Recently, the Commission on the Presidential Debates announced that third-party candidates Jill Stein and Gary Johnson would not be allowed to participate in the first presidential debate due to their polling percentages not being high enough. The commission is controlled by Democrats and Republicans, so, of course, they wouldn’t even consider allowing a third party to gain more exposure and “take votes away” from one of their candidates. First of all, 15% of the vote in national polls is really high for a third party candidate. I can ask five people who Gary Johnson or Jill Stein are, and three would probably ask, “Who?” The reason third party candidates have so little exposure is because they do not have the same opportunities as democrats and republicans to gain national exposure. If they did, I believe they would actually have a fighting chance. It is 2016, and the number of people who actually consider themselves fully liberal or fully conservative is decreasing every year. It is wrong that the two-party system is trying so hard to repress candidates that represent ideals that are somewhere in the middle. The third party candidates still have two more chances to make it onto the debate stage, and hopefully, they can gain more exposure before the next one. Gary Johnson is my favorite third party candidate, and while I still haven’t decided who I am voting for, I believe as voters, we have the right to see all of our options represented on the debate stage. Read about Johnson and his views on the issues below. Help get Gary and Bill to the second and third debates.
Who is Gary Johnson?
The Libertarian Party is the third largest party in this country, with beliefs that personal freedom is important, and that the only role of the government is to help protect people from “force or fraud”. Gary Johnson is the Libertarian candidate running in this year’s presidential race. He seems like the perfect candidate for us millennials, as he does not believe in strict ideology. He served two terms as Governor in New Mexico and during that time, he balanced New Mexico’s budget, he improved their schools and even cut taxes. Johnson’s running mate, Bill Weld, was a two-term Governor of Massachusetts. He also cut taxes in his state, balanced the budget and got rid of wasteful government programs to prevent money from being taken away from things like education. Weld also greatly decreased their unemployment rate just during his first term.
Johnson/Weld on the issues:
National Debt / Taxes
Actually give congress a balanced budget and cut wasteful spending by veto legislation that involves deficit spending. Taxes: Eliminate special interest tax loopholes, help protect small businesses, implement tax burden based on spending (not including basic family necessities), not earnings.
Term Limits:
Politicians aren’t accountable to people anymore because they are constantly focusing on doing what it takes to get re-elected, and to do that, they need the financial help of special interests and lobbyists. Democrats and republicans can’t really deviate from their party’s views if they want to get re-elected, and the party’s views aren’t necessarily the views of the people of this country as a whole. Term limits are needed to prevent this from happening, and it would help our views actually be represented.
Veterans:
Only send the armed forces into battle for clearly justified reasons, and only to protect and defend the United States. Veterans must be provided with proper physiological and psychological medical support when they return. They should have counseling resources available to help prevent homelessness, substance abuse, and suicide. They sacrificed their lives for our country, and they deserve much more than what they currently get.
Foreign Policy:
Putting boots on the ground in other nations has made us less safe and has motivated terrorist groups to increase in size. Build a stronger military but only use it when REALLY needed- after careful and transparent deliberation by congress.
Immigration:
Make it simpler and more efficient to come to the US legally so law enforcement can focus on the few that are an actual threat.
Criminal Justice Reform / War on Drugs:
Stop criminalizing drug use, especially marijuana. Legalizing would eliminate some crime and create a new industry to participate in our economy. In regards to other illegal drugs, there should be an increase of rehab and harm-reduction programs instead of incarceration. The federal government should follow states leads in reforming criminal justice. Minimum sentences have removed discretion from judges and prosecutors, and we have unnecessary laws sending too many undeserving people to jail.
Environment:
Enforce reasonable environmental protections. The debate shouldn’t be about whether or not climate change is a real thing, but how can we conserve resources and the environment for our future generations. Education: Decisions that affect children should be made by local and state governments, not the federal government. Nationalized standards are costly, overly bureaucratic, and compromise the education of children.
Women’s Rights:
(This is my favorite one)
Abortion is a personal choice, and people should be allowed to make their own choices. DESPITE HIS PERSONAL AVERSION TO ABORTION, he believes the right for women to choose should be respected. It is not the government’s business, and women should not be denied access to certain health services by anyone!
In my opinion, Johnson is the perfect candidate for the independent mind. He has the perfect mix of liberal and conservative ideals, and he seems like a pretty cool guy having climbed Mount Everest.
Sources:
Information about the Libertarian Party: https://www.lp.org/introduction/what-is-the-libert... (sentence ending in "force or fraud")
Background info on Johnson and Weld: https://www.johnsonweld.com/about-gary-johnson https://www.johnsonweld.com/about-bill-weld
Johnson/Weld's stances on issues: https://www.johnsonweld.com/issues
