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Libertarians are now turning on Bill Weld after 'vouching' for Hillary Clinton
Libertarian vice-presidential candidate Bill Weld (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images)

Libertarians are now turning on Bill Weld after 'vouching' for Hillary Clinton

The Libertarian ticket this election season has seen its ups and downs, but its supporters are feeling a little buyer's remorse now, at least when it comes to the Libertarian vice presidential nominee, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld.

Weld has been a well-spoken and laid back inclusion to the Libertarian ticket, being somewhat of a contrasting figure to Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson, who is excitable and sometimes goofy. However, many would consider Weld's attitudes in this race to be far too kind to his Democratic opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The last straw for many occurred Tuesday, when Weld spoke with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, and gave Clinton more praise than a political opponent should probably receive in the heat of an election.

“I’m here vouching for Mrs. Clinton, and I think it’s high time somebody did,” Weld said.

“I have a lot to say about Mrs. Clinton that has not been said by others and I think needs to be said. I’ve known her for 40 years," he continued. "I know her well professionally. I know her well personally. I know her to be a person of high moral character, a reliable person, and an honest person, however so much Mr. Trump may rant and rave to the contrary."

Within the Libertarian camp, though, this did not sit well. Publications such as The Libertarian Republic wrote an op-ed titled, "Let’s Be Honest: Bill Weld is Campaigning for Hillary Clinton."

Popular Libertarian outlet Reason suggested it was a good sign for so many Libertarians to be uncomfortable with Weld's Clinton praise, given the fledgling party is still looking to solidify its belief system.

Dissatisfaction about Weld is felt no more keenly, however, than in the Libertarian subreddit on the popular social media sharing site, Reddit, where as of this writing, the front page was awash in anti-Weld sentiment.

"Seriously guys not here to convince you of my libertarian bonafides or anything of the sort but we let an absolute snake into our camp when we chose bill weld as the VP candidate," writes user Anotherforgottenman. "He is a f***ing sellsword who may destroy the Libertarian Party's actual shot to be relevant in presidential elections. I feel like he's been double crossing the campaign for months at this point. As a long term Johnson supporter it's infuriating to see the man he asked us to trust gut what remains of his campaign in the home stretch. End rant."

One user posted a picture of his Johnson/Weld bumper sticker, with blue tape placed over Weld's name, along with the title, "Looks much better!"

Currently, the top-voted post on the subreddit is an f-bomb accompanied by Weld's name.

While Libertarians are more than angry with Weld, more worrisome for them is the fact that this could further kill confidence in the ticket, and cause others to leave the party to take their vote elsewhere.

As it stands, the Libertarian ticket is currently cast to fall below the 5 percent mark, which was their goal because doing so would qualify them for federal campaign funding in 2020. Accomplishing that goal may now prove difficult.

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