Monday, November 7, 2016

Charleston Post & Courier endorses Johnson

A liberating presidential-vote solution | Editorials | postandcourier.com:

November 6, 2016 - "This isn’t the first time both major-party presidential candidates have drawn widespread disdain from the public. But it’s grimly obvious that a record number of voters are thoroughly dismayed by what they justifiably see as their lack of a positive White House choice in either the Democratic or the Republican nominee.

"And if you’re among that vast group, register your displeasure loudly and clearly by voting for neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump on Tuesday. Instead, vote for Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson....

"Mr. Johnson established a solid record as a fiscally conservative governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003, earning re-election by a large margin in a state that has voted for the Democratic nominee in five of the last presidential elections.

William Weld, Mr. Johnson’s running mate, is also a fiscally focused ex-Republican governor. He was re-elected by a large margin in Massachusetts, which hasn’t voted for a GOP presidential nominee since Ronald Reagan in 1984. The Johnson-Weld ticket stresses the urgent need to reform unsustainable federal entitlement spending. Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump duck that dire challenge of our times.

"No, Mr. Johnson won’t win the White House Tuesday. But if he gains a substantial vote total, that could help spark the liberation of our politics from the two-party monopoly now failing Americans....

"Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump emerged victorious in their parties’ extended primary competitions. Yet since winning those nominations, their most effective pitches to voters have focused not on their own visions but on their opponents being 'unfit' for the presidency.

"Unfortunately, that 'unfit' charge rings all too true for both. Thus, many Americans will vote for Mrs. Clinton to prevent Mr. Trump from becoming president or vice versa....

"Yes, Mr. Johnson has committed some verbal stumbles over the last two months, exposing shortcomings in his knowledge of foreign affairs.

"But Mr. Johnson is not, as Mrs. Clinton is, under investigation by the FBI for improper use of a private email server while serving as Secretary of State. He has not, as Mrs. Clinton has, repeatedly lied about that case, expanding a credibility gap for a troubling pattern of deceit that began long before her latest scandal.

"And Mr. Johnson is not, as Mr. Trump is, a crude braggart who has consistently shown alarming ignorance on both domestic and international issues. He does not, as Mr. Trump does, have a blatantly weak claim to any constitutional or conservative perspective. Nor does he exhibit, as Mr. Trump does, an excessive self-confidence that borders on blinding narcissism."

Read more: http://www.postandcourier.com/opinion/editorials/a-liberating-presidential-vote-solution/article_8b22f73a-a2bd-11e6-b62a-e3d04d5923e5.html
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