# Liberty Movement > Liberty Campaigns >  Gary Johnson Can't Name a Single World Leader That He Respects (mod edit)

## misterx



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## trey4sports

yup - rough.

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## timosman

Great job Gary, nobody will be voting libertarian.

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## Cleaner44

Let us not forget what an intelligent real libertarian looks and sounds like...

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## phill4paul

Being stoned has it's draw backs. Did he actually say he was having a "brain-fart?"

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## milgram

He can't name a world leader _that he respects_.

I don't know if I can either. Nigel Farage isn't a world leader. Putin? Heh.

Bill Weld says Merkel. Of course.

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## eleganz

> 


Misleading title? He can't name the former Mexican President.

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## misterx

> Misleading title? He can't name the former Mexican President.


No. Not misleading at all. He was trying to think of any world leader, and he couldn't. The only name he could even halfway remember was a former world leader, and he could only remember his last name. He couldn't think of a single current world leader. Weld threw out Merkel because it's the only name he knew.

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## Danke

> Being stoned has it's draw backs. Did he actually say he was having a "brain-fart?"


And wearing jeans with a jacket and tie.

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## phill4paul

> He can't name a world leader _that he respects_.
> 
> I don't know if I can either. Nigel Farage isn't a world leader. Putin? Heh.
> 
> Bill Weld says Merkel. Of course.


  Yeah, it wasn't like that at all.

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## phill4paul

> And wearing jeans with a jacket and tie.


     I've no problem pulling it off. But, I'm better looking than Gary.

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## Ender

> And wearing jeans with a jacket and tie.


That's California hipster style.

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## Danke

> That's California hipster style.


Maybe he'll win California.

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## Ender

> *He can't name a world leader that he respects*.
> 
> I don't know if I can either. Nigel Farage isn't a world leader. Putin? Heh.
> 
> Bill Weld says Merkel. Of course.


This is what I heard.

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## angelatc

> 


Cant name a single world leader he admires.  Neither can I.

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## timosman

> Cant name a single world leader he admires.  Neither can I.


Different reasons though.

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## phill4paul

> This is what I heard.


   I'm sorry man. No. He could have simply said "I don't respect anyone." That wasn't the case. He said he was having an "Aleppo" moment. Couldn't even remember the one persons name that he DID respect. Dude needs to stop toking up before interviews.

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## Krugminator2

This really should not matter, even though people will jump on him.  

The bigger deal to me is Vicente Fox is the kind of person he was looking to name. It is impossible for me to imagine him saying Margaret Thatcher.  He seems incapable of doing or saying anything that would appeal to anyone on the right.

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## Danke

> This is what I heard.


He eventually said Fox.   Should have just said let me think about it instead of saying I am having a Aleppo moment.

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## Danke

> Cant name a single world leader he admires.  Neither can I.


 Maybe Guðni Th. Jóhannesson or his predecessor.

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## angelatc

> He eventually said Fox.   Should have just said let me think about it instead of saying I am having a Aleppo moment.


There's a Libertarian in Africa that I admire.  But apparently I cannot name him.

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## Danke

> There's a Libertarian in Africa that I admire.  But apparently I cannot name him.


Yes someone posted I think the mayor of Johannesburg  maybe. I was embarrassed over 30 years ago when somebody asked me in front of a crowd who is the prime minister of Japan when I was an exchange student there. I couldn't think of a name on the spot, even though I knew as soon as somebody told me. Very embarrassing.  I have always been bad with names.  I guess I'm more of a conceptual guy.

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## Danke

Herman Mashaba is a South African entrepreneur, politician and Mayor of Johannesburg. He is the founder of the hair products company Black Like Me.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] He is famous in South Africa for his life story:[9][10] one of growing up and struggling against poverty and the Apartheid government to open his own hair business, which became the biggest hair brand in South Africa, making him a millionaire.[11][12][13] He publicly backed Mmusi Maimane in the Democratic Alliance leadership race.[14][15] He also wrote the book Black Like You which is his autobiography.[16] Philosophically, he is a libertarian and "capitalist crusader" whose highest value is "individual freedom." [17]

On August 22, 2016, Mashaba was voted in as Mayor of Johannesburg by the first sitting of council.[18]

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## The Gold Standard

There's no such thing as a world leader. Too bad he didn't it answer that way.

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## liveandletlive

Former Uruguayan president Jose Mujica.

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## eleganz

> No. Not misleading at all. He was trying to think of any world leader, and he couldn't. The only name he could even halfway remember was a former world leader, and he could only remember his last name. He couldn't think of a single current world leader. Weld threw out Merkel because it's the only name he knew.


That is your opinion and the conclusion you came to, not the fact.  The only fact we know from this video is that Gary didn't know the name of Vincente Fox until Weld reminded him.


So yes, a misleading title.  You don't have to like it but thats what it is.

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## Wooden Indian

GJ is NOT my ideal candidate and was my least favorite out of the LP front runners... But this bizarro bashing of GJ every time he turns around is pretty lame.
Not surprised the LP can't crack 15% with people like this in the "Liberty Movement", whatever the hell that even is these days. 

In fact, I am so tired of it and sick of reading it, I'm done here. I watch Trump Humpers sell their Orange Idol in every other thread, anyone that tells them like it is is referred to as a closet Hillary supporter, and overwhelmingly, the Liberty Campaigns threads are chock full of people actively trying to $#@! on Liberty. 

I have enough news sources at my disposal that I don't need the brain damage this place gives me. Liberty Forums my arse. Peace!

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## RJ Liberty

> GJ is NOT my ideal candidate and was my least favorite out of the LP front runners... But this bizarro bashing of GJ every time he turns around is pretty lame.
> Not surprised the LP can't crack 15% with people like this in the "Liberty Movement", whatever the hell that even is these days. 
> 
> In fact, I am so tired of it and sick of reading it, I'm done here. I watch Trump Humpers sell their Orange Idol in every other thread, anyone that tells them like it is is referred to as a closet Hillary supporter, and overwhelmingly, the Liberty Campaigns threads are chock full of people actively trying to $#@! on Liberty. 
> 
> I have enough news sources at my disposal that I don't need the brain damage this place gives me. Liberty Forums my arse. Peace!


Really sorry to see you go, WI. I definitely appreciated having you around, and I'm sad to see the Trumpsters drive off liberty folks. :/

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## phill4paul

> GJ is NOT my ideal candidate and was my least favorite out of the LP front runners... But this bizarro bashing of GJ every time he turns around is pretty lame.
> Not surprised the LP can't crack 15% with people like this in the "Liberty Movement", whatever the hell that even is these days. 
> 
> In fact, I am so tired of it and sick of reading it, I'm done here. I watch Trump Humpers sell their Orange Idol in every other thread, anyone that tells them like it is is referred to as a closet Hillary supporter, and overwhelmingly, the Liberty Campaigns threads are chock full of people actively trying to $#@! on Liberty. 
> 
> I have enough news sources at my disposal that I don't need the brain damage this place gives me. Liberty Forums my arse. Peace!


  Man, don't go. I'm not a Trump Humper, in fact I've been banned for opposing them. I'm not sorry to say that GJ doesn't cut it for me. He didn't in 2012 and he doesn't now. Just differences of opinion.

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## LibertyEagle

> Man, don't go. I'm not a Trump Humper,


Who is it YOU are humping, Phil?

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## specsaregood

> He eventually said Fox.   Should have just said let me think about it instead of saying I am having a Aleppo moment.


Well if he had actually named Fox, its not like that would have been any better from my POV.  I'd prefer him not being able to name any.

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## RJ Liberty

> Man, don't go. I'm not a Trump Humper, in fact I've been banned for opposing them. I'm not sorry to say that GJ doesn't cut it for me. He didn't in 2012 and he doesn't now. Just differences of opinion.


Phill, Gary's the only 51-ballot candidate saying he'll pardon Snowden. I know that means something to you.

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## anaconda

> That's California hipster style.


Circa 1982.

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## Ender

> Circa 1982.


California's always ahead in fashion, about 25-30 years.

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## anaconda

We need Jeopardy contests instead of debates."Monetary Policy for $50, please...."

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## dannno

> Bill Weld says Merkel. Of course.



That's the part that gave me the biggest cringe.

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## phill4paul

> Phill, Gary's the only 51-ballot candidate saying he'll pardon Snowden. I know that means something to you.


   It does. But, it doesn't mean everything to me.

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## juleswin

I would have said Putin but that would have been worse than the non answer Gary Johnson gave. Which world leader/president do YOU respect?

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## angelatc

Since the latest polls show Johnson taking votes from Hillary, look for the attacks to intensify.

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## jct74

> Being stoned has it's draw backs. Did he actually say he was having a "brain-fart?"


Do you think he's been smoking up on the campaign trail or that past pot use has damaged his brain?

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## dannno

> Do you think he's been smoking up on the campaign trail or that past pot use has damaged his brain?


I would wager to guess he just doesn't pay that much attention to world affairs. When you are advocating a peaceful foreign policy, trade with all, it's not as important to have a grasp on that type of stuff.

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## CaptUSA

> I would have said Putin but that would have been worse than the non answer Gary Johnson gave. Which world leader/president do YOU respect?


The right answer - and this goes for ALL foreign policy matters - is, "I don't like to speak in terms of specifics because every leader has good and bad qualities, but the characteristics I generally admire in a world leader are..."

Same thing with Aleppo, or Israel, or any other foreign country.  "I won't be speaking about specific problems or issues related to foreign policy because events are ever-changing and a leader has to be flexible, but generally I think that..."


Understand that there is NO right answer to these types of questions. Johnson could have said Mother Theresa and someone would have pointed out in a blog somewhere that she did something wrong once and the media would have taken that to suggest that he supported that act.  

I know this response comes across as a dodge - and it is - but that's what you need to do when someone is trying to corner you.  If any liberty lovers are thinking about going into politics, you must learn how to do this!

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## charrob

> Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson  who made news recently by blanking when asked about the conflict in Aleppo, Syria  admitted to having an Aleppo moment again when unable to name a foreign leader he respected.
> 
> During a televised townhall meeting Wednesday night on MSNBC with the Libertarian Party ticket, anchor Chris Matthews asked Johnson to name his favorite foreign leader.
> 
> As Johnson let out an audible breath, his running mate Bill Weld said Mine was Shimon Peres, referencing the former Israeli president who died Wednesday.
> 
> Im talking about living. Go ahead, Matthews said to Johnson. You got to do this. Anywhere. Any continent. Canada, Mexico, Europe, over there. Asia. South America. Africa. Name a foreign leader that you respect.
> 
> Johnson replied I guess Im having an Aleppo moment in the former president of Mexico.
> ...


http://dailycaller.com/2016/09/28/li...oreign-leader/

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## Anti Federalist

> “Fox,” Weld jumped in and said, referencing former Mexico President Vicente Fox.
> 
> “Fox!” Johnson says, “He was a terrific leader.”
> 
> “Whose your favorite foreign leader,” Matthews said to Weld. “Get him off the hook. Any foreign leader?”
> 
> “Merkel,” Weld replied, speaking of German chancellor Angela Merkel.
> 
> “Ok, fine,” Matthews said, “Saved yourself.”


Jesus...

This whole election is a clown show.

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## kahless

The Libertarian VP nominee thinks Merkel who is destroying Germany is a great leader, LMAO. 

If GJ was not a know nothing I would say it was a ridiculous question and he should have said as much but again he is what he is.  Really nice guy that I like but a know nothing when it comes to geo-political knowledge.

The LP should have nominated a true intellectual type of libertarian in the mold of a Harry Browne or Ron Paul if they wanted to be taken seriously this cycle.

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## puppetmaster

Seriously gary....fox?  Merkel?  Lay off the weed dude

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## VIDEODROME

> The Libertarian VP nominee thinks Merkel who is destroying Germany is a great leader, LMAO. 
> 
> If GJ was not a know nothing I would say it was a ridiculous question and he should have said as much but again he is what he is.  Really nice guy that I like but a know nothing when it comes to geo-political knowledge.
> 
> The LP should have nominated a true intellectual type of libertarian in the mold of a Harry Browne or Ron Paul if they wanted to be taken seriously this cycle.


I sometimes think the LP would be getting a lot more traction with crazy John McAfee.

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## nikcers

We'll I guess I should vote for the guy who said Putin.

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## rpfocus

> The LP should have nominated a true intellectual type of libertarian in the mold of a Harry Browne or Ron Paul if they wanted to be taken seriously this cycle.


Exactly. Which is part of the reason I won't support him and will be writing in Ron instead, and voting LP down-ballot.

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## juleswin

> The right answer - and this goes for ALL foreign policy matters - is, "I don't like to speak in terms of specifics because every leader has good and bad qualities, but the characteristics I generally admire in a world leader are..."
> 
> Same thing with Aleppo, or Israel, or any other foreign country.  "I won't be speaking about specific problems or issues related to foreign policy because events are ever-changing and a leader has to be flexible, but generally I think that..."
> 
> 
> Understand that there is NO right answer to these types of questions. Johnson could have said Mother Theresa and someone would have pointed out in a blog somewhere that she did something wrong once and the media would have taken that to suggest that he supported that act.  
> 
> I know this response comes across as a dodge - and it is - but that's what you need to do when someone is trying to corner you.  If any liberty lovers are thinking about going into politics, you must learn how to do this!


I see what you are saying but I would still give an answer and then say that I don't like to speak in terms of specifics.......... Yea, but nobody is perfect and that is why giving a name and them following it up with what you like about them and other qualifiers would have been ideal. 

I would have said the leader I admire is Vladmir Putin and says that you like the way he stands up to evil and terrorists. Then give em the hands when they start whining about how he is ruining Americans plans in Syria. Ofc, he would swiftly drop way down in the polls after the media loses their collective minds over the answer

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## VIDEODROME

He should have said he was having a Rick Perry moment.

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## undergroundrr

What was the rest of the interview about?

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## Brian4Liberty

> He can't name a world leader _that he respects_.
> 
> I don't know if I can either. Nigel Farage isn't a world leader. Putin? Heh.
> 
> Bill Weld says Merkel. Of course.


"World leader I like? There are so many, and don't want to leave any out. I would want to have good relations with all."

Nigel Farage would have been a good answer. Matthews didn't say the person had to be in the top position of a foreign government. Then again, Farage is the opposite of Johnson on quite a few issues, so he would get hammered for that answer.

Merkel probably was their best answer. Open borders.

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## undergroundrr

> What was the rest of the interview about?


Seriously, this was probably, what, an 8-10 minute interview?

All I've heard is the MSM-fed soundbite.  What else was said?

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## Brian4Liberty

CNN is hammering Johnson on this. They are afraid he is taking votes from Hillary.

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## misterx

> CNN is hammering Johnson on this. They are afraid he is taking votes from Hillary.


I think they're making a mistake. The only liberals supporting him are the kind that don't care about this stuff. I think the only people it might turn off are the neocons who thought he was a smarter alternative to Trump.

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## undergroundrr

> Seriously, this was probably, what, an 8-10 minute interview?
> 
> All I've heard is the MSM-fed soundbite.  What else was said?


Okay, I'll help you guys out here since you seem to be having an Aleppo moment.

GJ: "We should not be involved in regime change."
GJ: "There have been three polls now conducted among active military personnel and I've been on top of these three polls."
BW: "Wars have unintended consequences, both economic and military and moral."
BW: "Militarily, all the weapons that we armed the rebels with in Syria and Libya wind up in the hands of ISIS."
GJ: "As a result of those interventions, our men and servicewomen are getting killed, they're getting maimed, they're getting injured for the rest of their lives.  And in this case, hundreds of thousands of innocents in these countries that get caught in the crossfire of these civil wars."
GJ: "What are you gonna do about these atrocities?  You know what, the atrocities are real.  But what's not being realized is that when we go in to support regime change to address those atrocities, the situation ends up to be the same or worse in many situations."
Great stuff also about Syria and troops on the ground, drugs are not a criminal justice issue and free market solutions to environmental problems.

Johnson is a threat to Chris Matthews' adoration of Clinton. Ask yourself why the only clip from that interview you can find on Youtube is this supposed gaffe.

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## kahless

> Merkel probably was their best answer. Open borders.


This is what is destroying the liberty movement and the LP.  It is a very naive view that is counter productive to the goal of achieving individual liberty within a region.  

If you instituted complete open borders in Germany it would only be a matter of time before Sharia is implemented and the choice is submit, convert or die.

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## MelissaWV

> The right answer - and this goes for ALL foreign policy matters - is, "I don't like to speak in terms of specifics because every leader has good and bad qualities, but the characteristics I generally admire in a world leader are..."


How this would be reported/twisted:

"Gary Johnson thinks Kim Jong Un and ISIS leaders have 'good qualities'; dodges question about world leadership."

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## euphemia

Keep on justifying his ignorance.  This is a man who wants to be President of the United States.  He wants a job that would require him to meet these world leaders and interact with them.  If he can't name a single one he respects, then it is one more reason he should not be president.  Negotiating with people starts and ends with respect.

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## kahless

Between the two of them they could only name the two most open border leaders on the planet, Vincente Fox and Merkel.  That says allot about where their priorities are.

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## undergroundrr

Yes, they take the traditional libertarian open borders position. YMMV.

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## euphemia

Whatever position they take, they have to know that these questions are going to come up and they need answers to them.  Even if I agreed on 50% of what Gary Johnson says he stands for, I still could not vote for him because he is never prepared for anything.  That shows he has no respect for the voters, and he thinks his sheeple will just vote for him because.

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## jct74

> Keep on justifying his ignorance.  This is a man who wants to be President of the United States.  He wants a job that would require him to meet these world leaders and interact with them.  If he can't name a single one he respects, then it is one more reason he should not be president.  Negotiating with people starts and ends with respect.





> Whatever position they take, they have to know that these questions are going to come up and they need answers to them.  Even if I agreed on 50% of what Gary Johnson says he stands for, I still could not vote for him because he is never prepared for anything.  That shows he has no respect for the voters, and he thinks his sheeple will just vote for him because.


No one's voting for him because they think he's going to be president.  It's a protest vote, just like any other year.  Except this year the Libertarian candidate is polling a few points higher than he usually does.  He will never be in the White House and he will never have to negotiate with any world leaders.

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## Brian4Liberty

> Between the two of them they could only name the two most open border leaders on the planet, Fox and Merkel.  That says allot where their priorities are.


Weld started with Shimon Peres, as an Israel hat-tip is expected of any American politician. Now he could have said Netanyahu, but Peres is consistent with them leaning more to the left, not the right (Likud).

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## Brian4Liberty

They are really trying to "finish him" today. On CNN, they are putting together all of his gaffs, and saying that he is disqualified.

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## Origanalist

> Who is it YOU are humping, Phil?


I suspect it's someone a bit more feminine.

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## undergroundrr

> They are really trying to "finish him" today. On CNN, they are putting together all of his gaffs, and saying that he is disqualified.


Threat level 3.

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## dannno

> They are really trying to "finish him" today. On CNN, they are putting together all of his gaffs, and saying that he is disqualified.


I'm going to take a wild guess and say they've probably never put together a reel full of video and pictures revealing all of Hillary's health problems.

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## 69360

I could honestly care less if he has a few goofs. He's not a crook like Clinton and Trump. If he actually somehow became president, he would have aides and advisors to brief him on world leaders he is about to meet.

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## Ender

> They are really trying to "finish him" today. On CNN, they are putting together all of his gaffs, and saying that he is disqualified.


They must be scared.

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## Origanalist

> Whatever position they take, they have to know that these questions are going to come up and they need answers to them.  Even if I agreed on 50% of what Gary Johnson says he stands for, I still could not vote for him because he is never prepared for anything.  That shows he has no respect for the voters, and he thinks his sheeple will just vote for him because.


So, what "world leader" do you respect? Answer immediately. I can't.

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## PursuePeace

> Whatever position they take, they have to know that these questions are going to come up and they need answers to them.  Even if I agreed on 50% of what Gary Johnson says he stands for, I still could not vote for him because he is never prepared for anything.  That shows he has no respect for the voters, and he thinks his sheeple will just vote for him because.



How does ClinTrump have respect for the voters?

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## kahless

> So, what "world leader" do you respect? Answer immediately. I can't.


He should have known better not to try to answer it in the first place.

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## Origanalist

> He should have know better not to try to answer it in the first place.


I agree. However it's easy to say when you aren't the one in the lights. I'm not a Johnson supporter but this seems like a dumb thing to go after him about.

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## Murray N Rothbard

It's fine to say there are none, just not the way he did. He tried to be cute and it is backfiring in the MSM majorly. I guess Gary has just plain given up. I hope the LP has learned its lesson. Go with the ideological hardcore Libertarian next time. Daryl Perry or someone. No more Gary Johnsons.

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## Ender

> I agree. However it's easy to say when you aren't the one in the lights. I'm not a Johnson supporter but this seems like a dumb thing to go after him about.


Agree.

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## undergroundrr

Elsewhere in the interview:




> GJ: "We should not be involved in regime change."
> GJ: "There have been three polls now conducted among active military personnel and I've been on top of these three polls."
> BW: "Wars have unintended consequences, both economic and military and moral."
> BW: "Militarily, all the weapons that we armed the rebels with in Syria and Libya wind up in the hands of ISIS."
> GJ: "As a result of those interventions, our men and servicewomen are getting killed, they're getting maimed, they're getting injured for the rest of their lives.  And in this case, hundreds of thousands of innocents in these countries that get caught in the crossfire of these civil wars."
> GJ: "What are you gonna do about these atrocities?  You know what, the atrocities are real.  But what's not being realized is that when we go in to support regime change to address those atrocities, the situation ends up to be the same or worse in many situations."
> Great stuff also about Syria and troops on the ground, drugs are not a criminal justice issue and free market solutions to environmental problems.
> 
> Johnson is a threat to Chris Matthews' adoration of Clinton. Ask yourself why the only clip from that interview you can find on Youtube is this supposed gaffe.


Reposting myself again because I think it stinks that nobody here has any comments on the actual substance of the message that he trotted out to whoever was watching Hardball. euphemia can't even be bothered to give her habitual dismissal. That "mistake" was, like, 15 seconds of a 10-minute interview that contained some of the most off-the-handle anti-intervention talk to be seen in the media in the last 4 years.  THAT'S why you're being diverted to 15 seconds that don't matter.  Look! A squirrel!

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## LibertyEagle

> Yes, they take the traditional libertarian open borders position. YMMV.


Only for lefty libertarians.

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## puppetmaster

> Yes, they take the traditional libertarian open borders position. YMMV.


  lol. Go support fox and Merkel then.

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## puppetmaster

> I agree. However it's easy to say when you aren't the one in the lights. I'm not a Johnson supporter but this seems like a dumb thing to go after him about.


  guys been in the lights before.   He panicked

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## euphemia

Sorry, we've been to dinner.  Look, this is the fact:  Your guy is running for President of the United States.  He shows up for interviews wholly unprepared to answer basic questions about things a President deals with every day.  I suspect this kind of attitude is why New Mexico is in worse shape today than before Johnson was governor.  What a mess.  

Just to be clear, agreeing with a leader is not the same as respecting how they conduct themselves go about business.  We really thought a lot of David Cameron.  He is a good man with respect for people, and he had the sense to resign when he could see the majority were no longer with him.  We disagreed with him about Brexit.  But it wasn't his mess to begin with, so it was hard to do the right thing politically and keep everyone happy.

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## Origanalist

> guys been in the lights before.   He panicked


He panicked, he stumbled...call it what you will. I don't care. If he's pulling votes from Hillary like they say what do you care? I just don't see what the big deal is, so he had a brain fart. WTF? You've never had one?

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## euphemia

> He panicked, he stumbled...call it what you will. I don't care. If he's pulling votes from Hillary like they say what do you care? I just don't see what the big deal is, so he had a brain fart. WTF? You've never had one?


This is a lot of brain farts for someone who wants to be President.  I can't trust Johnson to be prepared to do the job.

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## CaptUSA

Say what you will.  he's finally getting press. And they've even asked Hillary about him.  In other words, the press is acknowledging a third party.

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## Brian4Liberty

> Say what you will.  he's finally getting press. And they've even asked Hillary about him.  In other words, the press is acknowledging a third party.


The Johnson's bloopers and blunders reel has been running all day on CNN. He's getting a lot of coverage. They aren't even hiding the fact that they want Johnson out because they think he is taking votes away from Hillary.

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## Origanalist

> This is a lot of brain farts for someone who wants to be President.  I can't trust Johnson to be prepared to do the job.


Well, who do you trust to be prepared to do the job?

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## jct74

> This is a lot of brain farts for someone who wants to be President.  I can't trust Johnson to be prepared to do the job.


Don't worry.  He's never going to be president.  But if that's what you want to base your vote on, how prepared he is for a job he's never going have, go ahead and do that.  I'm basing my vote for him on other considerations.

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## CCTelander

> Well, who do you trust to be prepared to do the job?



Isn't that obvious silly? The Great Orange Hope, of course! This IS, Donald Trump Forums, right? /s

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## eleganz

> Say what you will.  he's finally getting press. And they've even asked Hillary about him.  In other words, the press is acknowledging a third party.


Exactly.

This is what its been about since the beginning and the purists can't get their $#@! together enough to understand that this is bigger than just libertarianism.  Its sad to have to say this over and over again but many libertarians don't want to expand the tent, they like having a small club of circle jerkers so they can tell each how how right they are and how statist everyone else is.

That is why the libertarian party will fail, not the people who are looking to build coalitions.

If Gary (or anybody) can get more than 5% of the general vote, the Libertarian party gets acknowledgement from many states as major party status as well as federal funds for the next cycle.  But yea, stay purist and keep getting 1% for the rest of your life.

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## jct74

> The Johnson's bloopers and blunders reel has been running all day on CNN. He's getting a lot of coverage. They aren't even hiding the fact that they want Johnson out because they think he is taking votes away from Hillary.


ABC evening news ran it as one of their lead stories today.  I watch it every day usually, and have never seen them cover Gary Johnson before, except for the Aleppo thing a few weeks ago.  They made sure to make him look pretty bad, and rehashed Aleppo again too.  Tried to make it into some kind of disqualifying thing, for a candidate they have never covered before and never gave any shot of winning to begin with.  Not that he does have a shot, but it's funny that a candidate that has no shot and was never given any shot to begin with from the media is suddenly being "disqualified" by the media.

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## euphemia

> Well, who do you trust to be prepared to do the job?


Nobody, unfortunately.  Johnson is not it.  The Libertarian Party should rename itself the Loser Party.  Look at the losers they keep giving us.  I'm not sure what they think they are doing any more.

As for the "at least he is getting press now," that is just the dumbest remark, ever.  Johnson is squandering his opportunties.

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## Brian4Liberty

> ABC evening news ran it as one of their lead stories today.  I watch it every day usually, and have never seen them cover Gary Johnson before, except for the Aleppo thing a few weeks ago.  They made sure to make him look pretty bad, and rehashed Aleppo again too.  Tried to make it into some kind of disqualifying thing, for a candidate they have never covered before and never gave any shot of winning to begin with.  Not that he does have a shot, but it's funny that a candidate that has no shot and was never given any shot to begin with from the media is suddenly being "disqualified" by the media.


Yeah, the original three networks and their local affiliates are probably the worst when it comes to establishment propaganda and lies.

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## eleganz

> Nobody, unfortunately.  Johnson is not it.  The Libertarian Party should rename itself the Loser Party.  Look at the losers they keep giving us.  I'm not sure what they think they are doing any more.
> 
> As for the "at least he is getting press now," that is just the dumbest remark, ever.  Johnson is squandering his opportunties.


Get involved and be a delegate to the LP if you don't like it.

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## puppetmaster

> He panicked, he stumbled...call it what you will. I don't care. If he's pulling votes from Hillary like they say what do you care? I just don't see what the big deal is, so he had a brain fart. WTF? You've never had one?


  no he won't be president I know....I just think he does this a lot more than I would expect. Memory issues due to drug use?  But really it is just my opinion and I am not making a big deal, just a post in a political forum.

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## euphemia

> Get involved and be a delegate to the LP if you don't like it.


I will never join the Libertarian Party.  They have jumped the shark and are done for.

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## puppetmaster

> ABC evening news ran it as one of their lead stories today.  I watch it every day usually, and have never seen them cover Gary Johnson before, except for the Aleppo thing a few weeks ago.  They made sure to make him look pretty bad, and rehashed Aleppo again too.  Tried to make it into some kind of disqualifying thing, for a candidate they have never covered before and never gave any shot of winning to begin with.  Not that he does have a shot, but it's funny that a candidate that has no shot and was never given any shot to begin with from the media is suddenly being "disqualified" by the media.


  they use it to make their candidate look better I suppose.

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## RonPaulMall

> If Gary (or anybody) can get more than 5% of the general vote, the Libertarian party gets acknowledgement from many states as major party status as well as federal funds for the next cycle.  But yea, stay purist and keep getting 1% for the rest of your life.


Wow, _Federal Funds_! Acknowledgement from many states! Ross Perot got nearly 20% of the vote. Strom Thurmond and George Wallace both won double digit electoral votes. A third party candidate getting traction is not nearly as rare as you think. We don't need some establishment sap to "pave the way" for the mythical good candidate you expect to run in four years. If we had a good candidate, she should be running now. And if God forbid Gary Johnson does get more than 5% of the vote and government cheese starts flowing in to the LP coffers, do you really expect them to go with a true believer in four years? Weld will be the nominee in 2020 running on the Vincente Fox/Angela Merkel fusion platform.

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## RJ Liberty

> ABC evening news ran it as one of their lead stories today.  I watch it every day usually, and have never seen them cover Gary Johnson before, except for the Aleppo thing a few weeks ago.  They made sure to make him look pretty bad, and rehashed Aleppo again too.  Tried to make it into some kind of disqualifying thing, for a candidate they have never covered before and never gave any shot of winning to begin with.  Not that he does have a shot, but *it's funny that a candidate that has no shot and was never given any shot to begin with from the media is suddenly being "disqualified" by the media.*


This is the post of the day. Gary Johnson received 11 seconds of coverage on the Big Three networks during an eight month period, according to one study. He went from _non-existent_ to _disqualified_ without ever being seriously covered. Now that he's been "disqualified", they're happy to report on him. WTF?

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## Tywysog Cymru

Does the President of Botswana count?

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## Chieppa1

Hitler. George Bush. Churchill. Stalin.

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## Son_of_Liberty90

> I would wager to guess he just doesn't pay that much attention to world affairs. When you are advocating a peaceful foreign policy, trade with all, it's not as important to have a grasp on that type of stuff.


Exactly I would rather have a politician with a peaceful foreign policy more concerned with affairs at home than a machiavellian interventionist that knows everything to know about everything.

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## 69360

> Wow, _Federal Funds_! Acknowledgement from many states! Ross Perot got nearly 20% of the vote. Strom Thurmond and George Wallace both won double digit electoral votes. A third party candidate getting traction is not nearly as rare as you think. We don't need some establishment sap to "pave the way" for the mythical good candidate you expect to run in four years. If we had a good candidate, she should be running now. And if God forbid Gary Johnson does get more than 5% of the vote and government cheese starts flowing in to the LP coffers, do you really expect them to go with a true believer in four years? Weld will be the nominee in 2020 running on the Vincente Fox/Angela Merkel fusion platform.


That would still be better than Clinton or Trump. 

You are never going to get it all. Getting most of it is better than nothing.

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## Son_of_Liberty90

> I sometimes think the LP would be getting a lot more traction with crazy John McAfee.


YES totally called it!

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## Son_of_Liberty90

> This is what is destroying the liberty movement and the LP.  It is a very naive view that is counter productive to the goal of achieving individual liberty within a region.  
> 
> If you instituted complete open borders in Germany it would only be a matter of time before Sharia is implemented and the choice is submit, convert or die.


But nations and nationalism are evils opposed to liberty amirite? *sarcasm*

Great sig by the way

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## misterx

> Exactly I would rather have a politician with a peaceful foreign policy more concerned with affairs at home than a machiavellian interventionist that knows everything to know about everything.


That's a fair point, but you can't have someone who is ignorant of the world around him. We don't have some giant force field surrounding us. We can be peaceful all we want, but that doesn't mean the rest of the world will. Even if he doesn't intend to interfere, a president needs to understand the world around him in case _it_ interferes with _us_.

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## Son_of_Liberty90

> That's a fair point, but you can't have someone who is ignorant of the world around him. We don't have some giant force field surrounding us. We can be peaceful all we want, but that doesn't mean the rest of the world will. Even if he doesn't intend to interfere, a president needs to understand the world around him in case _it_ interferes with _us_.


yea that's true - I slowly began shifting my POV after reading more into the thread.

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## misterx

> They are really trying to "finish him" today. On CNN, they are putting together all of his gaffs, and saying that he is disqualified.


People are supporting him over Trump, because they think Trump doesn't know anything. People are supporting him over Clinton because they think Clinton is corrupt. Unless they can show that Johnson is corrupt, they are not helping their candidate.

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## erowe1

Did people here seriously criticize Johnson for this?

Which foreign leader would you all have said you admired? (Aside from the Trump supporters who would reflexively say Putin)

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## euphemia

I did say, as it happens.  It's not too far upthread. 

And yes, I criticize Gary Johnson for it.  It's not like they gave him a quiz where he had to fill in every head of state in every country in the world.  They asked him to name one world leader he respected.  This is a man who wants to be President of the United States.  If he can't prepare for an inteview, then how well will he do in the daily briefings?  Sheesh.  It's not like they asked him something he couldn't find on the internet.

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## timosman



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## eleganz

> Wow, _Federal Funds_! Acknowledgement from many states! Ross Perot got nearly 20% of the vote. Strom Thurmond and George Wallace both won double digit electoral votes. A third party candidate getting traction is not nearly as rare as you think. We don't need some establishment sap to "pave the way" for the mythical good candidate you expect to run in four years. If we had a good candidate, she should be running now. And if God forbid Gary Johnson does get more than 5% of the vote and government cheese starts flowing in to the LP coffers, do you really expect them to go with a true believer in four years? Weld will be the nominee in 2020 running on the Vincente Fox/Angela Merkel fusion platform.



You're literally insane if you think you're going to get the perfect candidate in any given election year and win it all because, "A third party candidate getting traction is not nearly as rare as you think" hahahahaha, who gave you that fool aid? Don't be a fool.

The only reason people are considering Johnson is because he isn't Trump or Clinton, third parties may not have this opportunity again and you're trying to be cute about Fox/Merkel jesus christ man get a grip, that was the dumbest post I've ever seen in 9 years on RPF.

Why does everyone think Ron Paul is going to come back and save the day?  Its not going to happen, either get a grip on the reality of electoral success or take the backseat and let the realists drive.  But hey, you can libertarian purist yourself all you want and not get jack sht with 1% stuck on repeat every four years until you keel over.

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## eleganz

> I will never join the Libertarian Party.  They have jumped the shark and are done for.



So you want to complain about the nominees the Libertarian party choose but you want to do absolutely nothing about it.  Seems productive.

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## euphemia

> So you want to complain about the nominees the Libertarian party choose but you want to do absolutely nothing about it.  Seems productive.


You think they would listen to me?  Most people in the Libertatian Party are not really even libertarian. Listen to them talk about getting federal funds for Johnson. That's about as un-libertarian as it gets.

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## nikcers

> You think they would listen to me?  Most people in the Libertatian Party are not really even libertarian. Listen to them talk about getting federal funds for Johnson. That's about as un-libertarian as it gets.


Its all about federal funds not about advancing libertarian policies and getting out of the wars in the middle east. Go back to Trump forums, they like stop and frisk and middle east wars over there.

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## undergroundrr



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## Ender

> 


*GOOD!*

*That means he has no interesting in bombing a place that has nothing to do with US defense.
*

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## euphemia

Gary says he would not go to war against foreign governments, but he does not plan to enforce a citizen's Constitutional freedoms.  It's sad anyone would consider him Libertarian at all.

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## nikcers

> Gary says he would not go to war against foreign governments, but he does not plan to enforce a citizen's Constitutional freedoms.  It's sad anyone would consider him Libertarian at all.


So. Sad.

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## nikcers

> That's a fair point, but you can't have someone who is ignorant of the world around him

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## farreri

> 




I was just thinking today how probably 9 out of the 10 online losers who are berating him for the Aleppo thing never heard of Aleppo before that themselves. I didn't!

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