Gary Johnson Running for President

[FleetFish]

Obama may lose gay voters to Gary Johnson in 2012 - Yahoo! News

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson announced Wednesday that he will run for president as a Libertarian Party candidate in 2012. He will almost certainly be the only presidential candidate on the ballot in all 50 states supporting the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Johnson’s support for same-sex marriage, and President Barack Obama’s opposition to it, could put the support and votes of gay Americans in play during the election.
Lt. Dan Choi, who was discharged from the military under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, told The Daily Caller, “I am not in the habit of endorsing candidates and I no longer belong to any party, but I hold Governor Johnson in highest regards and think he would be an amazing president.”
Choi, who has declared in the past that he won’t vote for Obama again, called Johnson “a patriot, a hero, a fighter and a friend. I salute him proudly and wish him the very best in his campaign.”
GOProud executive director Jimmy LaSalvia similarly indicated that gay voters may consider voting for Johnson.
“Gov. Johnson may very well attract gay voters because of his position on same-sex civil marriage, but I think that everyone on the ballot in November is going to give Obama a run for his money,” said LaSalvia.
Republican presidential candidate Fred Karger, currently running as the first openly gay man seeking a major party’s nomination, said that he is sticking with the GOP, but does find Johnson appealing as a candidate.
“I am a huge Gary Johnson fan and consider him a friend, but I am staying in the Republican Party and will fight for change from within,” said Karger.
Johnson is himself aware of that his position on same-sex marriage may pull votes away from the major party candidates, particularly from President Obama.
“I’m the only one advocating for marriage equality,” Johnson told The Daily Caller. “If I were gay, that would really be an important issue for me.”
Johnson added, “What I’m being asked right now is, ‘Aren’t you going to ensure Obama’s re-election?’”
“I may well take more votes from Obama because of gay rights,” he conceded, but also “because of the war, because of the war on drugs, you can really go down the list.”
The Human Rights Campaign, a large gay rights organization based in Washington, D.C., has already endorsed Obama’s re-election bid. The group’s offices are closed for the holidays, so it was unable to comment on whether the endorsement will be reconsidered.

What do you think? I would love to elect someone who is openly for gay rights, but could a third party candidate actually get elected? Or is this just going to divert votes away from Obama, thus giving the GOP a better chance?

[ANightDude]

While that's nice, where does he stand on other issues? I'm voting in the next election I'd while Gay Rights are a factor, everything else is too.

Plus, I doubt anyone's ever heard of him.

[NickT]

Meh, I'm a little shaky. He seems too business-oriented for me and while he shines on some issues, other issues make him seem less than appealing.

[Emberstone]

third party cannidates tend to throw elections to one side (there is talk that nader threw the 2000 election for bush, and some talk that perot did the 92 election for clinton).

However, Gay Johnson is, after all, a republican. the only reason the establishment has not allowed him much time is because he hold some liberal social views, but he tends to beyond that be very republican. The only reason Ron Paul gets attention of the party is because he has a very extreme, vocal supporter base, so they would push him out at their own perial.

It should be noted that to run as a libertarian presidential cannidate, you have to go through their form of a primary. If Ron Paul decides to run as a libertarian, which is still a possibility, gary johnson is not likely to win the primary. I seem to think last time around, Bob Barr won the libertarian ticket... or was that 2004?

either way, it is unlikely he will have an impact on obama's voters, unless he runs full-out as a independent, in which case, he would have a unnoticeable effect, since independents with no real name recognition to the masses dont make ripples (nadar has a great deal of name recognition, which is why he could walk away with 3-4% of the votes).

for now, moderates and independents continue to skew heavily for obama, with mitt romney being the only contender that can get close.

---------- Post added 29th Dec 2011 at 11:37 AM ----------

I also think it is ironic that the two people quoted in the article tend to be nothing more than attention whores. Dan Choi cared more about making a name for themselves by getting his name into the news through sometimes illegal acts than actually fighting for DADT repeal through positive ways that could have actually helped the process along. La Salvia heads a gay group that really only supports homophobic right wingers.

This article was really did not present more than one side, and HRC is not the only liberal affiliated group they could have contacted. We have numerous freedom of marry groups, we have the LGBT military rights groups, and many others who would have no doubt been more than happy to comment on having a open lgbt supportive presidential cannidate.

[jargon]

Originally Posted by Emberstone

third party cannidates tend to throw elections to one side (there is talk that nader threw the 2000 election for bush, and some talk that perot did the 92 election for clinton).

However, Gay Johnson is, after all, a republican. the only reason the establishment has not allowed him much time is because he hold some liberal social views, but he tends to beyond that be very republican. The only reason Ron Paul gets attention of the party is because he has a very extreme, vocal supporter base, so they would push him out at their own perial.

It should be noted that to run as a libertarian presidential cannidate, you have to go through their form of a primary. If Ron Paul decides to run as a libertarian, which is still a possibility, gary johnson is not likely to win the primary. I seem to think last time around, Bob Barr won the libertarian ticket... or was that 2004?

either way, it is unlikely he will have an impact on obama's voters, unless he runs full-out as a independent, in which case, he would have a unnoticeable effect, since independents with no real name recognition to the masses dont make ripples (nadar has a great deal of name recognition, which is why he could walk away with 3-4% of the votes).

for now, moderates and independents continue to skew heavily for obama, with mitt romney being the only contender that can get close.[COLOR="Silver"]

This is my favorite typo ever!


But in all seriousness, yay for a pro-gay candidate! Despite that, I wouldn't pick him based on that issue alone. Libertarians tend to be great on some issues, not so much on others. Lots more research to do on the candidates before elections!

[Emberstone]

Originally Posted by jargon

This is my favorite typo ever!


But in all seriousness, yay for a pro-gay candidate! Despite that, I wouldn't pick him based on that issue alone. Libertarians tend to be great on some issues, not so much on others. Lots more research to do on the candidates before elections!

woah... didnt see that one. oh well.

I dont think we will see a third party win, but we might seem a bigger slice of the pie go to third party canidates this year. However if ron paul does go libertarian ticket, gaRy johnson can kiss the libertarian ticket goodbye.

[Fintan]

Why would I vote for anyone based on a single issue?

[Emberstone]

Originally Posted by Fintan

Why would I vote for anyone based on a single issue?

maybe people assume that because they assume all americans have the short attention spans of a... oooh, a colorful peice of string!!!

[Robert]

Originally Posted by Fintan

Why would I vote for anyone based on a single issue?

Its called using a protest vote to pressure other presidential candidates, now and in the future, in to paying more attention to this specific issue.

If you dont want to do that then dont vote for this guy.


In fact, dont waste your time voting at all. Go for a walk or clean a toilet instead.

[Jonathan]

Originally Posted by Robert

In fact, dont waste your time voting at all. Go for a walk or clean a toilet instead.

Was that really necessary...

[Emberstone]

the idea of a protest vote is stupid.


So you are going to vote for a third party canidate becuase you dont like that the president that has done more for you in his first term to progress equal and constitutional rights for LGBT citizans than we had seen all the other presidents in american history combined did not get everything done all at once?

how would you feel if you wake up in january 2013 to discover it was a homophobic republican who got inagurated because you and a bunch of people 'protest voted' by choosing someone who doesnt actually have much in the way of a record of results on a issue you care about because you choose to vote against the canidate who does have a proven track record on the issues you care about.

[jargon]

I don't think the idea of protest votes are stupid. It makes perfect sense sometimes, but its a case by case basis.

Obama is definitely in the top 50% of candidates as far as gay rights go, granted. Before we started seeing some action on Dont Ask Dont Tell he was a tad disappointing really. If he was still ignoring that issue, I'd say this makes perfect sense. If neither candidate is likely to do anything helpful for the gay community, showing them that doing so wouldve gotten them some votes is a smart choice in the long run, and the actual effects on gay rights would be negligable. If we got in a situation like that (where neither major candidate was A LOT better than the other) ignoring the minor differences for the big picture could be a good move.

In this case, Obama chose to repeal Dont Ask Dont Tell just as we are starting to think about elections again. I'd say in this case proving that that was a good choice is a better move that pushing for immediate gay marriage rights (which sadly, just isnt quite ready to happen).

[Gerry]

It's hard to see where he stands on so many other issues. While I think it's great he is in full support of LGBT rights, I just don't think he'll get much support, even from the gay community as a whole. It's so hard for third party candidates to get very much recognition and have a serious chance of winning.