Reuters: Gary Johnson could tip the balance in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona

An unusually thoughtful analysis of Libertarian Presidential candidate Gary Johnson's ability to shape the race out west.

A couple of snippets:

Johnson, who left the Republican Party in December after his presidential bid could not get traction there, has entered the summer campaign season carrying just enough weight to be a factor in the fall.

--snip--

Johnson hopes that enthusiasm for Paul in Nevada will transfer to him.

His views have some appeal in Nevada. He would like to sell off federal lands, a perpetual gripe in a state where the federal government owns more than 80 percent of the land.

Johnson's stance that government should not impose moral values is suited to the gambling city of Las Vegas, which hosted last month's Libertarian Party convention where Johnson won the party's nomination for president.

"I don't think a lot of Republicans in the state are sold on Romney," said David Damore, a professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "There's an opportunity for Johnson to siphon some votes here."

In Colorado, the birthplace of the Libertarian Party, Johnson may get an extra jolt at the polls for his steadfast support for easing restrictions on marijuana. In November, Coloradans will vote on a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana and regulate the drug like alcohol.

"Gary Johnson could land up having a surprisingly impressive showing in a state like Colorado," said Ethan Naddelmann, founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which supports easing drug laws. "It's possible that the Libertarian vote could make the difference."

Comments

Comment Rescue (?) and child-related gun violence in Delaware

In my post about the idiotic over-reaction to a New Jersey 10-year-old posing with his new squirrel rifle , Dana Garrett left me this response: One waits, apparently in vain, for you to post the annual rates of children who either shoot themselves or someone else with a gun. But then you Libertarians are notoriously ambivalent to and silent about data and facts and would rather talk abstract principles and fear monger (like the government will confiscate your guns). It doesn't require any degree of subtlety to see why you are data and fact adverse. The facts indicate we have a crisis with gun violence and accidents in the USA, and Libertarians offer nothing credible to address it. Lives, even the lives of children, get sacrificed to the fetishism of liberty. That's intellectual cowardice. OK, Dana, let's talk facts. According to the Children's Defense Fund , which is itself only querying the CDCP data base, fewer than 10 children/teens were killed per year in Delaw

The Obligatory Libertarian Tax Day Post

The most disturbing factoid that I learned on Tax Day was that the average American must now spend a full twenty-four hours filling out tax forms. That's three work days. Or, think of it this way: if you had to put in two hours per night after dinner to finish your taxes, that's two weeks (with Sundays off). I saw a talking head economics professor on some Philly TV channel pontificating about how Americans procrastinate. He was laughing. The IRS guy they interviewed actually said, "Tick, tick, tick." You have to wonder if Governor Ruth Ann Minner and her cohorts put in twenty-four hours pondering whether or not to give Kraft Foods $708,000 of our State taxes while demanding that school districts return $8-10 million each?

New Warfare: I started my posts with a discussion.....

.....on Unrestricted warfare . The US Air force Institute for National Security Studies have developed a reasonable systems approach to deter non-state violent actors who they label as NSVA's. It is an exceptionally important report if we want to deter violent extremism and other potential violent actors that could threaten this nation and its security. It is THE report our political officials should be listening to to shape policy so that we do not become excessive in using force against those who do not agree with policy and dispute it with reason and normal non-violent civil disobedience. This report, should be carefully read by everyone really concerned with protecting civil liberties while deterring violent terrorism and I recommend if you are a professional you send your recommendations via e-mail at the link above so that either 1.) additional safeguards to civil liberties are included, or 2.) additional viable strategies can be used. Finally, one can only hope that politici

Search This Blog