Johnson running

[jbgator]

Surprised this didn't make the board yet...

http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/

[feeblepizza]

It did make the board, when he announced a month or so ago that he would be announcing his candidacy on April 21st.

[Mr. Morden]

Johnson's supposed to announce his candidacy in less than an hour (9am in NH).  I just tried accessing garyjohnson2012.com about 45 minutes ago to see if he had a website yet, and it asked for a password in order to get in.  Looks like they've opened it up now.

I wonder if any of the cable networks will carry any of his announcement.  Will they even mention it in passing?

[tpfkaw]

I guess they could call him the "amnesty, abortion and acid" candidate...

[Mr. Morden]

Here's a pic I just found off twitter, presumably a shot of the place he's giving the announcement:

link

[Mr. Morden]

OK, I just searched twitter and Google News to see if I could find any actual coverage of his announcement, but nothing really from the news orgs to be found at the moment.  But there is this tweet:

http://twitter.com/#!/GovGaryJohnson/status/61053789259567104

which I guess confirms that he's running (if you needed confirmation beyond the "Gary Johnson 2012" website).

[feeblepizza]

I got into the site at 8AM without having to supply a password.

[Mr. Morden]

I got into the site at 8AM without having to supply a password.

Well, I'm in Australia, so maybe he just doesn't trust foreigners.

But no, I actually tried at about 7:30am US Eastern time, and couldn't get in at that time.  Maybe they opened it up between 7:30 and 8.

[jbgator]

All the music on the video on the main page of his site is from V for Vendetta...

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Who?

(That's what most of America is going to ask)

[Associate Justice PiT]

Who?

(That's what most of America is going to ask)

     You're quite correct. He's pretty awesome in my book, but I cannot see him having much of an impact on the race, especially with Ron Paul also running.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Why is both he and Paul running? Won't they just split the vote amongst their base?

[Grumpier Than Thou]

After Dr. Paul, he's my number one candidate.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

After Dr. Paul, he's my number one candidate.

Why is both he and Paul running? Won't they just split the vote amongst their base?

No-Sadly, Johnson wont break 10%. Paul is likely to at least come in third in most states.

All the music on the video on the main page of his site is from V for Vendetta...

My favorite movie, my second (or third) favorite canidadate. All in all, thats pretty dang cool.

[Ⓐnarchy in the ☭☭☭P!]

Why is both he and Paul running? Won't they just split the vote amongst their base?

It IS conceivable that they could both run at first to back each other in the debates and rile up supporters the other couldn't get (Johnson's pro-choice stance and focus on drugs would be useful for him), and then whoever is pollling worse would pull out and back the other. Plus, if they were both debating they could make their views look way stronger (remember how basically every debate in '08 treated Ron Paul as the weirdo? Won't fly in 2012).

Or they could just sap each others votes.

[Progressive]

Why won't Ron Paul just not run. Does anyone else think it's a little selfish...I mean I obv prefer Obama over Johnson as I'm a Dem, but like, I don't know I also believe that politics is knowing when to step aside...

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Why is both he and Paul running? Won't they just split the vote amongst their base?

It IS conceivable that they could both run at first to back each other in the debates and rile up supporters the other couldn't get (Johnson's pro-choice stance and focus on drugs would be useful for him), and then whoever is pollling worse would pull out and back the other. Plus, if they were both debating they could make their views look way stronger (remember how basically every debate in '08 treated Ron Paul as the weirdo? Won't fly in 2012).

Or they could just sap each others votes.

But honestly, MBD, that's not many votes to sap.

[jbgator]

Johnson has serious charisma issues.  "I think" "I really believe" "I'd like to think" and just a general seeming lack of confidence up at the podium.  He needs to act like the commander-in-chief.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

are there any good balanced summaries out there of his time as Governor or his foreign policy views?

[sentinel]

I liked his video, show his "youth" up until where he's running. He runs as if he is struggling too much. That made him look a bit older but the swimming and biking were good. The music isn't bad either.

[Ⓐnarchy in the ☭☭☭P!]

Why is both he and Paul running? Won't they just split the vote amongst their base?

It IS conceivable that they could both run at first to back each other in the debates and rile up supporters the other couldn't get (Johnson's pro-choice stance and focus on drugs would be useful for him), and then whoever is pollling worse would pull out and back the other. Plus, if they were both debating they could make their views look way stronger (remember how basically every debate in '08 treated Ron Paul as the weirdo? Won't fly in 2012).

Or they could just sap each others votes.

But honestly, MBD, that's not many votes to sap.

Depends. Assuming they can max out at 15% of the vote overall and the field is crowded, one on his own could conceivably snatch up a narrow victory by taking a couple of favourable states (eg. winning Nevada, placing well in Iowa/New Hampshire, winning chunks of the midwest/New Mexico/Oregon, etc). If that was a possibility, then vote-sapping would actually matter (assuming only one of them ran, the other would be basically guaranteed most of the support of the libertarian block).

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Because Ron Paul has certain advantages over Johnson. He has some degree of celebrity status, so if he decides try he will hit the ground running, whereas Johnson will have to start from ground up. Furthermore, Ron Paul comes off as far more charismatic than Gary Johnson (who, to me at least, often sounds like he doesn't really believe in what he is saying). Also, he has a very strong grassroots network, whereas Gary Johnson has far less of that and isn't the kind of guy to motivate it to become strong (can you really imagine the Gary Johnson 2012 campaign raising millions with moneybombs?).

On the flip side, Gary Johnson has less of a way of alienating people, so he might be able to broaden his appeal. But then, I don't see how he could survive the primary when his big issue is the drug war and his pro-choice views are pretty strong too. He would get decimated in many of the major primaries, and would have to be up against a field of theocratic loons to attract enough support from other directions to overcome that. Again on the flip side, however, his stances would let him snatch up a chunk of Obama's base, meaning he could probably beat Obama easier than many other Republicans could.

[specific_name]

Realistically, I think he's just getting his name out there nationally. It may not be a lot of exposure, but somebody will have to succeed Ron Paul eventually as the standard barer for the Republican libertarians. Maybe it will be Rand, or if Johnson can become more well know than it could be him. Running for president is the best possible way for him to get that exposure. I don't see this as a direct challenge to Paul as much as it is a chance to get his name out.

edit: more riviting, edge of your seat Gary Johnson. He's going after the much sought after nutcase vote. Here he positions himself as a staunch states rights supporter. Didn't these guys get the memo about the Civil War, the 1960's etc? Maybe we should start a chain email.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkvodt98UYw

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

For what it's worth, he's the most prominent Republican to actually announce, as opposed to forming an exploratory committee. What's hilarious is when they announce that they're going to form an exploratory committee.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I guess they could call him the "amnesty, abortion and acid" candidate...

At least Johnson has some credibility on economics...

[Bull Moose Base]

I think there's a good chance Johnson ends up running as an Independent (and I think the net result would be a wash).  I also think that there's a decent chance Johnson or Paul or someone else plays a role comparable to Jerry Brown's in 1992 where the establishment agrees on a nominee but some gadfly hangs and is competitive with the consensus pick in primaries as he tries to focus on Obama.