Gary Johnson is Making Libertarian History, Win or Lose

The former New Mexico governor will almost certainly win the highest vote percentage of any Libertarian Party candidate in history. The title is now held by 1980 nominee Edward Clark, who earned 1.06 percent of the vote (his campaign was buoyed by the checkbook of his running mate, David Koch).

There is some question as to what his polling numbers really look like right now. There have been reports that "millenials" those aged 18-35 are being excluded from the usual reporting numbers, as well as military personnel. As most of you may know, those are the groups Gary Johnson and Bill Weld perform best in. Whether this is some kind of conspiracy to make Gary look bad, or just "the way things have always been" I leave up to you to decide.

The fact of the matter is Gary was polled at 39% amongst active duty, beating out both Hillary and Trump. Among Marines, Gary was at a whopping 45%. However, despite Clinton's underwhelming performance among active duty troops in the poll, their family members preferred Clinton at 29 percent to 27 percent for Trump. Johnson came in third, at 24 percent.

I found varying results when looking for polls specifically targeting millenials, but across the board the numbers showed that Trump was losing ground in that age group, and Johnson was atleast beating the Republican nominee, and sometimes Hillary as well.

If Johnson can snag 5 percent of the national popular vote, the Federal Election Commission will HAVE to classify the Libertarians as an official “minor party,” granting the 2020 nominee a lump sum of cash for the fall campaign, courtesy of the American taxpayer. While we're anti-taxation, we're going to need to recoop some cash after these campaign costs. National recognition is a huge deal for our party, which has been struggling for years to gain media attention, and to be acknowledged as more than just tin-foil hat wearing conspiracists.

Meeting the threshold would at least guarantee the part a 10 million dollar pay back, more if we gain more of the popular vote. That may seem like very little compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars major party presidential nominees routinely raise, and spend. However, our boy Johnson has gotten this far after raising only $8 million through August. Knowing the Libertarian Party’s nominee is guaranteed $10 million will allow him or her to hit the campaign trail running, improving the odds of getting into the debates, winning an even larger share of vote and fortifying the party’s place in the American political landscape.

With Trump's campaign in a tail-spin it may look like Hillary has this election in the bag. But, win or lose, for the Libertarian Party, all we really need is 5% of the popular vote for this to be a major win in our history. Maybe this isn't going to be our year, although I truly still hope the electoral college works in our favor. But if it's not our year, it will at the very least be the beginning of a true revolution.

Keep fighting ladies and gentleman. Let's get liberty and justice for all.

Gary Johnson Could Officially be on the Ballot in Every State

News is coming in from across the country reporting Gary on the ballot officially. Vermont and Illinois are among those verifying his slot. Johnson himself has come forward to state he will be on the ballot in all 50 states.

So what does this mean for those of us backing the LP ticket this year? It's been said in the past that if Gary can win his home state of New Mexico that he has a chance at the presidency. Emerging polls indicate that Johnson could not only win electoral votes (something that independent candidate Ross Perot never achieved, despite winning nearly 19% of the popular vote in 1992), but could also—in admittedly extraordinary, but nonetheless possible, circumstances—win the presidency itself.

Some may scoff at this idea since even 12% in the latest Fox News poll seems a long way from victory, and it is. But naysayers are forgetting that Johnson’s target isn’t 50% plus one, as is the case in most two-way races. Trump and Clinton are polling in the 20’s and 30’s when respondents are specifically offered Johnson as an alternative, meaning he could win a state with as little as 34% of the vote, or thereabouts.

Johnson is polling especially well in Utah, one of the few states to show us more localized results. The 1,519 registered voters were first asked about Trump and Clinton, as well as a generic “other” option. 36% chose Trump, 29% Clinton, and 35% other. That alone is promising; considering the 2.5% margin of error, “other” could win Utah. But when respondents were offered Gary Johnson in addition to “other,” support for Trump and Clinton dropped to 29% and 26%, respectively, 16% chose Johnson, and 29% other, for a total of 45% who claim they’d vote for someone other than Trump or Clinton today. Even assuming that some will grudgingly vote for them when push comes to shove, these are the kind of numbers that could precede a third-party victory, particularly considering the possibility that Mitt Romney might endorse Johnson.

If Utah’s six electoral votes go to Gary, that alone could deprive both Trump and Clinton of the 270 required to win outright, though, of course, that would depend on the outcome in swing states. If he managed to win a couple of other states—even states with few electoral votes, like New Mexico (his home state) and Nevada—a House election would be much more likely.

In which case, the vote would go to the House. You might jump to the conclusion that the conservative/republican House would vote Donald Trump, the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party. However, considering how many Republican insiders already want to dump Trump, as well as the certainty that he will continue to anger and embarrass them between now and November, it’s entirely possible that a two-term Republican governor will be their first choice by then. Factor in the possibility of Clinton being indicted or rocked by some new scandal, and the notion that a majority could back Johnson doesn’t seem as ridiculous as it might have had he faced different opponents.

So, if Johnson/Weld hasn't been announced as "officially" on the ballot in your state, keep fighting, you can turn the tide. He may be the "underdog" but he's no fringe candidate.

Let's get him in the debates and on the ballot.

Voting Third Party Matters

The biggest objection I come across to voting for a Third Party is the “wasted vote” argument — the idea that if you vote for someone who will not win, then the vote does not count.

Voting is not Football, the objective is not to back the winning team.

Join any third party and simply suggest that another person consider voting for a third party candidate and you will hear, ad nauseum, “I don’t want to waste my vote.”

A Third Party Vote is NOT a "Wasted Vote"

An unprincipled vote is the only wasted vote.

Why do we vote? It’s a chance to tell the country — and perhaps even the world — about your vision of government and society.

But how do most of us vote? Do those who believe Gary Johnson or Bernie Sanders is the best candidate, most in tune with our own feelings, actually vote for them? No. The majority do not. Instead, most of us vote the “lesser of two evils” — a defensive vote, rather than an offensive one.

The lesser of two evils is still evil.

So what happens after you cast the defensive vote? Well, then you have sold out your personal beliefs. You have become a political prostitute. You aren’t standing up for what you believe in by voting “the lesser of two evils.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being a political hooker. If you think the Republican or the Democrat really does best mirror your beliefs, by all means, vote for that candidate. But if you don’t, and you still vote for them, you’re helping to preserve the status quo you probably despise.

Remember, You Never Decide the Winner

On statewide races (larger than city council races), there is a single important point to remember: You as an individual will never cast the deciding ballot! Therefore, there is no reason to vote for the lesser evil.

I hear the wasted vote argument most in precisely the races where it applies least. For instance, the Presidency of the United States.

A Presidential race will never be decided by one vote. And if by some mathematical chance it got that close, it would be decided politically by Congress. (I know, a dirty word in the presidential races these days.)

So What’s the Point of Voting?

We as individuals don’t vote to select the winner.

As a practical matter, we vote to tell everyone else which choice best represents the direction which we want the country to go. When you vote, you gain a certain power that a non-voter doesn’t have; the power to change America.

Hence voting lesser evil sends the wrong message; it’s sending a message of compromise. In effect, a defensive vote says “I will settle for a less evil America, not the best America possible.”

I urge you not to settle.

Remember, if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten. In other words, if you want things to change, then create change.

The history of third parties in America is that they serve as the vanguard for new ideas. It is these ideas that make the world go round. If a Third Party begins to draw votes, one or both of the two big parties steal their ideas.

Socialists Can Teach Us Something

The most successful third party in the 20th Century was the Socialist Party. While never winning any significant elections, their small but growing vote totals were a threat to the Democrats. Thus the Democrats, and then later the Republicans, adopted piecemeal every major tenet of the 1916 Socialist Party platform.

Libertarians are the opposite of the Socialists, but they find their success instructive. The radical ideas about liberty that began in 1971 are now being seriously debated or, in some cases, implemented by the other parties. An increasing number of Libertarian votes is indeed noted by the politicians as well as the media.

So rather than waste your vote on Democrats or Republicans, cast a meaningful ballot that clearly says what you believe.

Libertarians Are the Future

Despite the fact that the Libertarian Party continues to run more candidates in better-funded campaigns each election cycle, it is common to hear: “I really like Libertarian candidates, but I don't want to waste my vote.”

After watching both Democrats and Republicans make promises that frequently become lies, two conclusions should become evident: (1) The lesser of two evils is still evil, and (2) the only way to waste your vote is not to use it for a candidate that sends the message you want to send to America. In all honesty, It doesn't matter which evil you vote for if evil still wins.

In the year 2000, the Libertarian Party ran over 1,500 candidates for public office. 247 of those candidates were running for seats in the US House of Representatives. If each Libertarian US House candidate won, Libertarians could technically have taken control of the house with a majority.

Today, in 2016, there are 145 Libertarians holding elected offices nationwide: 41 partisan offices, and 104 nonpartisan offices. Gary Johnson is currently polling 9-11% depending on which poll you're following. At 15% he has to be allowed into the debates.

If you have principles, then vote for your local Libertarian candidate.

Vote JohnsonWeld in 2016's presidential race. You won't regret it. Even if they don't win, you'll be helping make history. You will be helping open the door for future third party candidates. You will be helping make America a better place to live.

Why 2016 Could Be The Breakthrough Year For Libertarians

I've been voting Libertarian as long as I've been legal to vote. From a very young age I looked at the bipartisan system and knew that it didn't serve me. I saw that it was broken, and that it was essentially "circe et panem", bread and circuses. The system we currently empower is divisive. The parties and their candidates seem to only hurl mud and point fingers. Everyone is so concerned laying blame on anyone else, they never take the time to look in the mirror. The problem with America, is the American people. All of us, collectively. Some in different ways than others. I could go over the minutiae of how each group and sub-group is negatively impacting our country but instead I'm just going to point out the one major flaw we all share: we keep supporting a corrupt, broken government. I think it starts in our education system, but that's another post entirely. The important thing is that we can still change it. We still have the right to vote, and we don't have to fall for the circulating propaganda telling us to vote against the worst candidate, rather than FOR the best one.

Gary Johnson is the best candidate.

Along with his running mate, former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, he exemplifies fiscally conservative and socially liberal practices.  They believe in lower taxes and fewer economic regulations, but also feel government shouldn’t interfere with personal issues like gay marriage, legal marijuana and a woman’s right to choose.

How many of you reading this really want the government to be MORE powerful? Don't they interfere with enough of our rights as it is?

So why is this our year?

The Libertarian Party is on track to be on the ballot in all 50 states in this election. I can't say for certain that we stand a chance at WINNING this election, but they do offer voters a viable alternative to the amazingly unfavorable Trump and Clinton, along with a message the majority of Americans could possibly like. In 2012 Johnson won 1.3 Million votes, which is a drop in the bucket compared to what he would need to WIN an election, but it's the largest non bi-partisan showing anyone has ever made. He can do this. With Weld by his side they can at the very least scare the pants off Clinton and Trump. Johnson pulled 8 percent of the vote poll by Rasmussen Reports, which included him in a three-way match-up with Clinton and Trump. In a similar poll by Monmouth university, Gary jumped into the double digits at 11%. These same polls reflect that more of the democratic and republican parties look unfavorably on their own candidates than favorably.

Just because you're a registered democrat or republican does not mean you have to vote for whoever won the nomination of that party. You can say no. You can vote for someone you believe in. You can vote for Johnson Weld. You can vote for 2 men who have a history of standing up for their voters. Who will balance the budget AND protect your individual rights and liberties. You don't have to choose between being financially hurt, or socially hurt. You can have the best of both worlds. Don't vote on which rights you want to have taken away. (Dems: right to bear arms, Reps: woman's right to choose, etc) Vote to keep all of your rights. Say no to a government that has gotten too large, and say yes to the freedom that our forefathers fought so hard for.

The biggest obstacle facing the LP is media coverage. Not enough people know about the principles upon which the party, and these candidates stand. But this year, the electorate is HUNGRY for something DIFFERENT. So if you're with me, and I hope you are, help me spread the good word. get #GaryJohnson2016 trending. Post about him on your blog. Share relevant news articles to Facebook and Twitter. Put up a yard sign. Donate to his campaign here.

The thing is, I know sometimes the LP can come off sort of "crazy", because it's sort of a melting pot for everyone who has veered away from the bi-partisan system. Don't let them scare you away. Do a little research and discover what we stand for.

Don't tread on me.

Don't tread on anybody.