Former President Donald Trump spoke at the Libertarian Party Convention, asking delegates to vote for him, promising, "I will put a libertarian in my Cabinet!"
But Libertarians nominated Chase Oliver instead.
Unlike most political candidates, Oliver learned about the world by working regular jobs.
"My first job was dishwasher," he tells me. "But then I did every job you could do….I moved into the world of logistics, moving goods from one side of the world to the other, and I got an appreciation for free markets."
For my new video, I grill Oliver about what it means to be a libertarian.
"Someone who allows you to live your life in peace, free from government intrusion," he answers.
"Don't Democrats and Republicans basically believe that?" I ask.
"They love to talk the talk about freedom," he says, "but they push government programs that invade your privacy, your business, your life."
What about the poor and the helpless?
"Just because I don't want the government to help people," Oliver answers, "doesn't mean that we don't need to help people."
He argues that private individuals will do a better job.
Two years ago, Oliver ran for the senate in Georgia, got about 2 percent of the vote, and forced a runoff between Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker. When Warnock won the seat, some Republicans called Oliver a "spoiler."
Oliver replies, "You can't spoil something that's already rotten. Approval ratings of Congress and the president are always below 50 percent….People are sick and tired of the two-party system."
Recent polls suggest a libertarian candidate takes votes from both Biden and Trump.
Ben Shapiro criticizes Oliver, saying, "He supported the employer vaccine mandates…the least libertarian policy in human history."
Oliver replies, "I don't support mandates from government."
He just argued that private store owners should have the right to set policies at their store. "You as a consumer then have a choice: 'Will I work at this business or take my talent elsewhere?' A lot of businesses who required vaccines probably lost good talent to firms that didn't. That's the way the marketplace is supposed to react, not government."
Like many Libertarians, Oliver supports mostly open borders.
I ask, "You would let anybody in, who's not a criminal?"
"Yeah, come through a port of entry to declare who you are. If you're not dangerous, come right through."
"How can we have open borders when America has become a welfare state?" I ask. "People would come here to freeload!"
"We need to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time," he responds. "We can oppose the welfare state while fixing the immigration crisis."
Libertarians don't think America should police the world. Oliver is the most anti-war candidate.
"I started out in the Democratic Party," he recounts, "An anti-war protestor opposing the Bush wars. [Then] I realized it wasn't really an anti-war party, it was an anti-Bush party masquerading as an anti-war party. Libertarians [are] the real anti-war party."
When it comes to what I fear is the biggest threat to America's future, Oliver doesn't pander like the Republicans and Democrats, who claim they will "protect" Social Security.
"People around the age of 40, we recognize that even if we contribute to Social Security, we're never going to get those benefits because of how unsustainable this system is."
He's right. Both Social Security and Medicare are going broke.
"We have to sound the alarm that Social Security is unsustainable and frankly, if you were given your wealth back, you could just put that into the marketplace and earn a far better retirement than what the government's providing you in their Ponzi scheme of Social Security."
I point out that politicians who admit that don't win elections.
"You have to be bold in your principles," he responds, "even if it costs you a few votes."
Now you know a little more about this year's Libertarian presidential candidate. I'll expand in a future column.
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The post 'I Don't Support Mandates From Government': John Stossel Interviews Libertarian Presidential Nominee Chase Oliver appeared first on Reason.com.
