Jesse Ventura defends voting for Gary Johnson

Jesse Ventura’s Defense of Gary Johnson Baffles Chelsea Handler - The Daily Beast - Matt Wilstein:

October 13, 2016 - "When Chelsea Handler tried to book a genuine Donald Trump supporter on her Netflix talk show, she canceled. So now she’ll have to settle for someone who’s with Gary Johnson.

"Handler told her guest, former Minnesota Governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura, that she wanted him to come on her show because she’s found it 'impossible' to get anyone to speak with her that either supports Trump or is an Independent....

"'I believe that you vote your heart and your conscience,' Ventura told Handler, before quoting Jerry Garcia, who explained his decision not to vote to Rolling Stone in 1989 by saying, 'Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.'

"'I won’t vote for evil,' Ventura said. 'I will vote for someone who I want to be the president. And when I do that, I will have fulfilled my duty as a citizen. I voted my heart, I voted my conscience, and it will be Gary Johnson getting my vote. It will not be a Democrat or Republican.'

"Handler turned around and asked Ventura, 'You know Gary Johnson’s not going to win, right?'... On this question, Ventura entered the world of the hypothetical. If this wasn’t a 'fixed, rigged election' and Johnson were allowed in the debates, 'there’s a great chance he could have won, just like I did,' he said. The big problem with this argument is that Johnson has not exactly seized the day when given the spotlight (see Aleppo moment one and Aleppo moment two).

"'But he’s not going to win!' Handler replied, emphatically. 'So you’re giving your vote to somebody who’s never going to get it! It’s like throwing someone a lifeline and they’ve already drowned!'

"All Ventura could say to that was 'So what?' He then went on to argue that ... voting for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump is voting for a candidate they 'don’t really want' in office and is essentially voting 'against' someone instead of 'for' someone.... 'We truly will not get a revolution in this country until we stop electing Democrats and Republicans,' Ventura added."

Read more: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/13/jesse-ventura-s-defense-of-gary-johnson-baffles-chelsea-handler.html
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Jesse Ventura endorses Gary Johnson

Jesse Ventura — Why I'm voting for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson for president — CNBC:

July 13, 2016 - "I've always had the belief that you vote for someone you believe in. When you cast your vote, you want that person to be president. You don't vote for one politician so that another doesn't become president. And yet here you have an instance where people don't want either the Democrat or Republican nominee as president! People are going to vote for Donald Trump because they don't want Hillary Clinton — and people are going to vote for Clinton because they don't want Trump. That's a horrible way to pick the next commander-in-chief.

"What astounds me is that the American public willingly accepts that these are the two choices the political gangs that run our country are offering us. And until this country wakes up and realizes that there are in fact more than two choices, despite what mainstream media shoves down our throats, then this is what we're going to get.

"Ron Paul mentioned that he's probably going to vote Libertarian this year. He should. After all, he was their presidential nominee back in 1988. Come November, I will join him, voting for Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson again, just like I did in 2012. He's on the ballot in all 50 states, and this year I hope voters won't be lemmings. This is the year for a third party to rise, if there ever was one. This is the time for the people to stand up and say, 'We've had enough, and we're still in charge.' Whether voters exercise that option, we'll have to see.

"I like everything Gary Johnson has said so far. He's fiscally conservative and socially liberal – something neither Democrats nor Republicans can offer. He also has a solid plan for bringing our troops home and restoring our economy. And, like me, he's a firm believer that marijuana should be legal.

"I know Gary Johnson personally — we were governors at the same time. He was always an honest, straightforward kind of guy who put the needs of the people first. That's the kind of person I want for our next president.

"If you dare sit there and say a third party can't win the presidency, then I want to know how many times you've won the lottery. Seriously, if you already know the future, how come you aren't banned from purchasing lotto tickets? Well, I have news for you: There are countries that actually care about political corruption and there are countries that actually do something about it. I'd be a proud American if I could say our country was on that list....

"[M]aybe we should really be working to abolish all political parties completely. If you don't go into office with an agenda — an agenda that is dictated to you by the special interest groups that got you elected in the first place — then you do what's best for the people. But first thing's first: This November, the time has come to vote for the third option."

Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/13/jesse-ventura-why-im-voting-for-libertarian-candidate-gary-johnson-for-president-commentary.html
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Gary Johnson preparing to run again in 2016

Libertarian reacts to Rand Paul's entrance into the race too | The Daily Caller - Alex Pappas:

April 8, 2015 -  "Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president in 2012, tells The Daily Caller he is gearing up to run for the White House again.

"'Unless something catastrophic happens in my life, I hope to do that,' Johnson said in an interview at The Daily Caller’s newsroom in Washington on Wednesday.

"Johnson ... said 'there’s no real rush' to announce though he is actively preparing for a campaign.

"Asked about the libertarian-leaning Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s entrance into the race this week, Johnson said: 'I like the fact that he’s running. I mean of all the Republicans, he’s the closest to my ideology. The things that we differ are immigration, marriage equality, women’s right to choose, drug policy and military intervention.'

"But Johnson ... also disputed the characterization that Rand Paul is a libertarian. 'Out of his own mouth, he in no way would describe himself as a libertarian,' Johnson said. 'Because that is something he is running from right now to get the Republican nomination.'

"Johnson, who is now CEO of Cannabis Sativa Inc., which sells medical marijuana, said he’d welcome Jesse Ventura, the former Minnesota governor into the race for the Libertarian Party’s nomination for president.... 'If that happened, that would be terrific because that potentially could be a televised-kind-of-a-debate situation,'  Johnson said of a matchup with Ventura."

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/08/gary-johnson-preparing-to-run-for-president-in-2016/
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America's Libertarian Moment; an interview with David Boaz

America's Libertarian Moment - Molly Ball - The Atlantic:

August 18, 2013 - "Libertarianism is on the march. From the rapid rise to prominence of first-term Senator Rand Paul to the state-level movements to legalize gay marriage and marijuana, the philosophy of fiscal conservatism, social liberalism, and restrained foreign policy seems to be gaining currency in American politics. But it's nothing new, of course. (New York Times Magazine, 1971: "The New Right Credo: Libertarianism.") A lonely band of libertarian thinkers have been propounding this philosophy since the 1960s, when the late thinker Murray Rothbard published his first book, Reason magazine was founded, and, in 1974, Rothbard teamed up with Charles Koch and Ed Crane to found the Cato Institute, one of Washington's most influential think tanks.

"David Boaz, Cato's executive vice president, has been with the organization since 1981, giving him a good perch to put the current libertarian vogue in perspective. In an interview this week, we talked about the political currents propelling libertarianism into the political mainstream, the Supreme Court's libertarian turn, whether Paul will be our next president, and much more....

"What is the significance of Rand Paul to this discussion?
"Rand Paul is clearly the most significant libertarian-leaning American political figure in a long time. There are a couple of issues I disagree with him on, but when you look at issues that cut across left-right boundaries, like his interest in reduced spending, less regulation, reining in our adventurous foreign policy, protecting America's rights against surveillance -- that's a combination of issues that libertarians have waited a long time to find together in one candidate. I think he can have a lot of appeal. A lot of libertarians, including those who came out of the Ron Paul movement but also others, are very interested in seeing how far his political ambitions might take him....

"Are there other libertarian-leaning politicians you're interested in besides Rand Paul?
"One of the problems for libertarians is they aren't much interested in politics. The three most libertarian governors of past decade -- the brilliant lawyer William Weld, the true citizen-politician Gary Johnson, and the eccentric entertainer Jesse Ventura -- all walked away from politics. In the House you have Justin Amash [of Michigan] and Thomas Massie [of Kentucky] -- I once did a study that determined that Kentucky was the least libertarian state in the country by several criteria. Then they elected Rand Paul and Thomas Massie, so maybe I have to reconsider."

Read more: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/08/americas-libertarian-moment/278785/
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Governor Johnson’s Rally for Jobs, Opportunity, and Diversity

Event: Governor Johnson’s Rally for Jobs, Opportunity, and Diversity | Independent Political Report:

"Event: Governor Johnson’s Rally for Jobs, Opportunity, and Diversity
September 17th, 2012

"On Tuesday, September 18, former Governor and Libertarian Party Presidential nominee Gary Johnson will be holding an event at the Rosenthal Pavillion on the 10th Floor of NYU’s Kimmel Center (60 Washington Square South, New York NY 10012).

"Speakers currently include Jesse Ventura, Judge Andrew Napolitano, Kennedy, and Kristin Davis.

"For [further] information about the event, follow the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/events/340699849355524/permalink/345611695531006/
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http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2012/09/event-governor-johnsons-rally-for-jobs-opportunity-and-diversity/