Gary Johnson,
the Libertarian Alternative
by Vance Justice – from The Local Voice #167
Download the PDF here
Before we examine whether you should consider voting for Gary Johnson and why, let’s do a little house-keeping. If you are a die-hard Democrat or Republican who votes for your party’s candidate no matter what, or you are happy with the direction the two major parties are taking our country, or you are absolutely enthralled with either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, please stop reading this and go do something productive. Nothing I can say is likely to change your mind, and our economy needs every little bit of help you can provide. Otherwise, please read on.
Now that we’ve taken care of that, we can move on to the reasons why you should consider voting for Gary Johnson.
Let’s tackle the easy ones first. Are you a libertarian? Do you believe that you own yourself, and that you have inherent rights which the state may not violate? Are you in favor of protecting and promoting free minds and free markets? If you can answer ‘yes’ to any of those, then Gary Johnson is the obvious choice. He is the only candidate who promises not to interfere with your rights to live your life and dispose of your property as you see fit, as long as you respect the rights of others. All of the other candidates promise to violate your rights in one way or another.
Are you a Democrat, Republican, or independent who feels that the major parties’ policies and candidates don’t reflect the principles they have promised to uphold? Perhaps you are an anti-war Democrat betrayed by President Obama’s continuation of Bush’s wars and his initiation of new wars in Libya, Yemen, and elsewhere.
Maybe you are free-market Republican who isn’t sure Mitt Romney is serious about reducing government interference in the economy. Alternatively you may be an independent concerned about the accelerating erosion of our civil liberties by bipartisan laws such as the Patriot Act and the NDAA. You might also be a member or sympathizer of the Occupy movement who wants to end crony capitalism.
If you find yourself in such circumstances, please consider voting for Gary Johnson. He will end the wars, get the government out of boardrooms and bedrooms, restore our civil liberties, and stop government from granting economic favors to individuals, businesses, and industries. Gary Johnson has proven that he has the personal and political courage and determination to do such things, having cast a record-setting 175 vetoes as New Mexico’s governor. He even climbed Mount Everest. Yes, he IS badass.
At this point, you may be thinking, “I like Gary Johnson, but he isn’t going to win. Why should I vote for him?” or “I’m not very happy with my party’s policies or candidate, but I’m afraid (insert whichever candidate scares you the most) will win if I don’t vote against him!” For the first situation, voting one’s conscience, even when your preferred candidate doesn’t have much chance of winning, sends a message to the parties you didn’t vote for. It tells them that they must earn your vote by making changes in their policies or selecting candidates you can support. For the second situation, let’s do a little reality check.
If you are reading this publication, chances are that you will be voting in Mississippi or one of the neighboring states. Assuming that’s true, Mitt Romney is going to carry your state by a comfortable margin, and there is nothing you can do to change that. (It doesn’t take a Nostradamus to make that prediction.) You are free to express your dissatisfaction without fear of casting the deciding vote. If you’re worried about what your friends might think, they don’t have to know. That’s the second best thing about ballot secrecy.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to ask you to check out the Libertarian Party candidates in the down-ballot races, especially Danny Bedwell, the candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in the First District. Actually, Danny says that he’s running ‘against’ Congress. I can personally vouch for Danny; he’s a true patriot in the best sense of the word, and a fine libertarian (and Libertarian, for those of you who know the difference).
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