In 2016, both of the mainstream candidates are the most disliked in history. We have a racist loudmouth who refuses to give us the details, and a corporate hack who has lied so much that we can’t be sure she’s telling us her actual name. Bernie supporters were cheated in this election, the DNC email leaks proving this. What is a liberal or progressive to do? Some will vote for corporatist Shillary Clinton, the epitome of the establishment. Some will flock to Jill Stein of the Green Party. Some will go to the socialist candidates. Some will even betray their principles and vote for Donald Trump to get back at the Democrats. There is a better solution. Have you met Gary Johnson? Gary Johnson is the Libertarian candidate for president. A libertarian is someone who wants to preserve personal and economic liberty. It’s very comparable to liberalism, which is a philosophy based on liberty and equality. There’s a lot of overlap between the two ideologies, especially when it comes to social issues.
For example, Gary does not approve of banning abortion. He believes that it is a personal choice, and should remain a right of the individual to decide. As governor, he did push efforts to ban late-term abortions, which means an abortion after the point of viability (when the fetus could survive outside of the mother). Johnson also disapproves of the death penalty. His position has shifted over the past 20 years, probably based on the development of his personal philosophy. Johnson now says that the federal government should not have to power to end a person’s life, and that too many innocent people are convicted every year. When it comes to education, Johnson believes that local and state governments are more efficient than giant establishment bureaucracies. He doesn’t believe in Ted Cruz of Texas dictating on what happens to the children in Florida. He opposes rigorous testing and “one size fits all” methods, promoting the uniqueness of children and their individual situations. Johnson believes in government regulation to protect our natural resources and the environment. He opposes the government choosing winners and losers, bribing politicians to target the wrong people and cause economic failure. Gary supports protecting national parks and trying to fight climate change. Gary believes in a non-interventionist foreign policy, meaning that if our interests or people aren’t directly challenged, we will not wage war against them. Surely that’s a nice change in pace from Terrorist Don and war-hawk Killary. Instead of sending our troops around the world to police the planet, Johnson wants to create a strong national DEFENSE, not offense. Immigration has been a hot button issue for this election. Johnson supports raising the amount of work visas and opposes the construction of a wall. Gary Johnson doesn’t support the discrimination of the LGBT community, supporting legislation to limit it as much as possible. Johnson is a supporter of gay marriage. His VP pick Bill Weld was excommunicated from the Republican party because of his support for the LGBT community and being pro-choice. The New Mexican governor is also sympathetic to the undocumented immigrants in America and Black Lives Matter. He believes that the system does target non-white people, to an extent. He opposes the War on Drugs, which was created to target protesters and black communities in the 60's. He supports amnesty to the working immigrants already in our borders, and a simple path to citizenship. Why should you vote for Gary instead of Jill Stein, or Gloria La Riva, or anyone else? Because he has the greatest shot. He’s on the ballot in all 50 states and averages around 8% in the polls, most of which don’t include 18-25 year olds. He would be the greatest middle finger to the two-party system, shattering it. Even if he doesn’t win the election, if he gets 15% of the popular vote, the Libertarian Party would get access to the debates next time. While you may not agree with Gary on everything, it should be known that President doesn’t have complete say in our system of government. You can elect progressive representatives in Congress and in local elections to preserve the revolution that you want to occur. You can keep fighting for what you think is right. Vote Gary Johnson in 2016.
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Christopher CaldwellJust some thoughts on current events and such. Archives
January 2017
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