FORMER NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR THE ONLY CHOICE FOR FISCAL CONSERVATIVES, SOCIAL LIBERTARIANS
Last December this website enthusiastically endorsed U.S. Rep. Ron Paul’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination – and specifically the “First in the South” presidential primary here in South Carolina.
Did Paul win? No … although his support here in the Palmetto State quintupled from its 2008 level.
Why did we back a long shot like Paul? That’s easy: Because unlike virtually every other “Republican” in America – and particularly the “Republican” chosen to be his party’s 2012 standard bearer – Ron Paul actually walks the walk.
“When it comes to Ron Paul, concepts like constitutionally-limited government, free markets, individual liberty and fiscal restraint aren’t merely spoken at the moment into a waiting bank of cameras – they have been given repeated, courageous expression (via) more than three decades of lonely, unpopular votes in the U.S. Congress,” we wrote in our endorsement.
GOP nominee Mitt Romney? His commitment to these fundamental principles – to the extent he’s ever been committed to anything beyond his own political ambition – is “subject to change.”
You know … like an Etch-A-Sketch.
Also Romney has made it perfectly clear that he’s not interested in doing the hard work of cutting government – a shameful display of cowardice given the deepening hole into which future generations of U.S. taxpayers are currently being pushed. Hell, Romney wants to expand military spending by more than $2 trillion over the coming decade. In what universe is that conservative?
It’s not … it’s neocon pandering.
Also Romney has made it perfectly clear that any tax relief provided by his administration will be “revenue neutral,” meaning it will be offset by tax hikes elsewhere in government.
How on earth is that going to stimulate the economy? It isn’t …
Therefore on our two bread-and-butter issues – taxes and spending – Romney has offered very little to distinguish himself from Obama. Which isn’t all that surprising given the ideological symmetry these two have demonstrated in the past on issues like socialized medicine and immigration.
Hell, Obama is actually better on Second Amendment issues than the former Massachusetts governor.
Despite Romney’s atrocious record on freedom and free markets, we are routinely castigated by “Republicans” who say we are throwing away our vote – or handing the election to Obama – by supporting another candidate.
Our response?
“They don’t want to earn (our) votes, mind you, they just want them – and they believe that they are entitled to them by virtue of the fact that their pseudo-socialist nominee is running against a pseudo-socialist president,” we wrote two months ago. “We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, if Republicans wanted our votes – they should have nominated a presidential candidate we can support.”
We’re not the only ones who feel that way either.
“This election … the Republican Party nominee has failed to demonstrate a consistent commitment to conservative principles,” the editorial board of The Chattanooga Times Free Press wrote. “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.”
He’s too flawed to earn our endorsement either.
Accordingly, this website is proud to lend its support to the only 2012 presidential candidate with a proven track record of fighting for the fiscal values and individual liberties that we hold dear: Gary Johnson, the former Republican governor of New Mexico (and the Libertarian Party nominee for president).
Johnson is a tireless supporter of free market reforms like universal parental choice and an outspoken critic of failed government interventions (like America’s ‘War on Drugs‘). He’s also a fiscal conservative rock star who makes the Chris Christies and Mark Sanfords of the world look positively timid by comparison.
During his two terms as governor of New Mexico, Johnson used his veto pen more than the nation’s other 49 governors combined – blocking tax hikes, slashing government growth in half and eliminating his state’s budget deficit. In fact, “Governor Veto” left his state with a $1 billion surplus.
That sounds a lot like a recipe that the federal government should be following right about now …
In a country that desperately needs a principled leader to stand up and say “No” to the swarming special interests, crony capitalists and bureaucratic purveyors of dependance in Washington, D.C., Gary Johnson is the only candidate who seems to have any conception of what the word “No” means.
And let’s be clear, saying “No” isn’t a rejection of people’s needs – it’s a courageous embrace of economic and individual freedoms that enable society to meet these needs without relying on perpetual handouts.
Corporate or otherwise …
Whereas “Obamney” will keep us moving down the “road to serfdom,” Johnson will actually force our country to take the painful steps necessary to eliminate its soaring deficits, restore our crumbling free markets and reclaim our eroding liberties.
Of course these steps won’t be painful for long … because the sooner we rid ourselves of multiple layers of excess government (and eliminate government’s excessive intervention in our economy) the sooner we will usher in an era of expanded prosperity for all classes.
Obviously we don’t agree with Johnson on every issue. We believe he should have stayed out of the marriage equality debate (government shouldn’t sanction marriages – gay or straight) and we disagree with his unilateral opposition to the use of unmanned drones in combat situations.
But Johnson’s flaws are minor compared to the glaring inadequacies of his two major party opponents … which is why it’s a shame he was completely ignored by the mainstream press and excluded from all three presidential debates.
There are indeed two paths America can go by in the coming election … but the fork in the road ahead of us has nothing to do with Obama versus Romney and everything to do with choosing real “hope and change” over four more years of big government bipartisanshit.
Johnson is the only candidate proposing to move us down the right path.
***
62 comments
Go Gary GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
…off to meet with Ron Paul, Ross Perot, Governor Moonbeam, Lyndon Larouche and the rest of the “never weres”.
It never ceases to amaze me. Repulitards and Demlicraps will stand around saying that the likes of Ron Paul (Lower Taxes, End the Fed, Keep your nose out of others business {The ONLY true conservative position}, fewer regulations on business, ETC. AD INFINITEM) are nuts. Crazy Talk! Oh the Horror, where is Their Humanity.
Yet the undisputed rock that holds up the foundation, the Repulicrats and the Demlicans (Higher Taxes, Increased regulation on business, Increased regulation of personal property and freedoms, Start a war at the drop of a hat, etc. ad infinitem) are truly a God send on the American Public.
WTF!! Pitchforks Anyone??
Have a Great Day!! :)
Frank pytel
Don’t look now, but hurricane sandy and an arctic cold mass will snow in Obama votes. Romney in a landslide…er ah, blizzard!
He is heads and shoulders the only viable candidate.
take a bath you stinking call center Indian Pytel
I noticed a cap on the Y in my last name on the Taylor Swift post. You know, if you can’t manage to spell it correctly, I always do TATA NANO. Its done like this. Ctrl+c > Right Click > Ctrl+v. It will actually save you more time to play games with T after school and on weekends.
Have a Great Day!! :)
Frank Pytel
Ol’Strom actully won 4 states and pulled 39 Electoral College votes in 1948.
Wallace won 5 states and pulled 48 votes in 1968.
Nobody since Wallace has won a state or a vote – pulling for third party candidates in presidential elections is nothing more than masturbation – speaking of which, Robert Burck, the naked Cowboy, is running as well.
Ross Perot won Maine in either 1992 or 1996.
Nope, Perot had imploded by the time the election rolled around in 92 and was really a non factor by 96.
$1 billion surplus??? Sounds like Bill Clinton’s terms before GWB was elected and the R’s ran amok (only to later blame it all on Obama).
There was no surplus. They robbed the SS trust fund and cooked the books. You know the kind of thing that sent the world com execs to jail, but its ok to cook the books if you are the government.
I do support some of Gary’s positions, but not enough to truly want to vote for him. We definitely need to break the two party bullshit apart. Hell, even having a third candidate in the debates would be a massive improvement.
Only if one of he was armed with a paintball gun and authorized to shoot the others any time they strayed from the truth one iota.
Can the paintballs be filled with mace?
+1 for Rufus, +3 for Smirks
If a candidate gains 5% of the popular vote, as well as being on the ballot in all 50 states, that person is considered to be a major contestant. That person would legally be allowed on the stage at the presidential debates. If someone made it, just one time, they could expose the democrats and republicans for what they are. A wasted vote this election could be the best shot at breaking the “two-party” system next election! I think all third party voters should put their eggs in one basket, just to break the two party system. Then, hash out their smaller issues later.
A SURE sign the Liberals see Obama NOSEDIVING…
Plan B: pump up a Spoiler to take votes away from the Republcian…
Peoblem: Johnson is liberal enough to hurt Obama more than Romeny…
Plan B: pump up a Spoiler to take votes away from the Republcian…
Since when has Gary been pumped up? If anything, Republicans have been consistently trying to remove him from the ballot in various states, most notoriously PA. Maybe if the right didn’t desperately try to shun Ron Paul, some of his supporters wouldn’t feel inclined to break away from the GOP.
Shit for Brains (that’s you, Big T):
Gary Johnson’s platform is what true American Conservatism looks like. Yes, in the 18th century it was called Liberalism – but it was the ideology of Jefferson and Madison. Today, academics call it Classical Liberalism, but it is the philosophical underpinning of modern (1930-1988 anyway) conservatism in America. What shit for brains like you call conservatism (the bastard child ideology or Pat Robertson and Paul Wolfowitz) is statism and authoritarianism, but it is neither American nor Conservative.
Johnson has proven his credibility and does not flip flop… unlike the notorious party puppets Rom-Bama.
As if the candidate was a plant? Seriously? Isn’t that just a touch paranoid?
Johnson is the most credible candidate and speaks to the issues without a script. How about that – a candidate with a brain and ability to speak without being coached!!
Gary Johnson has my vote.
Obama = serious disappointment. He has not earned my vote.
Romney = scary liar. Not even close in consideration. His 47%’ers comment alone is disturbing. But that’s what happens when he doesn’t have a script.
Live Free
crackahasscrackah
Excellent Post!! Kudos
Frank Pytel :)
I am no longer sure of who will win this election. Except that it won’t be Gary.
Gary Johnson is easily the best choice for president:
Real executive experience as 8 years as Governor of New Mexico where he was known as Governor Veto for slashing the rate of government growth in half and creating a $1B surplus.
I don’t know how much the statist neo-cons and neo-libs in Congress would let him do with the budget, but I am confident that he would
end the real war in Afghanistan immediately (not in 2014).
end the phony, cynical “war on drugs.”
Clearly, Gary Johnson won’t win, but I am voting for him. As a South Carolinian, my vote for president doesn’t come close to counting. So, why in the hell would I waste it on a numbnut neo-con like Romney or a squishy-soft pseudo-intellectual neo-lib like Obama. In real life, there is not “a dime’s worth of difference” between the two, they just like play like there is on election year TV. They can both kiss my ass.
Like!!!
Spot on. I am a North Carolinian who shares your view of this farce we call an election.
To vote for who best matches your values is the best thing you can do. This lesser of two-evils, hold your nose stuff is stupid. Hopefully, in the future, more than two parties will be allowed to debate but they sure don’t want that to happen. It would upset the financial scam they got going on.
Agreed
If there are only two VIABLE choices, why is it stupid to pick the lesser of two evils? I don’t understand that way of thinking.
Sure, if you think both Candidates A and B are essentially the same, vote for Candidate C. But if you think that A is a clearly better (or less bad) choice than B, it’s much better to vote for A than to waste it on a symbolic vote for C.
Gary has zero chances of winning, but if enough people backed a third party candidate, it would possibly get the ball rolling on a third party eventually becoming viable. Not sure how feasible that really is at this time, though, since third parties have done much better historically to no avail.
Thank you Will, I always said you were a good guy!
http://Fortresspmg.com
to Ol’Rufus at 3.33pm: I would have thought that 9″ would have posted about the “naked cowboy”.
I don’t see Gary winning this time round, but assuming he chooses to run again in 4 years he may have a real shot.
By then (regardless whether or not Romney wins) we should be pretty fed up with both parties, and ready to give someone else a voice.
Johnson 2016
CORRECTION: Governor Gary Johnson supports drones as a tool to remain vigilant for national security threats, just as he supports retaining Guantanamo as a detention facility if such facility is needed for enemy combatants. It’s just that he doesn’t support using drones to kill innocents, nor does he support mistreating detainees. Thus, he’d never be operating drone strikes in Pakistan, and he’d close Guantanamo in a second if it continued under his watch to deny Due Process to its detainees.
As far as marriage equality, it’s an “Equal Access” issue: Governments should have no Power to deny the marriage contract to any committed couples.
Smirks,
I think Big ‘Ol T’s response is telling and what it’s telling me is that he’s really about 14 and hence not old enough to vote and hence he “…hasn’t had a chance …” to vote against Lindsay yet.
Didn’t Gary Johnson want to Tax us for Breathing (Cap and Tax) like Obama???…Blame man for the weather…
That would REALLY be a BOON to the Miserable Economy Obama already gave us…
And I saw some Dumb@$$ on here trying to claim this clown is Conservative…
When they Left Implodes (as they are now) they get KOOKY..(or should I say even Kookier)….
Graham backed cap-and-trade too. Have you voted against him? I wonder.
Have not had the chance yet, Dumb@$$…
No. Gary Johnson is for the Fair Tax. He is for stopping all of the wars, bringing the troops home tomorrow, balancing the budget in 2013, repealing the Patriot Act and NDAA, no sanctions against our allies or farm subsidies to Big Agriculture, complete transparency for political contributions, exchanging work visas for green cards, labeling of GMOs and enabling community based sustainable energy development. What’s not to like? We voted early for Gary Johnson. BESIDES: Mitt Romney is being investigated for Purjury and stock fraud, keeps money in off-shore accounts and owns companies that send jobs oversees. He has vowed to escalate the drone warfare, supports the Patriot Act and NDAA and wants to cut funding to the Public Broadcasting system while increasing military spending. Obama is guilty of war crimes, torture, assassinations, an increased police state and forgiving over 200 crimes of torture by CIA individuals during the Bush administration. Both Obama and Romney should not be allowed to hold office until they have been cleared of all allegations.
A vote for Johnson is a throw-away vote for Obama.
Better Obama than the pathological liar who panders to the rich and who will gladly start yet another war we can’t afford.
While I’m voting for Johnson, I realize that if this country is going to waste billions of dollars, I’d rather have it wasted giving some people health insurance than making more weapons to fight battles we have no business being in.
Yep. I’m not a fan of Romney, but I less worried about him than I am about Obama.
When Obama was first elected, I kept an open mind about him. I preferred him over McCain, largely due to McCain’s dramatic turn to the right with the Palin choice. But he has disappointed me with his class-warfare rhetoric (tax the rich, Travon could be my son, the police officer was clearly a racist, etc), the way he rammed down Obamacare, his stance on immigration, and his failure to present a credible budget or plan to trim the deficit in the future. Plus, he seems to thin-skinned and self-absorbed, like he’s drunk on the cult of personality around him. A weak leader.
Scott: You F*^%in Idiot CLICHE…we tried your IGNORANT $#!* for the Last 4 Years..and America is becoming a Laughing Stock in the World..and Americans cannot afford to feed their children because of your Socialst Bull$#!*…
Romeny made your god and savior Obama look like the idiot he is…and You LOST, an EFFed our country up in the process!!!!…So sit down and STFU…
Scott makes a good point!
Scott
Army Suicides This Year Exceed 2012 Combat Deaths in Afghanistan http://cnsnews.com/news/article/army-suicides-year-exceed-2012-combat-deaths-afghanistan
As far as I’m concerned with the “lesser evil” bullshit, Romney and Obama are equally evil. Neither will steer us from the greatest economic collapse this country will ever face. It might take a few years, but I think everyone who “wasted” a vote on Obama or Romney will regret it.
Some of you are confused as to what Governor Johnson truly stands for. Do your homework people. He has earned my and my wife’s vote. Go to http://WWW.garyjohnson2012.com and get educated. He’s the ONLY responsible choice
I think Gerald Celente has an interesting perspective in regard to voting for the *lesser* of two evils:
*I’m an avowed political atheist: I don’t believe in political religions nor do I bow to political gods. And I will not participate in their ritual by voting for what I (and millions of other Americans) regard as a choice between the lesser of two evils.
I do, however, believe in God and believe He would judge it a sin if I cast my vote for “evil” – be it the lesser or the greater.*
Gary Johnson takes us away from war and senseless killing. He understands the role of government is toro tact our civil liberties. he has our vote.
Fact : No matter who you vote for, SC and all her electoral votes will go to Romney.
If you live in Florida or Ohio, there is an infinitessimally small chance that your vote would make a difference. Not in SC.
So a vote for Johnson = a vote for Obama. So what?
Now, I believe that Romney is going to win the whole thing (because after 4 years of Obama, the economy still sucks.). An above expected showing by Gov. Johnson, in the popular vote, IMHO, would be a very positive thing.
If you live in SC and believe in liberty and the Constitution, you would be crazy NOT to vote for Gov. Johnson.
….and to pre-empt the whiny, “If everyone thinks like you, Obama could win SC and….”.
Bitch, if EVERYBODY thought like me, Ron Paul would be running. Unopposed.
HOOT HOOT HOOT HOOOT HOOOOTT
YEAH MAN!!
I need to buy you a brew. !!!!!!
Frank Pytel :)
you can see the crazy in the eye’s
Johnson delivers Va for Obama and joins his administration as the next Drug Czar. Smoke gets in your eyes.
NOT ONLY JOHNSON MAY DELIVER VIRGINIA TO OBAMA BUT ALSO A VIRGINIAN BY THE NAME OF VIRGIL GOODE TOO. I TRULY HOPE THAT THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY WILL GET A 5% NATIONAL VOTE FINALLY PUTTING IT INTO MAJOR PARTY STATUS AGAINST THE DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS. AND I HOPE TOO THAT REPUBLICANS WILL FINALLY FORSAKE THEIR NEO-CON PHILOSOPHY NAMELY BY PUTTING YOUNG MEN IN HARMS WAY TO GIVE WAY TO A IDEOLOGY OF DEFENSIVE AND NOT OFFENSIVE IN FOREIGN POLICY OR ELSE THE LIBERTARIANS SHOULD BE THE OTHER PARTY OF A TWO PARTY SYSTEM. THE ISSUE IS LIBERTY ABOVE ALL ELSE… VOTE LIBERTARIAN BECAUSE YOU ARE MAKING A NEW MAJOR PARTY TO COMPETE WITH THE OTHER TWO.
what crackahasscrackah said
It seems likely that Mitt Romney’s views and their tendency to be, “subject to change,” might simply reflect his responding to the market of voter tendency. Whereas we see political inconstancy, he sees business proficiency.
Johnson advocates severe near-term fiscal and monetary policy austerity. He would cut Medicare spending by 43 percent in the short term. He repeatedly insists that “we are in the midst of a monetary collapse” and says he favors returning the United States to a (deflationary) metallic currency standard. He says he would have opposed TARP and allowed systemically important banks to fail.
In other words, if Johnson had been president in 2008, he would have allowed the U.S. financial system to collapse and the country to fall into depression. And if he became president now, he would do his best to strangle the tepid recovery we are enjoying and turn it into another severe recession.
Had Johnson been president in 2008, he would not have put us into more war. Instead he would have brought the troops home, closed our overseas bases, and cared for our vets. drones cost between $4 & $11 MILLION. We have more than 7,000 of them. The subsidies our government pays cotton farmers in the US costs $143MILLION every year. Johnson said he would not pay such a subsidy. The Patriot Act and NDAA cost millions in apprehention, detainment, surveylance, riot gear and pepper spray. These two acts alone cost millions. The war on drugs costs millions in enforcement and incarcination of non-violent offenders. Do your homework. We need Johnson now.
Weather Forces Romney to Shift Lying to Other States
CINCINNATI (The Borowitz Report) — The threat of Hurricane Sandy has forced Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign to move its lying efforts from states in the path of the storm to others beyond the hurricane’s reach.
Starting yesterday, the Romney campaign began reallocating lies originally intended for Virginia to other swing states such as Ohio and Wisconsin, the campaign confirmed today.
“An emergency situation like this really tests how good your ground game is,” said campaign manager Matt Rhoades. “Fortunately, we have liars in all fifty states.”
But even as the Romney campaign expressed outward confidence about its ability to maintain an uninterrupted flow of whoppers, some Republicans privately feared that a major power outage could disrupt its ability to lie, distort, and exaggerate in the crucial days ahead.
“If Fox News gets knocked off the air in some of these states, we’re certainly going to be down a quart in terms of falsehoods,” one insider said.
But according to Vice-Presidential nominee Paul Ryan, who has been central to the campaign’s lying efforts, the severe weather is a challenge that “separates the men from the boys.”
“They’re expecting winds of up to seventy miles per hour,” he told reporters. “Fortunately, I can run eighty miles per hour.”
In Indiana, Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock weighed in on the approaching storm: “It says a lot about God that while he’s so busy impregnating women he still somehow finds the time to make a hurricane.”
Just found this letter ghost-written by Bobby Harrell in today’s P&C. This is what I expect from that third-rate fish-wrapping organization.
Harrell’s assets
Bobby Harrell is a statesman, and I am proud of his service to our great state.
In getting to know him, I have been most impressed by his dedication to advancing conservative principles that make South Carolina not just a great place for the average citizen to call home, but an attractive place for major businesses like Boeing.
Bobby Harrell spends most of his time doing what’s best for our state: Serving as an exemplar for other lawmakers in Columbia by working hard to encourage the passage of sound laws and to protect the tenets of our state’s constitution that matter most.
He is also an important member of our community, not just because of his leadership position in state government, but also because of his willingness to lend a hand to many important causes that make the Lowcountry a great place to call home.
It’s not uncommon for stones to be cast at people at the top of the political food chain. Having known a lot of political leaders, I can say I’ve yet to meet one without faults — after all, like the rest of us, they are but mere mortals.
Still, Bobby Harrell stands out among the long list of political leaders I know as a person of immense moral character, and someone who is guided by a strong moral compass.
South Carolina is at a pivotal point. Will we capitalize on the successes we have realized through many important business development efforts, in which Bobby Harrell has played important roles bringing to fruition?
Or will we say, “Let’s just be happy with all the new things we have”?
I’m confident most South Carolinians want more. And I know Bobby Harrell is not just someone who wants more for us, but someone who knows how to deliver results.
If we want South Carolina to be the best state it can be, we don’t just need a dedicated statesman like Bobby Harrell representing us in Columbia — we need more people just like him serving in state government.
James E. Livingston
Major General
U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)
Market Street
I’m tired of the press reporting the candidates as winning or losing, or of having various percentages of votes.
Obviously, the votes belong to the voters. It is voters who outnumber the candidates and all incumbents put together. It is voters who are in charge, if they would just take their blinders off.
The voters win or lose based on what they do. The candidates are just figureheads.
Gary Johnson best represents me, and he’s the only one not trying to make any voters lose.
I, of conservative/progressive values have been an ardent advocate of Gov. Johnson deep within the liberal haven that is the “Huffington Post.” And a financial supporter, for the first time in my 60 years of watching the fights come and go.
I don’t think we as a nation are best using the values we all have to contribute towards building a future that makes any sense! We live in a very 3-D world, yet because of the archaic electoral “college” we are confined to an eternally warring, 2-D party system never in agreement.
I am “firewired” on the Huffington Post; if you find yourself “fanning” my comments, you can view all of my earlier comments in support of Gov. Johnson for many months. His election CAN happen during this “perfect storm” of an election; but the bottom line is YOUR VOTE FOR HIM this ONE time!
Freedom 2012 — If not now, when? If not then, then what?