Politics Foreign Affairs Culture Fellows Program

Gary Johnson’s British Fan Club

Gary Johnson, the long-shot libertarian contender for the GOP presidential nomination, is receiving support this week from across the pond. Daniel Hannan, a member of Britain’s Conservative Party and a blogger for The Telegraph, published an article Monday calling for Republicans to take a second look at the former Governor of New Mexico: Alright, you […]

Gary Johnson, the long-shot libertarian contender for the GOP presidential nomination, is receiving support this week from across the pond. Daniel Hannan, a member of Britain’s Conservative Party and a blogger for The Telegraph, published an article Monday calling for Republicans to take a second look at the former Governor of New Mexico:

Alright, you might be saying, so he’s a libertarian. So are thousands of Ayn Rand-reading students around the world. No one holding these views ever gets elected to anything important.

That’s where you’d be wrong. Gary Johnson was elected on precisely such a manifesto in the swing state of New Mexico, and promptly set about putting his beliefs into practice. He took the view that there should be as few laws as possible, and vetoed more legislation during his term than the other 49 state governors put together. He cut taxes 14 times and never raised them once. Result? A budget surplus and an economic boom. During Gary Johnson’s gubernatorial term, 1,200 state jobs were axed, but 20,000 private sector jobs were created. And here’s the best bit: he was handsomely re-elected, despite a two-to-one Democrat majority.

At this point, Johnson will need any support he can get. In Gallup’s most recent Republican Presidential Ratings Summary—a measurement of Republican nominees’ recognition and favorability ratings by Republicans and Republican-leaning independents—Gallup didn’t even bother publishing Johnson’s statistics. One might assume that they were too low to warrant publication.

 

×

Donate to The American Conservative Today

This is not a paywall!

Your support helps us continue our mission of providing thoughtful, independent journalism. With your contribution, we can maintain our commitment to principled reporting on the issues that matter most.

Donate Today:

Donate to The American Conservative Today