As always, I like to know what the opposition is up to.
The other day I got an e-mail from Organizing For Against America which asked if I could organize in Salisbury. I’ll come back to that question here in a couple minutes, but if you can stomach this video here’s the One talking about organizing:
I guess the first question is: did you notice anything missing?
It’s back to the routine and now that the Labor Day weekend has passed I’m going to return to my Dossier series. The final of my “non-polling” Republican candidates is former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson.
Political resume: After starting his own business, Gary decided to run for governor of New Mexico in 1994. He won and served two terms, wrapping up his tenure in 2003.
On campaign finance/election reform (three points): While his idea of transparency is admirable, I hope he’s joking about wearing the jackets with patches like a NASCAR driver. I’ll give him a point.
On property rights (five points): I would imagine Johnson would oppose the Kelo decision, but when he talks about “civil liberties” he doesn’t speak to private property rights. I’ll grant him one point since he talks about other civil liberties that most GOP candidates don’t.
On the Second Amendment (seven points): If you watch this video at about the 21-minute mark, you’ll see that Gary has a broad view of the Second Amendment. But this line in Slate is the clincher: “I don’t believe there should be any restrictions when it comes to firearms. None.” I believe this will get him a bunch of points. Seven.
On education (eight points): Helping his cause immensely with me, not only does Gary have the right ideas on the educational issue but he explains it very well. He gets the full eight points.
On the Long War/veterans affairs (nine points): This subject in particular is where I differ from Johnson. While I do agree we should bring our troops home from certain areas, I think he’s quite Polyannish on the usage of military alliances (look what NATO and the UN drag us into) and I disagree that “soft power” works with our enemies – that’s what President Obama is trying. He is docked five points.
On immigration (eleven points): I think his immigration approach is naïve, and the idea of any sort of grace period for illegal immigrants rubs me the wrong way. What saves him are some of his ideas about legalizing immigration eventually, such as “one strike, you’re out” – problem is too many already have that strike against them. I’ll call it a wash and keep his point total where it is.
On energy independence (twelve points): Gary has a mixed bag, as he placed his imprimatur on items which would suggest he’s a believer in government incentives for “green” energy but also Tweeted his opinions that we should drill in ANWR and can help our energy cause by drilling domestically. I’ll give him five points.
On entitlements (thirteen points): “Responsible entitlement reform” is his mantra. He wants to “revise the terms” of entitlement programs as well. But I thought he’d be more bold than the tinkering around the edges he seems to be advocating – a better step is doing away with Medicare Part D. I’ll give him eight points.
On trade and job creation (fourteen points): Gary is a free trader, which is a plus. I also like the idea of getting rid of the “mountain of regulation” that the federal government provides and keeping the internet free. I think I can give him eleven points.
On taxation and the role of government (fifteen points): The two things that stick out at me are Gary’s veto record as governor – meaning that he took the job of not growing government beyond its means seriously – and his support for the FairTax. I believe he has the right ideas in terms of limiting government, although I don’t agree with all the terms in his platform. I give him fourteen points.
Intangibles (up to three points): While there’s a lot to be said about his stance on civil liberties, like the legalization of marijuana, it also unfortunately extends to being pro-choice on abortion and for same-sex marriage. It nets out at minus one point.
