Pitching themselves as an alternative that would allow Americans to vote their conscience this fall, #TeamGov Libertarian candidates Gary Johnson and Bill Weld visited with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Wednesday night in a town hall designed to lend the spotlight to two former Republicans who think they have a home for disgruntled voters who aren't particularly thrilled with either major party nominee.

Pitching themselves as an alternative that would allow Americans to vote their conscience this fall, #TeamGov Libertarian candidates Gary Johnson and Bill Weld visited with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Wednesday night in a town hall designed to lend the spotlight to two former Republicans who think they have a home for disgruntled voters who aren't particularly thrilled with either major party nominee.

Casting themselves as "fiscally conservative, and socially progressive," the pair were tossed some softballs by Cooper that helped them put their platform in front of the country.

YouTube/Screen grab

Johnson suggested that after the interview, they'd be polling at 17 percent and thus capable of participating in the national debates alongside the two major party candidates.

In case you missed it, here are the top quotes from the Libertarian town hall:

On Trump and Clinton

"If either Trump or Clinton are elected, things will be more polarized than ever." -- Johnson

On Trump being unfit for president

"He's a showman. He's a pied piper. He's the music man... More recently, it's gotten more serious, and the noun that comes to my mind is a 'screw loose.' " -- Weld

On Clinton's 'pay-to-play' candidacy

"It's just not coincidence, I don't think, that Bill Clinton and Hillary both are making huge amounts of money with these speaking fees." -- Johnson

On the 'lesser of two evils' approach

"A wasted vote is voting for somebody that you don't believe in, and if we're going to continue to vote for the lesser of two evils, that's still evil." -- Johnson

On marijuana

"What we need to do is de-schedule Marijuana as a Class 1 narcotic. There needs to be research and development on marijuana, and in no way are we supporting kids being able to use marijuana." -- Johnson

YouTube/Screen grab On Black Lives Matter

"My head's been in the sand on this. I think we've all had our heads in the sand, and let's wake up." -- Johnson

* * *

Briefing is powered by GateHouse Media’s Center for News & Design. Visit our website at http://elections.gatehousemedia.com/ghm/todaystopics, or follow us on Twitter at @briefing_2016 and on Facebook at facebook.com/briefing2016.