Former governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson is running as the libertarian presidential nominee during this 2016 election.
As the governor of New Mexico he was a republican and also ran as a republican for the presidential election in 2012. When he realized that a majority of his views did not match up to the tee with GOP ideology, he became a libertarian.
The libertarian party is a party of very limited government in most if not all facets, with a focus on the exercise of free will.
One of Johnson’s main, and possibly most popular beliefs, is that marijuana should be legalized. He also believes drug addiction should be looked at as a disease rather than a criminal activity, and says rehabilitation programs will lead to a more productive society.
His stance on abortion differs between his personal and political views. Personally, he believes in the sanctity of life of the unborn, but politically he states that the decision to abort should only be in the hands of women and families, not the government.
Former Governor Johnson believes the Department of Education and the concept of common core curriculums should be totally eliminated, and local and state government should be the ones in control of schools, not Washington.
As president, Johnson plans to cut down on wasteful spending to stop the growth of the national debt. He plans on doing so by cutting military spending, bringing more troops home, and focusing on repairing relationships with allies.
He also plans on aiding Americans through the deduction of taxes. He intends to do this by getting rid of double taxation on small businesses, destroying special interest tax loopholes, and creating a singular tax for consumers based on how much they spend.
His policy mentions that he will increase jobs by getting rid of the over-regulation in Washington that benefits big corporations. He believes that government does not create jobs, entrepreneurs, businesses and economic prosperity do.
He wishes to support veterans through health care and by helping their career paths, as well as providing family support and counseling to help veterans get back in the swing of everyday life.
He plans on creating a more efficient immigration system, one that has non-citizens pay a tax incentive. Johnson and Bill Weld, his running mate, want to focus more on performing background checks and providing work visas in order to put incoming immigrants on the fast track to citizenship.
Johnson wishes to protect religious freedoms by finding a balance between upholding traditional American values of religion as well as protecting religious freedom . He and Weld stress no government intervention in personal lives at all, with a very laissez-faire approach to major issues like LGBTQ rights.
Johnson believes that, as a nation, “we have too many unnecessary laws, which have produced a society with too many people in our prisons and jails.” He plans on enacting “meaningful” criminal justice reform that reduces government influence in order to prevent unnecessary incarcerations. He also is a huge supporter of internet freedom and protecting user privacy by preventing the government from accessing or monitoring personal data.
Johnson also views the protection of the environment as a very important issue, however, he doesn’t believe that government intervention is the way to fix it. Johnson believes that a healthily functioning society and economy “will do more to bring about environmental protection and restoration than will government regulations driven by special interests.”
Historically, third party candidates have had a very difficult time mustering enough support to get themselves elected, but Gary Johnson hopes to be the man to change that this year. ““I hope that people will see that we don’t have to sit by the sidelines and watch as the two major parties limit their choices to slightly different flavors of the status quo. It is, in fact, possible to join the fray, stand up for principles and offer a real alternative.”