HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

Dave Smith on Big Tech Censorship, Lockdowns, and Running for President

Views:819
@ReasonVids

The comedian and podcaster talks about running for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination and his beef with Reason.
------------------
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ReasonTV?subconfirmation=1
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason

Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines.
----------------
"When it comes to the issues that the liberals are best on, we're better than them on those issues," says comedian and podcaster Dave Smith. "And when it comes to the issues that the conservatives are best on, we're better than them at those issues. And so I just think that if libertarianism is presented the right way and articulated the right way, you can generate a lot of interest."

Smith is a rising presence in Libertarian Party (L.P.) circles and he tells Reason that he's considering running for the party's presidential nomination in 2024. He says a major reason he expects to run is that even though the 2020 nominee, Jo Jorgensen, got the second-highest vote total in L.P. history, he thinks she didn't push back hard enough on government lockdowns and overreach in its fight against COVID-19, which he sees as a missed opportunity to build a bigger libertarian movement.

A vocal opponent of wokeness and political correctness, Smith is quick to attack fellow libertarians whom he thinks are naive about how the state maintains its power. He's said that he'd "take a red-pilled leftie over a blue-pilled libertarian any day." After the Biden administration revealed it was pushing Facebook to restrict accounts it says are spreading misinformation about COVID-19, Smith tweeted, "This administration has exposed the useful idiots who call themselves libertarians. Saying 'it's a private company' for the last few years, ignoring what is obviously the biggest threat to liberty. They unwittingly support the largest government in human history."

When that take was discussed on a recent Reason Roundtable podcast, Smith tweeted that my fellow panelists and I had misrepresented his views. So I reached out to him so he could clarify his ideas about the intersection of big government and big tech, discuss the future of the L.P., why he has no plans to vaccinate himself or his young daughter, and why he believes libertarians should be more engaged in the culture war.

Narrated by Nick Gillespie; Edited by Ian Keyser and John Osterhoudt

Photo: Dave Smith photos by Brett Raney; Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/Sipa/Newscom; Paul Hennessy / SOPA Images/Sipa/Newscom; Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/CNP/SplashNews/Newscom

libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
    Thumbnail for A Racial Diversity Program That Brings People Together45:45
    A Racial Diversity Program That Brings People Together
    ReasonVids
    1140 views
    Thumbnail for Why Americans Are Suckers for Quick Fixes From Psychologists5:01
    Why Americans Are Suckers for Quick Fixes From Psychologists
    ReasonVids
    993 views
    Thumbnail for Drew Dreschel at the 2014 Miami Finals | American Ninja Warrior2:29
    Drew Dreschel at the 2014 Miami Finals | American Ninja Warrior
    ninjawarrior
    1063 views
    Thumbnail for My spirit animal0:27
    My spirit animal
    bestofupgoat
    66 views
    Thumbnail for Remy: Surfin' USA (Beach Boys Lockdown Parody)1:51
    Remy: Surfin' USA (Beach Boys Lockdown Parody)
    ReasonVids
    952 views
    Thumbnail for Jon Haidt on The Coddling of the American Mind and How We Should Address It25:48
    Jon Haidt on The Coddling of the American Mind and How We Should Address It
    ReasonVids
    982 views
    Thumbnail for 3 Reasons Obama's Education Vision Deserves an F2:42
    3 Reasons Obama's Education Vision Deserves an F
    ReasonVids
    992 views
    Thumbnail for Diversity in trucking...1:19
    Diversity in trucking...
    AOUisgay
    464 views
    Thumbnail for You're Gay?  Keep That Shit To Yourself!0:32
    You're Gay? Keep That Shit To Yourself!
    bestofupgoat
    138 views
    Thumbnail for GOP Debate: The Rap1:31
    GOP Debate: The Rap
    ReasonVids
    902 views
    Thumbnail for John Gartner - In Search of Bill Clinton7:05
    John Gartner - In Search of Bill Clinton
    ReasonVids
    882 views
    Thumbnail for When 3 SHORTCUTS Are Obvious But 1 ISN'T | Dapper11:34
    When 3 SHORTCUTS Are Obvious But 1 ISN'T | Dapper
    invidious
    344 views
    Thumbnail for Kamala Campaign IMPLOSION?! | Ben Shapiro59:55
    Kamala Campaign IMPLOSION?! | Ben Shapiro
    invidious
    164 views
    Thumbnail for  The Low IQ...1:06
    The Low IQ...
    AOU
    2048 views
    Thumbnail for LA Food Police Ban Burger Joints: Is Your City Next?7:57
    LA Food Police Ban Burger Joints: Is Your City Next?
    ReasonVids
    949 views
    Thumbnail for Texas Close 'Em by Drew Carey and Reason.tv5:11
    Texas Close 'Em by Drew Carey and Reason.tv
    ReasonVids
    974 views
    Thumbnail for Rob Kampia Discusses the Marijuana Policy Project8:41
    Rob Kampia Discusses the Marijuana Policy Project
    ReasonVids
    977 views
    Thumbnail for Canadian Head Doctor Tranny-Tam is excited about planning a covid x 1000 lockdown. 10:32
    Canadian Head Doctor Tranny-Tam is excited about planning a covid x 1000 lockdown.
    bestofupgoat
    547 views
    Thumbnail for The Coronavirus Testing Debacle Stems From Decades of Bad FDA Policy5:33
    The Coronavirus Testing Debacle Stems From Decades of Bad FDA Policy
    ReasonVids
    1059 views
    Thumbnail for Uncaged Helena0:10
    Uncaged Helena
    bestofupgoat
    241 views
    Thumbnail for We're the TSA and You Can Count on Us! (to overreact to tiny threats and ignore big ones)1:04
    We're the TSA and You Can Count on Us! (to overreact to tiny threats and ignore big ones)
    ReasonVids
    1038 views
    Thumbnail for absolute insanity0:55
    absolute insanity
    bestofupgoat
    248 views
    Thumbnail for Libertarian PBS4:51
    Libertarian PBS
    ReasonVids
    892 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle