A photo of Gary Johnson from his Flikr account
Some people have asked me why I will not support Gary Johnson. After all I have described myself as a right libertarian in the past. I generally agree with much of the Libertarian platform and my first choice this year was Rand Paul. You would think that I would be all for Gary Johnson then right? Wrong.
For one thing I actually do agree with Donald Trump on most of the issues. There are some key disagreements. I don't like his policy on the NSA, for example, and he was completely wrong about vaccinations causing autism. But on most issues I really do agree with Trump. He's a center right Republican who is far right on issues where it counts.
Unfortunately, Gary Johnson when full liberal in the areas I would have supported him the most. I've grown more anti-open borders then I was in the past and Gary Johnson has gone full fledged in support for that. Given that the Libertarian Party has always been in favor of open borders, that wasn't a surprise for me. That's why I called myself a "small l" libertarian, who votes in the GOP. What is a surprise for me is how politically correct Gary Johnson is on this issue. Watch the following video for proof:
That's a major candidate for a third party who is supposed to be opposed to the left going full social justice warrior. Don't get me wrong, it's not the fact that he is arguing for amnesty here, it's the fact that he is using the language of the left to do so. I don't agree with his position on illegal immigration, but I could forgive that. But what I can't forgive is using social justice terminology to denigrate people that might otherwise support him.
No matter how much it may offend social justice warriors, "illegal immigrants" is the correct term for people who are in the country illegally. Even Gary Johnson admits this in the video. It's not a racist term, it's an accurate one and to imply otherwise is a cheap political tactic that the Libertarian Party should be above. These stupid language games are a tactic of leftist censorship and I can't support anyone who uses these tactics. Argue for illegal immigrants if you want, but use accurate language and don't cede territory to leftist censorship. Doing otherwise will turn off people that might have otherwise held their nose on the issue and vote for Johnson.
Gary Johnson also made a critical mistake when he chose Bill Weld as a running mate. One of the best things I can say about the Libertarian Party is they tend to be even more protective of our rights then the GOP. Especially when it comes to gun control. They go further then even most Republicans on the issue, which I consider admirable. Which is why it was beyond shocking to me that they picked Bill Weld as Gary Johnson's running mate.
Bill Weld isn't Libertarian on the issue of gun rights. When he was governor of Massachusetts, he supported many new draconian laws that banned so called assault weapons, made new waiting periods and forbid anyone under the age of 21 from buying a handgun. He also supported magazine bans, which is unforgivable. Bill Weld is the Chris Christie for the Libertarian Party when it comes to gun rights, which means I will NEVER support Gary Johnson. Period.
It's clear to me that Gary Johnson is making the same mistake that most of the GOP field made last year. He's pandering to leftists that will likely not support him while at the same time alienating the very conservatives and libertarians you need to win. Though the left may like gun control and open borders they aren't going to vote for Gary Johnson, because he is a "white male". In their view, why would they vote for him when they could get open borders and gun control with Hillary Clinton?
And you just can't surrender to the left on culture war issues. It only encourages them. Using their language won't make them happy. It will just make them mad because if you disagree with them you are racist. It doesn't matter that Gary Johnson uses there language, he will be called racist regardless. The only reason he hasn't already is because he isn't polling well enough to effect the election all that much.
Liberals are probably still convinced that Gary Johnson is more of a threat to Trump then he is to Hillary Clinton. I disagree. His positions on illegal immigration and gun rights will turn off anyone in the GOP and even if they don't a vote for him is a vote for Hillary Clinton. Even if they hate Trump, most Republicans will vote for him to deny Hillary Clinton the White House.
You know who might vote for Gary Johnson? Disgruntled Bernie Sanders supporters. They are mad as hell at Hillary Clinton and Johnson's obvious push to the left might appeal to him. Many of his current supporters would have gone to Clinton, not Trump. Given the fact that Johnson is mostly irrelevant anyways, I am not sure how much this helps Trump, but it might be enough to push him over the edge. Given this fact, I think it is very likely that Gary Johnson will get attacked by the left in the next couple of months, as soon as Hillary Clinton's campaign realizes what is going on, especially if Johnson somehow makes the debate...
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