(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



As he continues to lose traction with Republicans, Vivek Ramaswamy flirts with Libertarians [1]

[]

Date: 2023-12-09

Vivek Ramaswamy has reportedly been flirting with Libertarians now that Fox News is eviscerating him and many Republicans have come to dislike him based on his performances in the GOP primary debates.

On Friday, the Des Moines Register reported that Ramaswamy’s campaign has reached out to the Libertarian Party in Iowa to inquire about running for president on the party’s ticket.

The candidate denied that, but said he was instead urging Libertarian Party members to attend the GOP caucuses to vote for him.

RELATED STORY: Vivek Ramaswamy isn't just Trump's mini-me. He's way worse

The Des Moines Register:

Campaign operatives for Ramaswamy attended a local party event this week, and Ramaswamy has had conversations with two Iowa Libertarian officials, including one instance where he expressed interest in joining the ticket, one of those officials confirmed. Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and author who in 2004 voted for a Libertarian presidential candidate, has openly criticized Republican leadership and policy as he seeks the party's presidential nomination in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. But he has struggled to gain traction in Iowa and other early states, Ramaswamy's potential defection to a third-party ticket could shake up an election that already contains several independent hopefuls. Asked Thursday if he would run under the Libertarian ticket should he be defeated in the Republican race, Ramaswamy told the Register, "No." But he held out the possibility the Libertarian Party might nominate him. "I expect to get the GOP nomination," Ramaswamy said. "I have strong libertarian instincts. I can't stop them from nominating me, and I would be proud if they did."

Ramaswamy laughed as he denied any intention of running on the Libertarian ticket in a Friday post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

x Yes, we’re courting libertarians & independents in Iowa to come out to the Republican caucus and also to help us win the general election. And no, I’m not running on the Libertarian ticket. There, that quashes the rumors that my competitors are circulating in Iowa. Politics… pic.twitter.com/ciwQ7smaaM — Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 8, 2023

Transcript:

“We’re bringing libertarians and independents and young people and college students into the Republican caucus which I believe we have a good chance of winning … So I’m not running as a Libertarian or whatever it is they are trying to push. I have a lot of overlapping policies that rhyme with a lot of what libertarians like. Great. We’re going to bring them into the Republican caucus.“

The Ohio businessman could definitely use a little help from Libertarian friends: The 538 average of polls for the Iowa Republican caucus shows Ramaswamy in a distant fourth place with just 4.8% of the vote. After peaking at 11.6% on Aug. 23, the date of the first GOP debate; he’s since lost nearly seven points.

The Libertarian Party of Iowa acknowledged ‘the recent approach by the Ramaswamy campaign,” calling it “a testament to the growing recognition that the spectrum of American political discourse must encompass diverse perspectives.”

x The Libertarian Party of Iowa issued a statement after @galenbacharier and I reported yesterday that Vivek Ramaswamy said he would accept the Libertarian Party nomination of president, although he is not seeking it. pic.twitter.com/yDdG5Jn0Sa — Philip Joens (@Philip_Joens) December 8, 2023

Ramaswamy has sucked up to Trump during the campaign, even promising to pardon the 2024 frontrunner. That suggests he might be angling for a top position in the new administration should Trump win in November. But as New York Times columnist David Brooks notes, Ramaswamy is reflective of the “narcissistic hucksterism” that has infected the GOP since Trump has taken control of the party. So Ramaswamy might be more interested in promoting his own brand than playing second fiddle to Trump.

And what a brand it is.

In addition to asserting during Wednesday’s debate that Jan. 6 was “an inside job,” Ramaswamy also rattled off a litany of conspiracy theories, as if he was reading a QAnon post: “The government lied to us for 20 years about Saudi Arabia's involvement in 9/11 … The great replacement theory is not some grand right-wing conspiracy theory, but a basic statement of the Democratic Party's platform. … The 2020 election was indeed stolen by Big Tech."

Friday, Ramaswamy was back on X with another bizarre conspiracy theory.

x The timing of the Hunter Biden tax indictment is one more sign that the deep state is planning to sideline Biden & pick a new puppet for 2024, all the while using this indictment as a perfect fig leaf to claim that the Trump prosecutions aren’t politically motivated. Kills two… — Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 8, 2023

He wrote:

The timing of the Hunter Biden tax indictment is one more sign that the deep state is planning to sideline Biden & pick a new puppet for 2024, all the while using this indictment as a perfect fig leaf to claim that the Trump prosecutions aren’t politically motivated. Kills two birds with one stone.

It seems unlikely that Ramaswamy, who got his B.A. from Harvard and then graduated from Yale Law School, actually believes any of this rubbish. But Wednesday’s conspiracy theory-drenched rant did earn Ramaswamy praise from notorious white supremacist and neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes, who hailed the Indian American as “the avatar of destruction.”

But over at Fox News, the network’s hosts and panelists are united in their “nuclear” opposition to Ramaswamy, The Daily Beast reports.

“Court jester,” one Fox News star described Ramaswamy on Thursday. “A jerk,” another Fox personality called him. “Embarrassing,” the denizens of Fox News’ flagship morning show declared about the White House hopeful. Just a few months ago, the 38-year-old “anti-woke” biotech entrepreneur had seemingly taken over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ spot as the conservative cable giant’s favored Donald Trump alternative in the Republican presidential primary. At the time, the network … gushed over his ability to rap Eminem lyrics while touting the media-savvy contender’s rising poll numbers. However, the debates happened and Ramaswamy’s self-professed “unhinged” strategy—which largely involved insulting the other candidates while cosplaying as 4chan right-wing edgelord—quickly wore out its welcome. Before long, Fox News pivoted its support to a Republican establishment candidate, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, an ex-Trump official.

Given his transactional relationship with the GOP—and his declining support among Republican voters— could Ramaswamy take his flirtation with the Libertarians even further?

Ramaswamy has put forward some policy proposals that Libertarians support: abolishing the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service, curbing the power of the Federal Reserve, and supporting open carry gun laws. But there are others that are antithetical to Libertarians, including his staunchly anti-immigration stance and support for the anti-woke culture war against the LGBTQ+ community.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/9/2210489/-As-he-continues-to-lose-traction-with-Republicans-Vivek-Ramaswamy-flirts-with-Libertarians?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_6&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/