Chicago Tribune endorses Gary Johnson
The Chicago Tribune is the latest major newspaper to deliver an endorsement (or "disendorsement," in the case of Paste BN), but unlike most other legacy publications, the Tribune endorsed Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party presidential candidate.
"We reject the cliche that a citizen who chooses a principled third-party candidate is squandering his or her vote," the Editorial Board wrote.
The Tribune, which said earlier this year it could not endorse Donald Trump, stands by that. Its board contends that while Clinton, unlike Trump, is qualified for the presidency, they don't agree with her vision for the country.
Its members argue Clinton, however qualified for the presidency, is making promises she can't deliver. She is offering a series of programs — college education, paid family leave, infrastructure expenditures, health spending — that would come with a $1.65 trillion pricetag, the board says, citing numbers from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Time upon time, Clinton's behavior affirms the perception that she's a corner-cutter whose ambitions drive her decisions. One telling episode among the countless: Asked by a voter if she was for or against the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada, she replied, "If it's undecided when I become president, I will answer your question." As we've asked here before, will Hillary Clinton ever get over her consuming fear of straight talk?
And it's not just that. The board members decided against endorsing Clinton, in part they say, because people don't trust her. They cite the attack in Libya, her "extremely careless" handling of classified information and allegations of conflicts of interest between the Clinton-run State Department and her family foundation. And her pneumonia spell, which she reportedly kept from her aides.
In Gary Johnson and running mate William Weld, they see a practical alternative who share the same values as many Americans. They cite his record as a business owner and proponent of smaller, leaner government, among other aspects of his platform.
The editorial tries to dispel concerns critics may have about libertarianism, referring to Johnson and Well's ideology as "small-L libertarianism." And the board described them as "animated" when discussing social justice issues (no word on whether the situation in Aleppo is now one of them).
The results were, well, mixed on Twitter.