Former Texas Rep. Ron Paul charged Monday that the U.S. doesn’t exactly have a democracy and said any third-party presidential candidate doesn’t really have a chance.
“This country, we do not really have democracy. I mean, even if we were really, really super happy with the Libertarian candidate, you think they’d get into the debates?” Paul said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “No, the debates are run by the Republicans and Democrats. They’d find a way of banning them.”
Paul, a Libertarian icon during his time in Congress who has made his own longshot bids for the presidency, said that unless the third-party candidate were a billionaire and could exert the right pressure to facilitate a legitimate run, they’d be shut out by the system.
Overall, Paul noted there would not be much choice for the American people in November.
“I think the people are left with very poor choices and no real contrast,” Paul said, noting specific similarities between Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump concerning their approach to the executive branch.
“I think they believe in a strong executive, and that’s opposite of libertarianism. The libertarian principle of nonaggression, that is where government can’t use force to mold a society or the economy or tell other people how to live around the world. I would say that’s a great principle,” Paul said.
“I’m not overly enthralled with the candidates, but that principle is worthwhile and the opposite of what we’ve been living with and opposite of the ideas that have brought us to this point where we are now facing bankruptcy, and nobody is talking about the seriousness of the economy and the bankruptcy we face.”
