Why I Like Johnson

H/T Libertarian Republican

Eric in the comments at Classical Values says that you should check out this interview in GQ.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Why Isn't Gary Johnson Included?

Here is a little ditty I got by e-mail.

Republican Liberty Caucus Advisory Board member Gary Johnson, the former two-term Governor of New Mexico, is being excluded from the upcoming CNN/WMUR/New Hampshire Union-Leader Republican Presidential debate taking place in Manchester on Monday, June 13.

Maybe it has something to do with the criteria for being in the debate.

According to these criteria, the following invited candidates should not have been:

Former Ambassador Jon Huntsman (who declined the invitation)
[snip]
Former Senator Rick Santorum:
[snip]
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (who declined the invitation):
[snip]

Gov. Johnson, who was included in last month’s debate in SC and has already been accepted for next month’s debate in NV, and who has consistently polled alongside Santorum and above Huntsman, however, did not receive such special treatment. The several declined invitations proves that Gov. Johnson was not excluded for want of space on the debate stage.

Read the whole thing to get all the details.

What can you do about it? I'm glad you asked. You can contact these folks:

CNN
(404) 827-1500 or (202) 898-7900
Text: CNN (space) and your news tip to 772937 (don’t forget the space after CNN).
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form1.html
Twitter: @CNN or @teamCNN

WMUR
http://www.wmur.com/contact/index.html
(603) 669-9999
Twitter: @WMUR9

Union Leader
publisher@unionleader.com
http://www.unionleader.com/tip
(603) 668-4321 Twitter: @unionleader

With Twitter, use hashtag #GJ2012 or #GJinNH.

There is also a petition to sign. I was #392 (roughly). It is going to take at least 10,000 sigs to draw any attention. Get busy. And get your friends.

So who is scheduled so far for the debate?

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, businessman Herman Cain, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum...

Maybe if Johnson remains obscure he will have a better chance of being picked by Palin. Maybe not.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

The Next Ron Paul?

To tell you the truth I'm not entirely comfortable with the last one. His policy re: the jihadis is not very sound in my opinion. In any case the both agree about drug prohibition.

"I really wanted to take a hard look at the war on drugs in this country, and I wanted to include legalization as a potential alternative to what we were doing," Johnson told the audience, to cheers.

If it's any indication of Ron Paul's effect on Republican politics, CPAC's young audience has taken on a more libertarian strain since his 2008 run. Last year, Paul won the presidential straw poll, to the surprise of many.

In 2012, the libertarians in the Republican party will be looking for somewhere to go. Paul has not yet said whether he intends to run.

A marijuana legalizer will probably not win the White House any time soon. Johnson himself says the nation is two years away from a tipping point on the issue, when it stops being "the one issue you can't talk about and get elected." According to that timeline, the tipping point will occur several months after the 2012 Election Day.

But Johnson's campaign could surprise, in the same way Paul's did.

"Gary Johnson could very well make a strong showing in the New Hampshire primary. 'Live Free or Die,' after all, is their motto," estimates Ethan Nadelmann, who heads the Drug Policy Alliance.

I expect we will see legalization as a winning issue by 2015 or 2016. Why?

"A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." - Max Planck

The same goes for political questions.