Gary Johnson : A far superior choice for president

[presence]

Updated 14 hours ago

Trump! Clinton! Is that all there is? No. Fortunately, we have other choices.
A recent poll shows that if the election were held today, 11 percent of Americans would vote for a libertarian, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. That's surprising, since last election Johnson got just 1 percent of the vote.
This year, he's doing better, probably because Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton hold the highest percentage of “unfavorable” reactions from voters in more than 30 years. I assume the libertarian total will go higher, since most poll respondents had no opinion about Johnson. They probably don't know who he is.
They can learn more by watching my Fox Business Network show on April 8. I'll air a debate among the three leading libertarian candidates. They are Johnson, software businessman John McAfee and The Libertarian Republic founder Austin Petersen. The party nominee will be chosen at the libertarian convention in Orlando, Fla., over Memorial Day weekend.
What a relief to hear libertarian views after months of hearing Clinton and Trump talk about reducing Americans' liberties. Clinton wants to raise taxes, curtail gun rights, force us all to pay for inefficient “green energy,” impose new regulations on just about everything, etc. Trump wants to increase spying on American citizens, put a giant wall between the U.S. and Mexico, start a ruinous trade war, etc.
Johnson suggests immigrants to the U.S. first undergo a background check to make sure they aren't criminals or terrorists, and then prove they have employment and can pay their taxes. He'd get rid of the complicated quotas the U.S. has on who can come here from which countries and in which professions — a bureaucracy that takes the best and brightest immigrants years to navigate.
Johnson has a track record. The governor cut red tape and the number of government workers in New Mexico. He vetoed 750 bills and used a line-item veto to cut thousands of other items.
McAfee calls government “corrupt” and “technologically illiterate.” He says he'll push a policy of “privacy, freedom and technology.”
McAfee says, “Individuals should be free to make choices for themselves and accept responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make.”
Like economist Milton Friedman, he says that we can't have open borders and a big welfare state — so McAfee says get rid of the welfare state and open the borders, so long as immigrants submit to being documented.
Petersen, like many libertarians, describes himself as “fiscally conservative and socially tolerant.” He proposes a 1 percent spending reduction in all government programs and a simple flat tax, and he would let young people opt out of Social Security.
Like Johnson and McAfee, he wants to reduce immigration bureaucracy, the drug war and military interventions. Unlike some Libertarians, Petersen says he is pro-life.
On Facebook and Twitter, viewers told me they want to know how libertarians would reduce the welfare state, defeat terrorism and help workers cope with changes caused by global trade.
I'm sure the libertarians' answers will make more sense than those we hear from Trump and Clinton.
John Stossel is host of “Stossel” on Fox News and author of “No They Can't! Why Government Fails — But Individuals Succeed.”

http://triblive.com/opinion/featuredcommentary/10223066-74/johnson-libertarian-clinton

 

[Lucille]

 

[fisharmor]

Add some solid pro-choice in all his answers, and pro-state-controlled gay marriage, and we find out that he's basically redlining at 11% and is going to throw a rod any moment now.

Johnson's politics are classical libertarianism, which nobody had any interest in until Ron Paul came in and plugged in some non-libertine views to round them out. Johnson is an ideological regression. Any support he gets is literally only because he isn't the other guys.

 

[William Tell]

Gary is so pathetic and embarrassing.

 

[klamath]

I don't know what about the Peterson guy. Being prolife he could pull in quite a block of pro life never trump voters.

 

[Antischism]

Terrible answer. If he were smarter, he'd have countered by saying that Nazis aren't a protected class to get out of that question.

 

[Peace&Freedom]

Add some solid pro-choice in all his answers, and pro-state-controlled gay marriage, and we find out that he's basically redlining at 11% and is going to throw a rod any moment now.

Johnson's politics are classical libertarianism, which nobody had any interest in until Ron Paul came in and plugged in some non-libertine views to round them out. Johnson is an ideological regression. Any support he gets is literally only because he isn't the other guys.

Quite true. Like 2012, he'll acceptably represent the LP in general, but his instincts are at heart moderate Republican in practice, that he wants to redefine as being libertarian in principle (see my blog post). I was recently approached by his staff to be the NY Coordinator for the Johnson campaign. Because of the above issues, I respectfully turned it down.

 

[acptulsa]

Quite true. Like 2012, he'll acceptably represent the LP in general, but his instincts are at heart moderate Republican in practice...

...which means that since the GOP has completely left the rails, he'll be speaking to one hell of a lot more displaced and disaffected voters than he was four years ago.

 

[Krugminator2]

////

 

[sdsubball23]

Gary is so pathetic and embarrassing.

I'm confused by Johnson's answer. Did he say he thinks a Jewish baker should have to bake a cake for a Nazi wedding? I didnt watch the debate so I don't know what else was said.

 

[staerker]

He is also in favor of the welfare state, per the debate.

 

[Feeding the Abscess]

Was in favor of federally mandated nutritional menus in restaurants in 2012, as well.

Johnson is better than Bob Barr, but that's really not saying much. He hadn't, as of 2012, read any Rothbard or Mises - which in and of itself isn't a crime, but if you're going to represent the LP, you need to at least be familiar with them.

 

[alucard13mm]

As I said before, the Libertarians need an energetic, eccentric and famous person to run. Famous as in like Vince Vaughn or something.

Damn election is a popularity contest these days with emotions running high. Vince is a long time friend of the Pauls as well .

MacAfee is a cool guy, but what makes him cool probably wont fly too well with 98% of the population lol. Them hookers and cocaine XD.... which I'm fine with.

 

[Mad Raven]

I don't really care whether Gary or one of the other guys gets the LP nomination. Petersen strikes me as kind of a cliche libertarian parroting the libertarian talking points without really thinking for himself. But it doesn't matter. The LP nominee is going to be barely noticeable. It makes no difference at this point whether we prefer one of these three guys as President, because he won't have a chance this go round. The point here is to either spread a message or barely manage to nudge the LP over the 5% threshold like Petersen suggested, or at least get closer to it for next time. I'll vote for any of them in the general.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

As I said before, the Libertarians need an energetic, eccentric and famous person to run. Famous as in like Vince Vaughn or something.

Damn election is a popularity contest these days with emotions running high. Vince is a long time friend of the Pauls as well .

MacAfee is a cool guy, but what makes him cool probably wont fly too well with 98% of the population lol. Them hookers and cocaine XD.... which I'm fine with.

"These days"? You must be new to 'Murica.

 

[luctor-et-emergo]

MacAfee is a cool guy, but what makes him cool probably wont fly too well with 98% of the population lol. Them hookers and cocaine XD.... which I'm fine with.

All he has to say is; "All other politicians also do these things, at least I'm honest about it." and with the atmosphere of these elections.. Well, idk, might work.

 

[Jordan Liberty]

All he has to say is; "All other politicians also do these things, at least I'm honest about it." and with the atmosphere of these elections.. Well, idk, might work.

QFT. You have to appreciate someone who is transparent and knows who he is. Modern politics is so fake with candidates hiding huge skeletons. McAfee is outlandish enough to garner attention while also being capable of grasping the issues, knowing his positions, and explaining his positions well.

 

[65fastback2+2]

hes not pro-life which automatically removes my ability to vote for him, but this quote from last night (i watched it live) made me realize he's just a bad representative for LP and we should actually be distancing ourselves from him.

 

[RJ Liberty]

Johnson has the advantage over most of the other LP candidates of having served in a major executive office, as governor of NM. Even though I don't like all of his positions, I'll likely vote for him this year, as I did in 2012.

 

[adam220891]

McAfee > Johnson

Listen to McAfee, guy actually gets it. Plus, hookers and cocaine.