If you know me at all, you know that I am very critical of Gary Johnson and his half-ass campaign for the Presidency. When I come across a Johnson supporter, they tend to stick to these four main arguments for supporting him. They say that people should vote for Johnson because:
- It helps spread the Libertarian message
- He’s Better than Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump
- It will help to break up the two party domination
- It will grow the Liberation movement
None of these are good arguments that hold any weight. So, there really is no logical reason to vote for Gary Johnson for President.
“It helps spread the Libertarian message”
Promoting Libertarian ideas is fine and I understand wanting to spread better values (which I believe true Libertarians have). I could type out tons of things that I have seen which shine a light on Gary as not being a Libertarian, but this video is very revealing and saves me from typing out about 5 paragraphs:
“He’s Better than Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump”
Some people will concede that Gary Johnson is not a real Libertarian but they will still vote for him because “he’s better than Clinton or Trump”. So, basically, you’re going with the lessor of 3 evils argument?
By choosing to vote for a lesser of the evils, you are acknowledging that though each of the candidates are evil, you wish to limit the amount of evil that will be present in the White House. But, using that point makes no sense because statistically, he will never make it to the White House. Anyone voting for Gary because he’s “better than Hillary or Trump” should actually be voting for either Hillary or Trump in order to limit the amount of damage our next president can do. Otherwise it’s a moot point to support Gary because he is a lesser evil.
“It will help to break up the two party domination”
Breaking up the two party dictatorship would be awesome, but is Libertarianism really the ‘end all, be all’ philosophy that can move a majority of people away from liberalism and conservatism? Maybe the Communist Party or the Green Party would be a great place to put your vote if you’re hell bent on breaking up the two party domination. But, come on. Could you really pull enough and would anyone look at Libertarianism as being strong enough to level the playing field?
Ron Paul and Ran Paul both ran under the Republican ticket and I look at either of them as being more of a Libertarian than Johnson (refer back to the video above if you must). Justin Amash and Thomas Massie did the same. They all made great strides and furthered the Libertarian Party and platform further through this method. There’s nothing wrong with working within the two party system and swinging the parties more to our beliefs.
“It will grow the Liberation movement”
What good is growing the Libertarian Party if you’re going to do it with people that don’t fully represent libertarian values?
What good is growing the Libertarian Party with people that have values closer to Romney or Bush?
Do you honestly believe that the Libertarian Party will ever want liberty to succeed when it’s the big government progressives who are getting them money and airtime? If another Ron Paul were to come along, do you honestly believe the LP would nominate him over a Gary Johnson or Bob Barr? Do you honestly believe that a party which has failed to gain any ground in its 45 year history is competent enough to become a leading voice for liberty? If the Libertarian Party refuses to nominate liberty minded candidates while it is still small, why would they suddenly nominate liberty minded candidates when they are much larger and backed by special interests?
If you want the Libertarian Party to become the GOP Lite, go ahead and vote for Gary Johnson. But if you want to promote the genuine ideas of liberty, there is no logic in heading out in November and casting a vote for Gary Johnson.
Wrapping Up
There is no logical reason to vote for Gary Johnson. If you’re voting for him because it ‘feels good’, you’re falling into a trap and wasting a vote. Take the intellectual stand over the emotional.
Gary Johnson chose a running mate that loves Clinton and really will undermine everything the Libertarian movement stands for. In recent years, I have watched the party gain reputation because of men like Ron & Rand Paul. I don’t trust Johnson and his running mate to further the Libertarian Party at all. And I truly want liberation philosophies to win over Americans.