Exploring Possible 2012 Presidential Candidates: Gary Johnson

Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson could very well be the sleeper no one expected to win, candidate in the 2012 presidential elections. This budget hawk was the Governor of New Mexico for 8 solid years in which he proved a formidable foe to big spending State politicians from both parties. In another surprise, he also placed 3rd in the recent CPAC 2011 presidential straw poll beating the likes of big name con-servatives such as Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Sarah Palin,, and Mike Huckabee. Of note is that the CPAC straw poll was dominated by Ron Paul and his supporters once again, as Mr. Paul won with 30% of the votes.  Also of note is that many people consider Mr. Johnson to be a Ron Paul- type Libertarian, yet when we take a close look at Mr. Johnson’s credentials we see two very different politicians. For all of Ron Paul’s bluster, he simply hasn’t accomplished the budgetary success, or proven to be as effective at slowing down big government, as Mr. Johnson has.

Another fact to consider is that Mr. Johnson could run as a Republican, Libertarian, or even on the Teaparty ticket if the GOP forces the forming of another party by not heeding the warnings of the 2010 mid-term elections. This man also doesn’t fit the mold of the big spending old guardGOP RINOS that helped spend us towards $15 Trillion in national debt the last decade. That is a huge plus for a presidential candidate to woo the voters who are fed up with business as usual in DC. I  am already seeing Democratic operatives trying to downplay Mr. Johnson’s credentials, and pass him off as some kind of Ron Paul light, which should tell the voters that he would be a formidable opponent to far left Barack Obama in 2012.

Mr. Johnson took a controversial stance while Governor of New Mexico in 1999, when he advocated the legalization of marijuana. Citing the huge costs of  States prosecuting and jailing drug offenders, he suggested it be treated as a health issue instead of a criminal issue. He also admitted to self-medicating himself with marijuana after a very serious hang gliding accident in 2005, yet today he says he abstains from all recreational drug use, including alcohol, caffeine and some sugar products.

Mr. Johnson is also a very successful businessman, turning his handyman service into a multi-billion dollar construction company with over 1000 employees. Now that is what I call job creation, contrary to President Obama’s agenda of government intrusion into the private sector businesses. Mr. Johnson has traveled to over 30 states recently, possibly to give himself name recognition for the 2012 primaries and elections. He re-buffed invitations to join the Libertarian Party in the 2000 elections and endorsed Ron Paul for the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination. Looking back at that election, endorsing Ron Paul over the other candidates doesn’t look like such a mistake on Johnson’s part, considering where we are today. Bottom line is that people need to look at proven track records and experience when voting today, and ignore the media hype and party-line propaganda. In Mr. Johnson’s track record we see some very impressive  statistics against big government spending, which is the most pressing issue in America today. He fought against both parties in his eight years in office, to cut spending and balance the budget successfully. He used the line item veto thousands of times, more than all 49 other governors combined. He cut the growth rate of New Mexico’s government in half. He currently lives in Taos, New Mexico and has 2 grown children. He was married to his wife, Dee Johnson for 28 years and they divorced in 2005, and she passed away in Dec. of 2006 of heart disease.

This man is a proven fiscal hawk along the lines of Paul Ryan, with the proven ability to work with both parties to cut down the size and scope of our government. He will have great appeal to the Teaparty and independent voters alike. The main problem is whether the Old Guard GOP would be willing to extend a hand to him to break their pattern of nominating proven Crony-Rinos, which would only ensure Obama gets reelected in 2012. This man certainly deserves a serious consideration for the Republican nomination for President in 2012.

*Stats provided by wikipedia  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_E._Johnson