Current Events > thoughts on Gary Johnson or Rand Paul?

(+) Yeah! (+)

what if either of them was president today?
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They're bad, imo
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They're lesser evils when it comes to conservatives, but they're still backwards in a lot of ways. i.e Rand Paul supporting net neutrality and Gary Johnson not wanting to do anything about climate change. I'd rather have a sensible moderate in office
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I love Gary, but he never had a chance. He gave the media too many opportunities to make fun of him, then never really fought back. Not entirely his fault, but the Libertarians are gonna have to run someone else next time.

Don't know a whole lot about Rand. I don't like that he's a Republican, but he at least seems to stand against the party from time to time.

They're both great, but it took a Trump to expose and take down the Democrat Party. Trump is our Dark Knight.
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<3 Gary, even with his flaws. Rand is ok, but, like his father, is much more of an anti-federalist than a true libertarian. Still more of one than most republicans, though.

Johnson & Johnson 2020
No More Tears!
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Vertania posted...

I love Gary, but he never had a chance. He gave the media too many opportunities to make fun of him, then never really fought back. Not entirely his fault, but the Libertarians are gonna have to run someone else next time.

Don't know a whole lot about Rand. I don't like that he's a Republican, but he at least seems to stand against the party from time to time.

The whole thing after the election where people were blaming Trump on third party voters was such complete bullshit. More people voting third parties is the way this country is going to be saved.
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What is Aleppo?

CruelBuffalo posted...

What is Aleppo?

Gary Johnson is a moron but I would rather have a politician willing to admit he doesn't know what Aleppo is than have some fucking moron try to incoherently ramble his way through soverignty.
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Tyranthraxus posted...

CruelBuffalo posted...

What is Aleppo?

Gary Johnson is a moron but I would rather have a politician willing to admit he doesn't know what Aleppo is than have some fucking moron try to incoherently ramble his way through soverignty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ2es2vAnDQ" data-time="
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Medussa posted...

<3 Gary, even with his flaws. Rand is ok, but, like his father, is much more of an anti-federalist than a true libertarian. Still more of one than most republicans, though.

Johnson & Johnson 2020
No More Tears!

Hah, that would be an incredible campaign slogan for a Johnson & Johnson combo
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Tyranthraxus posted...

CruelBuffalo posted...

What is Aleppo?

Gary Johnson is a moron but I would rather have a politician willing to admit he doesn't know what Aleppo is than have some fucking moron try to incoherently ramble his way through soverignty.

Agreed. But for President we can get someone who isnt a moron nor incoherently rambles

Tyranthraxus posted...

CruelBuffalo posted...

What is Aleppo?

Gary Johnson is a moron but I would rather have a politician willing to admit he doesn't know what Aleppo is than have some fucking moron try to incoherently ramble his way through soverignty.

This.

Also expecting a libertarian to care about foreign conflicts/policy is laughable

0AbsoluteZero0 posted...

Medussa posted...

<3 Gary, even with his flaws. Rand is ok, but, like his father, is much more of an anti-federalist than a true libertarian. Still more of one than most republicans, though.

Johnson & Johnson 2020
No More Tears!

Hah, that would be an incredible campaign slogan for a Johnson & Johnson combo

Hope J&J would sue them into oblivion tbqh

Are people really ignoring that Johnson successfully governed a purple state?
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Fuckbois both.
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sabin017 posted...

Are people really ignoring that Johnson successfully governed a purple state?

About that

Johnsons actual record as governor of New Mexico was that of a law and order authoritarian, on the right-wing fringe of the Republican Party. Johnson ran on a law and order platform, stiffening prison sentences (while recklessly privatizing the prisons), along with a broader program of slashing taxes, slashing social programs, and privatizing schools. He was divisive, and his law and order policies led to some of the worst prison violence in decades.

It wasnt until after Gary Johnson won his second term and final term as New Mexicos governor, and turned his attention to the national stage, that he had his big epiphany about locking up marijuana smokers. Johnsons about-face on locking up drug offenders sounded brave and newsworthy to outsiders who didnt know his record wow! a pot-friendly Republican governor, how cool! Johnson wanted to make the jump to the national stage, and what easier way than adopting the one popular plank in the Koch brothers libertarian political platform, legalizing pot, to make journalists and the public forget about all the grim libertarian policies hed not only talked about but implemented.
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Back in New Mexico, reporters who were familiar with the real Gary Johnson were dumbfounded by his hypocrisy, particularly on the drug war. As the Albuquerque Journal wrote in 1999:

'Johnson acknowledged that some of his recent statements, including his belief that people shouldn't be jailed for using drugs, appear to contradict his otherwise hardline stance on crime. During his 1998 re-election campaign, Johnson aired a tough-sounding television commercial in which he said if you commit a crime in New Mexico, you're going to serve "every lousy second" of your prison sentence. "When I made that commercial, I'm thinking about the guy who's got his gun out," Johnson said. "I was never thinking about the guy who did heroin and that's all he did. I wasn't thinking about Robert Downey Jr.," Johnson said, referring to the actor recently sent to prison on drug charges. Johnson said he would veto bills that required additional state spending for new drug-treatment programs because it could result in tax increases. Despite his belief that people should not be sent to jail for using drugs, Johnson said he does not intend to issue any blanket pardons for those serving time in New Mexico jails on drug charges.'

Johnsons drug-legalization cant provided the perfect PR distraction from his real record on crime, which came down to this: privatizing half the prison population, harsh "three strikes your out" sentencing laws, and wetting his beak with campaign donations from the same private prison corporation, Wackenhut [renamed "Geo Group"], that Johnson picked to run New Mexicos private prisons.

The result of Johnson's privatized prisons and harsh sentencing laws: a wave of prison riots and deaths, the first prison killings in New Mexico since the Santa Fe prison riot in 1980 that left 33 inmates dead.
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This highway widening project has been attacked by everyone in New Mexico on both sides of the aisle, because rather than spending highway funds wisely, Gov. Johnson blew a giant hole in New Mexicos budget by handing the project over to a Koch Industries asphalt subsidiary, earning the billionaire brothers tens of millions of dollars, while nearly bankrupting New Mexicos budget and depriving the state of funds for roads in rural areas.

Journal investigative reporters found that highway officials jumped the project ahead of other needed road work and entered into a questionable warranty deal at a cost of $62 million. They also found that the only company [Koch Industries] to bid on the project proposed it in the first place.

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Link: https://www.nsfwcorp.com/dispatch/gary-johnson-swindle/
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Gary Johnson has (for the most part) sensible ideals, but is too ignorant when it comes to anything international/foreign.

They want the fire department to be privatized

Because private healthcare is working out so well
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Antifar posted...

The result of Johnson's privatized prisons and harsh sentencing laws: a wave of prison riots and deaths, the first prison killings in New Mexico since the Santa Fe prison riot in 1980 that left 33 inmates dead.

Harsh sentencing laws may ass. New Mexico has been very lenient on drunk drivers especially ones who commit vehicle manslaughter way before Johnson was in power. You would regularly hear news of repeat offenders with over ten offenses.

As for his questionable Highway bill. The roads got a lot better when he was Governor and the ones really bitching bout it are the ranchers and the land preservers.
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Tyranthraxus posted...

CruelBuffalo posted...

What is Aleppo?

Gary Johnson is a moron but I would rather have a politician willing to admit he doesn't know what Aleppo is than have some fucking moron try to incoherently ramble his way through soverignty.

He knew what Aleppo was, he just got confused by the way the interviewer threw him the question. The interviewer began by asking three questions in a row about the two-party system, then suddenly switched to "what would you do about Aleppo?" Johnson later explained that he thought it was an acronym.

There's a reason every single video you can find about "the Aleppo moment" begins exactly when he asks that question. The media wanted to paint third party candidates as ignorant, ridiculous choices, so they took any quote they could out of context and repeated it over and over.

Here's an actual transcript of the interview, since there doesn't appear to be any full videos:
http://time.com/4483779/gary-johnson-aleppo-transcript/

Johnson: dumbass

Paul: pretty cool, IMO.
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They both suck.
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I don't know much about Rand Paul. But regarding Gary Johnson, I'd rather have him than either Trump or Clinton. I don't mean that as in "he's amazing", just as in "he's a huge step up from those two".
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better than any other big names in politics
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