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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

2012 Gary Johnson to Quit Republican Party and Run as a Libertarian

Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Dec 20, 2011 at 5:22 PM

Politico says the Invisible Republican is about to make a third-party run for the presidency:

Gary Johnson will quit the Republican primaries and seek the Libertarian Party nomination instead, POLITICO has learned.

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. Libertarian state directors will be informed of Johnson’s plans on a conference call Tuesday night, a Johnson campaign source told POLITICO.

Johnson was in the first couple of Republican debates, where he struck people as a slightly more sensible Ron Paul: Pro-pot, but willing to compromise his libertarianism for mainstream political views on a couple of issues. (Dominic Holden says the main difference between Johnson and Paul is that Johnson "has control over his arms." Skip to 2:05 of this video to see what he means.) His greatest achievement to date is comparing the stimulus package with dogshit, which made him a minor celebrity for a day:

I hope the DNC is planning on propping up a Johnson run as much as they can. Every vote he gets is a vote against the Republican candidate.

Comments (16) RSS

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There's already a poll out showing that Ron Paul would just about exactly duplicate the 1992 Ross Perot results if he decides to run third-party. Johnson won't do as well as that, but still, it'd be a great day for the Democrats.

Posted by Fnarf

on December 20, 2011 at 5:45 PM

From a 1999 Equine Posterior Nomination list

"New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. Gov. Johnson not only proposed a voucher bill that eventually would have covered every single student in the state of New Mexico, he also vetoed all education appropriations measures when he didn't get his way, throwing the state's budget process into a total crisis."

Cuz our national budget process needs more political driven tantrums, right?

Posted by bedipped on December 20, 2011 at 6:22 PM

Considering the Obama administration's all-out war on medical marijuana, Governor Johnson may not just siphon votes from the Republican.

Posted by Fritz on December 20, 2011 at 7:09 PM

Is the Libertarian Party like the Universal Life Church, where anyone can just fill out the proper paperwork and get ordained? It seems like a political "safety school" for some candidates.

Posted by Wicked Virgin

on December 20, 2011 at 7:15 PM

What @3 said. Count me as a probable Obama voter who would seriously consider a protest vote for Johnson in the general.

Posted by bleedingheartlibertarian on December 20, 2011 at 7:16 PM

Nah. I don't think Johnson could siphon off enough votes from the eventual republican nominee to make any difference.

What we really need is an independent run by Sarah Palin or someone like that. Someone who could make a real difference in the outcome of the election. And by that I mean: completely fuck up any possible chance the republicans have.

Posted by Reverse Polarity on December 20, 2011 at 7:27 PM

Do pot smokers actually get around to voting, protest or otherwise?

Posted by Bub on December 20, 2011 at 8:03 PM

@7: maybe not, but this child of a leukemia patient who suffered way more than he really needed to does vote, and has a memory.

Posted by TheRain on December 20, 2011 at 9:57 PM

@7: Given the huge numbers of pot smokers out there (let alone ex-pot smokers...Clinton, Bush, Obama, Gingrich, Ginsburg, McGinn, ad nauseam), your question kind of answers itself now don't it?

Posted by gnossos on December 20, 2011 at 10:14 PM

@7: I think there are plenty of would-be pot smokers out there who simply won't risk their jobs, safety, families, etc, to do it, but would be willing to vote for its legalization if given the chance.

Posted by snapdragon on December 20, 2011 at 10:24 PM

Palin-Johnson 2012!!

Posted by MarkyMark on December 20, 2011 at 11:01 PM

Gary Johnson is the most sensible GOP candidate, read all about it. Opposes the death penalty! Believes the War on Drugs should be ended. Wants campaign finance reform. Pro LGBT! Want an end the patriot act, etc.

I mean sure, he also dislikes Roe v. Wade, but he's a Republican. Come on. Compare to Gingrich or Paul, this guy is a prince.

Posted by Westlake, son! on December 20, 2011 at 11:47 PM

Hmm... will Dan Choi follow him to the Libertarian Party?

http://news.yahoo.com/lt-dan-choi-consid…

Posted by Andy Niable on December 21, 2011 at 2:30 AM

He can't get any less attention than he already is. But since nobody wants to vote for him as a Republican, I wonder what makes him think anybody will want to vote for him as an independent?

Posted by Aurora Erratic

on December 21, 2011 at 3:11 AM

@3 i certainly won't vote for obama, who i don't agree w/ on any policy (and don't talk to me about his speeches, i look at actions). i may vote for johnson. it appears we agree on at least one policy. amongst known candidates, he's in the lead as far as that goes.

Posted by philosophy school dropout on December 21, 2011 at 12:34 PM

The LIbertarian Party is a real political party, so Gary Johnson does not get to be the LP Presidential nominee just because he wants to be. He'll first need to convince a majority of delegates at the LP National Convention that he is in fact deserving of the LP nomination.

Posted by AndyHat on December 21, 2011 at 8:57 PM