CNN's Libertarian Townhall

Well, guys. It's happened. The Libertarian Party took up an hour and fifteen minutes of CNN's prime time real estate in a much-needed townhall. Governors Gary Johnson (NM) and Bill Weld (MA) took difficult and nuanced questions and did an adequate job of presenting the Libertarian package.

I say adequate because - god love him - Gary will simply never be a slick orator. He's a bit awkward. He's a bit jumpy. His mind works on all cylinders and 100 miles an hour. Those of us familiar with him love him anyway. Newbies might be turned off. But for all his oratory deficiencies, his running mate Bill Weld is an effective, coherent, and eloquent salesman of the Party's ideas.

In fact, Weld was the Belle of the Ball, in my opinion. He knows how to talk to people who are used to the 'two party' talking points in a way Gary isn't comfortable. And I think he is likely the one the 'on the fencers'  will find resonance with. They might even wonder why he's not the top of the ticket. Well, the answer is that what Gary lacks in delivery he more than makes up for in record and action.

All manner of topics were discussed from abortion to drugs to foreign policy to trade to tax. It was the most well rounded Prime Time political event this election cycle. I'm happy. I think people need to get a good idea of where Libertarians stand on these key issues. The downside is that nuances didn't always get adequately articulated.

The Townhall structure is tricky too. In one question a woman who's son was injured while taking heroin demanded to know how the governors could possibly support legalizing drugs. This became an awkward exchange on an issue Gary should have excelled. What he should have said was, 'Your son managed to easily find and buy heroin even as it is currently illegal and the subject of a multibillion-dollar war on drugs, so obviously that is not working.' But, no doubt, that would seem callous so he could not answer that way very easily.

Another missed opportunity was with #BlackLivesMatter. Gary Johnson has, many times, made the case that he understands how black people (men in particular) are not only targeted but disproportionately convicted and incarcerated. But that never got mentioned.

Where they excelled was in immigration and healthcare. In minutes they took down every aspect of Trump's absurd Immigration proposals (including mass deportations). Also, for the first time in this election cycle they brought up price transparency and competition in healthcare which is a key problem to the with healthcare prices. On the economy they were nearly flawless, but that was so expected it barely registered.

The main take-away, I think, can be best explained by one of my mid-Townhall tweets:

It was a great opportunity to showcase The Party and it wasn't without mistakes, but I don't see how anyone can possibly come away thinking any less of Gary Johnson or Bill Weld. They offered more common sense discussion of topics than all the other Townhalls combined. 

Open Letter to the father of rapist, Brock Turner

Dan,

Can I call you Dan? Whatever. I'm going to anyway. Dan, I think you need a little help. I've got to hope that your son's victim helped shed a glimmer of light on the absurdity of your mentality about rape, alcohol, and mistakes when she read her epic takedown of the rape culture that led to her being but a footnote in your son's 'promising' future. But, I do have my doubts. You see, your plea for leniency for your son shows an alarming disinterest in his victim. Such disinterest is probably indicative of a bigger problem of failing to hold him to any kind of consequences. It makes him even more deserving of prison in my opinion, but I'm not the judge.

You are worried about your son. I get it. I have two sons of my own. The idea of either of them in prison, even if they deserved it, would terrify me. It would break my heart. But you know what would break my heart more? The idea that I raised a rapist - that my child ruined the life of someone else. What would horrify me more is if that child, after  physically assaulting someone, refused to accept responsibility for it and then dragged her through court to call her a lush and a whore. And, if one of my sons grew up to be this kind of horrible man, I would want to know what I had done wrong. Did you ever ask yourself that, Dan?

Did you ever wonder if your own actions, praises, entitlements made your son think it was okay to take what he wanted? Did you ever wonder if the 'success' you so obviously revered in your son made him think he was above the law? Above common decency?

How about this. Did you ever look at his victim and think to yourself, 'Wow. That poor woman is forever changed because of my son'? Did you ever consider telling your son to own up to what he did and save her the pain of trial? Did you ever tell your son to 'be a man', as they say, and admit that what he did was wrong - not just a drunken 'mistake'? Did you ever wonder what her father was thinking as the lawyer you hired further victimized her? Did you ever once think, 'maybe I should put a stop to this insanity'?

From what I can tell by your callous, tone-deaf plea is that the victim's life doesn't matter to you. The only thing that matters to you is your special snowflake. Your trophy of fertility. The amazing swimming star with 'promise'. A 20-minute mistake could ruin his life! Boo hoo. Rape is not a mistake. Assault is not a mistake. No, not even if you are drunk. In the world you must live in, boys are nothing but potential rapists, only a binge drinking night away from being a danger to society. If so, I'm very sorry you view your own gender that way. Lucky for the rest of us, it's not true. That's why kids can binge drink on college campuses every day without raping anyone.

And can I ask you...what kind of rapist does belong in prison? A poor one? A black one? One that can't swim fast? Which rapists are beyond help and which 'still have something positive to offer society'? Why is your son any more deserving of leniency than anyone else? Is it because he's been treated 'special' his whole life? Do you think maybe that's why he ended up a rapist at 19?

At the end of the day, you are part of the problem here. Your attitude and lack of awareness show an obvious and upsetting disregard for your son's victim. I worry about a society that can produce people with so little compassion. It should be no wonder that you raised someone who also lacks compassion.

But keep one thing clear if you remember nothing else: Your son is not a victim. There is a real victim here, and it's not a spoiled boy who lost his scholarships because he raped someone. Your son is a rapist. Not a drunk. Not a poor kid with bad judgment. A rapist. He deserves to be on that list for the rest of his life. He deserves to be in prison. Becuase that '20 minutes' took something irreplaceable from another person. That 20 minutes changed her life forever. And I believe, wholeheartedly, that if it were your son or daughter who'd been raped, that 20 minutes would mean a hell of a lot more to you.


Krystle Berger