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The Spectacle Blog
I like Gary Johnson. He was a good governor in New Mexico and I still think he could be a positive force in Congress. But John McCormack’s Weekly Standard profile shows that Johnson is badly positioned to make a credible presidential run.
We get Johnson’s recent marijuana use (from 2005 to 2008) in the headline. While I don’t have a problem with that, lots of Republican primary voters will. And it isn’t exactly a very presidential image. Johnson, who signed many pro-life bills as governor of New Mexico, identifies himself as pro-choice until viability. He comes close to calling for the defense budget to be cut in half. Then he embraces humanitarian interventions, which is sure to repel his natural constituency among non-interventionist conservatives.
The main advantage of Johnson over Ron Paul was that he was supposed to bring non-interventionist conservative arguments closer to the mainstream, even if Johnson wouldn’t necessarily win the Republican nomination. But given these idiosyncrasies, Johnson might actually be a less effective messenger in the primary process than Paul, who is socially more conservative and whose personal life is more conventional.
As Dan McCarthy points out, “instead of the Johnson-Paul tag team making anti-statist and anti-interventionist views more mainstream, Johnson might sidetrack Paul into discussions that would make it easier for the party establishment to marginalize both of them.” I’ve argued before that Johnson might struggle to hold the Paul coalition together, much less make inroads within the GOP. The McCormack piece seems to seal it.
View all comments (25) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by W. James Antle, III
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/12/07/gary-johnson-up-in-smoke
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Proud American| 12.7.10 @ 1:25PM
That interview that Gary Johnson gave to the Weekly Standard was incredibly refreshing. Are we finally at the point, as a society, where we are adult enough to allow other adults to put what they want in their own bodies? I hope so.
And for the record, I think Johnson is well-positioned for the primaries. When Ron Paul announces that he will not run and endorses Johnson, GJ will be a uniting standard against the career politician Ken-dolls of the Republican Party like Romney, Thune, Pawlenty, and Jindal. And, obviously, he will beat Sarah Palin because he has an actual core philosophy and not a group of advisors telling him what to say at all times.
Kyle| 12.7.10 @ 2:20PM
Sure, so many say Palin is a sure loser against Obama; but this guy has a chance? Give me a break. It would be nice if people were adult enough to take responsibility for their actions and not kill a baby in the womb to keep their irresponsible lifestyle going.
AZ5-0| 12.7.10 @ 1:30PM
Lunatic Libertarians at it again... politician commits felonies for three years, its ok cuz you don't like the law. Remove marijuana, put in heroin, lsd...still ok? How about tax evasion? Get serious.
Bob Constantine| 12.7.10 @ 8:23PM
Remove marijuana put in alcohol, tobacco, caffeine or aspirin. All of those substances are capable of killing you, cannabis is virtually incapable of killing anyone.
It was against the law to hide runaway slaves too, but that doean't mean it was wrong to do it.
If you don't like cannabis there's a simple solution, leave it alone.
If somebody else likes cannabis, it is THEIR business, not yours.
John | 12.8.10 @ 3:39PM
Also AZ5-0,
"Remove marijuana, put in heroin, lsd...still ok?"
Perhaps not, but the flaw in this reasoning is that it was not heroin, lsd, or tax evasion. It was marijuana. You are right, I don't like the law because the law is sociologically controversial and in my oppinion highly injustified. Why should it be a felony for a person to injest a plant which posesses less harmful consequences than Asperin?
Please tell me why it is important that I do not smoke marijuana in the safety and privacy of my own home, not to mention the millions of others who also do so. How are you protecting me? How are you protecting others? More specifically, please explain the deviant harmful nature of personal marijuana consumption that calls for it to be against the law, unlike alcohol, a drug that is considered less medically capable, much more harmful, and arguably better fits the Schedule 1 narcotic category than the so called "devil weed", whose place on the schedule 1 narcotics list is more than highly questionable.
kiraisjustice | 12.7.10 @ 2:18PM
AZ5-0, at worst he was committing a misdemeanor. Possession of small amounts for personal use is not a felony in any state, and medicinal use of marijuana was legal in New Mexico for the majority of the time Johnson was using it. Considering it was for medicinal use, I think the majority of people would have forgiven him regardless of what drug it was.
Comparing it to tax evasion is disingenuous. Tax evasion hurts the entire nation by denying the government the funds it needs to provide the services we use, and drives up the deficit which has multiple negative economic impacts on our nation. Tax evasion is a considerably more serious crime than using marijuana for pain relief after a serious accident.
Personally, I hope to see Johnson run and I hope he is more successful than Ron Paul was. He will have to work on his message, on finding a consistent foreign policy to advocate for, finding a way to tie our lack of fiscal discipline to the problems in our economy, and driving home to the American people just how much of government we will have to cut to get spending back in line with revenues, but I hope he finds his message.
Eric Damon| 12.7.10 @ 2:42PM
I don't think the intent was to compare his weed smoking to tax evasion, but to point out that when we start to live a totally libertarian lifestyle we will have people simply ignoring any law that they don't like. And how can a person who openly flouts the law be given the position as chief law enforcement officer of the United States? Yeah, we all have a right to abuse our bodies, but we don't have a right to break the law simply because it doesn't fit into our personal preferences. And if we believe that illegal drug use is okay because we have the right to abuse our bodies, then it is not so large a step to being like Wesley Snipes and refusing to pay income taxes because we don't think it's fair. Those actions both flow from the libertarian mindset that tends to value personal freedom above societal order.
SolidGround| 12.7.10 @ 3:52PM
"And how can a person who openly flouts the law be given the position as chief law enforcement officer of the United States?" Easy. Just look at the example of Bill Clinton. Carefully planned, meticulously executed draft dodging used to be a crime. Bill wasn't even charged, even after accepting an ROTC appointment secured through back room connections, and then rabbiting, and still got elected Prez by people who excuse law breaking as long as the candidate professes their own political religion.
AZ5-0| 12.7.10 @ 4:42PM
Sorry, but in many states, possession of marijuana is a felony, for sure in AZ. And, possession of marijuana is against federal law regardless of state law legalizing it.
I have two friends who are Drs., one an er doc, the other a gp, and they both say there is no such thing as medical marijuana, its a charade to legalize it for potheads.
You conveniently skip my comparison to heroin and lsd. Why not legalize those drugs, since both can make a claim to past "medicinal use"?
I'm all for less government and lower taxes, since that equals more freedom, but I'll never vote for someone who knowingly uses illegal drugs.
tracy| 12.7.10 @ 7:07PM
Considering all the reliable medical evidence from this country and others that show the medical value of cannabis and the AMAs position on it, I suggest you tell your "Dr" friends it is time to educate themselves of the current research. How long ago did these two graduate from medical school? 1937?
Occam's Tool| 12.7.10 @ 7:12PM
Sorry, AZ5-0, I'm about to disagree with you (in a way you will like---read on).
There is such a thing as medical THC. It is called dronnabinol or Marinol, it is a schedule 3 on the control list (refills allowed), and it is available (and effective) for chemotherapy induced nausea and AIDS wasting. It can be prescribed with the sanction of the FDA for these reasons.
However, smoking weed is illegal, and should be. The mechanism of delivery of the THC is different, it can cause schizophrenia in patients vulnerable to it (see the Christchurch studies, or better yet, practice in NZ like I did and see the Maori pot head psychotics), and the dosing is unreliable.
There is no need for "medical marijuana." THC, properly prescribed and compunded in a pharmaceutical manner, is legal in all 50 States. The argument for "Legalization" is crap.
tracy| 12.7.10 @ 7:24PM
I have been prescribed Marinol and Cesamet both. They keep me HIGH for hours on end, unable to function. They are incredibly hard to titrate due to the way the DHC is delivered. Sativex is an oral spray made from 2 Cannabinoids and this delivery sytem is easier to titrate but caused severe mouth ulceration and heart burn.
Pharamceutical doesn't always make it safe or better. Look up how many deaths have been directly caused by Viagra, yet it is legal.......
Bob Constantine| 12.23.10 @ 9:55PM
You say you are for "more freedom". Yet you think government should have the power to keep people from owning their own bodies by making self ownership illegal.
Slaves running away was an"illegal act" on their part. Would you have returned them to their masters for trying to own their own body?
Think about it.
Steve Rueben| 12.7.10 @ 2:41PM
This only makes me like Gary Johnson more. He is a great Conservative politician whois extremely honest. He's intelligent, interesting, and the guy broke his back in an extreme paragliding accident! Let people with broken backs choose to use marijuana, which is harmless, rather than take dangerous, addictive pain-killers that are the equivalent of legal heroin. Gary Johnson will get my vote for president, and the vote of my friends and family! We need more good Conservatives like him.
Michael L. Hauschild| 12.7.10 @ 3:33PM
Several things; he is not a conservative, marajuana is not a pain killer, and anyone parasailing at his age while in a position of responsibility is a lunatic.
I have gluacoma; travatan is the drug of my choice. I have sever arthritus of both knees, naproxin is my choice there. People smoke, take, or ingest marajuana to get high, people that believe otherwise are idiots. You want to promote him as a candidate, fine, just don't blow your smoke up our posterior about recreational drug use.
tracy| 12.7.10 @ 7:17PM
I think you should educate yourself on the medical properties of cannabis. You unfortunately have bought into propaganda instead of learning the truth. At this time you appear to be the idiot if you believe propaganda over 20+years of medical research.
Cannabis is an excellent muscle relaxer, pain reliever, is now being used by the VA for soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress in states where it is legal medically.
Cannabis ingested correctly does not kill your liver like your Naproxin will, nor does it cause any of these side effects your Travatan can: occular adverse events reported at an incidence of 1 to 4% in clinical studies with Travatan® or Travatan Z® included abnormal vision, blepharitis, blurred vision, cataract, cells, conjunctivitis, corneal staining, dry eye, eye disorder, flare, iris discoloration, keratitis, lid margin crusting, photophobia, subconjunctival hemorrhage, and tearing.
Nonocular adverse events reported at an incidence of 1 to 5% in these clinical studies were accidental injury, allergy, angina pectoris, anxiety, arthritis, back pain, bradycardia, bronchitis, chest pain, cold/flu syndrome, depression, dyspepsia, gastrointestinal disorder, headache, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, hypotension, infection, pain, prostate disorder, sinusitis, urinary incontinence, and urinary tract infection.
Bob Constantine| 12.7.10 @ 8:28PM
You are quite simply, wrong.
You do not know your history and should really check your "facts", lest somebody consider you an idiot.
M. Nolan| 12.7.10 @ 7:05PM
Nonsense.
The only advantage Gary has over Ron is age. The media will be pounding the "He is too old" drum from day one of a Paul campaign.
Gary seems to be a good guy, but he doesn't have a prayer in '12 whether he's a doper or not
Occam's Tool| 12.7.10 @ 7:05PM
Gary Johnson, singlehandedly, destroyed Mental Health Care in New Mexico by giving psychologists prescribing rights. They have a desperate psychiatrist shortage in NM.
Red Phillips | 12.8.10 @ 2:58PM
Occam, from my understanding the shortage of psychiatrists is what NM was trying to address by giving psychologists prescribing rights. Now if that backfired I don't know.
ROLLTIDE| 12.8.10 @ 11:24AM
How do you give psychologists prescribing rights? Didn't the state legislature (presumable Dem-majority) go along with it? If there was a psychiatrist shortage, so what as long as psychologists can prescribe (allegedly).
I'm 'fraid GJ already lost this upcoming primary. He needs to release a book, docu or get t.v. show so that more people can learn/hear about him and his stances. I would love for him to be prez, but he needs to up his game.
John| 12.8.10 @ 12:26PM
Comparing marijuana to any other illicit drug is a low blow. Marijuana is safer than alcohol or tobacco. Ever heard of alcohol poisoning? Caffiene overdose? water poisoning? More people have died from water poisoning than Marijuana (no deaths ever recorded) .
It is a prime example of the ignorance of society that this stuff is illegal.
He broke a law that should not be a law anyways, big deal.
Medical Marijuan doesn't exist? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8_5Ebsjk8I
tell that to this guy.
Personally I smoke because I enjoy it, and that being said it improves my quality of life because I have one more thing to look forward to at the end of the day.
I've seen some pretty ignorant people, but creating a moral deviance out of a person doing something that is completely safe and makes life more enjoyable to them is like killing a mockingbird.
Some people should grow up.
Red Phillips | 12.8.10 @ 2:51PM
Gary Johnson was always a bad fit to be someone to keep the Ron Paul coalition together. Ron Paul is the only one who can hold together his unique coalition of libertarians and hard core conservatives. Besides the abortion issue, Gary Johnson is BAD on immigration. Libertarian Republicans might stick with him, but hard core conservatives will not. Let's hope Paul runs again, because as of now there is no credible substitute for him.
ROLLTIDE| 12.9.10 @ 9:38AM
There's always a libertarian leader to step up. Folks said what you said when Barry Goldwater retired, then Paul came back into politics. Some of the younger folks that are libertarian and are future hopes:
Justin Amash (barely 30 and already a House of Rep)
Jeff Flake
That's not to mention Ryan Frazier and John Monds (who I still think has a bright future).
I don't believe in parties and coalitions, just stick to your principles and back it up with examples and facts.
I disagree with GJ on his immigration stance, but we do need a guest-worker program and pressure Mexico into reforming its laws/business culture.
Matt | 3.5.11 @ 3:44PM
While I agree that your POV on the ability of the GOP to marginalize both of them becomes more feasible, I also have to at some point think to myself, "This is why I like Ron Paul. Because he stands for what I want." Johnson seems to do the same so far, with the possible exception of getting rid of Gordon Richardson and his cronies.
I understand the dimlemma in saying "Those guys aren't going to get the votes because they're so far off center from the status quo, but Jesus, can't we finally be sick of the crap being spoon-fed to us by our current regime and vote for someone who can actually make good things happen?
I mean seriously, look at their records! Ron Paul has a lot of different views from me, but ya know what we view in the same light? Our Constitution. And he and Johnson seem to both have a pretty damned good grasp on what it says and what it means.