National Review - Is the Libertarian Party’s Gary Johnson a Plausible Alternative to Trump and Clinton?

National Review 5/7/2016

Good news, disgruntled Americans: As you ponder whether to vote for one of the two most-disliked, dishonest, and morally corrupt politicians ever to run for president — Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton — you just might have a third option. His name is Gary Johnson. He’s a popular two-term former governor of New Mexico. He’s the likely Libertarian party nominee. And he’s set to be on the ballot in the vast majority of states. Moreover, the short case for him is pretty compelling.

Johnson is a self-made man, starting a handyman business in college that grew into a 1,000-employee construction firm. He ran for governor as a fiscal conservative in a blue state, won handily, and can now boast that he cut taxes, vetoed hundreds of bills, presided over significant job growth, balanced the state budget, and created a substantial reserve fund. He won reelection in a rout.

Johnson is an extraordinarily strong gun-rights advocate, and he favors free trade, but he’s far too committed to relatively open borders — advocating a “simpler and more efficient” process for entering the country.

He calls himself pro-choice, but he’s well to the right of Hillary Clinton — supporting late-term abortion bans, parental-notification laws, and opposing public funding for abortion — and he’s indicated that he’d appoint judges “who will interpret the Constitution according to its original meaning.” He also believes Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided because it “expanded the reach of the Federal government into areas of society never envisioned in the Constitution.” In the past, Johnson has indicated that he’d rather leave abortion policy to the states.

Being generous, one could even call him a sort of peaceful Teddy Roosevelt: an adventurer politician. He’s run dozens of triathlons, he’s climbed the highest mountain on all seven continents (including Mount Everest), and he built his house with his own hands. So, on balance, Gary Johnson for president, right?

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