Besides Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s “basket of deplorables,” many Americans seem disheartened and disillusioned about this Presidential campaign. So much so that many are looking for a different choice, including Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson, and Green Party pick Jill Stein.
Well, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver hears you. In fact, he wants to give each party’s nominee the proper scrutiny that the other two candidates received during the past year. Because, Oliver warns us, the devil is in the details.
He starts with Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate. She’s a doctor who wants to reduce the country’s negative environmental impact and promote LGBT rights. She also wants to cancel student debt in the same manner the banks were bailed out in 2008, using a tool called “quantitative easing.”
Except that’s not how it works.
“Stein is implying that it was used to cancel banks’ debts and that is absolutely not what it did. Using it the way that she’s describing amounts to a President unilaterally passing a new law and funding it by printing new money… It’s basically akin to saying I’ll make us energy independent by ordering the post office to invade Canada.”
That is not how our government works. John Oliver compares Stein’s debt-reduction plan to Donald Trump’s border wall: ridiculous and entirely impossible. Oliver also calls out Stein’s policy flip-flopping on issues like Brexit, vaccinations, and vague question-dodging on things crazy conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks.
And oh, did you know Jill Stein was part of a 90s folk-rock band called Somebody’s Sister? Seriously.
He then moves on to Libertarian candidate and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. You know, the guy who didn’t know what Aleppo is and couldn’t name one world leader on national television.
Johnson’s a fan of easing restrictions on marijuana, against the death penalty, and police demilitarization. Of course, as a Libertarian, smaller government.
Johnson wants to eliminate many government agencies, as well as income taxes, corporate taxes, and the IRS, and then replace it with one “federal consumption” tax. That, according to economists, would be bad news for both the poor and the middle class.
Here, Johnson does all the talking. And let’s face it, he doesn’t do so well when he gets the chance to do that:
What?
So if you’re thinking about voting for a third party candidate, do your research. As John Oliver says:
“There is no perfect candidate in this race.”
And he’s not just talking about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Watch the entire segment here:
Feature image via Youtube screengrab
