Gary Johnson will be in the next debate.
Gary Johnson, the Republican presidential candidate who has labored in obscurity, is about to get his moment in the spotlight—for one night, at least.
Johnson will be included in Thursday’s Fox News debate in Orlando, the first time he will share a stage with his eight rivals—over the objections of the Florida Republican Party.
The former New Mexico governor won the right to participate, according to Fox sources, by cracking 1 percent in the latest five national polls in which he was included—Fox News, CNN, McClatchy-Marist, ABC, and Quinnipiac—which was the criterion the network had set for inclusion.
Johnson is a quirky character, a libertarian who wants to legalize marijuana and is opposed to a border fence to stop illegal immigration. But he has attracted a passionate if tiny following while mostly flying below the media’s radar.
Well that IS interesting. I wonder why the Republicans objected? Is the Party becoming too libertarian for their tastes? Do they feel that one Ron Paul on the stage is enough? A quick search turned up nothing but atmospherics. No reasons given.
Comments
6 responses to “Gary Johnson Will Be In The Next Debate”
the charlie crist retreads?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Crist
Crist has received criticism for his fiscal approach, for his support of President Barack Obama’s fiscal policies, and for his official schedule
Ron Paul supporters already have a conspiracy theory that this is intended to hurt Ron Paul, but I think that in the long run, it helps the libertarian cause. Why should libertarianism be reduced to one man?
I know a lot of bloggers seem to like Johnson but all I know about him is that he tends to occupy the same part of the political spectrum as Ron Paul… thus is there a reason to prefer him to Paul? (i.e. specific views that are more palatable, better experience in government, more of a history of integrity with regards to acting honestly on his supposed beliefs, etc)
Johnson and Paul only share the same space because all the other R candidates pack themselves into the usual statist lump. Johnson, as a former governor of a blue state has a record of executive experience and actual budget wrangling that Paul doesn’t. He’s also young and vigorous and not an old coot (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
It will be nice to see some real pressure put on the usual (R) candidates from the libertarian angle… Ron Paul doesn’t quite cut it for me, as he can be easily dismissed as an anti-semitic crank. Gary Johnson, however, puts a much more approachable face on libertarianism, and even though I’m not in agreement with him on everything, it will be good to have his input in the debate.