Gary Johnson HOT: Gary Johnson Interview with Robert Wenzel - Just How Libertarian is Gary Johnson?

[fearthereaperx]

Just as I figured. No wonder he plagiarizes all of Ron Paul's talking points and doesn't have an original idea in his bone.

 

[NewRightLibertarian]

I doubt more than 20% of the people on this site have completed a single book by Mises. Maybe a third have read Hazlitt, but that was probably just Economics in One Lesson. For Rothbard books, I'd be really surprised if more than half the people on this site (which is a very biased audience) have read more than 2.

I haven't read enough Rothbard and haven't read any Von Mises, but I'm not running for President or public office. His lack of familiarity with Austrian Economics doesn't suggest to me that he would be very good for the American economy. Couple that with his endorsement of interventionism and there's no way in hell I'm voting for the man.

 

[tttppp]

Just as I figured. No wonder he plagiarizes all of Ron Paul's talking points and doesn't have an original idea in his bone.

Funny. I could say the same thing about the majority of Ron Paul Forum members.

 

[TheTexan]

Funny. I could say the same thing about the majority of Ron Paul Forum members.

His plagiarism is a counterfeit copy. He doesn't understand it, so when he copies RP's positions, its a bastardization, and not a true copy.

For example:

"I would abolish the Federal Reserve if Congress abolished it, I don't think they'd do that, but if they did I would sign off on it. I think the functions of the Federal Reserve that need to occur could be done through regional banks."

My disputes with the above quote should be self explanatory.

 

[tttppp]

His plagiarism is a counterfeit copy. He doesn't understand it, so when he copies RP's positions, its a bastardization, and not a true copy.

For example:

"I would abolish the Federal Reserve if Congress abolished it, I don't think they'd do that, but if they did I would sign off on it. I think the functions of the Federal Reserve that need to occur could be done through regional banks."

My disputes with the above quote should be self explanatory.

So you are saying he is a complete phony?

 

[TheTexan]

So you are saying he is a complete phony?

Not a complete phony. He does understand drug freedom, I'll give him that.

 

[Raudsarw]

I think it was pretty obvious that Gary Johnson doesn't "get" liberty the way Ron Paul does. That's why he concentrates on small policy issues instead of looking at the big picture. It doesn't make him a bad guy, he may be useful in the short-term, but in the long-term, we need people with a strong philosophical foundation. We have an enormous task ahead of us, to change the way people think. To do that, we must concentrate on the big picture and the long-term. Gary Johnson is still operating within the current prevailing statist culture. He doesn't question the legitimacy of the current system, he simply wants to change it a bit. We want to abolish it and build a new one.

 

[LawnWake]

His plagiarism is a counterfeit copy. He doesn't understand it, so when he copies RP's positions, its a bastardization, and not a true copy.

Hardly anyone here really understands it. The answer is always 'less government' without a practical formulation of how that would work better. Plus there's a lot of blind adherence to some of Paul's positions without thinking about them critically.

Johnson's been in office since the mid '90s and I'm pretty sure he was libertarian the whole time, withotu Paul's modern talking points.

Like I said earlier.. the ideas of economic and personal liberty are thousands of years old. Johnson isn't some random oddity that took over Paul's philosophy. He came to similar conclusions Paul did, having a predisposition towards individualism and having grown up hearing about the same ideas.

 

[LibertyEagle]

I think it was pretty obvious that Gary Johnson doesn't "get" liberty the way Ron Paul does. That's why he concentrates on small policy issues instead of looking at the big picture. It doesn't make him a bad guy, he may be useful in the short-term, but in the long-term, we need people with a strong philosophical foundation. We have an enormous task ahead of us, to change the way people think. To do that, we must concentrate on the big picture and the long-term. Gary Johnson is still operating within the current prevailing statist culture. He doesn't question the legitimacy of the current system, he simply wants to change it a bit. We want to abolish it and build a new one.

Speak for yourself white man. We are not going to get from where we are now to some nirvana la la land. It took a long time to get in this mess and it will take a long time to get out of it. If we at least stop increasing the size of government and start decreasing it, it will be a step in the right direction. I would love for it to be faster, but I think it's going to take some time.

 

[Feeding the Abscess]

Not a complete phony. He does understand drug freedom, I'll give him that.

Marijuana freedom.

 

[LawnWake]

Marijuana freedom.

Yeah I was gonna say, but I wasn't too sure where he stands considering his contradictory remarks on this. He claims to be against the war on drugs but still not for a decriminalization for all drugs except mj. But he really isn't pro-marijuana freedom either, cuz he wants it to be taxed and regulated.

 

[Feeding the Abscess]

Yeah I was gonna say, but I wasn't too sure where he stands considering his contradictory remarks on this. He claims to be against the war on drugs but still not for a decriminalization for all drugs except mj. But he really isn't pro-marijuana freedom either, cuz he wants it to be taxed and regulated.

Good point.

 

[echebota]

Gary is in our camp. As Robert sad at the end he has very good libertarian instincts and just needs some more reading on Austrian economics. Even in economics he knows what needs to be done, but does not always know why

 

[Cowlesy]

I listened to about 20 minutes of that the other day, and it made me understand why libertarians and Libertarians are always bickering and fighting.

 

[GeorgiaAvenger]

I listened to about 20 minutes of that the other day, and it made me understand why libertarians and Libertarians are always bickering and fighting.

We libertarians really need to emulate John Stossel and Andrew Napolitano.

Both have no problem being involved with all of Reason, CATO, Mises, Paul, and Johnson.

 

[jj-]

I haven't read enough Rothbard and haven't read any Von Mises, but I'm not running for President or public office. His lack of familiarity with Austrian Economics doesn't suggest to me that he would be very good for the American economy.

Thomas Jefferson didn't read Mises or Rothbard and he was still pretty good to me. He eliminated the Central Bank. There are many ways to understand libertarianism.

 

[kuckfeynes]

You don't have to be well-read to fight for liberty. Heck, a brief glance at a couple Wikipedia pages can give you the general gist. That's where I got started. And feigning ignorance is obviously the best way to avoid talking about figures that are controversial in Reason/CATO type circles, where he enjoys the majority of his support. Obviously it's playing politics, but with a goal of not exacerbating an already sensitive divide in thought, it is probably the best thing he could do.

 

[JorgeStevenson]

This is like refusing to listen to Lil Wayne because he said in an interview that he's never listened to any of Public Enemy's albums. Who cares. Your ideas should be evaluated on their own merits regardless of whether you checked off all the boxes on your libertarian reading list.

Honestly, I think this is just something for people who already were anti-GJ to get up in arms about. Anybody who had an open mind going into this probably wouldn't be swayed based on the books in a guy's personal library.

 

[kuckfeynes]

This is like refusing to listen to Lil Wayne because he said in an interview that he's never listened to any of Public Enemy's albums.

True, but at the same time it does illustrate Weezy's artistic priorities -- socially conscious hip-hop obviously ain't one of them. Exclusion can often say just as much if not more than inclusion.

 

[alucard13mmfmj]

He is still better than a lot of scumbag politicians...