#NeitherTrumpNorHillary? Good thing there's Austin Petersen! (UPDATE: Or was...NEVERMIND!)

Since discussing the need to explore the third party field a few weeks back, and now with Trump & Hillary seizing the major party nominations, a conservatarian candidate named Austin Petersen has popped up on the radar of many disaffected conservatives & former Republicans. Conservatism inherently encapsulates some libertarian principles, and vice versa, so one can see how an agenda inclusive of spending cuts, a flat tax, auditing the Fed, reforming an 'Ellis Island' style of immigration, reforming entitlements, overturning Obamacare, and defending Life would provide a bridge between camps. Many are already taking note...

Friday 5/20/16, Glenn Beck:


Tuesday 5/24/16, Glenn Beck:


Tuesday 5/24/16, Mary Matalin:

Reason: Mary Matalin, longtime GOP consultant and famously part of America's Favorite Cross-Partisan Marriage with Democratic grumpus James Carville, officially left the Republican Party for the Libertarians and now is behind Petersen for the L.P.'s presidential nomination, which will be decided this weekend at the Party's National Convention in Orlando. As Washington Times reports:

"In these tumultuous times of domestic and global uncertainty, the country would be well served with Austin Petersen on the national ballot along with the two established party candidates. The times call for, and Americans deserve, a full-throated, clear, coherent call for the restoration of those principles our founders divined and their progeny refined. Austin Petersen is a courageous adherent of and best represents Jefferson’s inviolate first principle: Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,” noted Ms. Matalin on Tuesday.

Wednesday 5/25/16, Erick Erickson:

Reason: Erick Erickson, former chieftain at conservative site RedState and now [TheResurgent], who has long been loudly anti-Trump, says that Gary Johnson's pick of William Weld as his running mate shows he is "tone deaf" (Weld has been seen as insufficiently libertarian or even conservative by many) and disqualifies him from serious consideration. He today writes about Petersen:

Libertarians have the opportunity to have a huge impact on the Presidential race in 2016, but not with Gary Johnson. The alternative is Austin Petersen.

Petersen has his flaws. He has some views outside the mainstream, but then what Libertarian doesn’t? He would certainly be a candidate more likely to be build bridges to disgruntled voters than the perennial candidate Gary Johnson. Johnson, having flamed out in the Republican primary last go round then flamed out as the libertarian nominee. He just keeps running without learning any lessons.

Austin Petersen would be a fresh start and a lot of Republicans would potentially take a fresh look at Petersen. Couple him with a very strong, credible vice presidential candidate and the Libertarians might finally be the third party America needs for disruptive competition.

There have also been many others:

• Leon Wolf, managing editor of RedState said on CNN (after painting Trump as too crazy to vote for) that "Gary Johnson is a guy I would look at, he would not be my preference" but that Austin Petersen's "more my speed". Wolf did a video interview with Petersen at RedState.
• A diarist at the Red State site looked at the Stossel debate and found Petersen the best debater, especially compared to Johnson, and generally a knowledgeable fresh young face for the Party.
• The RandPaulTv site (a media aggregator site about things of interest to Rand Paul fans, not affiliated with him directly) thinks hard and decides Petersen is the L.P. guy best able to pick up Ted Cruz fans. Former Cruz man and right-wing blogger Todd Hagopian agrees.

• Michael van der Galien at Pajamas Media (another former Cruz man) says that the L.P. "Can Have a Great Year, But Only if Gary Johnson disappears." He identifies Petersen as "basically a conservatarian who sees eye to eye with Ted Cruz on a great many issues. He is passionately pro-life, believes bakers have the right to choose what cakes they bake, and is a fervent supporter of the Second Amendment. Oh, and he's also charismatic and a great speaker. If Libertarians are smart, they'll nominate someone like Petersen. If they do, 2016 could very well be their breakout year."
• The Liberty Conservative website analyzes Petersen's positions and declares him "leader of #nevertrump movement." Similar praise and/or endorsements from right-wing sites can be found on Constitution.com and DailyWhig.

Here's that Leon Wolf interview (worth checking out!):

Reason: Austin Petersen is a 35-year-old founder of the libertarian movement news and commentary site Libertarian Republic and a former staffer on Judge Andrew Napolitano's old Fox Business Network show Freedom Watch. Petersen is also one of the three people seeking the L.P.'s presidential nomination, which will be decided over Memorial Day weekend at the Party's national convention in Orlando

Compared to pompous Trump puff or shrill Hillary cackling, both of which spew incessant LIES, this young man is a much needed breath of fresh air. What say you, America? Do you have the courage to deviate from the Republicrat/Dempublican monopoly for the sake of a better way forward?

AustinForPresident.com

Related links: Still #NeverTrump? Austin Petersen Wants You to Get to Know Him Better
Young Republican Official Resigns Over Trump Nomination
The Conservatarian Manifesto: Should Libertarians and Conservatives Unite?
Great Conservative Minds and the 100-Year Plan

UPDATE: Well S#*T! The libertarians can't even get it right this year...

Gary Johnson Wins Libertarian Nomination for President

And this certainly didn't help...

Gary Johnson Shoots Himself in the Foot: Throws Out Austin Petersen’s Gun

Sigh...yet another missed opportunity.

Related link: Gary Johnson and William Weld are fake libertarians miseducating the public