Gary Johnson: I'd pardon Edward Snowden, turn NSA satellites away from citizens

[RJ Liberty]

https://www.texastribune.org/2016/09/24/gary-johnson-i-would-pardon-edward-snowden/

Amid a renewed debate about Edward Snowden, Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson said Saturday he would pardon the whistleblower based on his knowledge of the case.

In an interview at The Texas Tribune Festival, Johnson, the former New Mexico governor, was deeply skeptical of how the United States is using the kind of intelligence capabilities brought to light by Snowden. Snowden, a former government contractor, faces charges under the Espionage Act for leaking classified information about the National Security Agency to reporters in 2013.
"I would like to see ... these satellites turned away from 110 million Verizon users," Johnson said. "I'd like to see the satellites turned away from you and I as U.S. citizens, recognizing that there is due process out there for anyone that's suspected of crime or harm against the rest of us."

 

[Origanalist]

https://www.texastribune.org/2016/09/24/gary-johnson-i-would-pardon-edward-snowden/

Him saying this is worthy of praise, credit where credit is due.

 

[oyarde]

Wow , who got Gary ?

 

[RJ Liberty]

Him saying this is worthy of praise, credit where credit is due.

Yep. If we could get a president who was able to do just a few things like this: pardon Snowden, get the NSA out of regular Americans' lives, and end the drug wars, we would be on our way to freedom. This is why I'm voting for Gary.

 

[EBounding]

This is surprising and great to see. I suppose I'll be voting for him.

 

[RJ Liberty]

This is surprising and great to see.

It really is great, and surprising, to see a politician fighting for the common man, against the federal government's spy programs.

 

[euphemia]

Yep. If we could get a president who was able to do just a few things like this: pardon Snowden, get the NSA out of regular Americans' lives, and end the drug wars, we would be on our way to freedom. This is why I'm voting for Gary.

Those three things would have very little personal effect on me. I need the government out of the medical industry. I need much lower taxes. I need us to adopt a strong national defense, that includes bringing our military home. I need government out of education. I need government to reduce its size. I need government to commit to religious freedom full stop, and I need government to commit to the right to life full stop.

 

[RJ Liberty]

Those three things would have very little personal effect on me. I need the government out of the medical industry. I need much lower taxes. I need us to adopt a strong national defense, that includes bringing our military home. I need government out of education. I need government to reduce its size.

Johnson has pledged to "Eliminate the federal Department of Education. Common Core and other attempts to impose national standards and requirements on local schools are costly, overly bureaucratic, and actually compromise our ability to provide our children with a good education." Gary wants the government out of healthcare: Gary Johnson’s answer: No, government should not be involved in healthcare . Johnson has long supported bringing the troops home: "We must cut military spending dramatically NOW to avoid becoming another Greece - a country that's awash in debt, unrest, and massive unemployment." Johnson wants to bring the troops home, and that is why he is polling high among members of the military. The original title of that article was "Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson, who wants to gut US military spending", before it was changed.

The things you mentioned above are all things Johnson supports.

 

[RJ Liberty]

(BTW, congrats on 5,000 posts. Nice milestone!)

 

[euphemia]

Thanks. Unfortunately the stuff Johnson is talking about now is not such principled-centered policy. His interviews are a mess. All he can do is react to the interviewer, and doesn't seem to have a clear vision about what he intends to accomplish with the interview. Contrast him to Rand Paul in almost any interview and the difference becomes glaringly obvious.

Adding, this is a television/video age. People have to talk in soundbites and make the most of every second of screen time. Attention spans are ridiculously short.

 

[RJ Liberty]

Thanks. Unfortunately the stuff Johnson is talking about now is not such principled-centered policy. His interviews are a mess. All he can do is react to the interviewer, and doesn't seem to have a clear vision about what he intends to accomplish with the interview. Contrast him to Rand Paul in almost any interview and the difference becomes glaringly obvious.

Adding, this is a television/video age. People have to talk in soundbites and make the most of every second of screen time. Attention spans are ridiculously short.

Gary's been blindsided in several interviews. He's also been quite good in several as well. I seem to recall Dana Bash blindsiding Ron in an interview, as well, making him look like he had blown up and angrily ended an interview abruptly. And of course the media dragging up the ancient "racist newsletters" controversy. Ron wasn't prepared for that, because it was a media smear. Yes, Johnson isn't always prepared, but even the great Ron Paul had moments of interview messiness.

Yes, you are absolutely right that people have to talk in soundbites. Gary chose to use the soundbite "fiscally conservative, socially liberal", and people here freaked out because he wasn't explaining libertarianism in greater detail, in a 20-second clip. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.