Welfare state 'screws' millennials, Johnson tells Kimmel (video)

UPDATED! Gary Johnson on Jimmy Kimmel Live: Millennials Are Getting "Screwed" - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Nick Gillespie:

October 20, 2016 - "Immediately after last night's final presidential debate, Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson appeared on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! to discuss a wide range of topics, including debt and deficits, marijuana legalization, foreign policy, and whether the former two-term New Mexico governor plans to run again in 2020 (answer: no).

"Here's Johnson explaining why he's polling well among millenials. It's worth a quick watch, as it lays out the mostly undeclared generational warfare that has been rolled out through most of the 21st century. Younger, relatively poor Americans are being forced to pay for the health care, retirement, and safety of older, wealthier people. The big catch? Those same entitlement programs are unsustainable, so they will be long gone by the time that millennials expect to collect on their 'investments.'"

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2016/10/20/gary-johnson-on-jimmy-kimmel-live-millen
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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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A millennial explains why she's voting Libertarian

I’m voting for Gary Johnson. My vote is a message of dissent. - Vox - Stephanie Page, as told to Karen Turner:

October 19, 2016 - "As a believer in small government, I’m voting this year for Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate. I’m a 21-year-old first-time voter in the swing state of Ohio, and in this election, my vote represents a protest. It’s a way for me to voice my bone-deep distaste for both candidates, and to send a message to Washington that they can’t expect us to all fall into line when they offer such abysmal choices. They need to do better, and it’s our responsibility to tell them that....

"There's a quote from Charles de Montesquieu that sums up how I feel: 'Unnecessary laws weaken the necessary laws.' I’m scared of gratuitous restrictions that take away our guns, which to me are a symbol of our power as citizens. I don’t want “we the people” to keep handing over our individual rights to a powerful centralized government. While I understand that the individual gun control policies proposed by Democrats do not include literally rounding up firearms from individual homes, I fear that even small gun restrictions will just give way to bigger limitations down the line. I’m scared of a slippery slope to ever-more-infringing laws.

"It’s one big reason I simply can’t vote for Clinton. Her threats to increase gun control, along with the threat of appointing a liberal Supreme Court justice who might reinterpret the Second Amendment, are just too big of a risk to me. And that’s just the beginning. Every new scandal she is involved in, from the State Department emails to her private Wall Street speeches unveiled by WikiLeaks, smacks of the corruption of the powerful. Her desire for secrecy, her 'private position and public position' — all of her actions embody the corruptive, corrosive risk of handing over increased power to our elected officials.

"I really can’t get past Trump’s offensive and impulsive comments.... Early on in this election, I supported Marco Rubio for the conservative ticket; despite my misgivings with some of his social policies.... But now that Trump has taken over, I feel even more distaste for my party’s choices. How could they have let someone with such bigoted and hateful language come to represent small-government, conservative values in our country today?

"I sometimes worry that the Republicans’ more socially conservative, deeply religious stances will further alienate me and voters of my generation. As a gay woman, I was really bothered by the Republicans’ staunch stance against same-sex marriage in the past. I’m also a Christian, but I just don’t see a place for far-right-leaning religious rhetoric in our government policies. These institutions need to stay separate.

"More and more, I see myself aligning with the Libertarian Party. I’m really attracted to their pragmatic, mind-your-own-business-and-stay-out-of-people’s-way philosophy toward governing. I see them as the only political party with real hope for compromise and getting things done in a government afflicted with gridlock.

"I like where Johnson stands on social issues, such as gay rights and guns, while also supporting his responsible fiscal spending and lower tax policy. He seems like a genuinely likable and nice guy, which is important.

"I also really like Johnson’s views on immigration, which are to expand our work visa options and let even more immigrants into the country legally to work, spend, and contribute to our economy. Immigrants are what have always made this country great, and so many of us descend from immigrants, whether generations ago or recently. Trump’s hateful rhetoric about them stealing our jobs is just untrue and unhelpful....

"I understand that Johnson has little to no chance of becoming president, but I need to use my voice to tell our government that we need to change the way things are done. If everyone who thinks like me does the same, using their vote against the current party system, the Libertarian Party will have a chance at becoming the future of conservative political thought in our future. My vote is a message of dissent."

Read more: http://www.vox.com/first-person/2016/10/19/13307630/gary-johnson-millennial-voter
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Gary Johnson announces Supreme Court choices

Libertarian presidential candidate names two law profs as potential SCOTUS picks - Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal:

October 17, 2016 - "Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson has announced his U.S. Supreme Court shortlist: law professors Jonathan Turley of George Washington University and Tom Campbell of Chapman University....

"Turley has challenged provisions in Utah’s polygamy law, and has sued over executive actions regarding the Affordable Care Act. 'Though I have never met Governor Johnson,' Turley wrote on his blog, 'I obviously share many values with him on the constitutional system.'

"Campbell told Law.com Johnson may have noticed his support for separation of powers, as well as his newspaper op-ed last spring suggesting that Republicans with a Libertarian bent should consider a third-party candidate."

Read: http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/libertarian_presidential_candidate_names_two_law_profs_as_potential_scotus
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Gary Johnson’s Supreme Court Picks Would Add More ‘Diversity’ To The Court | Above the Law - Elie Mystal:

October 17, 2016 - "As a purely intellectual exercise, I don’t hate these picks. Campbell is a law and economics Republican who would probably allow the Court to continue being the most pro-corporate collection of justices in American history. Turley is a civil libertarian who thinks the Second Amendment condemns us all to living in an armed hellscape. Both of these guys studied at the University of Chicago at some point. We’d be getting robust defenses of the market’s supremacy to solve issues for us from either of these guys.

"BUT THEY’RE NOT PROSECUTORS. Their legal experience is more theoretical than practical, but here are two guys who haven’t made their bones in the incarceration-industrial complex. Turley has media experience, Campbell has political experience. Nobody on the current Court has much of either. Yes, they’re both white males.... But there is more than one kind of diversity needed on the Court, and these guys would add some much needed professional diversity to the Court."

Read more: http://abovethelaw.com/2016/10/gary-johnsons-supreme-court-picks-would-add-more-diversity-to-the-court/
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Libertarian registrations up 28% in Nebraska

Libertarian Party sees surge of new voters in Nebraska | Regional Government | journalstar.com - Grant Schulte, Associated Press:

October 16, 2016 - "Nebraska's Libertarian Party ... has seen a 28 percent increase in voter registrations since the state's May primary. The number of registered Libertarians is on pace to top 10,000 before the Nov. 8 election, and a state senator who recently joined the party is using her experience as a former GOP political activist to teach its members how to campaign.

"'It has a different feel from the third-party campaigns of the past,' said Sen. Laura Ebke of Crete, who switched her affiliation from Republican to Libertarian in May.

"Libertarian activists have set up phone banks and are building a volunteer network to knock on doors. The party recently purchased campaign software to track and communicate with registered voters. They're also using a 'text blasting' app to communicate with young voters, a tactic borrowed from former Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders' campaign.

"Party activists are focusing more on local government races and setting up new county chapters to recruit candidates. Libertarian Ben Backus, who ran unsuccessfully for secretary of state in 2014, is expected to win a seat on Gering's City Council after his primary opponent withdrew from the race. The party is also fielding candidates for the Scotts Bluff and Washington county commissions.

"Activists said their strategy is twofold: In local government, they can influence policies that affect people directly, such as property and sales tax rates. It also helps them gain experience and name recognition that could help them run for higher state offices....

"Backus said Libertarian Party officials have offered debate training and provided mailing lists to candidates who seek their help. Ebke has played a major role, drawing from her experience as a former GOP activist, Fairbury School Board member and state lawmaker. She now serves as Nebraska's state director for the Libertarian presidential ticket of Gary Johnson and Bill Weld, both former GOP governors.

"Ebke said party activists hope to appeal to Democratic-leaning voters with their positions on civil liberties and Republicans with their emphasis on fiscal restraint. In the presidential race, the party is aiming to secure at least 5 percent of the statewide vote for Johnson in hopes that the Libertarians will automatically qualify for the ballot in the next presidential election.....

"Libertarians have traditionally struggled to qualify for the ballot in Nebraska but regained access in 2010 and slowly working to build their ranks, said Michael Knebel, a district coordinator for the party. Knebel said Ebke's party switch and the resulting media attention helped boost the number of registered Libertarians, as did opposition to Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.

"'The last 12 months have been a game-changer,' he said."

Read more: http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/libertarian-party-sees-surge-of-new-voters-in-nebraska/article_b1eb6732-53ee-5568-a20f-daacaf1c2d1b.html
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Where Johnson and Sanders agree (video)

Where Gary Johnson and Bernie Sanders Agree | I Agree To See - Kaitlyn Goodman:

October 14, 2016 - "Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson stars in a new political ad for the campaign to ... tell supporters where he and Senator Bernie Sanders agree.

"Johnson begins by explaining that Clinton has been spending millions on attacking him, because he's gaining momentum among millennials and independents – a group Bernie Sanders did well with during the Democratic primary.

"'They supported him because he opposed the wars they oppose – just as I do. The same wars Hillary Clinton has supported and helped send us in to,' Johnson explains.

"Johnson then goes into other topics including crony capitalism, the war on drugs and individual freedom. However, he does concede that [he] and Sanders disagree on one thing – higher taxes. 'I see the dangers in high taxes and in big government,' he goes on....

"The Hill reported in August that Johnson is beating Donald Trump among millennials in Colorado.... And in [nationwide polls last month, Johnson was second [in] millennial support."

Read more: http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/10/clayton-hunt-gary-johnson-supporters-the-pragmatists-that-werent/#comment-1453596
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Why the mainstream media pile-on on Johnson?

In Defense of Gary Johnson - Antiwar.com Original by -- Antiwar.com - Justin Raimondo:

October 3, 2016 - "The Clinton smear machine, having finally noticed that Gary Johnson is cutting into what they regard as Hillary’s rightful share of the so-called 'millennial' vote, has set its sights on the Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate.

"It wasn’t supposed to be this way: the conventional wisdom was that the Libertarian ticket of Johnson and former Massachusetts Governor William Weld would split the traditionally Republican base, providing an outlet for the 'Never Trump' crowd to vent their spleen. This delighted the pro-Clinton 'mainstream' media, which gave both Johnson and Weld more publicity – most of it highly favorable – than any third party ticket in memory....

"This strategy has had consequences that hardly anyone foresaw. While Johnson-Weld went out of their way not to criticize Mrs. Clinton except in the mildest possible terms – saving their venom for Donald Trump, whom Weld likened to Hitler – what everyone overlooked is that Trump was defining the race. One was either for Trump, or against him – and the Libertarians wound up splitting the anti-Trump vote.

 "This was exacerbated by their left-sounding campaign rhetoric.... Add to this Johnson’s notoriety as a marijuana advocate, and the campaign’s targeting of 'millennial' voters, and polls of a four-way contest (including Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate) began to show that Johnson-Weld spelled trouble for Hillary. This was the signal for the Clintonian regiments of the Fourth Estate to go into action.

"It began with an interview on Morning Joe, when Johnson was asked: "What would you do about Aleppo?" His answer was to look baffled for a moment and then ask, 'What is Aleppo?'... once Johnson understood what [Mike] Barnicle was referring to he gave an excellent answer: 'I do think that it’s a mess. I think that the only way that we deal with Syria is to join hands with Russia to diplomatically bring that [to] an end. But ... this is the result of regime change that we end up supporting. And, inevitably, these regime changes have led [to] a less-safe world'....

"None of this matters to the 'mainstream' media, however, which is so determined to elect Clinton that sparking a nuclear conflagration seems to them a small price to pay. They gleefully piled on Johnson’s 'Aleppo moment,' echoing Scarborough’s ridiculous contention that not knowing how 'important' Aleppo is 'disqualifies' him as a credible candidate. The derision was universal, the snark was endless – even Bill Maher and Colbert got into the act — and it didn’t stop there.

"In a subsequent interview with both Johnson and Weld, Chris Matthews asked them all the requisite questions about Trump’s unmitigated evil, and they went along with it, saying all the 'right' things.... Toward the end of the interview with Matthews came what Johnson himself said was another 'Aleppo moment':

"MATTHEWS: I got actually a little lightning round here. This is where we have fun and maybe make some news. Who is your favorite foreign leader?.... Name one foreign leader that you respect and look up to, anybody.... You have got to do this. Anywhere. Any continent.... Name a foreign leader that you respect.
JOHNSON: I guess I`m having an Aleppo moment ...

"The idea that any libertarian could have a 'favorite foreign leader,' a head of state one could 'look up to,' is absurd. There is no such person on earth.... That aside, however, Johnson himself saying he was having another 'Aleppo moment' was enough to invite yet another storm of derision from Hillary’s partisans in the media. Matthews is no dummy: he knew perfectly well what he was doing, and even hinted at what he was up to when he said they might 'make a little news.'

"I’ve been very critical of Johnson, but in this case I have to come out in his defense.... In spite of his many shortcomings as a candidate, he has managed to put on a good showing.... For the most part he’s been relatively principled when it comes to foreign policy....

"Johnson has been falling in the polls a bit, and with the pro-Clinton media pounding away at him his descent may continue. However, the Johnson Effect, to coin a phrase, will likely continue to impact the election in potentially significant ways.... Gary Johnson, in spite of himself – and in spite of the sinister Weld – may wind up stopping Hillary Clinton from taking the White House."

Read more: http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2016/10/02/defense-gary-johnson/
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