I think that it’s safe to say that a lot of people aren’t thrilled with the candidates for the 2016 Presidential Election. A year ago, when Trump announced his presidency, most of the nation thought that it was a joke or that he would be out of the race very early, but here he is. Clinton has had political power in Washington for years, and there is no doubt that she is experienced, but many complain that she doesn’t have the best character or that she flip-flops on her issues to get votes. What our nation is left with are two candidates that people are tolerating because they think it’s the only option. That’s not necessarily the case.
Meet Gary Johnson. Two term Governor of New Mexico and member of the Libertarian Party. He stated that he is running on a platform that is “fiscally conservative, socially liberal” which he hopes will appeal to a large spectrum of voters. Right now he is sitting at around 10% of the vote, and will need to get up to 15% if he wants to have his name on the ballot in November as a third party candidate. He is running with Bill Weld, two-term former governor of Massachusetts, who is also a member of the Libertarian Party. I think that it’s important for the people of our country to know all their options in this race, so I am going to sum up a few of Johnson’s political views. I am not here to take a strong stance for Johnson. I am merely stating facts so the American people can make an informed decision in the fall.
Social issues
Socially, Johnson is liberal. Most libertarians are liberal because they believe the government should stay out of people’s lives as much as possible. That means that Johnson believes that people should be able to marry whomever they want and identify as any gender because it’s not the governments place to intervene in those matters. He also is pro-choice, stating again that the government has no place deciding what a woman can or can’t do with her body. He does not support the death penalty because he thinks that too many people are wrongly convicted.
Healthcare issues
Johnson does not support Obamacare and believes that the government should stay out of healthcare all together. He also does not believe that the federal government should increase funding towards Medicaid because coverage should be handled at the local level. Johnson would legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana instead of criminalizing it.
Immigration issues
Johnson does not believe that illegal immigrants should have access to government-subsidized healthcare. He stands by the belief that there should be an easier pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants and that children of illegal immigrants born in the US are granted citizenship.
Economic issues
Johnson holds the belief that men and women should not be required to have the same salary for the same job because there are too may factors, such as education and experience that determine that decision. He thinks that mentally and physically capable adults on welfare should be required to work and that drug testing welfare recipients is a waste of time and money. He would not raise minimum wage and would eliminate all federal wage standards. He would also make cuts to public spending to reduce the national debt.
Domestic and foreign policy issues
Johnson believes that there should only be restrictions for buying a gun for criminals and the mentally ill. He also believes that there should be term limits set for congress to limit corruption and increase performance. When it comes to foreign policy, Johnson would decrease military spending. He thinks that suspects of terrorism should not be given constitutional rights, but they should not be subject to torture. Johnson would accept refugees from Syria but only after intensive background checks. He does not believe we should formally declare war on ISIS and we should only send troops if ISIS attacks on US soil.
To watch Gary Johnson’s and Bill Weld’s first Presidential campaign ad, click here.
