Gary Johnson: ‘People are Let Down by the Two-party System’

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Gary Johnson: ‘These People are Let Down by the Two-party System’

By Ed Pilkington

The Libertarian maverick says he’s fiscally responsible and socially accepting – and his energetic third-party campaign could spell trouble for Mitt Romney

Amid all the flip-flopping and dissembling of the 2012 election, it comes as a bit of a shock to hear one of the presidential candidates say that his interest in politics stemmed from the first time he smoked dope. But then there is much about Gary Johnson, the Libertarian party’s nominee for the White House, that is strikingly out of the mould.

“I think marijuana played a role in my libertarianism, because when in 1970 I smoked it for the first time I realized that everything the government said about it was a lie,” he said. “You know, you smoke marijuana, you’re going to go crazy, you’ll want to commit crime, you are going to go to the depths and never return … None of that was true.”

From those teenaged dope-smoking beginnings, Johnson, now 59, went on to become a successful businessman and a Republican governor of New Mexico, and is now seeking to carry the libertarian flame lit by Ron Paul during the primary election season into November’s presidential race. It’s true that he and his Libertarian party are relative minnows in an election cycle dominated by big corporate money – he has raised just $2m for his presidential campaign compared to the hundreds of millions being poured into Barack Obama’s and Mitt Romney’s campaigns.

But there are signs that in the key swing states where the election will be won or lost, he is having an impact that could prove important over the final 60 days of the race. Polls are so tight in states such as Ohio, Nevada, Colorado, Virginia that any deflection of votes away from the two main contenders could be significant.

A CNN/ORC poll last week put him at 4%, which may not sound much, but given that a number of key states are essential tied between Obama and Romney even that sliver could be crucial. The poll also found that his third-party bid, combined with Jill Stein of the Green party, is eating into Romney’s support base more than it is the incumbent president’s.

Gary Johnson: ‘These People are Let Down by the Two-party System’ [continued]