In my lifetime, I have never seen such dislike for the candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties. It has led to many people saying they are choosing the lesser of two evils or that they wish there was a third candidate. In our current political landscape, it is easy to forget that anyone that meets the requirements can run for president. The long process of the primaries is just for the purpose of two private organizations to select who they recommend. There is a third candidate who is on the ballot in all 50 states: Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.
Gary Johnson is a former two-term governor from the state of New Mexico. He is currently not appearing in the presidential debate because he has not crossed the 15 percent threshold of votes in the five polls that are used in the selection process. Many of Johnson’s supporters lament that, in many of the polls, he is often not included, which makes it impossible for him to appear on the debate stage. Many argue that appearing in the debate is crucial for him to get the broad support needed to win a general election.
One of the issues that Gary Johnson is most commonly asked about is foreign policy. He has been criticized on this topic, because when asked about Aleppo, Syria, he asked what Aleppo was. Gary Johnson has argued that he doesn’t need to be an expert on the situation in every country because he advocates not intervening in countries without approval and debate from Congress. He says he would not continue to use the current Authorization for Use of Military Force from Sept. 14, 2001, which designates that it is lawful to use the military to fight those persons or organizations that planned, facilitated or aided in the attacks on 9/11. This AUMF is currently being used to support the bombing campaign in Libya. Johnson has proposed only intervening with strong support from Congress and the American people, and strengthening our ties with our allies.
The other big issue for the Libertarian candidate is to push the government into a more centered, Libertarian direction. Johnson wants to bring Democrats towards a smaller government with lower taxes and a balanced budget. He wants to pull the Republicans in a less paternalistic direction, legalizing marijuana, removing government from issues of marriage, LGBT rights and other social issues. His other big area of focus is lowering the national debt, which has now reached almost $20 trillion.
Many people have said if you vote for Johnson you are taking votes from candidate "x" and that only helps candidate "y," but no person is entitled to your vote. Regardless of your stance, I hope this has informed you for the upcoming election and come November I hope you vote for whoever you believe to be the best candidate.
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