Gary Johnson What is Gary Johnson doing in this race?

[james1906]

I would like Johnson to run for Senate. Johnson and Paul could endorse each other. Paul gets some steam for having a candidate drop out and endorse him. Johnson gets a lot of steam by having Paul's fundraising network and by only running in the only state where he has name recognition.

 

[Canderson]

Hes a pothead mountaineer looking to scratch 'run for Pres' off his bucketlist

 

[musicmax]

I think he (rightly) assumed that by having a longer and more successful tenure as governor than Romney, T-Paw or Huntsman he'd be taken seriously by the media. I think he also thought he'd pull support from liberty voters who saw him as a more polished/photogenic/articulate version of Ron Paul.

He has gotten royally screwed as the media pumped up the empty suit Huntsman and refused to allow another liberty candidate into the race who could validate Paul's views.

There's a poll on Wikipedia that shows him allegedly trailing 2:1 in a GOP primary for NM Senate...

 

[Jingles]

I think he (rightly) assumed that by having a longer and more successful tenure as governor than Romney, T-Paw or Huntsman he'd be taken seriously by the media. I think he also thought he'd pull support from liberty voters who saw him as a more polished/photogenic/articulate version of Ron Paul.

He has gotten royally screwed as the media pumped up the empty suit Huntsman and refused to allow another liberty candidate into the race who could validate Paul's views.

Yeah pretty much this. The media really screwed him. This is an election about "jobs" and Gary has the best jobs record out of all the Governors. And he supports Libertarian ideas, is a nice guy, and etc... I think the media just wanted to nip this one in the bud while they could. This is the year that people wouldn't pay as much attention to social issues as much as record. Plus a candidate validating all of Ron Paul's positions... my god. What could have been for us if the media wasn't what it was.

 

[VaderM5]

Johnson thinks he can make waves in NH. He won't but he thinks he can, and I think he might be legitimately puzzled about why he doesn't get any attention.

Gary Johnson should know why he isn't getting media attention, and quite frankly most of us here should know too. Even RP seems to be silenced too, although not to the degree of Gary Johnson. What little I watch of mainstream media very little, if anything is ever said about Paul. Everything seems centered around Bachmann, Perry, Pawlenty, Newt and maybe Cain.

If anyone doesn't deserve to be at the debates its Cain and maybe Huntsman. But I suppose it all comes down to whos ass you kiss, or don't kiss in GJ case.

 

[erowe1]

Did he even receive one vote at the Ames Straw Poll?

I assume he did. They didn't report all of the write-in votes.

 

[kylejack]

Gary Johnson believes in his message, so he's running for President. There are some major differences between him and Ron, abortion being the most prominent. I welcome his participation.

 

[erowe1]

Gary Johnson believes in his message, so he's running for President.

He may believe in his message. But that's not why he's running. Or at least that's not why he's staying in the race when he could run for Senate and propagate his message much more effectively than he's doing now. He could also spend a year writing a book, and if that book sold 1,000 copies it would be more effective than what he's doing now.

 

[Jingles]

He may believe in his message. But that's not why he's running. Or at least that's not why he's staying in the race when he could run for Senate and propagate his message much more effectively than he's doing now. He could also spend a year writing a book, and if that book sold 1,000 copies it would be more effective than what he's doing now.

Johnson's campaign suffers from many problems. Like someone above said, I don't think he thought Ron Paul would be running. I'm assuming all our efforts, fundraising, etc... would have gone to Gary Johnson if Ron Paul didn't run. He gets no media attention. He has like no money. Very little name recognition (and the media doesn't help that). I also think he suffers from the popularity of Ron Paul. People look at both of them and say "Well, I would really like to support you Gary, but Ron Paul has so much more popularity so he is my candidate this year". I don't know how many times I've seen on his facebook wall/youtube videos the words, "If I wasn't supporting Ron Paul". Now don't get me wrong there are some that prefer Gary Johnson, but that's not the norm. So basically the things he has against him is money, media attention, and Ron Paul (If Ron Paul didn't run his campaign would have been much much bigger, but people wouldn't know really about his campaign if it wasn't for Ron Paul. Its confusing).

 

[erowe1]

Johnson's campaign suffers from many problems. Like someone above said, I don't think he thought Ron Paul would be running. I'm assuming all our efforts, fundraising, etc... would have gone to Gary Johnson if Ron Paul didn't run.

I wouldn't assume that. I would probably vote for him in the primary. But I doubt I'd donate much, if anything, to his campaign. And I doubt that the majority of Ron Paul's supporters would have as much enthusiasm about Johnson under those circumstances. With no Ron Paul in the race, Johnson would probably not be able to have gotten even up to the level of support Ron Paul had in 2007, much less what he has now. If he ran for senate, all that would change.

I don't blame him for trying. And I don't blame him for trying to distinguish himself from Ron Paul. But at some point he's going to need to wake up.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

The fact is that Ron Paul is running, which takes away the vast majority of support GJ might have gotten. An initial run at the Presidency is often required to garner more attention in future runs. But the benefit of the initial run is eliminated in this case, where the media actively ignores you, and you have no grassroots spark.

I would argue that having liberty minded people in Congress is far more important than the Presidency. GJ would be a shoe-in for US Senator from NM, and that would also have a positive effect for a future Presidential run. Look at the attention that Mike Lee and Rand are getting as Senators (while actually casting meaningful votes at the same time).

Strategically speaking, Gary is wasting his time right now, and bypassing a very important win.

 

[kylejack]

Let him do as he pleases. He's only spending his money and that of his supporters. Some candidates want to run and spread their message even if they know they're unlikely to win. I support Ron Paul because I like how he speaks truth to power and shifts the dialog. If I wanted a candidate with a better chance of winning there are plenty, but they don't believe what I believe.

 

[pacelli]

Last I heard he is penning emails trying to get supporters to donate. Pointing out the media bias since he is excluded from the debates. Sounds a little familiar.

 

[evilfunnystuff]

Last I heard he is penning emails trying to get supporters to donate. Pointing out the media bias since he is excluded from the debates. Sounds a little familiar.

He seems more interested in winning a bike race than spreading a philosophy or gaining traction in the primary.

Even if he felt the straw poll was meaningless, shouldn't he be out stumping somewhere.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/...fuls-go-to-ames-gary-johnson-rides-a-bike.php

 

[JJonesMBA]

...

 

[Feeding the Abscess]

I'd like an explanation / clarification as to Sen. Paul's endorsement of Iranian sanctions as well. Be interesting to see how it is played both logically and politically by both the campaign and the media in contrast to Rep. Paul's position, in light of the recent debate spat with the former PA Senator.

Confirmed:

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/1005-trade/176097-senators-unite-around-punishing-iran