Gary Johnson? Why or Why Not.

[Mercer]

19 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

Gary Johnson was unaware what Aleppo - a Syrian city and the center of the refugee crisis - is during a recent interview. Any thoughts about this? I'm curious what others think.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/us/politics/gary-johnson-aleppo.html?_r=0&referer=https://www.google.com/

I would not feel comfortable voting for a candidate who knows less about current events and world geography than I do.

I wasn't going to vote for him anyway because I don't agree with his libertarian stance on most issues, though, so it doesn't change my voting intentions.

[Alicja]

"What is Aleppo?" is something I would imagine Trump saying, not Johnson. I mean, I don't know much about Johnson, but he ain't no Trump, that's for sure...

[FundieFarmer]

Ughhhh I was thinking about it because I'm staunchly libertarian, but I don't like the idea that he's out of the loop on that- because Aleppo's been everywhere- or that the conference here was rather a mess.

However....I'd also like to see him in the debates.

[Mela99]

On 9/9/2016 at 10:05 AM, VelociRapture said:

I agree. If Trump's constant missteps and bad decisions haven't disqualified him then this definitely doesn't disqualify Johnson in any way - and I give him a lot of credit for owning the mistake pretty much immediately and saying he needs to do better. 

It is really frustrating that Cinammon Hitler keeps getting a free pass from a lot of people. Any other candidate saying this stuff would have been torn to shreds at this point.

I love Cinnamon Hitler. We refer to him as Orange Hitler in our house. 

On one hand, I can't forgive GJ too much. Syria/Aleppo is huge right now, and that's just plain embarrassing. And who responds, "What's Aleppo?"

But then what you say is equally true. OH can say anything he wants and he gets a pass because he's not a politician and "shoots from the hip" and ohhhh, don't worry, he has super generals to advise him!

It's all bullhonkery poppycock bullshit. 

[Florita]

A timely article on Johnson in Men's Health.

http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/gary-johnson-fitness

A good quote:

“Athletics has taught me that it is all about putting one foot in front of the other,” Johnson says. “Life is about setbacks—meaning that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. You might as well plan on that. It’s how you deal with setbacks that ultimately determines success. I think so many people experience failure and crawl up in a ball and give up.”

 

[Maggie Mae]

His response was consistent with his platform and foreign policy experience.

I have some issues with him, mainly privatization of the road system, lack of foreign policy experience/knowledge (and the party thinks we should cut ourselves off, basically), and I think he might be willing to sell off public lands. But I still prefer him to either of the clowns running on the main party ticket, neither of whom appeal to me. I prefer just about anyone to those two unprofessional and embarrassing Manhattanites. 

[Florita]

4 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

lack of foreign policy experience/knowledge  

Johnson has as much experience as Reagan, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush did going into the White House - 2 terms as a governor.

[RoseWilder]

20 hours ago, Florita said:

Johnson has as much experience as Reagan, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush did going into the White House - 2 terms as a governor.

I don't think it's a selling point to say he has as much foreign policy experience as George W. Bush. . . or Reagan, for that matter. 

 

[Florita]

11 hours ago, RoseWilder said:

I don't think it's a selling point to say he has as much foreign policy experience as George W. Bush. . . or Reagan, for that matter. 

 

Bush 41 had the most impressive resume of any recent president and he was mediocre at best.

[VelociRapture]

Gary Johnson has a second, self-described "Aleppo Moment" during an interview:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/09/29/us/politics/gary-johnson-aleppo-moment.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&referer=http://m.facebook.com

To be fair, that was a bit of an odd question to ask. Maybe it caught him off guard and he blanked? But not being able to actually name another foreign leader he admires isn't great for instilling a sense of confidence in potential voters.

[apple1]

42 minutes ago, VelociRapture said:

Gary Johnson has a second, self-described "Aleppo Moment" during an interview:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/09/29/us/politics/gary-johnson-aleppo-moment.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&referer=http://m.facebook.com

To be fair, that was a bit of an odd question to ask. Maybe it caught him off guard and he blanked? But not being able to actually name another foreign leader he admires isn't great for instilling a sense of confidence in potential voters.

I acknowledge that, despite areas of disagreement, I originally like Gary's candidacy. But these two (revealing) events, added to the fact that a vote for Gary would at most be a protest vote, have made me change my mind. Unfortunately.

[Ali]

I was considering Johnson before I realized how close the race is going to be in my state (Michigan). Now I think Hillary is the better option. I do think he should have been allowed to participate in the debates based on how well he is polling. I am curious about how well he would perform.

[VelociRapture]

2 hours ago, apple1 said:

I acknowledge that, despite areas of disagreement, I originally like Gary's candidacy. But these two (revealing) events, added to the fact that a vote for Gary would at most be a protest vote, have made me change my mind. Unfortunately.

I feel bad for the guy in some ways. The only press attention he gets us when something negative happens. I don't agree with many of his views, but he seems genuine enough in wanting to help others. But these two incidents do make you really wonder how well informed he actually is on matters of foreign policy. 

Third parties in general would be much better off tying to gain support on the local level first, before advancing to state and then Federal elections.

[SassyPants]

Once Bernie was out, I was firmly in the Johnson camp until the last month. The most qualified person for the job is Clinton. She'll get my vote. 

23 minutes ago, Ali said:

I was considering Johnson before I realized how close the race is going to be in my state (Michigan). Now I think Hillary is the better option. I do think he should have been allowed to participate in the debates based on how well he is polling. I am curious about how well he would perform.

If he would have been included in the debates, I think he would have stayed more engaged and current on the issues. 

[VelociRapture]

13 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

Once Bernie was out, I was firmly in the Johnson camp until the last month. The most qualified person for the job is Clinton. She'll get my vote. 

If he would have been included in the debates, I think he would have stayed more engaged and current on the issues. 

That's a good point. I like to think that anyone running for President would stay current on the issues regardless of whether they're included or not - but not needing to prep for the debates could have played a role here. 

[GeoBQn]

The Chicago Tribune's Editorial Board has endorsed Gary Johnson.  Da fuq?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-gary-johnson-president-endorsement-edit-1002-20160930-story.html

They are getting lambasted for it in the comments and on Facebook.

[bea]

The Trib hates Democrats. Always has, always will, simply by virtue of who is on the board, and who owns them. They're a joke - a formerly impressive paper of Republicans in a Democratic town, but they have sold off some of the paper and lost so many good reporters that they're little more than a tabloid at this point.
They just can't bring themselves to endorse Trump, so they endorse the other guy. They don't even really have a reason for endorsing him, if you read the endorsement. Other than he's not Trump and he's not Clinton. There is one reporter who I respect that that paper - the guy who does the crime beat, Peter Nickeas. There were two other reporters who were good on local stuff, both gone in the last 3 months. Hell, they're so deeply in debt they just sold Tribune Tower for redevelopment. There's a reason they're being mocked.

[Maggie Mae]

32 minutes ago, bea said:

The Trib hates Democrats. Always has, always will, simply by virtue of who is on the board, and who owns them. They're a joke - a formerly impressive paper of Republicans in a Democratic town, but they have sold off some of the paper and lost so many good reporters that they're little more than a tabloid at this point.
They just can't bring themselves to endorse Trump, so they endorse the other guy. They don't even really have a reason for endorsing him, if you read the endorsement. Other than he's not Trump and he's not Clinton. There is one reporter who I respect that that paper - the guy who does the crime beat, Peter Nickeas. There were two other reporters who were good on local stuff, both gone in the last 3 months. Hell, they're so deeply in debt they just sold Tribune Tower for redevelopment. There's a reason they're being mocked.

 

The Detroit News also endorsed Gary Johnson. Someone was on NPR talking about it and she didn't really have answers about why, just that he was good enough. 

[AmazonGrace]

He seems a bit short on brains...

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/gary-johnson-geography-map-wars-229105

 

Gary Johnson: I can't start wars with places if I can't find them on a map

Quote

“You know what? The fact that somebody can dot the i’s and cross the t’s on a foreign leader’s geographic location then allows them to put our military in harm’s way,” Johnson told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell.

So he seems to be saying that he would be a good president because he knows jackshit about the world and  can't use Google Maps either

 

Quote

Johnson, like most Libertarians, supports noninterventionist foreign and military policies. He suggested that U.S. involvement has almost always made international conflicts worse, not better. Under a President Gary Johnson, the United States would use its military might only to retaliate when attacked, he indicated.

Not saying that's wrong, as such...

But how the heck is he going to be able to retaliate an attack either if he can't work out the attacker's location?

 

[AmazonGrace]

http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2016/10/john-oliver-third-party-gary-johnson-jill-stein-last-week-tonight

[bashfulpixie]

Oh John Oliver, I love you so

[Childless]

Johnson's tax policy would be a disaster and for someone who claims to be a libertarian, I find it puzzling that he wants what would amount to the biggest government entitlement program in U.S. history.  I don't think Johnson truly knows what he's doing or what he stands for.  Like most politicians, he talks out of both sides of his mouth.  He's no better than any of the rest of them (except Trump, but it's not difficult to be better than Trump).