Gary Johnson is the governor of New Mexico, he is a business man, and the Libertarian Party's Nomination for the 2016 Presidential Election. What is a Libertarian? Well, according to CNN Politics, Libertarians tend to talk a lot about "auditing with the Federal Reserve and returning to the gold standard as well as railing against the war on drugs." But textbook definition of a Libertarian is a person who upholds the principles of individual liberty especially through action. They believe in personal freedom but also personal responsibility, they oppose any government interfering with their personal, family, business decisions, and believe that all Americans should be free to live their lives and pursue their interests. For those of you who are not a fan of the Donald or Hillary, maybe Johnson is the person for you. He is running as a Republican under a Libertarian platform. He intends to focus on the United States' public debt, protection of civil liberties, the fair tax, and an end to the war in Afghanistan.
(The information here has been gathered in bits and parts, however these are just some of the ideas Gary Johnson has, however to learn more, look him UP!)
Immigration
"This is something that I witnessed out on the campaign trail for three years, which is that there is a total disconnect between the rhetoric regarding immigration and the reality. And I'm speaking as a border state" (Johnson). Unlike the Donald he doesn't plan on just "building a wall funded by Mexico", he believes he could tackle the issue in two different ways. He intends to simplify legal immigration, and then tackle illegal immigration. He favors the issuing of work visas rather than granting citizenship to people who work in the U.S so that they pay payroll and income taxes. Background checks would be required of those who are being issued a work visa. He also believes that most of the problems that stem between the Mexican-American border is drug prohibition. In other words he believes that ending the prohibition of Marijuana and the War on Drugs would end most of the violence that takes place along the border.
Military and Foreign Policy
"We inject ourselves in other country's affairs" (Johnson on U.S dealings with Middle East). A strong defense both at home and abroad is what Johnson believes is the most important. He believes that the U.S should only resort to military action as the last option and believes that the military presence in Europe should be reduced by about 43 percent. He wants the United States to end their involvement with Afghanistan immediately. If a country does not hold or protect any U.S interest, Johnson believes that we can no longer afford to spend money and troops. Even though he fully supports this, he also says that he would support a war for humanitarian reasons such that: "I don't want to close the door that if any of us were president of the United States that we would sit idly by and watch something like the Holocaust go down" (Johnson). He supports reducing the United States' nuclear arsenal as well.
Civil Liberties
"Socially, we should be able to make choices in our own lives that only affect our own lives as long as those choices don't adversely affect others (Johnson on Fox Business Network)." Who else is able to control your life better than you, other than yourself? No one should be able to make you live your life a certain way, other than the way you want to live it. Johnson believes that the government should protect the individuals' civil liberties and not intervene in their private lives. He also supports that citizens who follow the law and wont cause any harm to other people, should be allowed to pursue whatever they'd like. The role of the government is to protect it's citizens from those who would do us harm, however Johnson believes that these ideals are being "eroded" and Americans are "giving up" some of their civil rights due to fear.
Education
"If I was a state, I would like to see education left to the schools themselves, but I don't want the federal government involved in education. I think that it ends up setting standards that cost you time and money and you don't make any difference in education. I want to stop that (Johnson on Education)." Johnson believes in something called school choice. He believes that the department of Education should be removed because federal control of state education funds negatively impact the states. He believes that the No Child Left Behind Act and other federal education acts ruin the education system and a "homogeneous" national education system doesn't work. Therefore he believes that each state should control their own educational system in which it adapts to the individuals in public/private schools rather than setting national standards for every school system in America.
Drug Policy
"I don't smoke marijuana anymore. I don't drink. Marijuana is a handicap. So is alcohol. Alcohol is a terrible handicap. But in spite of being a handicap, it shouldn't be criminal" (Johnson on Marijuana use). Johnson's drug policy is strictly not to do drugs/drink alcohol because because they are harmful, addictive, and destructive to our lives. However he believes that the War on Drugs has not been successful and believes [concerning marijuana] that it is crazy to arrest about 700,000 (in 2014) individuals for a substance that is less harmful than alcohol. He believes that marijuana should be legalized, taxed, and regulated. He intends to de-schedule marijuana by executive order if elected into office. Johnson compares the war with Marijuana just like the alcohol prohibition attempt in the 1920s. He also believes in lowering the drinking age to 18 or eliminating the drinking age all together. Unlike marijuana, Johnson does not advocate the legalization of other drugs, but he believes they should be treated as a health problem rather than a criminal justice problem.
These are just some of the policies and views of the candidate and there are much more that he goes over.. However, if you don't feel Trump or Clinton for the Presidency, check out Libertarian Presidential Nominee Gary Johnson!
