Gary Johnson and American Voters

By Paul E. Gable

Albert Einstein had a quote that can be used to sum up the case for Gary Johnson with American voters.

When he said ‘insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’, odds are good he was not speaking about American elections, but he may as well have been. Every four years, voters ignore the tired rhetoric, empty promises and true issues and routinely vote for “the lesser of two evils” or in some cases “the evil of two lessers.”

Over the last 30 years, that mindset has brought us higher taxes, more government intrusion, absurd spending, two wars in a decade, a welfare state and has pushed us to the brink of a financial collapse.

As the calendar quickly winds down to election day, we, as Americans, find ourselves asking do we want more of the status quo or are we ready to take part in a revolution and change our ways?

And, despite what the national media will have you believe, change will not come from Democratic President Barack Obama or Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Instead, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is the only solution to ending the Patriot Act, cutting spending, ending the war in Afghanistan and returning the government to what our Founding Father’s truly had in mind.

Despite what Obama believes about small business, Johnson built a business from scratch.

Unlike the elitist Romney, who I don’t think has ever had to truly work for anything and is out of touch with struggling families, Johnson knows the struggles daily working people are dealing with.

As a two-term Governor of New Mexico, Johnson has more experience than Obama did when he became president and served one more term than Romney.

As Governor of New Mexico, Johnson earned the nickname “Governor Veto,” as he had over 750 vetoes while in office. He cut taxes 14 times, reduced the size of government 10 percent without firing one state employee and left office with a billion dollar surplus.

Unlike Romey and Obama, Johnson is in favor of rolling government back and restoring it to a proper, constitutional role. By doing so, spending and taxes will take care of themselves. This is a far cry from the spending views of our current administrator, the Republican who sat in the Oval Office before him and of Romney. When it comes to spending, Johnson would propose a balance budget on Day One. By the way, here’s a news flash to Obama and Romney, it is impossible to reduce the cost of government without reducing what government does.

As a Libertarian, Johnson believes, as do I, that government’s job is very simple. In his words, Johnson says government should protect us from those who would do us harm, threaten our rights and take away our civil liberties. Nowhere are there any stipulations that government’s job is to manage our lives, impose values on us and protect us from ourselves. Nowhere are there any stipulations that it is government’s role to tell us who we can and cannot marry.

Unlike the Democrats and Republicans, Johnson has no plans of bombing Iran. Furthermore, he believes, as do I and a growing number of disgruntled Americans not named Obama and Romney, that our government has no business intervening in the affairs of other nations because we don’t approve of them or somehow we should shape them into our own image. The disasters in Egypt, Syria and Libya have proved that point, along with the tragedy and current coverup by the Obama administration in Libya.

While Obama says he wants to bring troops home by 2014 and Romney wants to beat his chest and declare his strength on Afghanistan, it is Johnson who understands that our mission was fulfilled nearly 11 years ago and would bring troops home tomorrow.

While Republicans and Democrats want to continue spending and pay little attention to the fact that the federal government borrows 43 cents of every dollar it spends, Johnson is ready to reign that in. Free markets and limited government are the foundation of prosperity and Johnson understands that even if Obama and Romney do not. As a result, Johnson favors cutting spending and eliminating taxes that penalize earnings, investment and savings. The time has come for this country to embrace a consumption-based tax and Johnson would bring that idea to Washington.

Voters, we cannot afford to vote insanity this November. That defense may work in a legal setting but not at the election polls.

The time has come to cut spending, end wars and get government out of our bedrooms, pockets and living rooms.

In the words of Johnson, “And if, in four years, we as a people decide we didn’t like peace, prosperity and freedom, we can always vote tyranny back into office again.”

Ed. Note: This op-ed was sent in by my son, who works for a newspaper in Indiana and is the Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Shelby County (IN).