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The Case for the Louisiana System: Republicans lose to Democrats thanks to third-party spoilers
American Thinker ^ | 08/25/2014 | Bruce Walker

Posted on 08/25/2014 8:01:34 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Fox News recently had a political story noting that in several close Senate races in red states, Libertarian candidates might keep the Republican nominee from winning seats held by Democrats today. In the last three election cycles, liberal Democrats in Senate races have won races with less than half the vote, and with the majority of the vote going to the Republican nominee and candidates more conservative than that nominee.

In 2008, Mark Begich won in Alaska with 47.8% of the vote, while Republican Ted Stevens earned 46.6% and Bob Bird of the Alaska Independence Party, endorsed by Ron Paul, won 4.2%. Al Franken in Minnesota won 41.99% of the vote, while Republican Norm Coleman won 41.98% and Dean Barkley, a Perot and Ventura supporter, got 15.1% of the vote. Jeff Merkely in Oregon got 48.9% of the vote, while Gordon Smith received 45.6% and Constitution Party candidate Dave Brownlow won 5.2% of the vote. In 2012, the same pattern emerged.

How much have leftist Democrats prospered by the division of conservative votes? Consider that Democrat Jon Test in Montana in 2006 got 49.2% of the vote, while Republican Conrad Burns got 48.3% of the vote and Libertarian Stan Jones got 2.6%, and then in 2012, Democrat Jon Tester won 48.6% of the vote, while Republican Denny Rehberg got 44.9% while Libertarian Dan Cox received 6.1%. Tester won his seat and then six years later defended it because his opposition was split.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Louisiana
KEYWORDS: democrats; libertarianagenda; louisiana; primary; republicans
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1 posted on 08/25/2014 8:01:34 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Screw the GOPe, conservatives need to band together.


2 posted on 08/25/2014 8:05:16 AM PDT by Nifster
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To: SeekAndFind

Ah yes. The libertarian agenda.

When they’re not out promoting legal marijuana; they’re helping get democrats elected.


3 posted on 08/25/2014 8:05:18 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd (NO LIBS. This Means Liberals and (L)libertarians! Same Thing. NO LIBS!!)
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To: SeekAndFind

I hate Ron Paul and the rest of these minor candidates, they simply insure that the RAT “leadership” is perpetuated. Yeah, I know about the RINO problem, but these people’s candidacies are not the answer. Ross Perot was from the same kettle of fish and we are still reeling from his involvement in politics. Just a little pimple on the a$$hole of progress in my view.


4 posted on 08/25/2014 8:05:39 AM PDT by vette6387
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To: SeekAndFind

And because of simple mind fool the same thing will happen in 2016. Dumb Republican voters just don’t get it and probably never will. Third party and write in have destroyed America at the ballot box. They act like spoiled children that never grew up.


5 posted on 08/25/2014 8:11:42 AM PDT by Logical me
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To: SeekAndFind

Maybe if the Republicans ran more conservative candidates then this wouldn’t happen.


6 posted on 08/25/2014 8:11:52 AM PDT by nitzy
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To: SeekAndFind

I don’t think it would take much digging to reveal that most third party candidates are supported by the DNC and, in some instances, the RNC/GOP-e.


7 posted on 08/25/2014 8:12:33 AM PDT by Arm_Bears (Rope. Tree. Politician. Some assembly required.)
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To: Responsibility2nd

There is a huge difference between libertarians and Libertarians. I consider Libertarians as 85% as pot smoking hedonists and low empathy, subclinical sociopaths. Small “L” libertarians... well, they wrote and put in place the U.S. Constitution.


8 posted on 08/25/2014 8:13:11 AM PDT by Rodamala
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To: Responsibility2nd

There is a huge difference between libertarians and Libertarians. I consider Libertarians as 85% as pot smoking hedonists and low empathy, subclinical sociopaths. Small “L” libertarians... well, they wrote and put in place the U.S. Constitution.


9 posted on 08/25/2014 8:13:12 AM PDT by Rodamala
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To: SeekAndFind
Republicans lose to Democrats thanks to third-party spoilers

But let's not look at the fact Republicans could have some or even most of those Libertarians voting for them.... if they acted less like Democrats.

Nope! let's blame the 'spoilers'.

10 posted on 08/25/2014 8:13:48 AM PDT by MamaTexan (I am a Person as created by the Laws of Nature, not a person as created by the laws of Man)
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To: nitzy
Maybe if the Republicans ran more conservative candidates then this wouldn’t happen.

There is no such thing as this exalted conservative in the eyes of fools.

11 posted on 08/25/2014 8:13:52 AM PDT by Logical me
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To: MamaTexan

They do not like choices so they want to corrupt the system even worse than it is


12 posted on 08/25/2014 8:14:44 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: SeekAndFind

This sounds like the establishment protection plan to me


13 posted on 08/25/2014 8:15:25 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: Responsibility2nd

sorry for the double reply... “first world problems” using my phone to post.


14 posted on 08/25/2014 8:15:56 AM PDT by Rodamala
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To: SeekAndFind

The banty rooster from Texas got bill clinton elected , twice.


15 posted on 08/25/2014 8:16:54 AM PDT by Foolsgold (Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber)
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To: SeekAndFind
The Big Two parties & their supporters/zombies assume votes are "theirs" & whine like spoiled children when people vote for a third party.

Perhaps people do not vote for the Big Two because they are not members or supporters of either party? Radical idea for some, I realize.

16 posted on 08/25/2014 8:20:00 AM PDT by gdani (Every day, your Govt surveils you more than the day before)
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To: Rodamala
There is a huge difference between libertarians and Libertarians.

There is no difference, the party is a perfect representation of libertarianism, but libertarians are dishonest enough to constantly be telling us that they are not libertarians, they are just conservatives who like to use a different name.

Libertarians alter the emphasis of their messaging depending on the audience and venue.

17 posted on 08/25/2014 8:21:55 AM PDT by ansel12 (LEGAL immigrants, 30 million 1980-2012, continues to remake the nation's electorate for democrats)
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To: Foolsgold
The banty rooster from Texas got bill clinton elected , twice.

He was also anti-gun, and pro-abortion, yet his personality and mannerisms won people from the left and right, who followed him based on a cultish personality reaction to him.

18 posted on 08/25/2014 8:24:46 AM PDT by ansel12 (LEGAL immigrants, 30 million 1980-2012, continues to remake the nation's electorate for democrats)
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To: nitzy

Gee, if you disagree with the GOP platform, then stop running as one! Tea party conservatives need to get their act together and run as independents if they want to be taken seriously. Otherwise they will forever come off as the screw-ball candidate.


19 posted on 08/25/2014 8:27:28 AM PDT by Kirkwood (Zombie Hunter)
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To: MamaTexan
Cuccinelli’s Two Opponents: A Democratic donor helped the Libertarian candidate in Virginia’s race

Libertarian-party nominee Robert Sarvis, who won 6.5 percent of the vote in a race Democrat Terry McAuliffe carried by just over two percentage points, was clearly a factor. While some of Sarvis’s vote came from people who wouldn’t otherwise have voted in the race or would have supported McAuliffe, there is evidence that most of Sarvis’s 145,000 votes would have gone to Cuccinelli had Sarvis not been on the ballot.

Ironically, most libertarians I know in Virginia didn’t vote for Sarvis. They listened to former Libertarian-party presidential nominee Ron Paul and his son, Senator Rand Paul, who argued that it would be “insane” for someone to vote for Sarvis over Cuccinelli, a highly aggressive opponent of Obamacare and climate-change taxation while he was state attorney general.

20 posted on 08/25/2014 8:32:33 AM PDT by Servant of the Cross (the Truth will set you free)
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