Gary Johnson 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GOV. GARY JOHNSON CALLS FEDERAL RAID ON MARIJUANA ADVOCATE’S HOME AN “OUTRAGE”
Calls Obama Crack-Down Harrassment
April 3, 2012, Washington, DC – Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, seeking the Libertarian Presidential nomination, today assailed the Obama Administration for ” a systematic crack-down on medical marijuana as allowed by state law”. Johnson said the Obama Administration’s action was contrary to the President’s assurances on the issue in 2008 and a memo released by his Justice Department two years ago.
Responding to searches conducted Monday by federal agents of the home and business of a long-time Oakland, CA, marijuana legalization advocate, Johnson called on the Obama Administration to “find better things to do with our tax dollars than raiding Richard Lee’s home in a selective enforcement of bad law.”
Monday morning, federal agents executed search warrants at the home of Richard Lee, a well-known advocate for marijuana legalization in California, and at an Oakland cannabis industry trade school Lee founded. The school, as well as Lee’s other medical marijuana businesses, are operated in accordance with California law and local ordinances. Monday’s searches appear to be part of an on-going effort by the government to assert federal enforcement against California’s medical marijuana laws.
Johnson, a vocal advocate for drug law reform, said, “It defies belief that, at the very same time that President Obama is standing in the Rose Garden with the President of Mexico talking about efforts to reduce drug-related violence, his federal agents are harassing a respected advocate for sensible drug law reform by raiding his home and business and ‘detaining’ him for questioning. Richard Lee isn’t the problem. Failed marijuana prohibition is the problem, and making an ‘example’ of a citizen who is operating within state and local law is not only offensive, but a massive waste of law enforcement time and money.
“It wasn’t enough to send in the DEA and the U.S. Marshals. They felt compelled to send the Internal Revenue Service in as well. The voters of California have made it clear that they regard medical marijuana, regulated and dispensed in a safe manner, to be acceptable in their communities. Do the Feds not have more pressing responsibilities than to persecute those, like Richard Lee, who are simply trying to provide a service those communities have clearly said they want?
“I would like to think America is not a place where the federal police come knocking on the doors of legitimate businesses and private homes just to ‘enforce’ laws that make no sense and to shut down private enterprises that are, in fact, reducing harm and offering an alternative to the dangers of the illegal drug trade.”
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Gary Johnson At 7% In Latest PPP Poll
The latest PPP Poll has the former two-term New Mexico Governor holding steady, for the third straight month, at 7% in a three way race against Barry and Mittens. 7% with a full 74% of those polled having no opinion of Gov Johnson.
Should Johnson win the Libertarian Party nomination, and the free press that comes with it, his stock will surely rise. Add to that the army of disaffected Ron Paul supporters who will be looking for a looking for a liberty minded candidate to get behind in November and Gary Johnson has the potential to jump up quickly to the 15-20% range rather quickly.
As a socially liberal, fiscal conservative who won two terms as a Republican in a Democratic leaning New Mexico, Johnson has broad appeal not only to Libertarians but to Independents, as well as centrist Democrats and Republicans.
A self-made man, Gary Johnson turned a one-man handyman business into one of the largest construction companies in New Mexico with over 1,000 employees.
While Governor, Johnson earned the nickname "Governor Veto" for his vetoes of over 750 spending bills, cut over 1,200 government jobs while adding 20,000 jobs to the state and left NM with a budget surplus when his terms were up. He is also a firm believer in our Constitution and the vision our Founders had for our Republic.
Gary Johnson will also be the only anti-war candidate in the race. Not only would he put an end to our interventionist foreign policy and it's foreign wars, but also the domestic wars against American citizens that are being waged on our liberty by the ever expanding police state. A viewpoint shared by the majority of Americans.
So, as the dust begins to settle in the GOP race, you need to ask yourself who do you want to be President in 2012? Do you want Obama, Obama-lite (Romney) or someone who has the experience and track record to effectively govern our nation?
If you choose the latter, please visit GaryJohnson2012.com and lend your support.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
It's Romney Time, What's A Ron Paul Supporter To Do?
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.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Can Johnson do what Perot couldn't?
Someone mentioned Ross Perot in a comment on Governor Gary Johnson's Facebook page. It got me thinking, “Are there any similarities between Perot's campaign from 20 years ago to Johnson's campaign this year?”
I hadn't thought about Perot much in the last 10 years, but he was the candidate who got me excited about politics when I was at the age that I was able to cast my first vote for president.
I was a student working my way through college at the Department of the Navy. Perot's business background, outsider status, and focus on balancing the budget were a huge draw for me. Yeah, he had big ears and spoke funny, but I wanted to look at the substance of the candidates.
Perot was focusing on the big issue of the deficit from a business perspective. Working for the Navy I saw a lot of waste and inefficiency. I had some coworkers who were only voting for Bush simply because he'd keep their jobs as Window's Solitaire players. I, on the other hand, was getting a paycheck and seeing a large chunk taken out in taxes. I had to live within my means and thought government should be doing so, too.
I had some notion that America found her success because of innovation as a result of entrepreneurs taking risks, trying new things, and not following the same old way of doing things. The Democrats and Republicans were in control for 140 years, and they acted like a dynasty. I couldn't comprehend, and still can't, why is something good just because that's the way it has always been -- whether it was Galileo confronting The Church about the world being flat, Rosa Parks challenging 200+ years of laws treating blacks differently than whites, or Apple challenging IBM/Microsoft about how people should interact with computers. All systems can use a reality check from time to time. Perot was the 1992 reality check, and Johnson is the 2012 reality check.
Gary Johnson’s run for President as a third party candidate shares many similarities to Perot's run.
• Both were successful entrepreneurs.
• Main issue: Balancing the budget.
• Polling at 9% in nationwide polls prior to the Democratic/Republican debate.
• Large populist resentment toward establishment politicians.
At Perot's peak he was polling at 39%. This was after he was included in the debates with Bush and Clinton. He focused on the budget, and he had some good zingers. Americans were ready for a change.
Things unraveled for Perot when he dropped out of the race due black helicopters and some doctored photos that someone was going to release to ruin his daughter's wedding. Although he reentered the race in October. His momentum had crashed, and he only managed to win 19,741,065 million votes or about 19% of the vote. If he hadn't dropped out and back in many people think he could have won the presidency.
Even with his 19% showing in 1992 only 1/3 of voters thought a third party candidate was needed. Twenty years later this has doubled to 2/3s of voters willing to vote for third party candidate, with the greatest support among the independents. The major parties have been losing membership and the independent ranks have been growing. Congressional approval ratings are the lowest they have ever been. We see a huge popular resentment from both the right with the Tea Party, from the left with The Occupy Movement and with many independents empathizing with one or the other or both of them. We all oppose crony capitalism. We all oppose the unfairness of politically connected people getting loopholes in the tax code. We all would like to see our taxes lower. Johnson's third party run appeals to the current popular resentment across the board.
Moving forward:
Perot's success was similar to what we've seen in the GOP primary this year - a rotating flavor of the month based on the media's highlighting one of them after a debate performance. Perot received a similar and substantial bump jumping from 9% to 39% in the polls after being able to debate Clinton and George H. Bush.
The Democrats and Republicans saw the debate criteria used by the League of Women Voters as broken. They took over the debates with a new "non-partisan debate commission" made up of former RNC and DNC chairs and set the minimum polling level to 15% to make sure another Perot like situation would be unlikely in the future.
Johnson is polling at 9% nationally so he is within striking distance of the 15% in national polls. He will need some help from the liberty movement which is currently focusing all their attention on Ron Paul. [I'm assuming the GOP establishment won't allow Paul to be their nominee, but Paul will finish a strong second place. I also don't think Paul will run third party due to a variety of reasonings including sore loser laws which might keep him off the ballot in some major states like Texas, and because he's probably looking toward his son's Rand's future in the GOP as a potential presidential candidate for 2016.] Paul will stay in the GOP race until the GOP convention in August at which time he might endorse Johnson's candidacy. Paul has stated in the past that "Johnson's the only candidate he could possibly support." Even without an endorsement many of the Paul supporters already have their eyes on Johnson as their backup candidate, so Johnson could see a huge influx of money and volunteers at the end of August which will be timed just right to start attracting the typical voters who aren't paying any attention to politics now, but will pay more attention in September and October. Johnson getting to 15% and being in the debate with Obama and Romney will boost Johnson's name recognition and with a decent debate performance and another joke about his neighbor’s dogs he could easily jump to 30% in the polls.
After people hear about Johnson it's a simple matter of voters learning Johnson's background. Successful entrepreneur, successful 2-term Republican governor of a democratic state who is still very popular at home, someone who puts issues before politics, and who's views line up with the majority of America. He never courted the extreme left or right, but talking about issues the the majority of America agrees with and bringing his track record as a businessman and a Governor to help fix the current problems in our country.
I hadn't thought about Perot much in the last 10 years, but he was the candidate who got me excited about politics when I was at the age that I was able to cast my first vote for president.
I was a student working my way through college at the Department of the Navy. Perot's business background, outsider status, and focus on balancing the budget were a huge draw for me. Yeah, he had big ears and spoke funny, but I wanted to look at the substance of the candidates.
Perot was focusing on the big issue of the deficit from a business perspective. Working for the Navy I saw a lot of waste and inefficiency. I had some coworkers who were only voting for Bush simply because he'd keep their jobs as Window's Solitaire players. I, on the other hand, was getting a paycheck and seeing a large chunk taken out in taxes. I had to live within my means and thought government should be doing so, too.
I had some notion that America found her success because of innovation as a result of entrepreneurs taking risks, trying new things, and not following the same old way of doing things. The Democrats and Republicans were in control for 140 years, and they acted like a dynasty. I couldn't comprehend, and still can't, why is something good just because that's the way it has always been -- whether it was Galileo confronting The Church about the world being flat, Rosa Parks challenging 200+ years of laws treating blacks differently than whites, or Apple challenging IBM/Microsoft about how people should interact with computers. All systems can use a reality check from time to time. Perot was the 1992 reality check, and Johnson is the 2012 reality check.
Gary Johnson’s run for President as a third party candidate shares many similarities to Perot's run.
• Both were successful entrepreneurs.
• Main issue: Balancing the budget.
• Polling at 9% in nationwide polls prior to the Democratic/Republican debate.
• Large populist resentment toward establishment politicians.
At Perot's peak he was polling at 39%. This was after he was included in the debates with Bush and Clinton. He focused on the budget, and he had some good zingers. Americans were ready for a change.
Things unraveled for Perot when he dropped out of the race due black helicopters and some doctored photos that someone was going to release to ruin his daughter's wedding. Although he reentered the race in October. His momentum had crashed, and he only managed to win 19,741,065 million votes or about 19% of the vote. If he hadn't dropped out and back in many people think he could have won the presidency.
Even with his 19% showing in 1992 only 1/3 of voters thought a third party candidate was needed. Twenty years later this has doubled to 2/3s of voters willing to vote for third party candidate, with the greatest support among the independents. The major parties have been losing membership and the independent ranks have been growing. Congressional approval ratings are the lowest they have ever been. We see a huge popular resentment from both the right with the Tea Party, from the left with The Occupy Movement and with many independents empathizing with one or the other or both of them. We all oppose crony capitalism. We all oppose the unfairness of politically connected people getting loopholes in the tax code. We all would like to see our taxes lower. Johnson's third party run appeals to the current popular resentment across the board.
Moving forward:
Perot's success was similar to what we've seen in the GOP primary this year - a rotating flavor of the month based on the media's highlighting one of them after a debate performance. Perot received a similar and substantial bump jumping from 9% to 39% in the polls after being able to debate Clinton and George H. Bush.
The Democrats and Republicans saw the debate criteria used by the League of Women Voters as broken. They took over the debates with a new "non-partisan debate commission" made up of former RNC and DNC chairs and set the minimum polling level to 15% to make sure another Perot like situation would be unlikely in the future.
Johnson is polling at 9% nationally so he is within striking distance of the 15% in national polls. He will need some help from the liberty movement which is currently focusing all their attention on Ron Paul. [I'm assuming the GOP establishment won't allow Paul to be their nominee, but Paul will finish a strong second place. I also don't think Paul will run third party due to a variety of reasonings including sore loser laws which might keep him off the ballot in some major states like Texas, and because he's probably looking toward his son's Rand's future in the GOP as a potential presidential candidate for 2016.] Paul will stay in the GOP race until the GOP convention in August at which time he might endorse Johnson's candidacy. Paul has stated in the past that "Johnson's the only candidate he could possibly support." Even without an endorsement many of the Paul supporters already have their eyes on Johnson as their backup candidate, so Johnson could see a huge influx of money and volunteers at the end of August which will be timed just right to start attracting the typical voters who aren't paying any attention to politics now, but will pay more attention in September and October. Johnson getting to 15% and being in the debate with Obama and Romney will boost Johnson's name recognition and with a decent debate performance and another joke about his neighbor’s dogs he could easily jump to 30% in the polls.
After people hear about Johnson it's a simple matter of voters learning Johnson's background. Successful entrepreneur, successful 2-term Republican governor of a democratic state who is still very popular at home, someone who puts issues before politics, and who's views line up with the majority of America. He never courted the extreme left or right, but talking about issues the the majority of America agrees with and bringing his track record as a businessman and a Governor to help fix the current problems in our country.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Got Jobs? Johnson, Romney, Obama
Jobs are the top issue on the minds of many Americans so what are the front runner candidates records on jobs for their respective parties?
Charles Lupton created a nice job growth graphic for the POTUS candidates with executive experience.
Charles Lupton write:
Charles Lupton created a nice job growth graphic for the POTUS candidates with executive experience.
Charles Lupton write:
Percent Job Growth Under POTUS Candidates (Note: I used fiscal years Sept 09' - Sept 11' for Barrack Obama otherwise he would be negative starting from Jan 09' - Jan 11'). This data is seasonally adjusted data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Links to back up data:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jobs_created_during_U.S._presidential_terms
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/06/chart-which-gop-candidate-has-best-record-job-growth/39053/
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/270098/which-gop-candidate-has-best-job-growth-record-katrina-trinko
P.S. I created the graphic and release it to the public domain. I'm not a professional and incurred no cost in it's creation so feel free to use it without charge.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Gary Johnson To Announce Jump To Libertarian Party on 12/28
My preference is that he announces a run for Senate in New Mexico but he didn't ask my opinion.
Politico
Politico
Gary Johnson will quit the Republican primaries and seek the Libertarian Party nomination instead, POLITICO has learned.Via Memeorandum
The former two-term New Mexico governor, whose campaign for the GOP nomination never caught fire, will make the announcement at a press conference in Santa Fe on Dec. 28. Johnson state directors will be informed of his plans on a campaign conference call Tuesday night, a Johnson campaign source told POLITICO.
The move has been expected for weeks — Johnson had run a New Hampshire-centric effort that never got him past a blip in the polls. He appeared at only two nationally televised debates, and only one in which other major candidates took part.
Johnson has announced the Dec. 28 event on his Facebook page. Campaign spokesman Joe Hunter said only that it would be “a significant announcement.”
Calling news of the switch “the worst kept secret,” Libertarian Party Chairman Mark Hinkle said the Santa Fe event will include a press conference at which Johnson will switch his voter registration to Libertarian.
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