Though the 2012 election is for better or worse between President Barack Obama and GOP hopeful Mitt Romney, there are other third party candidates on the ballot in many states, including the Libertarian Party’s nominee, Gary Johnson. Though he’s been left out of the national debate stage, Johnson still has strong opinions about both candidates, opining that President Obama is no better than George W. Bush, and that Mitt Romney is simply “wacky nuts” and “without one molecule of brain.”
Johnson is undoubtedly the small-government candidate, having vetoed hundreds of bills that conflicted with his worldview during his eight years served as the Republican governor of New Mexico. He ran for president this year under the Republican ticket, but after being shut out time and time again, he opted to run under the Libertarian Party instead, becoming the nation’s most visible third-party candidate this election cycle (other than perhaps Roseanne Barr ). In an interview with Salon , Johnson shared a bit on his platform, as well as what he thinks about the two big-party candidates in this election.
Johnson’s basic platform:
“Well, I would not bomb Iran. I would get out of Afghanistan tomorrow, bring the troops home. I believe that marriage equality is a constitutionally guaranteed right. I would end the drug wars. I would advocate legalizing marijuana now. I would have never signed the Patriot Act. I would have never signed the National Defense Authorization Act allowing for arrests and detainment of you and me as U.S. citizens without being charged. I believe we need to balance the federal budget now and that means a $1.4 trillion reduction in federal spending now. When it comes to jobs, I’m advocating eliminating income tax, corporate tax, abolishing the IRS, and replacing all of that with one federal consumption tax. In this case, I am embracing the FairTax. I think that that’s really the answer when it comes to American jobs. In a zero corporate tax rate environment, if the private sector doesn’t create tens of millions of jobs, then I don’t know what it takes to create tens of millions of jobs.”
Johnson on President Obama:
“He promised he would not raid medical marijuana facilities in states where legislatures or citizens voted to implement those programs. But he’s cracking down on medical marijuana in California and Colorado. 180 degrees from what he promised! I also really thought we were going to get some really favorable movement on gay rights and marriage equality. And I was the last person who thought we were going to be in a military intervention situation under him, based on what he said during the campaign. But here we are. He is as militaristic as President Bush, as militaristic a president as we have ever had.”
Johnson on Mitt Romney:
“I mean Romney, in the second [GOP primary] debate, said that it’s a ‘no brainer’ to build a fence across the border. Um, Alex, you’re talking about somebody right now without one molecule of brain based on his statement. Building a fence across the border would be wacky nuts! And here it is — that’s what he wants to do.”
For the full interview, head on over to Salon . What do you think? Would you vote for a third-party candidate like Gary Johnson?