Gov. Gary Johnson: That Sound You Hear...

FYI - From the Office of Gov. Gary Johnson and GaryJohnson2012.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

That Sound You Hear... November 30, 2012 Friends, Since the election, I’ve been able to spend some time at home in New Mexico, recharge my batteries a bit, and most important, watch what’s going on in Washington, DC – which is really nothing good. The news is filled with stories about the “looming fiscal cliff”. Of course, in Washington, their definition of a “cliff” is that government spending will be cut next year by slightly more than $100 billion – IF Congress and the President don’t come to an agreement to cut spending by LESS than that. With a $16 trillion debt and trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, only in Washington would cutting $100 billion be viewed as an impending disaster. The real disaster – the real “fiscal cliff” – is the one we face if spending ISN’T cut by far more than $100 billion. There are talking heads on TV saying, with a straight face, that cutting spending by a few small percentage points will devastate the economy. Where were those talking heads when the Democrats and Republicans were conspiring to run up an unsustainable $16 TRILLION national debt. Who is pointing out the obvious: That ridiculous levels of spending have already devastated the economy – and that the so-called fiscal cliff is a pothole compared to the real cliff that our Thelma and Louise government is driving us over. And of course, the “deals” on the table to prevent those $100 billion in cuts, along with $400 billion in tax increases, look very familiar: Raise the taxes, and promise to cut the spending. Sure, the Republicans and Democrats are arguing – at least for the cameras – over what to call the tax increases, but regardless, they’re all talking about solving their problem by taking more of our money. And the spending cut promises? As Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush learned the hard way, the taxes go up, but the spending cuts seem to never happen. And here we go again. Yes, that sound you hear is the can being kicked down the road. The politicians will spend the next three weeks posturing and posing and pounding their chests, and then go behind closed doors and cut a deal to once again avoid dealing with the disastrous debt problem. You and I know that this is exactly what will happen, UNLESS enough voices are raised to say “STOP!” Stop the games, stop the posturing, and stop the political denial. I will be one of those voices. And with your help, we will make them listen. It would be easy to sit on the sidelines and let this game play out, but that simply isn’t in my nature. The future of America, the survival of economic freedom, and the liberty that government is destroying are all too important. We may not have won the election – thanks to the rigged game our two-party duopoly has created, but I would strongly maintain that we won on the issues. More than a million Americans stood up for real liberty, truly smaller government, and bold steps to actually solve the problems the politicians in Washington are today kicking down the road. It is ironic, but after an election that obviously didn’t change anything, our message has never been more timely nor more important. As we schedule appearances, campus rallies and media interviews for the critical months to come, your financial support is key. Your contribution at www.garyjohnson2012.com today keeps our voice in the public debate – and reminds the politicians in Washington that “kicking the can down the road” is not acceptable any longer. Somebody has to tell the truth, and your support makes it possible for me to do just that. Go to www.garyjohnson2012.com and keep up the fight for smaller government, an end to absurd spending, and the liberty we must protect from the politicians. Thank you! Governor Gary Johnson Paid for by Gary Johnson 2012 Contributions or gifts to Gary Johnson 2012 are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes.

Gary Johnson Campaign PO Box 1985 Salt Lake City, Utah 84110 (801) 303-7922 www.GaryJohnson2012.com

Post-Election Online Town Hall With Gov. Gary Johnson

FYI - From GaryJohnson2012.com and Vokle.com.

Broadcast starts at approx. 00:02:49.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Thank You From Gov. Gary Johnson.

FYI - From Gov. Gary Johnson and GaryJohnson2012.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Thank You From Gov. Gary Johnson.

Friends,

The first words I must say to you are THANK YOU.

We made history Tuesday. Thanks to you and thousands of other supporters of real liberty, my running mate, Judge Jim Gray, and I received more votes than any other Libertarian candidates for President and Vice-President in history. Even with the closeness of the contest between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, when all the votes are counted, we will most likely have received 1.2 million votes!

That’s 1.2 million Americans who heard us and voted on the basis of principle over politics. And they did so despite the fact that Romney and Obama spent at least a thousand times more on TV and radio advertising than we did.

Given the outcome Tuesday, which returned the status quo to not only the White House, but also the Congress, we even have supporters already talking proudly of being part of the new “1%” who refused to accept that status quo.

Even more important than Tuesday’s results, with your support, we have built a grassroots organization nationwide that is truly the foundation for carrying our message of individual freedom, small government and non-intervention forward in a big way. Tuesday was not the end. It is the beginning.

We have identified hundreds of thousands of liberty–minded Americans. We have connected with more than a million people on Google+, 300,000 fans on Facebook, and more than 100,000 followers on Twitter. And over the past few days–before and after Tuesday, “Who is Gary Johnson?” was one of the most “searched” phrases on the Internet.

NONE of that has happened without your help. Your time, your energy, and your contributions have placed Liberty squarely on the national stage, and with all signs pointing to a continuation of big government, small liberty policies in Washington DC, the NEED for Liberty to be on that stage will never be greater than in the months ahead.

I am taking a couple of days to recharge my batteries in New Mexico and, frankly, attend to some chores at home — and then I will be picking up the bullhorn again. We already have major national interviews scheduled for next week, and fully intend to use the foundation we have built to make sure we are heard in the critical policy debates that are already raging in the wake of Tuesday’s election.

The “fiscal cliff”, Internet regulation, and of course, events in the Middle East are all going to be dealt with in the weeks ahead – by the status quo government that was reelected Tuesday. It is critical that we not sit on the sidelines.

To make sure we ARE heard going forward, there is much we need to do. We have to pay the final bills for all the work we did leading up to the election. We have a tremendous amount of data collection and list organization to do. We need to update our website and social media pages. And of course, I will be traveling the country to give voice to Liberty. All those tasks, and many more, require funding.

I really want you to be a part of what we will be doing over the next few weeks, and I hope you will go to GaryJohnson2012.com and help make sure we have the funding we need. What we have accomplished with the amount of money we have spent – compared to the so-called “major” party candidates – is nothing short of remarkable. And we are committed to carrying this work forward until the status quo strangle-hold is broken.

Tuesday’s election created a great opportunity for us. Being part of the “1%” that didn’t settle for the lesser of evils or the renewal of the status quo is soon to be a badge we can wear with pride, and more importantly, the foundation for a movement that America desperately needs.

You’ve been with me this far, and I sincerely hope I have earned your support as we look ahead. We have a lot of work to do, and I need your help.

Please go to GaryJohnson2012.com today and make the contribution that will let us take advantage of the amazing opportunities we have created!

Words cannot capture my gratitude for all you have done, for your friendship, and for your dedication to a cause that is REALLY important. We have an exciting future – so let’s get to it!

Sincerely,

Gov. Gary Johnson

The Day After - The Fight Continues!

It's cold and raining here in the great state of Tennessee as I have my morning coffee and reflect on yesterday's presidential election.  What I realize is that, while the President won by an impressive amount of electoral votes, the popular vote shows that the race was much, much closer - about 50% to 49%.  The President garnered approximately 59 million votes, while Gov. Romney  approximately 57 million.

And, something I am extremely happy about, well over one million people voted for my candidate, Gov. Gary Johnson.  This is more votes than any other Libertarian candidate in history!  I honestly believe that this number would have been even higher if more people would have voted their conscience.

What all of this really tells me is that the majority of Americans are still unhappy with the direction that this country is going in, and the R3VOLUTION must continue!  We must stay vigilant,  always pushing against the establishment and status quo, in the name of liberty! We must continue to fight for our civil liberties, peace, and fiscal responsibility.  We must Reclaim the Republic and Restore the Constitution for ourselves and future generations!

I ask for your help in this endeavor as we look to 2016.

LIVE FREE,
Aaron Yeargan
-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Governor Gary Johnson Wins Highest Vote Total Ever for Libertarian for President

FYI - From LP.org.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Governor Gary Johnson Wins Highest Vote Total Ever for Libertarian for President

Nov 07, 2012

With 97% of precincts reporting, Gov. Gary Johnson for President won 1,140,804 votes for the Libertarian ticket, breaking the 32-year record held by Ed Clark, who won 921,128 votes (1.06%) in 1980.

Never Say Never: Interview With Gov. Gary Johnson.

FYI - From The Blue Republicans/Robin Koerner.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Never Say Never: Gary Johnson, Humble Libertarian – Exclusive Interview

Nov 4, 2012 by ROBIN KOERNER

In interviewing Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate for President, I was following the advice of Ron Paul, who recently stated, “[Gary Johnson] is wonderful, and I think he’s doing a good job, and I think people should look at him, and every individual should make up their own mind.”

A curious thing about Johnson’s candidacy is that if you are not a libertarian – but you are liberal who believes in basic civil rights, the right to due process, personal privacy, an unregulated Internet, a peaceful foreign policy, marriage equality, and an end to crony corporatism and pro-wall street policy-making, for example, then Johnson – not Obama – is much closer to you on policy, but you’ll probably vote for Obama. Similarly, if you are a conservative who believes in the Constitution, small government, free markets, balanced budgets and the Fed out of huge areas of your personal and economic life that could be better handled by yourself or even the States, then Johnson – not Romney – is much closer to you on policy, but you’ll probably vote for Romney.

If you do vote for Romney or Obama, you probably have no clue who Gary Johnson is.

For that reason, the people Johnson really needs to win over in the last day or two of the campaign are those who already know that they are libertarian, and know very well who Johnson is – but just aren’t sure that Johnson is really libertarian enough.

In my interview with Gov. Johnson, I therefore covered a number of issues that Johnson-skeptics in the liberty movement frequently raise. For example, is his Fair Tax really libertarian; why is marriage equality a Constitutionally protected right and, most importantly, is Johnson really a peaceful non-interventionist on foreign policy?

It became clear very early on in our interview that it was going to be an enjoyable experience, and quite unlike most interviews I have ever seen with a presidential candidate or equivalent. I began with the topic of marriage equality – one of his major issues. After some time on it, I pushed him on a philosophical point about which he simply had not thought. Rather than return to a practiced statement of position or fluster or get respond to a question that was not quite what I asked, he simply said, “You are the first person to have ever said this to me… and I’m going to have to roll that around a little bit.”

From someone who has been a politician at the national level for eight years (a two-term Governor of a state), that combination of humility and self-assuredness was refreshing and very human.

And for the rest of the interview, I was similarly finding out as much about the man as his politics.

It’s Not What You Believe. It’s What You Achieve.

Johnson is not a purist. He is a pragmatist, and he says as much – often. As he says, “I think libertarians need somebody who can articulate getting from A to Z. But you know, if G is achievable, how about it? Let’s get there!”

As an example, he recalled that in one of the Republican debates, the candidates were asked if they were accept 90% cut in deficit for 10% revenue increase and every single Republican said they would not. Johnson, who was not at that debate, was shouting at the TV screen: “Yes. Of course I’d accept that. You’re talking about a 90% reduction in the deficit and a 10% revenue enhancement. Come on.”

Whereas some hard-line libertarians bristle at the slippery slope that such concessions at first glance represent, no such deal actually precludes further revenue reductions later on. Johnson is truly committed to the abolition of income and corporate taxes; he just realizes that being committed to a particular destination doesn’t preclude you from stopping along the way at places you don’t really love. The important thing is always to be moving toward the destination rather than not moving at all (or moving backward).

Johnson’s policy positions are easy to find so I wanted to push on philosophical consistency on the one hand, and approach to governing on the other.

For example, I pushed him on the Fair Tax, which he favors. Its advantages are myriad. Nevertheless, some libertarians point out two problems with this tax: first, it effectively puts government in a position of oversight on every transaction; second, it does something that at least has something of the entitlement state and dependency that libertarians abhor: it makes all Americans recipients of government checks. (Listen to the interview to learn more.)

Despite the fact that I was pointing out potentially serious problems with another one of his favorite issues, Johnson didn’t do what most other politicians would do, which is to revert to a well-worn defense that may or may not answer the actual question asked.

“I am advocating one federal consumption tax. We can certainly argue whether the prebate … is the best way to deal with the fact that the federal consumption tax is regressive… Perhaps not. But back to the Fair Tax package. I think that it is a great starting point for what should be a debate and a discussion over how you make this happen in lieu of having the IRS and income tax and corporate tax.”

I offered a summary of his position: “What you’d say is that the upside in terms of for liberty of a consumption tax – for example the Fair Tax – is so great, but as a matter of principle, you’re willing to concede the argument that says that there is some danger in having the entire population in receipt of a check – and that you would be open to discussing that?”

His response was a simple and disarming, “Yes”.

Had I just inadvertently contributed to the development of the tax policy of a presidential candidate? Probably not, but I nevertheless had the sense of an unrecognized strength that Johnson brings to the table as a leader: whereas he obviously knows his stuff, he doesn’t feel the need to have all the answers, and certainly no need to pretend to have them when he doesn’t. He holds deeply held principles that determine where he is trying to go, but how we get there – and for Johnson, it is clearly always “we” – is invariably a matter for productive debate, which benefits from open minds.

Based on these exchanges and myriad others throughout the interview, I began to see that what a few libertarians see as Gary Johnson’s philosophical weakness is actually his political strength. It is not that Johnson is wishy-washy in his libertarian principles. Rather, he is very aware of, and comfortable with, the practical realities of doing politics with other reasonable people who may disagree on the preferred implementation of commonly held principles. Some political questions can be reasonably answered without reference to libertarian orthodoxies, such as the one I asked about the principles that would govern him in making legislative compromises, and together we summarized his answer as “common sense”.

Never Say Never

I pressed Gary Johnson on foreign policy – the area in which some libertarians have most uneasiness about Johnson’s purity.

I asked, “There are some people who would be concerned that you would be more prepared to put our military in harm’s way for what might be called humanitarian interventions than for example, Ron Paul, so could you please explain … the principles based on which a humanitarian intervention [would be] not at odds with your principles of liberty. What are the principles that govern sending our troops into harm’s way when we’re not threatened? What are the rules?

I liked his answer: not only did it not compromise anything sacred for me, but would play almost as well in a group of Republicans or Democrats as in a room of libertarians.

“No humanitarian wars. That is an oxymoron. There would have to be Congressional approval for any time the military is used. Look… Never say never…. I don’t want to say that if a genocide is occurring somewhere – and it is a situation that we could step in and alter – that we shouldn’t do that. … I can’t give you a definition of genocide but I would like to think that if I saw it, I would know what it was. I think that none of us want to stand by and watch some dictator in another country line up 2000 people at noon and shoot every day them in the head in a five minute time frame. That to me would be an intervention that could be stopped … and I hate to define anything at all … but it could exist and I don’t want to [say] “never”.

Again, I pressed further. Would participation by members of the military be voluntary? He answered affirmatively.

To deconstruct his complete answer reveals nothing necessarily at odds with libertarianism or the non-aggression principle. It just reveals a man who knows he can’t plan for all eventualities, and who has the humility not to think he has such a perfect understanding of a political philosophy that he can make general pronouncements with 100% confidence that would cover all conceivable life and death situations. One might call that caution – not a bad quality in a President

The Magic Number

Johnson’s campaign is promoting the idea that 5% of the vote is a game-changer for US politics. I asked him to explain.

At 5% of the popular vote, ballot access issues go away for the Libertarian Party. Ballot access alone currently consumes most the party’s time and money. The 5% vote also releases federal matching funds. Johnson explains just how important that could be: the LP is confident that they will achieve a vote close to their 5% target, and they will do so having spent two million dollars. In contrast, Romney and Obama will have spent two billion dollars. That’s one tenth of the main party votes for 1/1000th of their spending. The electoral bang for the Libertarian buck is hugely greater than that achieved by either the Republicans or the Democrats. With that ROI, the five to seven million dollars in matching funds that would follow a 5% showing on Tuesday – no longer having to be spent on ballot access – could be one of the greatest boosts that have happened to the liberty movement in a long, long time.

Ron Paul always said that the movement was not about him: it was about the message. The matching funds and the size of the libertarian “market” implied by a large enough vote to deliver those funds provide the easiest way to put Ron Paul’s views on the stage in the presidential debates in 2016. That is primetime. That is breakout. That is, finally, the televising of the rEVOLution. When Americans see a three-way debate with the likes of a Johnson or a Paul in 2016, we won’t have to struggle to tell them that they have been victims of a cruel illusion. The supposed difference between the Republicans and Democrats will be shown up for the illusion it is by the glaring contrast that the liberty candidate will so clearly offer. That is the liberty’s movement most powerful weapon if only it can be fired.

There is a greater difference between the end of the two party system and its continuation than there is between an Obama presidency and a Romney presidency. A choice between two things that are the same is no choice at all. Much nonsense is written about “wasted votes”. By any accurate definition, a wasted vote would be one that, even if repeated indefinitely, could change nothing of substance. A vote for the duopoly, whether you prefer Obama flavor or Romney flavor, would be such a vote. When you see that, you see that the only way not to waste one’s vote is to vote to break the duopoly, which means to vote for Gary Johnson.

To the segment of hardline Ron Paul loyalists who believe that Johnson should not be trusted to implement libertarian orthodoxy all of the time, I suggest you’ve got exactly the wrong end of the stick. It is precisely because he is not an ideologue – but an idealist with his feet on the ground – that he can do more to set up a big tent of liberty (and size does matter in a democracy) than those who think that any deviation from their own understanding necessarily represents a philosophical falling short.

I am not so surprised that I have been able to write positive things about Johnson’s politics. But I was not expecting to write such positive things about his character – and they may mean even more. Johnson is an easy-going guy who is not in his own way. I had never spoken to him before, but our interview, conducted over 2000 miles and a Skype connection, felt more like a decent conversation with a friend over tea, sharing our views of the world and perhaps even learning a few things from each other.

Of Blue Republicans – former Independents and Democrats who registered Republican specifically to support Ron Paul – 79% of those who have already voted have voted for Johnson. I had planned not to endorse any Presidential candidate who was not Ron Paul, and I have a deep respect for the 15% of Blue Republicans who have decided to write in his name – especially if they are doing so in a state where those votes will be counted.

But the truth is that the Blue Republican movement has already endorsed some wonderful candidates around the country. And a vote for Gary Johnson has the potential to do at least as much good for American liberty as a vote for any one of them.

I believe the majority of Blue Republicans have it right. Herewith, then, the Blue Republicans give their official endorsement of Gary Johnson for President. Not only is he a lover of liberty: he brings a humility, pragmatism and approachability to our movement of which we need more – not less – if we are to achieve the lofty goals we have set for ourselves.

Just put on your Ron Paul T-shirt when you go to vote for him – - but hide it under your jacket so as not to violate any voting regulations.

And most importantly of all, Never Say Never.

Read more at http://themoderatevoice.com/166557/never-say-never-gary-johnson-humble-libertarian-exclusive-interview/#oVbTydK6kuxoZSCT.99 

You Should Probably Vote for Gary Johnson If...

FYI - From Jeff J. O'Toole/Youtube.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Ron Paul Supporters Should Vote For Gary Johnson on Tuesday: It Makes Perfect Sense.

FYI - From Josh McCullough/PolicyMic.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Ron Paul Supporters Should Vote For Gary Johnson on Tuesday: It Makes Perfect Sense.

by Josh McCullough

Don’t get me wrong, Ron Paul is a great guy – it’s unfortunate that he got screwed over by his own party.

I voted for him in the primary and was excited at how well he was doing during that process. Now that Ron Paul is no longer running for president, I want to urge his supporters to look toward Gary Johnson, who will be on the ballot in all 50 states (a couple are not confirmed yet but let’s be hopeful), and Washington, D.C.
I see a lot of comments from people who are planning on writing in Ron Paul on their ballot – that’s a bad idea. Ron Paul is not registered as a write-in candidate. Writing him in would do nothing other than (possibly) send a message that what the RNC did to him was wrong.

There’s a better way to send that message. Instead of writing in Ron Paul, check the box next to Gary Johnson. He shares many of the same stances as Paul and even endorsed him in 2008. Ron Paul sort of returned the favor, though he didn’t officially endorse Johnson, saying “I think [Gary Johnson is] wonderful, and I think he’s doing a good job and people should look at him and every individual should make up his own mind.” Close enough, right?
For more information:

• Take the Presidential Election Quiz at I Side With
• Learn more about Gary Johnson and his stances at his campaign website.

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Ron Paul and Gary Johnson’s supporters are not a “nonfactor” in this election!

FYI - From The Washington Times.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Ron Paul and Gary Johnson’s supporters are not a “nonfactor” in this election.

America has fallen a long and terrible way from George Washington’s farewell address in which the first U.S. president warned “I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state … The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism.”

Today, petty browbeating and factional elitism in Washington D.C. has replaced George Washington’s spirit of humility and wisdom. We have seen narcissism overtake nationalism and partisanship replace patriotism.

Today, if you don’t identify with the Democrat or Republican parties or don’t want to vote for Mitt Romney or Barack Obama in November, you’re despised as electoral ragamuffin, political flotsam and a “nonfactor” in the pages of history.
Now some would call that “pragmatism.” I call it electoral bigotry.

If America’s Founding Fathers could look from the balconies of heaven upon the Great Republic Experiment they birthed, their eyes would be shedding tears upon us like a squall of winter raindrops. The same nation that began with a Declaration of Independence that said “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” now is a nation controlled by politicians who insist they know best for us, that their plans are better than our plans and that all of us must sacrifice our unique values and history so that they can make history.

Like the Bible’s prophet Hosea of ancient antiquity bemoaned, “because your hostility is so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac.” No scholar or expert can have a serious discussion in this country anymore because the agenda setting power rests with people who refuse to accept rebuke from the very people – now awake – that in prior elections were lulled into voting for charlatans in gray suits and maroon ties.

No one can talk about real issues anymore because hyperbole and innuendo are now preferable to salt and light. Any attempt to address America’s debt crisis, her costly and losing commitment to meaningless military engagements abroad and the collapse of our government institutions at home is met with elitist sneers, ridicule and contempt. We are told that others, smarter and more competent know better than us and that we should simply know our place and vote for left or right.
This is a pattern that is happening not just in America, but the world over. If liberty is extinguished here in America, there is no other place for Americans to flee to or seek refuge in. Nigel Farage, a UKIP MEP, speaking of Europe’s bureaucratization warned of what he calls a “moral mutation” and says of the EU, “Money from taxpayers and consumers is channeled, by this system, into those parts of the civil infrastructure, which support the incumbent parties and for the last few decades, have ensured that these parties remain collectively in power and that they resolutely continue with the work of removing from society all concept of moral value, other than that defined by themselves.”

We would be wise to take heed to those words and to ensure that America does not fall into that same moral mutation, though she is already showing signs of massive political and social metastasis.

Now consider this: Gary Johnson and Ron Paul both are men whose movements have attracted people who are sick and tired of being sick and tired. They are people who are increasingly less interested in left and right and more concerned about right and wrong. For them, this election is a referendum not on personalities but on paradigms. They are tired of explanations, tired of excuses and tired of waiting for a false political tagline salvation that never comes.

There is good reason not to vote for Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. On my ballot, I have a third party choice and I will vote for it. I am a Libertarian, and for president I am voting Libertarian! It has nothing to do with irrational disdain for either candidate and more to do with choosing to say that America needs to know that there are people who do not agree with the two parties and refuse – politely, yet firmly – to be peer pressured into voting for platforms and presidential candidates that do not represent their view of a government “as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Contrary to what you have been told, a third party vote isn’t a vote for Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. It’s a vote for a future that though delayed today cannot be denied tomorrow if enough people have the faith to pursue it. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith calls those things which are not as though they are until they are. And in this election, there are those of us who will choose the third choice because we choose to believe in an America so much better than what we've been offered by the two party system.

Change begins with a courageous choice. You've heard it before: what is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right. Do not be moved by peer pressure or intellectual intimidation. The two parties may revel and glory that they hold majority today, but remember you still hold the vote. And as Shakespeare wrote, “Glory is like a circle in the water, which never ceaseth to enlarge itself, till, by broad spreading, it disperse to naught.”

Some of you reading this may be Republican. Then vote Republican. Some of you may be Democrats. Then vote Democrat. Good for you. But others of you are Americans committed only to the labels of liberty and justice for all, and to you I say this:

Your vote counts. Your opinion matters. If your heart feels led to vote third party, know that a vote for a third party is never a wasted vote, and this is your time to choose!


Read more: Ron Paul and Gary Johnson’s supporters are not a “nonfactor” in this election | Washington Times Communities
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FYI - From Rob Hunter/Ktar.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Why I voted for Gary Johnson!

I'll just come right out with it: I voted for the Libertarian presidential candidate, Gary Johnson (or more specifically for his 11 electors). Now, you can go ahead and say it. Rob, you threw your vote away or my vote for Johnson is really a vote for President Barack Obama.

Here's the deal: Gov. Mitt Romney will win the state of Arizona and with it the 11 electoral votes. Real Clear Politics gives Romney a five-point advantage over President Barack Obama in Arizona.

Nate Silver's 538 blog gives Romney a 97 percent chance of winning the state. So, my vote for Johnson has no bearing on the outcome of who will become the next president.

But, there's more to my decision than that. I've decided to vote for my principles, not a party. And no matter what you might say, that's never a throw-away vote. Reason magazine's David Boaz said:

‘… I am generally guided by the fact that in 40 years of voting I've never encountered an election in which my vote would have made the difference, and by the principle that it's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.'

I've voted on and off since I was 18 years old in 1996. That year I voted for Bill Clinton. I sat out the 2000 election, voted for George W. Bush in 2004 and John McCain in 2008.

I've regretted all those votes and honestly, I'm tired of regretting my votes. I've voted Republican with the hopes they would actually follow through with their stated beliefs -- beliefs in smaller government, fiscal responsibility and freedom. The reality is the current Republican Party doesn't represent any of those things.

The National Debt increased nearly $5 trillion under President Bush. He pushed for, and signed, the Patriot Act—a bill that disregards the 4th Amendment, making it easier for the government to spy on you.

After some initial reluctance, Bush also pushed for, and helped create, the Department of Homeland Security (a huge federal bureaucracy) and signed into law the Medicare Part D prescription drug program which cost taxpayers $68 billion in 2010 alone.

President Bush did nothing to shrink the size of government. Neither will Gov. Romney. That's why I can't vote for him.

Another reason I can't vote for Romney is because there is no discernible difference between President Barack Obama and him. Their tax policies only differ in wording. Neither one has a plan to shrink the size of government even with the threat of ‘automatic' cuts looming.

Romney's budget plan is similar to Obama's as in they will both add trillions to the national debt.

Their plans for government are similar. Romney has said he wants to repeal Obamacare, while crediting Romneycare for bringing down the rates of the uninsured in Massachusetts. Then, after he said he would repeal the nation's newest health care law, Romney admitted he would keep certain parts of Obamacare.

Where the candidates truly differ is on social issues such as gay marriage and abortion, but neither would be in a position to change anything regarding those issues. From a practical stand point those differences don't matter either.

In this election, I've picked my candidate. His name is Gary Johnson.

I'm not doing it to change the world. But, I also refuse to support a candidate because I really want to vote against the other one. As Boaz pointed out, that's a true wasted vote.

Only when more people agree and start voting for their beliefs will things finally change.

Rob Hunter is Bruce St. James' sidekick weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon. He also co-hosts "Rob & Mark," Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m.

“Who Is Gary Johnson And Why Is the GOP So Mad at Him?”

FYI - From Joel Stein/Time Magazine and GaryJohnson2012.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Time Magazine: “Who Is Gary Johnson? And Why Is the GOP So Mad at Him?”

 

From Time Magazine

By Joel Stein

As soon as libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson rolls up to the restaurant in Scottsdale, Ariz., his driver, Tom Mahon, jumps out of his seat and hands me a Sharpie. Mahon says that as a libertarian, he wants me to sign the campaign vehicle wherever I like and write whatever I like. So just below Johnson’s head, I write, “I didn’t do this,” and draw an arrow toward the mustache, beard and marijuana cigarette already on Johnson’s face. Being a true libertarian means driving around in a van with graffiti on your face.

Johnson isn’t one of those incapable, extremist, wacky, millionaire third-party candidates. He is extremist: he wants to abolish the IRS, legalize marijuana and allow the private sector to create competing currencies. Sure, he’s a little wacky: he’s finished 75 triathlons, climbed Mount Everest eight weeks after breaking his leg in a skiing accident and crashed while paragliding. And yeah, he’s a millionaire: in 1999 he got $10 million for a handyman business he started his junior year of college and built into a 1,000-employee construction firm.

But he’s capable. As a Republican, he won two terms as governor of New Mexico with no prior political experience, eliminating the deficit and creating a surplus before leaving office in 2003 with high approval ratings—which he recovered after dipping 30 points when he talked about drug legalization. “Ron Paul is a social conservative,” he says. “I’m not. Ron Paul would talk about legalizing marijuana, but he’s never smoked marijuana.”

For months, as Johnson ran in the Republican presidential primary, the GOP ignored him as best it could, hoping he’d just go away. Then he did, leaving the Republicans to join the Libertarians. When I ran into him at the GOP convention in Tampa, Johnson looked like a man far removed from his former party, blocks from the convention center, standing on a street corner in front of a Hooters doing interviews.

The GOP isn’t ignoring him anymore. Now that Johnson is threatening to siphon votes from Mitt Romney in close elections in Colorado and Nevada (he’s also on the ballot in 46 other states and Washington, D.C.), Republicans are doing whatever they can to limit his appeal. Michigan party officials kept him off the ballot because he filed his paperwork three minutes late. In Pennsylvania, the GOP hired a private detective who went to canvassers’ homes and flashed his old FBI badge before questioning the signatures they collected, a lawyer for Johnson’s campaign alleged. The state GOP and the investigator denied doing anything improper. (On Oct. 10 a judge decided that Johnson will be on the Pennsylvania ballot.) The experience has left Johnson, 59, alienated from some of his old comrades—which, it turns out, he doesn’t mind at all. “Going to Republican events, as I did a zillion times, I listened to Republican candidates do their spiel. I cringed at a lot of what they said, whether it was abortion, the terrorist threat, the homophobia, the ‘illegal immigrant is the source of all our problems’—man, that stuff made me crazy. The kook element of the Libertarians gets up, and I don’t cringe.”

Johnson lacks the passion of fellow Libertarian Ron Paul, but he projects far more humanity. Born in Minot, N.D., Johnson was a George McGovern–supporting anti–Vietnam War pot smoker who went to high school and college in New Mexico and started his empire as a door-to-door handyman. He still has a Midwesterner’s accent and decency: he says things like “holy cow” and “Katie, bar the door.” His running mate, Jim Gray, a former California Superior Court judge whom Johnson met at a drug-legalization conference, says Johnson often seems to lack ego. “He said to me, ‘If, during the campaign, you have different ideas than I do, feel free to say that publicly.’”

Johnson is running a tiny operation, flying commercial and carrying his luggage to avoid bag-checking fees. He’s spent a lot of his limited cash (he had $29,173 left at the end of September) suing to get on the ballot and doesn’t have a lot left to run his campaign, much less buy TV ads. “Fifty people a day are calling our office, offering to do anything for free. And we don’t have the resources to tap into them,” he says.

Not that anyone could really organize Johnson’s “coalition” anyway. After our dinner, a couple hundred people gather on a lawn at Arizona State University, which is pretty impressive, since it’s 100°F. The crowd: tatted-up students with marijuana-legalization shirts, young parents with little kids wearing Ron Paul shirts, crusty old men applauding wildly when warm-up speakers mention economist and austerity guru Friedrich Hayek, Constitution freaks with the Preamble on their shirts, guys selling cards with bits of silver who want to get us back to hard currency, a few Latinos who feel strongly about the Dream Act, antiwar activists in peace T-shirts. Libertarianism is the smallest big tent in the world.

Johnson isn’t the strongest speaker. After being introduced by Barry Goldwater Jr.—who recently endorsed Mitt Romney—Johnson opens with “So” and then talks about how even a homeless person could solve the country’s problems, but, unlike a homeless person, he is qualified. He says many things that no winning presidential politician has ever said: “I didn’t create one single new job in New Mexico. The private sector creates jobs!” followed shortly by a boast about how many liberty torches the ACLU has awarded him. It feels less like he’s running for President than for student president of the University of Chicago.

As he leaves the stage and heads to the airport so he can fly to the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, he reflects on his chances. “I’m planning to exceed expectations,” he says with a smile. “Which are zero.”

Gov. Gary Johnson Debates President Obama and Gov. Romney.

FYI - From GaryJohnson2012.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Gov. Gary Johnson's Speech at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

FYI - From RockyMountainStreams.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Rep. Ron Paul Answers The Iran Nuke Question.

FYI - Rep. Ron Paul on the Danny Bishop Show.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Gov. Gary Johnson in the Third Party Presidential Debate.

FYI - Gov. Gary Johnson in the third party presidential debate.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Chattanooga Times Free Press: “Gary Johnson for President”

FYI - From the Chattanooga (TN) Times Free Press and GaryJohnson2012.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Chattanooga Times Free Press: “Gary Johnson for president”

From the Chattanooga Times Free Press

For more than 80 years, the Free Press editorial page has been a voice for free market economic philosophies, personal responsibility and limited, responsible government. Endorsing the presidential candidate who most thoroughly represents those values has been an important function of the Free Press editorial page for nearly as long.

For most of those election cycles, we have endorsed Republican candidates for president. The GOP candidate, even when flawed, generally provided the best platform for ensuring that the United States remained on a path of limited, constitutional government and free market economic policies.

This election, however, the Republican Party nominee has failed to demonstrate a consistent commitment to conservative principles. As a result of his failure to provide clear methods for reducing the size and scope of the federal government, unwillingness to address structural flaws with entitlement programs, reliance on government to intervene in issues best left to families and individuals, and sporadic support of the Constitution and America’s founding principles, Mitt Romney is too flawed to earn the Free Press’ endorsement.

Romney may be less eager to tax, spend, attack personal freedoms and disregard the constitutional limits on government than his Democratic opponent, President Barack Obama, but only slightly.

To the extent that Romney offers an alternative to Obama, the difference is in degree, not in kind.

As a result, the Free Press editorial page endorses Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson for President of the United States.

Johnson, a former two-term governor of New Mexico, has more administrative experience than Romney, who served just a single term as Massachusetts governor.

While serving as governor, Johnson slashed New Mexico’s gas tax, fought to reduce the state’s income tax and championed school choice. Romney, on the other hand, implemented a myriad of new fees on Massachusetts taxpayers and famously enacted a compulsory health insurance scheme which became the framework for Obamacare.

Unlike Obama, Johnson understands that government spending, unsustainable bailouts and stimulus schemes only lead to more unemployment, a higher national debt, a weakened dollar and a less stable economy.

Johnson’s platform includes presenting a balanced budget to Congress every year he’s in office, completely overhauling America’s ridiculous federal tax structure, and fundamentally restructuring entitlement programs to allow Americans more choice in health care and a greater opportunity to retire with dignity.

The former small business owner pledges to work to overturn Obamacare and encourage health care coverage through the free market by removing the arbitrary limits that inhibit competition among health insurers and prevent customers from receiving the best available health insurance plans and rates.

Johnson also seeks to limit military intervention abroad and overturn the restrictions on liberties at home that were created as a result of the overreaction to 9/11 and America’s bungled War on Terror.

The threads that bind Johnson’s policy platform are the beliefs that markets work better than governments and that people are more suitable and equipped than elected officials and bureaucrats to make the decisions that impact their lives and the lives of their family. As a result, Johnson promotes entrepreneurship and privatization, allowing parents the opportunity to choose which school their children attend and minimizing the amount of hard-earned dollars the federal government takes from taxpayers.

Some may argue that voting for a minor party candidate is a waste of a vote. While Johnson won’t win on Nov. 6, the more votes Johnson receives, the more the Republican and Democratic parties are forced to consider adopting his policies. Voting for Johnson is the most effective way to inject the ideas of liberty and limited government into the political mainstream.

Others claim that it is wise to vote for the lesser of two evils. The problem with that, however, is that voting for evil only leads to more evil. A vote is an affirmation that a candidate is on the right track, but Barack Obama and Mitt Romney clearly aren’t when it comes to limiting government, promoting individual liberty and protecting free market economic principles. Voting for bad policies and unprincipled people will only ensure that parties will give voters more of the same bad choices in the future.

With the founding principles and the economic future of our nation at stake, Gary Johnson offers the best plan to restore the values of limited government, personal freedom and free markets that made America the greatest country in the world.

Gov. Gary Johnson's Statement On The Foreign Policy Presidential Debate.

FYI - From GaryJohnson2012.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Gov. Gary Johnson Releases Statement On Foreign Policy Presidential Debate.

 

LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE GOV. GARY JOHNSON RELEASED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO MONDAY NIGHT’S DEBATE:

“With only two weeks to go before Election Day, it is more clear than ever that the views and concerns of millions of Americans are being shut out of this campaign by the Republicans and the Democrats. Let’s have a debate not about how much longer to remain in Afghanistan, but about why we shouldn’t bring our men and women home now. No one on the debate stage is challenging the fundamental premise of endless foreign intervention. Rather, we have two candidates agreeing with one another about flawed foreign excursions we cannot afford.

“And remarkably, we heard a continuation of the fallacy that we can somehow balance the budget while spending more on defense. It doesn’t add up.

“There is a candidate who will, in fact, challenge the status quo. But the Republicans and Democrats don’t want the American people to hear from that candidate. Doing so would spoil the ‘two-party party.’”

Gov. Gary Johnson Files Complaint In Federal Court Against Commission On Presidential Debates.

FYI - From GaryJohnson2012.com.

-ADY "A Regular Guy On The Issues"

Gov. Gary Johnson Files Complaint In Federal Court Against Commission On Presidential Debates.

 

JOHNSON CAMPAIGN ASKS D.C. FEDERAL COURT TO INTERVENE IN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES, CITING POLLING FALLACY

October 19, 2012, Washington, DC – Citing survey data showing former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson has in fact achieved the narrow criteria required for inclusion in the Monday debate, earning more than 40 percent of the vote in “head-to-head” polls against President Barack Obama, the Libertarian Party nominee’s campaign today filed a complaint in Federal Court in the District of Columbia maintaining that Johnson has, in fact, met the Commission on Presidential Debates’ criteria for inclusion. The complaint asks the Court to compel the CPD to include Johnson.

“The CPD requirements say Johnson ‘must register support of at least 15 percent of the vote in five recent polls,’” Johnson campaign counsel Alicia Dearn said in a statement. “Nowhere does it say those polls must include three candidates. Indeed, the polls used by the CPD to exclude Johnson test only two candidates even though Gov. Johnson is on the ballot in 48 states. We argue that Gov. Johnson has met the specific and narrow criteria laid out by the CPD.

“Included in the two-party ‘deal’ struck by the Republicans and Democrats are the criteria by which candidates are invited to participate. As a two-term governor who is on more than enough states’ ballots to be elected in the Electoral College, the decision to exclude Gov. Johnson can only be based upon the CPD’s self-determined polling criterion — using polls that are ‘head-to-head’ surveys between Romney and Obama. Who decided that? The CPD rules do not specify the number of candidates to be tested in the poll. Using their own methodology, polls that ask voters’ preferences between the President and Gov. Johnson are equally valid, and as we have demonstrated, will show more than enough support for Gov. Johnson to meet the CPD’s arbitrary 15 percent requirement. The same would clearly be the result when Gov. Johnson is surveyed against only Gov. Romney. Nowhere does it say that only the Republican and the Democrat should be pitted against one another,” Dearn said.

“It must be repeated that the official-sounding Commission on Presidential Debates is not official at all. It is a private organization created by the Republican and Democratic Parties for the clear and admitted purpose of controlling the presidential debate process. Everything from the schedule to the participants to the water glasses on stage are determined by way of an MOU between the two parties, to the exclusion of everyone else.

Two debates have already happened, and have excluded Gov. Johnson. We can’t change that — no matter how unfair. However, the CPD has one last opportunity to do the right thing for Monday night’s debate, which we have asked them to do via a letter transmitted Thursday. However, we are not holding our breath for an answer, and have asked the Federal Court to help them do the right thing. Also, we make it clear in our complaint that this issue does not end Monday night, and that it is not just about Gov. Johnson. We are also asking for a permanent injunction to require that the CPD’s criteria be changed for future elections to correct the organization’s fundamental unfairness.

“The American people need to understand that the presidential debates are televised productions of the Republican and Democratic Parties. Nothing more. And those productions are designed to exclude alternative voices and ignore the simple fact that one-third of the electorate does not belong to their exclusive clubs.”

A copy of the Johnson campaign’s complaint and letter to the CPD are available here.