Chase McLamb
Walking through the free expression tunnel on campus, I saw a message which said “Live free, vote Gary Johnson.” Presumably, the person who left this note was a self-proclaimed libertarian. Then again, it could have been an independent or perhaps even a disenfranchised republican or democrat. As a libertarian, I wanted to take this opportunity to dissuade anyone who may be thinking of voting for the libertarian nominee from doing so because he’s grossly misrepresenting his adopted party’s core philosophy.
On April 8 in a debate between Austin Petersen and Gary Johnson hosted by Fox Business on the John Stossel show, Johnson defended the position that all business owners should be forced by the state to serve people even if they have ideological differences. In response, the host posed the question, “So the Jewish baker should have to bake the cake for the Nazi wedding?” To this, Johnson replied, “That would be my contention, yes.”
This is a logically consistent position which follows from forcing laborers to provide their services to everyone, so in this regard he gets a gold star for consistency. But would you really vote for someone who holds this as preferable policy? There’s more.
He supports remaining in the United Nations according to ISideWith.com. He and his running mate, William Weld, both support Trans-Pacific Partnership and North American Free Trade Agreement, according to a CNN interview with Wolf Blitzer. He supports the oxymoronic notion of “humanitarian wars” like a Uganda intervention, according to a Fox News Center Seat interview. He supports government-issued mental health evaluations for purchasing firearms, per his comments in the CNN Libertarian Town Hall. He is open to a basic universal income funded by a carbon tax, according to an article written by Tyler Prochazka for Basic Income Earth Network. Finally, he doesn’t want to legalize all drugs, only marijuana, per his comments in the CNN Libertarian Town Hall.
His views are blatantly inconsistent with basic libertarian principles of limited government, voluntary association and self-sovereignty. As such, Johnson never should have received the Libertarian Party nomination to begin with. He’s essentially lying by running as a libertarian. However, I understand that there are those of you who may vote for Johnson anyway just because the thought of voting for the democrat or republican candidates turns your stomachs. I fully support your decision to avoid voting for either of them, but if I haven’t yet convinced you that Johnson is also undeserving of your vote, perhaps a quick look at his vice presidential nominee will drive the point home.
William Weld, former governor of Massachusetts, supported the Iraq War by saying George Bush had “risen to the international challenge.” He signed a letter of support for the Patriot Act in 2005. He endorsed Barack Obama in 2008, Mitt Romney in 2012 and John Kasich in 2016 before joining Gary Johnson. He supported a statewide ban on assault rifles as governor of Massachusetts along with legislation which would make it illegal to own a handgun if a person was under the age of 21, according to a United Press International article from 1993. Lastly, he stated his support for the Affordable Care Act in an NPR interview with Scott Simon.
It’s possible that a Johnson-Weld ticket may be your perfect choice, maybe you’re still going to hold your nose and vote for the lesser of three evils, or there’s the off chance that I’ve successfully convinced you that Johnson is just another unworthy politician playing the game. In any case, I hope you found this information useful as you work your way toward a final decision on Election Day.
NOTE: See article “Key Concepts of Libertarianism” by David Boaz for additional context