I should begin this introduction with an apology, as a recording error led to the first eight and a half minutes of this interview being so garbled that, after a month and a half of attempting to clean the audio, I finally just clipped the portions that were understandable to release here in anticipation of the Libertarian National Convention this weekend.
I could tell from the moment this interview began that Chase Oliver was unique. I, in many ways, concur with the fundamental precepts of libertarian philosophically, believing that people best govern their own destinies, yet I have found too many libertarians unable to elucidate on their vision for a better world. Cut government—now what?
Chase Oliver had answers for what fills the vacuum.
Further, as a candidate for the presidential under a third party banner, he surprised me with his frankness. He understood that Libertarians are, to put it mildly, unlikely to win the 2024 presidential election, but he argued “what your job is, as a third party candidate, is to broadly be the brand ambassador to build up that bench. I would build a bench so whoever takes this role in four years has twice as many activists, twice as many members behind them. Ultimately, things come down to local government, and I would look into how many city council, state legislative seats, and mayors can the Libertarian Party win.”
As someone who has spent a decent portion of my career in the backrooms of local politics here in Salt Lake City, this struck me as the single most realistic argument I had ever seen from a third party candidate for the presidency, a goal that would actually put resources to use.
I was deeply and thoroughly impressed with Oliver and wish him the best of luck this weekend at the Libertarian National Convention, almost alone among the Libertarian candidates at present, I would seriously consider voting for him in the general election.
I hope you enjoy the parts of the interview that were intelligible, and, as Mr. Oliver said to bid me farewell: “have a blessed day.”
2024 Presidential Candidate Chase Oliver sits down with A New Frontier