As Ron Paul, Inc. Flutters, Can Libertarian Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson Fill The Void?

As Ron Paul support wanes as an outcome of disunity within his campaign, it is important to investigate the 2012 Libertarian Party presidential candidate, Gary  Johnson, and his viability as the political leader of the movement for freedom and liberty, peace and truth, in the United States. I suspect that, if the Ron Paul campaign is silent on the confusion emanating from its ranks, and does not supply an aggressive pro-freedom and liberty message with an explanation to its supporters, blogging about and perhaps media coverage of Gary Johnson will increase. But, Gary Johnson’s philosophical dedication to the freedom movement is not steadfast enough to be sustained in a high-pressure national campaign, and the truth movement must recognize this or risk truly compromising itself by supporting a lukewarm libertarian candidate who fails to make a showing in the national election.

Gary Johnson is the 2012 Libertarian Party presidential candidate. He supports Ron Paul, but has chosen to run on his own ticket for the Libertarian Party, a move that might call into question his dedication to the movement as he could be used by the mainstream media to split the libertarian vote.  Despite his support of Ron Paul, he is quick to waver in the face of pundits such as Sean Hannity, as can be viewed in the following video wherein Johnson, although quick to support Ron Paul, cannot face the issue of the immorality of the Iraq War. Following Johnson’s interview with Paul is a 1998 clip of Paul in which the once (?) “champion for Liberty” bombasts the national media’s coverage of Clinton’s infidelity as the United States bombs the Sudan and Iraq.  If Johnson cannot stand up to little old Hannity, then how can we expect him to stand up to the Bilderberg Group, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the rest of the establishment?

In another interview with Hannity, Gary Johnson agrees that the Iraqi people owe the United States for their liberation. Despite the potentially millions of people our bombs and troops killed in a war based on lies and deceit, we are nonetheless owed by the victim. Oh, it feels good to be the victor!

Now, in a sort of clipped manner, a lot of what Gary Johnson says about our economic plight will resonate with many Paul supporters. For example, like Paul, Johnson believes that if we do not balance the budget we will end up with a governmental and economic collapse. Paul would agree with this statement. Johnson has used for a number of years the statistic that the United States government borrows .43 cents per each dollar. He also maintains that whilst Greece debt is 160% of GDP today, the United States can expect a similar debt-to-GDP ratio in six to eight years.

Johnson believes that the “Washington top-down, Washington knows best” processes have gotten us into the predicament we now find ourselves. He has recently said that we need to balance the budget and get out of the wars.  Also, we should be adopting marriage equality (a different view than Paul) and reformation of drug laws.

Johnson has spoken about how the Republicans are considered the fiscally conservative party, but that these days they do not work towards a balanced budget. He says that the Democrats are known for their championing of civil rights, but today he doesn’t “know if that is how it has been as of late.”

He does not know if that is how it has been as of late? We’re bearing witness to a complete takeover of American society via the Washington top-down process. Acts such as the NDAA, etc.  are the legislative embodiment of totalitarianism in the United States, and Johnson doesn’t know if democrats have been championing for civil rights? The road is being paved for the easy killing of civilians in this country, and Johnson is choosing to not bear witness.

Johnson comes off as pragmatic. He believes that if he were elected president there would at least be pressure on congress to balance the budget. And if he ever went to war, as he believes the United States should do against Kony and the Lord’s Resistance in three African countries (an organization financed by U.S. and western corporations), he would declare war and ask for Congress’ permission.  If elected president, Johnson would, in 2013, present a $1.64 trillion dollar reduction in the budget and would be prepared to take on the discussion associated with the budget.

In terms of the drug war, Johnson also seems to be right there with Paul’s supporters. He has even admitted to smoking marijuana and cites that 50% of Americans are for legalizing marijuana. He understands that the American people are awake to the fact that there are viable alternatives to handling our countries policy which does not include “arresting and incarcerating the whole country.” Nonetheless, Johnson built two private prisons during his terms in New Mexico in a startling fomenting of a trend across this country to privatize police and incarceration. And so, it could be presumed that Johnson has, in part, abetted the growth of what Max Keiser has termed the prison-industrial complex within the United States.

In this day-and-age, with rampant corruption on Wall Street and in Washington, if you present the public in the United States with a third party name, “a lot of them are going to say yes,” in Johnson’s words. According to Johnson, 80 percent of Americans are saying they would consider voting for a third party candidate.

Johnson talks about how the old parties – democrats and republicans – are gaming the system, and how that is the problem. He does not push the issue that the system itself, and not the gaming thereof, is the problem, as multitudes of Paul supporters –at least those who did not already know – are now learning.

This seems to be the Gary Johnson campaign’s moment to shine: Ron Paul is fluttering.  Johnson said in a recent CSPAN interview that his campaign was concerned with what happens to the message and what happens to the voice of liberty when Ron Paul does not get the nomination for President.  When this comes to pass, as it seems to be starting to right now, Johnson will be positioned to pose as a viable alternative and not a compromise alternative.  But is he all that viable?

I do not think so. Although Paul never took a stance on the “terrorist attacks of September 11,” Johnson has taken a very weak stance, arguing that the war in Afghanistan was totally justified as they attacked us on 9/11. This is a stance Paul has also taken.  But, perhaps Paul could afford to avoid this one question, as over many decades he took some very hardcore stances on how the money system was run in this country and has even taken the devil’s metal to Bernanke’s face.  Moving forward, however, I believe that for a political candidate to truly represent the liberty movement, what 9/11 represents, and how it has been used to “transform” this country and world, must be a central issue.

But the freedom movement has learned a very valuable lesson over the past few days: that man is fallible. Whilst some are calling this the end of the liberty movement in the United States, I take a different stance. The disappointment and feelings of betrayal emanating through Paul’s support base today are growing pains, and not the death of the movement.

We do not need to depend on the political system to achieve increased freedom in this country. As has been demonstrated with the success of the alternative media, we are all our own leaders, and we as individuals must do everything we can in our own ways to compromise the current system. We do not need to follow a leader in order to make the change we wish to see in this world. Instead, we must tear down the status quo and rebuild on our own terms.

Gary Johnson will not fill the void left should Ron Paul, Inc. do the Hindenburg and fall off the political map. Johnson is not principled enough, philosophically or morally, to represent the liberty cause in an effective manner. In fact, kowtowing to the political processes in this morally bankrupt world, at this point and on behalf of any candidate in any nation, might do more harm than good considering the sophisticated manipulation used to manage our “global village.” Perhaps the sputtering of Paul, Inc. will turn out to be a good thing for liberty, as we are forced to depend on system-changing strategies outside the prison of the political paradigm and instead in our local communities.