlighted to impugn Trump’s pitch for our endorsement. In fact, some observers believe that the whole invitation is designed to elicit this latter confrontation, whereby a Libertarian presidency would be made to look more desirable in contrast. Kind of like the whole “4-D underwater upside-down blindfolded chess” which Trump supposedly loves to play.
Whatever style of communication is pursued with the ex-president, it is crucial that the candidate doing this represent the widest swath of the party. It should not be a mere pay-to-play straw poll in which the highest bidder buys his or her way onto the stage. Nor should it be a straight-up single-preference poll which would not result in any candidate receiving a majority vote. Such a vote would highlight our internal party differences at the very moment at which we must present ourselves as unified.
For this momentous and contentious event, the candidate who rebuts Trump – prior to finalization of our nomination process – has to speak for us all when responding to the former (if not future) president. The electoral method which is sure to select such a candidate is Approval Voting. By this method, delegates vote for those candidates whose views they support, leaving blank the ballots for the candidates they oppose. Upon tabulation, a candidate emerges who has received the most votes for approval, even if those approving votes were cast alongside other candidates on delegates' ballots. In a way, Approval Voting determines which candidate is our party's most widely acceptable to rebut Donald Trump on behalf of us all.
Careful readers will notice that I express no opinion about the wisdom of the Libertarian National Convention’s invitation to ex-president Trump, nor will I. At this point it is a fact, and it falls to us now to make the most of it. Let’s get the best person on stage to respond to the Donald and showcase our values to him and the world!
