Gary Johnson Q&A w/ The Objective Standard:

Johnson: We don’t live in a democracy, we live in a republic. We live in a country that’s governed by laws. If we lived in a democracy, we could all vote ourselves a raise, and we wouldn’t be able to afford that, and that’s been the demise of democracies. We live in a republic, and if we lose sight of that, we do so at the expense of individual freedom and liberty.

“I’m Gary Johnson-entrepreneur, athlete, former 2 term gov. Of NM, veto king” – Gary Johnson on Twitter responding to the Tampa, FL debate hosted by CNN/The Tea Party. The only kind of king that results in liberty.

Get a first peek at the interview I did with Gov. Gary Johnson that I did for a GJ Grassroots Podcast I hosted that has yet to be released by the campaign, on my radio show-turned-podcast Freethought. Click here to download the podcast. This would be the third time Gov. Johnson has appeared on my program, the first time talking to him since he announced his presidential bid.

Click here to download the new episode of my radio show-turned-podcast, Freethought. Guests are John Stahl, candidate for U.S. Congress (R, CA-50) and DuelingBarstools.com publician-in-chief Ryan Nohea Garcia. Plenty of good music, too. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

Honest- adj., free of deceit and untruthfulness; sincere. See also Gary Johnson:

Catchy campaign slogan, eh? (Photo credit: Nick Fidel)

Gary Johnson placed 3rd in the CPAC 2011 straw poll. That may seem like the short end of the stick, but think of the little recognition Johnson got, and how little in advance he scored the speaking position. This just goes to show that people are ready for bold spending cuts, which Gary made sure to mention amounted to $1.5 TRILLION; a balanced budget tomorrow.

I’m glad Ron Paul won, I’d obviously support with full effort a Ron Paul 2012 campaign. But I have to think in real terms. I know it’s hard to say this, I’m just as big of a Ron Paul fan as all of you are, but Ron Paul is not immortal. He’s going to be around 77 in 2012, and has to lead for 8 years. I’m sure he’d rather live stress free with his family rather than the tremendous job of president. Gary Johnson is younger, an extremely fit athlete, and has held a similar position on the state level as governor of New Mexico. That’s just my 2 cents on why I think Ron Paul should not run for president again, even though I’d support him 110% if he did. Now, I’d love to see him really do a lot of significant spreading of the “brushfires of liberty” in the minds of men. R3VOLution of the mind is where it’s at. And even though Gov. Johnson isn’t as philosophical as Ron Paul, you know that he’d go further than just a balanced budget. He’s said time and time again that he supports ending the Fed, and it’s not like he’s 100% cost/benefit. In one of his State of the State speeches, he said “Man is superior to government, not the other way around.” Definitely a consistent belief in the philosophy of liberty, just he also prefers to take it from a business standpoint. It’s easier to sell vetoes to the public when it’s in terms of cost/benefit rather than just pure philosophical. That’ll beget the idea that government can do better with much less, which will lead to an increase in limited government philosophy throughout the nation. Gov. Johnson did shift public opinion on school choice in NM significantly.

If the 3rd place is an indication of anything, it is to not underestimate Gary Johnson one bit. He could’ve been down in the percentage ranks with Donald Trump for saying “legalize marijuana” at a conservative conference. Think about it… Johnson ‘12.

Republicans, thy name is hypocrisy. When you figure that out and begin consistently applying your own purported philosophy to your current partisan and ideological beliefs you’ll catch up to what Gary Johnson has been saying all along.

By contrast, Hillary Clinton’s basis for opposing the war on drugs is based on sheer, utter ignorance, or political self-interest (see below). She thinks America can’t end the war on drugs because there’s “too much money in it.” As if the deleterious consequences of the war on drugs, most notably among them the Fallujah-like levels of violence throughout the Americas (and most prominently on the US-Mexico border), result from anything other than federal prohibition of the production and distribution of once legal substances for which there is great (and logical) demand coupled with an unnerving willingness by the United States to prosecute, with paramilitary and at times actual military forces, a prohibition offensive tantamount to an actual war.

The time-honored cycle of government produced state-on-citizen warfare is as follows. Government marginalizes and prohibits the production and sale of once-legal products, then hangs warrants on the necks of businesspeople who yet supply them, making them pirates. Violence ensues as pirates work to preserve their liberty. Since prison (or worse) is already assured, pirates have great incentive to arm themselves and combat the state, which requires money. Fortunately for them, there is a great deal of money to earn in the black market government prohibition created. Like all wars, there’s much money to be made on both sides.

(Note: The Somalians, and others, attacking ships off of the Horn of Africa are hyenas, not pirates. Pirates are businesspeople whose trade has been marginalized or prohibited by the State, almost always to benefit controlling political interests. Hyenas scavenge by force.)

The war on drugs is basically about shooting the messenger. Hillary, if you really believe there’s “too much money” in drugs then attack the source. Retroactively imprison every person whom the government learns has consumed drugs, or at least poison their records with misdemeanor drug possession charges. Start at the top, with President Obama, toss in former Presidents Bush and Clinton, and work down from there.

Or did Hillary refer to the “money” involved in the prosecution of the war on drugs? There’s certainly a lot of money there. Like they say, follow the money. You’ll find who really supports the war on drugs. The war on drugs is a prime example of a bi-partisan consensus amongst the political class to utilize the immutable force of government to benefit controlling interests. Social conservative controlling interests support the war on drugs as a means to achieve what they believe is a moral society. Political interests, among them prisons, courts, police, homeland “security,” DEA, immigration, border control, paramilitary, and the private and public social and business interests that support them, throw their weight behind candidates who promise to continue if not ramp up the war on drugs. Witness the 2009 Democrat Congress expanding Bush’s disastrous Merida Initiative. Yeah, there’s too much money in it all right.

Hillary statement indicates she’s either economically illiterate, dishonest, or brutally honest. Reason’s below video was gracious enough to excuse her seemingly ignorant statement due to jetlag. Personally I think Hillary was being honest. Translation: “We can’t end the war on drugs, it’s a fucking goldmine for a multitude of domestic and foreign political interests that you have only scratched the surface of. Don’t you know how this game works?”

Johnson initially declined to answer the hypothetical. He’s not inclined to bullshit, and though the question was funny and seemingly important, it wasn’t well thought out. The answer is obvious and common to us all. Gary Johnson will know who’s ass to kick the same way he’s ever known who’s ass to kick. The better question is what knowledge, experience, and skill does Gary Johnson possess that enables him to “know who’s ass to kick?” That’s what we want to know about him.

To be fair, most politicians would love the interviewer’s first question. It’s the ultimate softball. Pick the hypothetical straw man argument of your choice and burn it down from the ultimate bully pulpit – the hypothetical presidency. (If only I could get off this barstool and into the Oval Office, asses I would be kicking! Kicking I say!)

In other words, it’s the perfect question for mental masturbators, such as most politicians, pundits, and some drinkers. A lot of people would begin by reciting their occupation and laurels, which suggests, but is not conclusive, that they possess whatever minimum level of competency their listener subjectively expects of such a person. That’s not a great answer, though, because we all know there’s a lot of highly educated dummies and shitty lawyers.

But the interviewer pressed Gary Johnson, good-naturedly, and rephrased his question: “As commander in chief, how would you know who’s ass to kick?”

That’s the right question. Johnson replied (and you should watch it to hear his tone):

“Well, it gets back to resume. What have any of us done with our lives? I’ve been fortunate to have employed a lot of people in my life. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a good sense of hiring good people, and good sense to determine which people aren’t doing their jobs, and perhaps for whatever reason someone else needs to be doing that job.”

That’s the plain speak of self-made entrepreneurs. Gary Johnson’s answer was basically that he knows how to identify talent and when to fire it, which is the extent of the personal ass kicking Presidents should perform. Though he said he’s been “fortunate” to have good sense about people, the truth is that he built a 1,000 employee construction and mechanical services company from the ground up. Never forget, Gary Johnson is from the private sector, where they expect results. He has the qualities common to successful entrepreneurs and executives. Among them, critical thinking ability, a knack for talent, a penchant for efficient risk taking, and above all common sense.

It shouldn’t surprise you, then, that Gary Johnson advocates for a common sense, business approach to Constitutionally limited, fiscally accountable government, and can point to his record as governor of New Mexico to prove it. His political compass points to individual freedom, and he doesn’t shy from what he believes for fear criticism. In fact, he’ll gladly accept an invitation to address a known hostile crowd, such as he did here, where a portion of a major Tea Party rally had obviously not yet applied Johnson’s message of limited government and freedom, for which they had previously cheered, to their partisan or ideological beliefs about drugs, and thus booed when he said legalize marijuana and end the war on drugs, Gadsden flags surrounding them.

Do your politicians do that? The OUR America Initiative is driving the GaryJohnson 2012 WAR wagon and DuelingBarstools is riding shotgun. Please donate to the Initiative so Gary’s wagon can afford fresh ponies.