Talk:Wikinews interviews Jo Jorgensen, U.S. Libertarian Party presidential nominee

Notes

Laura Williams <[redacted]> Oct 21, 2020, 10:54 AM (3 days ago) to me

Hello, William. Apologies for the delay on these interview questions. I see your deadline was yesterday but I hope they will be of use to you. As I'm sure you can imagine, we are buried in urgent requests and doing our best!

Thank you for your help in informing voters ahead of an historic election.

Laura Williams [redacted]

Which past U.S. president(s) do you most admire and why?

Thomas Jefferson. Hey, he wrote the Declaration of Independence. I would, however, change the phrase, "that all men are created equal," to " that all people are created equal"!

2. How have your past experiences prepared you for the job of President?

The most important preparation for the job of president is to learn that businesses and families and people everywhere are better off when they are free to run their own lives without government interference. My grandmother, who immigrated from Denmark, instilled in me a love of freedom when I was a child. Ever since, life has taught me, over and over, that government must be strictly bound to protecting our life, liberty and property - and nothing more.

3. How would you describe your style of leadership? How does it compare to the leadership styles of President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama?

My leadership style is rooted in the principle, “first, do no harm.” I will assemble a cabinet and staff that, with me, will scrutinize any proposal for use of government force for any purpose. That's the polar opposite of both President Trump, former President Obama, and his former Vice President Biden.

4. If you were president, how would you have handled the coronavirus pandemic differently than President Trump?

I would have made sure the bureaucrats at the CDC and the FDA did not block access to tests and treatments developed by the free market. Once it became clear that the primary danger is to people with comorbidities, I would have used my bully pulpit to strongly advise that those people use masks, socially distance, and self-quarantine as needed to avoid contagion. I would have ended any emergency economic lockdowns and trusted people to take care of themselves and go back to work and school in a safe manner.

5. How has the pandemic affected your campaign and your ability to reach out to voters?

It has limited our in-person events to being mostly outside and socially distanced. That has obviously decreased the number of people able to participate in rallies and the ability of volunteers to execute a traditional ground game. On the positive side, it has tied people closer to their cell phones and computers and, we hope, increased our ability to reach people through social media.

6. In 2016, Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson, the former Governor of New Mexico, received about 3.28 percent of the popular vote, a record for the party. Based on your polling and general feeling on the ground, what percentage of the popular vote do you expect to receive in the 2020 election?

As a popular former governor with another former governor as a running mate, who was also very popular with the media, our 2016 Libertarian ticket received unprecedented media coverage. As a result, they were polling double digits shortly after they were nominated. Those polling numbers declined as election day drew near. I started out with virtually no name recognition outside the Libertarian Party. Coming out of our (virtual, thanks to COVID) nominating convention, I was polling at 1% according to RealClearPolitics. That number has gone up and ranges from 2 to 5% in national polls. In addition, we are polling high enough in battleground states like Ohio, North Carolina, Iowa, Georgia and now Alaska to cover the spread between Biden and Trump..

We have already won in the sense that Republicans and Democrats now pay lip service to libertarian ideas (lower taxes, bringing our troops home, ending the War on Drugs, etc.) to win votes. This shows that our ideas are becoming more and more popular. Unfortunately, the Ds and Rs betray those libertarian ideals - and those voters. We’ll keep fighting until we make government much smaller than it is today - whether or not I, and other Libertarians, are elected. That is the ultimate victory.

7. During the 2016 campaign, Gary Johnson responded to a reporter's question about the Syrian city of Aleppo with "What is Aleppo?" This seems to be one thing people most remember about Johnson. If there's one thing the public will remember about you and your campaign, what do you want it to be? What do you expect it to be?

I expect that it will be one of two things: That I am the only 2020 candidate who has credibly campaigned to bring the troops home and make America like one giant Switzerland, armed and neutral..

Or that, when I hear politicians call for Medicare for All, I hear “VA for all.” If there’s one thing I want people to remember, it’s this: We haven’t had a free market in health care in over 100 years. As president, I will work tirelessly to remove government barriers to free market heathcare, so that it’s a fraction of today’s cost, much higher quality, and easily accessible to everyone.

8. What would a Jorgensen administration look like? Which specific individuals would you ask to be in your cabinet?

A Jorgensen administration would call on talented, seasoned public policy analysts from institutions like the Cato Institute, Reason Foundation, and others who are committed to the goal of a much smaller government to staff the cabinet and administrative agencies. We would also draw on the libertarians now holding office as Democrats and Republicans and those who show strength in particular areas of government.

9. There is currently only one Libertarian in Congress, Justin Amash. He is not seeking re-election. If you win the election, the government will remain divided. How will you work with Congress to avoid gridlock and pass your agenda?

My biggest tool will be my veto pen. I will refuse to sign any budget that is not in balance. I will require all Department heads to propose budgets that are smaller than the previous year. Some issues like cannabis decriminalization and criminal law reform already have enough bipartisan support that they will get passed with a presidential nudge. I will immediately pardon all non-violent federal drug war prisoners as well as whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange. As Commander in Chief, I will immediately begin bringing the troops home.

10. What should be done, from the government's perspective, to combat global climate change?

All federal subsidies to the energy industry, especially fossil fuels, should be eliminated. Cronyist, anti-competitive policies that prevent the full development of nuclear energy should be ended. Zero-emission nuclear power will fare very well on a level playing field, cutting greenhouse gas and protecting our irreplaceable planet.

11. What are your views on the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan? What would you do as president to help resolve the conflict and how does that comport with your overarching philosophy on foreign affairs?

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is their conflict. Not ours. We have no business taking either side. Our foreign policy should resemble one giant Switzerland, armed and neutral.

12. Are you concerned about the deplatforming and social media censorship of notable conservatives and libertarians? How would you address this issue as president?

The kind of censorship I worry about is government censorship. That's what repeal of Section 230 would ultimately lead to. One of the reasons prominent social media platforms have been censoring users is fear of government regulation if they don't censor on their own. I would foster an environment where censoring platforms’ biggest fear would be users departing to competing platforms that do not censor.

13. What can you do, as president, to improve race relations in the United States?

The two most effective ways to improve race relations are criminal justice reform and ending restrictive, protectionist licensing laws.

Victimless crime laws like drug and vice laws put minorities in prison at a higher rate than non-minorities even though the actual crime rate in both populations is similar. Ending qualified immunity, no-knock raids, federal "gifts" of tanks and other weapons of war to local police departments, civil asset forfeiture and other oppressive police tactics will go a long way in restoring respect between people of color and government. Americans should not feel like enemy combatants in their own neighborhoods

In the long run, the best way to improve race relations is to provide equal economic opportunity to all. Ending overly restrictive licensing (which prevents people from learning trades, opening businesses, or growing their wealth) would extend American prosperity and opportunity to all, not just those whom the state favors. .—The preceding unsigned comment was added by William S. Saturn (talk • contribs)

@William S. Saturn: Could you please resend this email to me (agastya@...)?
•–• 07:01, 27 October 2020 (UTC)

status of review

I have finised reviewing the interview except for the claim "There is currently only one Libertarian in Congress, Justin Amash". Seems like the question for final plea was omitted. Was that intentional, @William S. Saturn:?
•–• 17:17, 27 October 2020 (UTC)

Yes.  I plan to include that in the October on the campaign trail article. --William S. Saturn (talk) 17:26, 27 October 2020 (UTC)

@Acagastya: The Detroit News source says Amash became the first Libertarian member of Congress in April ("a month ago") by switching from Republican to Libertarian. Is that sufficient corroboration, given the claim is coming from an accredited en.wn reporter who's up on this stuff and was not challenged by the interviewee who clearly ought to know, or do you feel a need for more? --Pi zero (talk) 22:12, 28 October 2020 (UTC)

@Pi zero: I looked up his name in the archives and found that.
•–• 15:48, 30 October 2020 (UTC)

Review of revision 4589953 [Passed]

Revision 4589953 of this article has been reviewed by Acagastya (talk · contribs) and has passed its review at 13:06, 29 October 2020 (UTC). Copyright: Passed Newsworthiness: Passed Verifiability: Passed NPOV: Passed Style: Passed Comments by reviewer: Please use {{WNIQ}} and {{WNIR}} templates. Archives are useful for pointing out where the said person is from and if they held some position of power -- using those will save a lot of trouble. I could not find 1992 was her first time and that she supported LGBT/gun rights -- I commented out the former and changed it to libretarian idea for the latter. The reviewed revision should automatically have been edited by removing {{Review}} and adding {{Publish}} at the bottom, and the edit sighted; if this did not happen, it may be done manually by a reviewer.

Revision 4589953 of this article has been reviewed by Acagastya (talk · contribs) and has passed its review at 13:06, 29 October 2020 (UTC). Copyright: Passed Newsworthiness: Passed Verifiability: Passed NPOV: Passed Style: Passed Comments by reviewer: Please use {{WNIQ}} and {{WNIR}} templates. Archives are useful for pointing out where the said person is from and if they held some position of power -- using those will save a lot of trouble. I could not find 1992 was her first time and that she supported LGBT/gun rights -- I commented out the former and changed it to libretarian idea for the latter. The reviewed revision should automatically have been edited by removing {{Review}} and adding {{Publish}} at the bottom, and the edit sighted; if this did not happen, it may be done manually by a reviewer.

Q/A formatting

I notice the reporter and reviewer have different thoughts in mind on labeling the questions/replies. Apparently, both following different aspects of consistency. There seem to be two schools of thought on this sort of thing, going way back into the earliest days of Wikinews. I'm going to take a few minutes (not many, though, as we've the usual shortage thereof) this morning to add some slight documentation to the templates, in hopes of clarifying things a little. --Pi zero (talk) 14:33, 29 October 2020 (UTC)

I'm not sure why the reviewer is so insistent. The interview is now inconsistent with the others and it is harder to follow without any indents.--William S. Saturn (talk) 15:47, 29 October 2020 (UTC)

See how much easier it is to follow Wikinews interviews Brian Carroll, American Solidarity Party presidential nominee.  Why should readability and consistency be sacrificed just because an old template exists? --William S. Saturn (talk) 16:17, 29 October 2020 (UTC)

Interestingly, I feel the other way about it. I don't think readability is compromised because questions are in bold -- a stark contrast. Moreover, the template makes it easier to access the data by DOM manipulation. The template, imho, does not do anything negative and only serves additional purpose to make things easier to access.
•–• 16:31, 29 October 2020 (UTC)

After editor wars and browser wars, now we have this. :P -- any thoughts on having a predictable manner?
•–• 16:34, 29 October 2020 (UTC)

It occurs to me that this particular set of interviews (other than this one atm) have a consistent style. --Pi zero (talk) 16:38, 29 October 2020 (UTC)

I hesitated before submitting an edit to use the format of the other interviews in this set; eventually I did submit such an edit, though. WSS as the reporter has of course acquiesced to the strongly asserted preference of the publishing reviewer, Acagastya, (though WSS did correct me where I'd missed some things in my edit,) and I'm just one other reviewer. Acagastya clearly isn't keen on this format, but thus far has not actually rejected my edit, either. I believe I would not actually be prohibited from self-sighting this since it's format rather than content, but it's big enough one doesn't do it casually; better sooner than later, and the more discussion-and-consensus the better. If the edit is still hanging when I get up in the morning (about eight or nine hours from now), neither accepted nor rejected, I might self-sight after all. @Green Giant, Gryllida: any thoughts on this? --Pi zero (talk) 02:39, 30 October 2020 (UTC)

Could you please link to examples for both kinds of formatting? I'm at a loss as to what the differences are. Gryllida (talk) 04:03, 30 October 2020 (UTC)

@Gryllida:

• using indentation/bolding
• using WNIR

--Pi zero (talk) 04:09, 30 October 2020 (UTC)

For shorter examples, see Template:WNIR#Stylistic variants. --Pi zero (talk) 04:17, 30 October 2020 (UTC)

Thank you. I think personally I've used something similar to WNIR previously, but with initials only (not the full name) on 2nd+ occurrence. However, I recall Acagastya said that writing the full name provides an advantage for search results on the web.

The blocking seems a bit easier to read -- on larger screens.

Also, I've tried combining the two approaches, but that didn't seem visually appealing, did it? Gryllida (talk) 04:33, 30 October 2020 (UTC)

@Gryllida: The sandbox experiment doesn't seem visually appealing to me, either.

My immediate proposal is to use the style in this particular article that has been used by other interviews in this current set of interviews. --Pi zero (talk) 04:50, 30 October 2020 (UTC)

That seems reasonable to me. Gryllida (talk) 04:53, 30 October 2020 (UTC)

I do not mean to cut off discussion, but with some additional support and given that these changes are better made sooner rather than later, I've sighted the edit. --Pi zero (talk) 05:46, 30 October 2020 (UTC)