Libertarian presidential candidate Mike ter Maat has issued a formal debate challenge to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ahead of the Libertarian National Convention slated for later this month. Additionally, ter Maat has also demanded time to address the Republican National Convention.
“Given Kennedy’s repeated flirtations with the Libertarian Party nomination, the most appropriate debate is with me, not with Trump who will never seek our nomination,” ter Maat stated in a recent campaign press release following Kennedy’s invitation to debate Republican former President Donald Trump.
In addition to his debate invitation to Kennedy, ter Maat also demanded that the Republican National Committee allow him time to address the Republican National Convention, noting that the Libertarian National Committee invited both Trump and Biden to its national convention and such hospitality should be reciprocated.
In his actual letter to Kennedy, ter Maat wrote, “As the Libertarian Party’s frontrunner for the nomination – though not a presumptive nominee – I think it would be appropriate for us to arrange a debate between the two of us prior to the Libertarian National Convention, irrespective of whether President Trump accepts your challenge. I propose a public debate at a city and on a date of your choice between May 18th and May 22nd. This also could be on Thursday evening, May 23rd at the Washington Hilton, the Libertarian National Convention hotel.”
According to ter Maat, the debate would focus on principles, policies, and proposed solutions to contemporary challenges facing the United States, “without getting mired in distracting political obfuscation.” The ter Maat campaign team would manage logistics, with both campaigns covering travel, hotel, and security costs for their respective candidates.
Independent Political Report will be speaking with Mike ter Maat later this week regarding his recent invitation and more.
Unimportant,
I appreciate you letting me know about the mobile version. I’ve been a little slammed as of late, but I will see what I can do to make some site corrections as soon as I’m able.
This is a non-credible stunt.
This may be what you’re looking for
https://thirdpartywatch.com/2024/05/15/live-blog-of-credentials-committee-town-hall/
There is also a part 2 on that site to the article Jordan linked.
Thanks for the answers. Upshot seems to be no: neither the Credentials Committee nor Madam Secretary herself seems to have made fit to make public anywhere the challenges we’re told have been filed, or which states are being targeted, or any other information about it for people to read themselves. The only thing the general membership can see is this ancillary drama over the LNC doing last minute purging and stuffing of the committee, but nothing about what’s actually going on with the attempt to purge and stuff the convention.
Correction on B2 in the comment addressing observer below: if it wasn’t obvious, it and one was supposed to be if and when. Probably a Google automangle.
I think most people use the mobile phone version now, like I do, which doesn’t have columns. You can still find it if you scroll down but you need to scroll way down to do it. If you are open to suggestions, I recommend going back to what they used to do here – bumping up the date of the open thread and dropping a couple of comments of your own into it often enough to keep it in recent comments all the time. If you don’t have anything, pop in a YouTube music video link or link to a movie review or cat chasing a ball video or pretty much anything.
When I look at this site, nowadays always on my phone, I scroll through the headlines and recent comments and that’s as far as I get. I’m going to guess that’s probably what most people do now. Old articles from weeks, months and even years earlier here used to get comments a lot more often than they do now, which is pretty much never. When an oldish article does get a comment it likely gets additional ones. So, I think most users are probably looking at the mobile version, like I am.
Hi Unimportant,
You’re correct that IPR still maintains the Open Thread, which is updated each month. It’s always featured on the homepage as the first item on the left-hand column to prevent it from getting buried by newer articles. The image serves as a clickable link. Additionally, there are party-specific threads toward the bottom of the site in the same column, but they aren’t frequently used and might be better folded into the Open Thread at a later date.
Regarding the Credentials Committee, I defer to George and Third Party Watch as he has followed things far more closely than I have these past few days. I’m obligated to note that Third Party Watch is not associated with our supporting nonprofit and may contain content that’s less neutral. Link for those interested: https://thirdpartywatch.com/2024/05/14/lnc-in-chaos-over-credentials-committee-part-1/
I don’t dig into their waste (my level of morbid curiosity doesn’t go to that level) but just from reading a few public blogs and comments and extrapolating: the ruling faction is weaponizing their interpretation of state bylaws, some random person’s book of made up parliamentary rules, and any other excuse they can think of in an unprecedented way, at least for their party, in order to hang on to “power.”
This is probably because A 1) they have counted the likely votes, and it might be close, 2) they’re paranoid, and even though they have a comfortable lead, they feel the need to be absolutely sure, 3) they’re behind, and desperately trying to catch up through what are in practice dirty tricks but can be logiced away as just following previously ignored rules, and B 1) they are ambitious, but frustrated at having zero power in real world politics, so playing cutthroat politics in cosplay congress is the best they can do, 2) they’re just practicing for it and one they can ever get any real power in the real world, or 3) they are people who played these kinds of games in a major party, lost, and now bring their game of thrones tactics to the minor party backwater they have been relegated to.
It could be a combination of these things.
I have absolutely no preference among their factions and will not vote for any presidential candidate they nominate, send them any money, do volunteer or paid work for them, or attend their quasipolitical social clubs regardless of any convention results, so this is as close to an objective opinion as you are likely to see. Take it for whatever it’s worth.
They used to have an open thread here every month that was always redated to keep it on the front page and goosed by management to keep it in recent comments, even when with just silly nonpolitical stuff like music videos or whatever else. I think they still put one up, but don’t keep it on the front page and pretty much nobody ever uses it anymore.
Completely unrelated and off-topic, but something the crowd here might know or be interested in covering: what’s up with the Credentials Committee fights? There’s a lot of drama on the LNC list about last-minute motions to replace members on the committee, and some talk there and on twitter to the effect that Harlos is challenging several states. But nowhere that I could find any direct records of the committee or a public email list for it, or anywhere people can review the challenges supposedly filed by Harlos and/or other people and on what basis. Does anybody have the scoop? What states are being challenged and for what supposed reasons?
Ter Maat the front-runner for LP nomination? That’s a hoot!
He is trailing Ballay, Oliver, Hornberger, Rectenwald, Mapstead and None of the Above in the popular vote.
He is trailing Oliver, Rectenwald and None of the Above in contests won.
He is trailing Rectenwald, Oliver, Hornberger and Olivier in campaigning.
I doubt many in the LP had even heard of him before, much less anyone outside the party.
Be sure and ask ter Maat what makes him the frontrunner.