OTTAWA — The Libertarian Party of Ohio began its town hall meeting Saturday night with a simple question: “Who is excited for Trump versus Clinton?”

When no one responded, Don Kissick, vice chair of the Libertarian Party of Ohio Central Committee, started making his case for former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, a 2016 presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party.

Together with volunteer speaker Chris Armstrong, the Libertarians touted Johnson’s anti-interventionist foreign policy strategy, his willingness to veto “pork-ridden” bills, and his general philosophy that less government means more power to the people.

“What [Johnson] offers is a message that’s more about how we can try to make government more efficient, and make it more responsive to the people,” Kissick said.

Kissick described presidential candidates Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton as “two people that only want to talk about how great they are.”

Johnson, he said, fights for the people, not himself.

“Let’s bring more power back to the individual — that is Gov. Johnson’s message,” he said.

The town hall, held at the Schroeder Center for the Arts in Ottawa, was also about dispelling the notion that voting for a third party candidate such as Johnson is “throwing your vote away.” Armstrong said this idea is “the most untrue statement I ever heard.”

“The only vote wasted is the vote not cast,” Armstrong said. “We don’t have to give up a vote to the reds or the blues, the Democrats or the Republicans, just so we can have freedom.”

Armstrong, who is not directly affiliated with the Johnson campaign, openly admitted he had been “brainwashed” into believing in a two-party system. It wasn’t until Johnson ran for president in 2012 that Armstrong said he started to believe in the power of third party candidates.

“There is a grassroots effort underway, and people are starting to open their eyes and think outside the box a little bit,” he said. “People are realizing that we can give our vote to a third-party candidate. We can give it to a Libertarian.”

Armstrong said the biggest reason he is voting for Johnson is his support of the “fair tax.” This proposal would replace all federal income taxes, payroll taxes, gift taxes and estate taxes with a single, national consumption tax on retail sales.

“What we have right now is a tax system built by the government and the IRS that penalizes people for productivity,” he said. “We need to get away from that and tax based on consumption.”

For Kissick, the idea of voting for the “lesser of two evils” — in this case, Trump or Clinton —is “the inevitable consequence” of a two-party system.

“There’s really no incentive on either of the political camps to try and find a candidate who really stands for a set of principles,” he said. “Gary Johnson brings principles.”

Kissick also defied the notion that third party candidates such as Johnson can be brushed off as “extremists.”

“The two major party candidates right now are the ones that have extreme views,” he said. “Gary Johnson is trying to say, ‘we don’t need an extreme position.’ There are ways to make this simpler and to bring about a more free America without having to pile on more laws.”

Volunteer speaker Chris Armstrong makes his case for presidential candidate Gary Johnson during a Libertarian Town Hall meeting Saturday night in Ottawa. Armstrong is not affiliated with the Johnson campaign, but tours around Ohio advocating on his behalf. https://www.limaohio.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2016/07/web1_libertarians.jpg Volunteer speaker Chris Armstrong makes his case for presidential candidate Gary Johnson during a Libertarian Town Hall meeting Saturday night in Ottawa. Armstrong is not affiliated with the Johnson campaign, but tours around Ohio advocating on his behalf. John Bush | The Lima News

By John Bush jbush@civitasmedia.com

Reach John Bush at 567-242-0456 or on Twitter @bush_lima

Reach John Bush at 567-242-0456 or on Twitter @bush_lima