From A. Barton Hinkle of Reason Magazine on June 1:
“‘Has the Libertarian Moment Finally Arrived?’ asked The New York Times two years ago. The standard-bearer for the cause then was Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
“Now the question is back, and getting scrutiny from outlets such as the Wall Street Journal (‘The Libertarian Alternative’), FiveThirtyEight (‘Pay Attention to Libertarian Gary Johnson’), Politico (‘Does the Libertarian Party Finally Have a Chance?’), Forbes (‘Do Not Dismiss Gary Johnson and the Libertarians’) and others. The Libertarian party convention, held in Florida over the weekend, drew vastly more media attention than ever before.
“The reason for the sudden attention, of course, is the exospheric level of distaste most voters have for the two presumptive major-party candidates, whose negative ratings have set historic records. Most voters are deeply unhappy with their current choices.
“Moreover, this year’s Libertarian ticket has genuine gravitas: The presidential nominee, Johnson, was twice elected governor of New Mexico as a Republican and his running mate, William Weld, was the Republican governor of Massachusetts back in the ’90s. (The Cato Institute’s David Boaz notes that this makes the first time since 1948’s Thomas Dewey–Earl Warren matchup that that two governors have graced a ticket.)”
