Ron Paul to independents: Vote Green Party

Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) says independent voters should pick Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein on Election Day.

“The independents who don’t know what to do and who should they pick, I say if you tend to lean towards progressivism and liberalism and you know you are interested in expressing yourself, you can vote for the Green Party,” he told host Thomas Roberts on MSNBC Monday.

{mosads}“Certainly you could say, ‘Well, I like a lot of what she says about civil liberties.’ I like what she says about foreign policy. She’s probably the best on foreign policy.”

Paul, who has sought the White House three times and earned the Libertarian presidential nomination in 1988, said he is not formally endorsing Stein’s campaign.

“I think there’s a little bit of misinformation there, as I haven’t endorsed anybody,” he said when asked if he was officially backing Stein. “I have mentioned her name.

“I haven’t told any supporters who are interested for whom they should vote. I have to look for bits and pieces in all the candidates and try to put it together and have a Libertarian message.”

Paul added that Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson could better present his party’s message to voters.

“On Gary Johnson, he doesn’t come across with a crisp Libertarian message,” said Paul.

“You can express yourself but unfortunately there’s no crisp answer where you can say, ‘This individual represents liberty,’” he added of the 2016 field overall. “‘If you vote for this person, you’ll be voting for liberty and truly expressing yourself.’”

Stein and her running mate Ajamu Baraka register about 2 percent support nationwide, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average of polls.

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, leads Donald Trump, her GOP counterpart, by about 3 points in the same index when Johnson and Stein are included.