Skip to main content

Gary Johnson, Libertarian, is looking more like my candidate

I've experienced profound disappointments with "Libertarian" candidates in the past, from Ron Paul to Bob Barr.

Gary Johnson, the former two-term Governor of New Mexico, is looking a lot better.

I've already blogged about his principles in refusing the appear on stage with what he considered to be a Tea Party extremist, and his criticism of Mayor Bloomberg's unconstitutional "Stop and Frisk" policy.

Today, let's take a look at some Gary Johnson answers in an interview reported by The Daily Caller:

On abortion rights:


“I leave abortion to the woman,” he said. “I just fundamentally end there.”
When it comes to abortion, Johnson said, “I absolutely support a woman’s right to choose.”
And on the question of whether a man should have a say in it, Johnson replied, “When it comes to that bottom line decision, no.”
However, the former New Mexico governor said he’s for restricting public funding of abortion because “it’s libertarian” for someone to say what they don’t want their taxes spent on.




On religion:


Johnson, who said he doesn’t go to church, made it clear he doesn’t think “religion should play a role in government.”
“I don’t seek the counsel of God,” Johnson said. “God doesn’t speak to me on what I should or shouldn’t do.”
Asked about his religious beliefs, Johnson said,“I haven’t gone to church since I finished my confirmation as a Lutheran.”
On drugs:


“Marijuana was really my favorite,” said Johnson, who supports legalizing the drug, but said in a previous interview that he hasn’t used it since 2008.
He also tried coke at one point in his life.  "I've used cocaine on a handful of occasions and that was one of those drugs where--holy cow--I understand why cocaine is what it is."
He says he has no desire to touch the drug again.
“To me, there’s something wrong with feeling this good, and come to find out, I mean, cocaine literally puts holes in your heart,” he said. “People my age who have used cocaine have died because of heart failure, and Whitney Houston [is] our latest example of what it is to use cocaine your whole life.”
Johnson doesn’t support full legalization of drugs yet.
“Would the world be a better place if all drugs were legalized tomorrow? Absolutely,” he said. “But pragmatically speaking, you’re not going to go from the criminalization of all drugs to the legalization of drugs overnight. I think you start with marijuana and those giant steps happen very quickly after we do marijuana.”
On guns and gun control:


“I bought my first gun ever this summer, .38, 2 1/2 inch Smith and Wesson revolver,” Johnson said.
“Forever I’ve always thought of finding myself in a situation where I needed a gun and not had it.”
When asked whether he is packing heat on the campaign trail, Johnson said no. But that doesn’t mean he is necessarily opposed to it.
“I’m not the guy to restrict anything about private firearms,” he said. “Caliber, number of bullets in the chamber, I’m not your guy,”
On being a spoiler who hurts Mitt Romney:




Asked whether he thinks his candidacy could help elect Barack Obama by siphoning votes away from Mitt Romney or whoever the eventual GOP nominee is, Johnson said no way.
“I reject the notion that I’m going to take votes from Romney,” he said. “You know all of those Romney supporters that are ardent marriage-equality advocates? That are for getting out of the conflicts in the Middle East? All those pot smokers that are for Romney? Nah, I don’t buy it.”

On the truth about Roswell:




“Okay, you’ve hit on the one thing I really can’t talk about,” Johnson said, straight-faced, when pressed on the mystery surrounding Roswell.
“I was whisked off into a basement and told exactly what happened.”
But he then added, “I will tell you that the alien-to-work program in my office really worked well. They’re hard-working. There’s no stop and they don’t take potty breaks.”
“I’ve said too much already.”

For more on Gary Johnson's views, go here.

Comments

Anonymous said…
As more people around the country learn about what Gary Johnson stands for, he is becoming "everyones" candidate. There is a very strong group of traditional voters who no longer want to cast their vote for Obamney.
Anonymous said…
I agree with Anonymous. I'm a child of the 60's and I have always found the War on Drugs a national exercise in hypocrisy. I appreciate Gary Johnson's candor. And he made a great choice for running mate: Jim Gray. Jim Gray is a former Federal Prosecutor and Judge and he's a Vietnam War Hero. He's probably the country's foremost expert on the failure of the War on Drugs. Judge Gray was the Libertarian candidate for US Senate in 2004. He's a credible running mate and will give Johnson's campaign a boost.
maryiscontrary said…
I hadn't known much about Libertarians and Ron Paul turned me off. But I'm taking a second look at the Libertarian Party because I like Gary Johnson. I'm anti-war and I believe in my right to choose and I believe Gary Johnson is clearly correct on those issues. Also, I feel he will put the Libertarian Party on the map with his selection of Judge Jim Gray to be his Vice Presidential Candidate.

Popular posts from this blog

The Obligatory Libertarian Tax Day Post

The most disturbing factoid that I learned on Tax Day was that the average American must now spend a full twenty-four hours filling out tax forms. That's three work days. Or, think of it this way: if you had to put in two hours per night after dinner to finish your taxes, that's two weeks (with Sundays off). I saw a talking head economics professor on some Philly TV channel pontificating about how Americans procrastinate. He was laughing. The IRS guy they interviewed actually said, "Tick, tick, tick." You have to wonder if Governor Ruth Ann Minner and her cohorts put in twenty-four hours pondering whether or not to give Kraft Foods $708,000 of our State taxes while demanding that school districts return $8-10 million each?

New Warfare: I started my posts with a discussion.....

.....on Unrestricted warfare . The US Air force Institute for National Security Studies have developed a reasonable systems approach to deter non-state violent actors who they label as NSVA's. It is an exceptionally important report if we want to deter violent extremism and other potential violent actors that could threaten this nation and its security. It is THE report our political officials should be listening to to shape policy so that we do not become excessive in using force against those who do not agree with policy and dispute it with reason and normal non-violent civil disobedience. This report, should be carefully read by everyone really concerned with protecting civil liberties while deterring violent terrorism and I recommend if you are a professional you send your recommendations via e-mail at the link above so that either 1.) additional safeguards to civil liberties are included, or 2.) additional viable strategies can be used. Finally, one can only hope that politici

More of This, Please

Or perhaps I should say, "Less of this one, please." Or how about just, "None of them. Ever again. Please....For the Love of God." Sunshine State Poll: Grayson In Trouble The latest Sunshine State/VSS poll shows controversial Democratic incumbent Alan Grayson trailing former state Senator Dan Webster by seven points, 43 percent to 36 percent. A majority of respondents -- 51 percent -- disapprove of the job that Grayson is doing. Independents have an unfavorable view of him as well, by a 36/47 margin. Grayson has ignored the conventional wisdom that a freshman should be a quiet member who carefully tends to the home fires. The latest controversy involves his " Taliban Dan " advertisement, where he explicitly compares his opponent to the Taliban, and shows a clip of Webster paraphrasing Ephesians 5:22 -- "wives, submit to your husbands." An unedited version of the clip shows that Webster was actually suggesting that husba