PajamasMedia: America, Here’s Your Change Candidate for 2012

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Nov/090

America, Here’s Your Change Candidate for 2012
Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico, may lead a libertarian insurgency for the GOP nomination.

by Ryan Mauro | November 12, 2009

Count another one in. Gary Johnson, the former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico, is launching his new Our America PAC, an obvious stepping stone to launching a run for president. Next time around, the “Ron Paul revolution” will have a new candidate, one that will promise sweeping libertarian change and that has executive experience and a persona more marketable than the squeaky-voiced self-proclaimed “defender of the Constitution.”

In many ways, Johnson makes for an obvious Republican presidential candidate. He was reelected as the governor of a swing state that tends to vote Democratic and the press gave him the middle name of “Veto” for his constant rejection of legislation. He slashed government and left office in 2003 with a surplus without raising taxes.

Johnson wouldn’t be a “change” candidate if he didn’t ruffle a few feathers. He openly talks about his pothead past and has defined himself by calling for an end to the war on drugs, a position that speaks to advocates of limited government but alienates social conservatives; he also endorsed Ron Paul during the last presidential election cycle. He opposes the Iraq war and hasn’t given a public position on the war in Afghanistan. He’s even suggested legalizing prostitution. These positions mean he can’t win the Republican nomination, but that doesn’t mean he can’t become a significant force in the race or spark an intellectual battle inside the Republican Party as the libertarian element gains in popularity and coverage.

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