Libertarian VP candidate makes stop in city

KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/.Sun-Gazette Jeremy "Spike" Cohen the Libertarian Party's nominee for vice president of the United States, speaks in front of the Lycoming County Courthouse on Friday morning.
Jeremy “Spike” Cohen believes in an alternative to the two-party system that has long represented people in the U.S. and that’s why he’s running for vice president as a Libertarian.
Cohen was in downtown Williamsport on Friday where he talked to a small gathering of area residents in front of the Lycoming County Courthouse.
His immediate goal, he said, is to gather 5,000 signatures needed to get on the ballot in Pennsylvania for the November election.
He plans to hit other states as well with his message of less government, reduced taxes and spending, and criminal justice reform.
Cohen, 38, a web designer from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, described himself as a small businessman who wants to help the people.
He accused Democratic and Republican leaders of using their power to shut everyone out of the political process.
“We want to show people there is an alternative,” he said.
He feels people are open to the reform message he and his running mate, Libertarian Presidential candidate, Dr. Jo Jorgensen, are communicating.
Government, he said, too often does not work for the people.
As an example, he noted that the Centers for Disease Control inadequately responded to the coronavirus pandemic, creating the economic devastation that followed.
He pointed to the growing national debt, the student loan debt problems, the poor educational system, and the failed war on drugs.
He said police need to protect people rather than harass them and called for an end to “bad policing” and what he called an increased militarized society.
“Libertarians are the only ones for holding police accountable,” he said.
Bob Pyle, of Mount Pleasant Mills, is among those who support Cohen.
“Mr. Cohen knows higher education is full of frauds who run it,” he said.
Pyle, a church pastor, said change is badly needed as people are being “ripped off” by the existing system of government.
“Churches are the true safety net for the most downtrodden of society,” he added.
Tammy George, of Williamsport, said she too would support Cohen after talking to him about children’s concerns and special needs kids.
Cohen told George that a system has been created that harms children.
He said he was recently endorsed by Black Lives Matter supporters in Ohio when he took his message there.
“American people realize they need change,” he said.
Libertarians are too often shut out of the political process by Republicans and Democrats, according to Cohen.
“We aren’t accountable to multi-million-dollar lobbyists,” he said.
Cohen is the co-owner of “Muddied Waters Media,” a podcast he hosts that espouses the principles of non-aggression and voluntary interaction.