Why Libertarian John Stossel is Hosting a Green Party Town Hall
Outspoken Libertarian John Stossel is moderating Friday’s Green Party town hall, but the Fox Business host told TheWrap he is eager to take part in the event for a rival party because “other opinions should be heard.”
The Green Party is “very far left, both on their views of the economy and the environment,” Stossel said, before explaining that he feels Green Party supporters “think the government is the solution to most every problem.”
The Green Party did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
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Stossel will host the Green Party town hall event with presidential candidate Jill Stein on Friday at 9 p.m. ET. They will discuss current economic and environmental issues, as well as military spending. The event will also feature questions from a studio audience, as well as incorporate topics proposed via social media.
“Libertarians believe that free people and free markets allow all people to reach their potential, while the Green Party thinks the government can and should solve most problems,” Stossel said, calling the Green Party “Bernie Sanders on steroids.”
The Green Party, founded in 1984, describes itself as an independent political party connected to American social movements with four key pillars: Peace and Non-Violence, Ecological Wisdom, Grassroots Democracy, and Social Justice.
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Stossel hopes that a candidate who doesn’t represent the GOP or Democrats could have a legitimate shot at winning a presidential election under the right circumstances.
But he doesn’t think Jill Stein has a shot this year, and believes his party’s candidate, Gary Johnson, “would make a far better President than anyone else running.”
The Green Party website explains that it, like any third party, faces long odds.
“Greens are aware that a Green campaign for the White House is an extreme long shot. But there are plenty of solid reasons to run a Green presidential campaign and to vote for a Green nominee — beginning with the democratic principle that one has the right to vote for the candidate that best represents one’s interests and ideals without being told that only two parties are legitimate,” the site explains. “Every Green presidential campaign helps build the Green Party as an alternative to the two parties of war and Wall Street.”
Adds Stossel: “That there are more than two sides to every issue. I don’t agree with a lot of what Jill Stein says, but it is healthy for a democracy to hear how she would chance things, from environmental policy to the economy and personal freedoms,” Stossel said. “Let the best ideas win.”
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