Gary Johnson, The Lesser Of Two Goods

There has been a lot of talk by Romney supporters that if you are not 80%, or even 50%, on board with their candidate that you should vote for their guy because he is the "lesser of two evils" and will do less harm to our nation than the current POTUS. But if you vote for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson, you are splitting the vote and will be responsible for getting Obama re-elected.

Not only does this show that they themselves have little faith in their candidate's ability to seal the deal on his own, but that they have little faith in his policies as well.

In other words, what I am hearing them saying is, "Vote for Romney because he sucks less than Obama."

Now there's a winning campaign slogan if I ever heard one.

Well, to many liberty minded individuals who don't buy this line of bull, Ron Paul is the gold standard of the liberty movement. In our lifetime there has been very few politicians, if any, who have had absolute fidelity to their Constitutional principles like Dr Paul.

But Ron Paul is not going to be President; the GOP Primaries settled that and with his retiring from the House and advanced age, this was his last go-around.

Gary Johnson on the other hand, is still in the race and as of this writing is on the ballot in 47 states and is looking like he will be on Pennsylvania's ballot, making it 48 states (he'll be excluded in Oklahoma and in all probability Michigan).

As his record as a two term Governor of New Mexico and his stated positions show, Gary Johnson is a legitimate liberty candidate.

Sure you can make the case, and many do, that Gary Johnson is lacking in libertarian bona fides, that his positions on humanitarian intervention and Israel are cause for concern and that he would govern on cost/benefit analysis rather than true libertarian principles.

Fair points all, but in the grand scheme of things he is still a fiscal conservative that would cut spending by 43%, submit a balanced budget in his first term, end the fed and be an overall thorn in the side of Leviathan.

President Gary Johnson would end our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and would not put US troops in foreign wars unless duly authorized by Congress.

He would also put an end to the war on Americans by ending the Drug War while repealing both the PATRIOT Act and NDAA as well as limit the assault on our civil liberties.

Unlike both Obama and Romney he does not support government run, socialized medicine either.

As you can see, Gary Johnson may not quite be Ron Paul, but he's close enough and would be a far better choice for America than his two major party opponents.

With this in mind, the next time someone tells you that you are wasting you vote on Gary Johnson and that you need to vote for the "lesser of two evils", you can let them know that they are really the ones that are wasting their vote and that they should instead vote for the "lesser of two goods".

Editor's Note: This in no way should be construed as a knock against Gary Johnson.

While I supported Ron Paul as the GOP candidate after Governor Johnson left the GOP race, he was my preferred choice from the beginning and even Ron Paul is on record as saying that Gary Johnson is wonderful and would have had his support has he decided against a run in 2012.

Video - Ron Paul On Gary Johnson "People Should Look At Him"

Former MTV VJ Kennedy interviewing Ron Paul at the GOP Convention asks him if he supports Gary Johnson.

Dr Paul's response; "I think he's wonderful and I think he's doing a good job and people should look at him and every individual should make up their own mind."

Starting at around the 4:10 mark

Gary Johnson's Speech At P.A.U.L. Fest

Johnson wins election if based on issues

What if people voted on what candidate aligned with them most closely on issues and not based on who the media gatekeepers thinks you should vote for? 

Here’s what the election map would look like....



The map is created off the results of over 600,000 quiz takers on the iSideWith site. Users answer 36 questions that cover a range of issues from social, environment, science, foreign policy, domestic policy, immigration, the economy, and healthcare. Their answers are matched up with the candidates answers and then they are shown who they align most closely with.

iSideWith generates state by state breakdowns so you can see which state supports which candidate. I tabulated the data and assigned the electoral votes to the winner of each state. iSideWith included a couple candidates in their questionnaire who will only be on the ballot in a handful of states so I excluded them, but I did include the Constitution, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, and Republican candidates.

The Results

Barack Obama, as the incumbent, wins a total of 217 electoral votes in 16 states. He wins the states you’d expect him to win - the west coast, north east and a few in the great lakes region.

Jill Stein (Green Party) beats out Obama in Vermont and Hawaii which are two of the most left leaning states and wins a total of 7 electoral votes.

Mitt Romney only wins 4 states - Utah, Alaska, South Dakota, and Alabama - and receives 21 votes.

Virgil Goode’s (Constitution Party) best showing was 3rd place in South Dakota, but generally placed in the back of the pack taking sixth in 43 states.

Ron Paul wins 3 states - Arizona, Wyoming, and North Dakota, but racked up the most second place finishes with 27. Paul received 17 electoral votes.

Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party) claims the title of President by collecting enough electoral votes to put him in the White House with 284 votes (270 is the magic number to win the presidency) by winning 28 states

My Thoughts

1. These results are what I would expect if the Commission of Presidential Debate gate keepers were to let Johnson into the debates, but as of right now they have set an arbitrary 15% threshold which instituted after Ross Perot almost upset the old party system when he was included in the debates when he was only polling at 7%. The debate appearances shot Perot up to 38% in the polls. Johnson would very likely follow Perot’s trajectory if Johnson was included in the general election debates.
2. When results are based on matching voters to candidates on issues you end up with minor parties winning some electoral votes because there is no wasted vote syndrome to deal with. You might expect a similar sort of result with alternative voting methods such as Ranked Choice Voting or Approval Voting with fully informed voters
3. The final question comes down to: Do we want a qualified candidate leading the country who 81.3% of question respondents agree with or someone with only 75% or 65% agreement?

Here is the spreadsheet with the calculations of the results based on iSideWith.com’s data as of July 18, 2012, at approximately 8PM ET.

[Note: updated map to fix some errors. ME and NV were marked as Obama winning, but Johnson was winner. WY was a tie for first with Paul/Johnson and IA was a tie for first with Obama/Johnson so these states are striped.]

Paul Festival Announces Gary Johnson And Judge Jim Gray As Speakers

One of the burning questions in the 2012 campaign is which way Ron Paul supporters would vote once their candidate was eliminated and would they embrace the candidacy of Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson.

Well, I think we may have some early indication as the former New Mexico Governor, as well as his VP nominee Judge Jim Gray, have been confirmed to speak at the three day Paul Festival in Tampa prior to the GOP Convention.

Paul Festival Announces Gary Johnson
Johnson and Judge Jim Gray Confirmed to Speak

Paul Festival announced today they had confirmed former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson to their list of speakers. Johnson joins an already packed collection of liberty advocates for the festival featuring vendors, speakers and live music.

The event will focus on working with independent minded voters from across the political spectrum. The event takes place August 24-26 in Tampa, Florida.

"I am grateful and excited to receive an invitation from Paul Festival and look forward to joining such a great gathering for liberty," said Governor Johnson. "I proudly stand by my record as a Governor who united voters from all parties and beliefs."

Gary Johnson has been a consistent advocate for working with all political parties and defending civil liberties. Judge Jim Gray, who served as as trial court judge in Orange County, California is joining Johnson as a confirmed speaker. Gray has long advocated for reform of the nation's drug laws and the, "War on Drugs."

Governor Johnson's attendance furthers Paul Festival's goal to band together against the political establishment," said chief organizer Bryan Simeon. "Gary Johnson spent a career unifying both the left and right and fighting to allow all voices to be heard."

The Festival's organizers have continued to emphasize the unity of liberal, conservative and libertarian elements in the event. Organizations from all over the political spectrum have been invited and the theme seems to have resonated with groups, elected officials and individuals. Since it was announced, the event has grown in size, tickets sold and media presence.To learn more Paul Festival, click here.

This could be the boost that Johnson, who endorsed Paul in 2008 and spoke at the Rally for the Republic event that Ron Paul and his supporters held prior to the 2008 GOP Convention, needs to get the backing of Paul's loyal legions of followers.

I know it's wishful thinking, especially given that Rand Paul has endorsed Mitt Romney, that Ron Paul himself would come out and endorse Gary Johnson.

But hell, stranger things have happened.

The R3VOLution Continues With Gary Johnson

H/T The Delaware Libertarian

Appearing on a lot of sites now that Rand Paul has endorsed Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum has announced he's going to take on the Ron Paul supporters at the convention, and Dr. Paul himself has said he won't be the nominee:

Gary Johnson At 6% Against Obama/Romney In Latest PPP Poll

Gary Johnson may be down a point from last month but his favorability rating has jumped 2 points to 6% and his unfavorability has dropped 3 points to 19%, with 75% still unsure.

Romney may be seeing a bump now that he has basically sown up the GOP nomination but as Reagan biographer Craig Shirley puts it, "conservatives will seriously consider walking away and looking at the candidacy of Gary Johnson."

I would also expect to Ron Paul supporters get over their sour grapes and come to their senses to back a Johnson candidacy once the GOP race is officially over. Paul's backers need to come to the realization that it is about the message, not the messenger, and that Gary Johnson best represents the limited-government, individual-liberty ideals that Dr Paul espouses.

Ron Paul's supporters need to remember that prior to his running, the Texas Congressman went as far as saying that he’d “most likely” throw his weight behind Johnson, stating “I can’t imagine endorsing anybody else” if he didn't enter the race.

I urge those of you in the Paul camp to get behind Gary Johnson. With your help we can push the former two-term New Mexico Governor over the FEC's arbitrary 15% bar to get on the debate stage against Barry and Mitt.

There is a choice this time around if we have any hopes of stopping Leviathan.

If you are a conservative, libertarian or independent who is considering voting for Romney solely because he is the lesser of two evils; just remember, you are still voting for an evil.

Via Memeorandum

It's Romney Time, What's A Ron Paul Supporter To Do?

By Chris W
The Libertarian Patriot

Stay the course, of course.

With Mittens fresh off of big wins in Florida and Nevada there is still a lot of race to run, 45 states to be exact, but it looks like it's Romney's to lose. A lot can happen between now and the GOP Convention, but we need to be realistic about Dr Paul's chances to win the nomination.

We can't give up however and Paul supporters still need to remain vocal in support of their chosen candidate because the important thing is to make sure that Ron Paul's message of Constitutional fidelity, limited government and non-interventionist foreign policy remains on the forefront of the GOP agenda.

There is also plan B.

Like Ron Paul, there will most likely be another candidate in the general election that shares his ideals of staying true to the intent of the founders; former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. Gov Johnson started the race as a GOP candidate but jumped ship to the Libertarian party after he received the "Ron Paul Treatment" from the mediots and party alike.

Gary Johnson too believes in Constitutional fidelity, limited government and non-interventionist foreign policy, presenting a viable alternative for Paul supporters come November.

As a two-term Governor, Johnson vetoed 750 spending bills and left New Mexico in far better shape than when he got there. Unlike the former Massachusetts Governor he did not force state run health care on the residents of his state with an increase in costs, but rather instituted a market-based approach to cut costs. Pound for pound Johnson's record as Governor of New Mexico trumps Romney's record as Governor of Massachusetts across the board.

Gary Johnson, like Romney, was also a successful businessman, turning his one-man handyman business into a company that employed over 1000 workers.

Ron Paul's steady 15-20% base of support needs to get behind Johnson in the general if we have any hopes of taking our Republic back. We need to be just as vocal and just as supportive of Gov Johnson if we want to push through the changes that Paul calls for.

The important thing for now is to stay in the fight to keep spreading the message of liberty. Ron Paul and his message needs to still be broadcast. It has been only through persistence that Ron Paul's message has gone from the fringe in the 2008 election to the mainstream today. The mediots and establishment still try to marginalize the message of liberty that Ron Paul promotes so we can't give up now.

We still need to spread the message because whether Ron Paul is the nominee or not, we need make sure Leviathan is brought to it's knees and Gary Johnson in 2012 is our next best hope for doing just that.