Pubdate: Tue, 19 Jun 2012
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2012 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Lynn Bartels

EX-NEW MEXICO GOV. JOHNSON OFFERS 3RD CHOICE

Presidential hopeful Gary Johnson's message to voters is that he's 
better on civil-libertarian issues than Democrat Barack Obama and 
better on dollars-and-cents issues than Republican Mitt Romney.

In the West, where several states will be crucial in determining who 
wins in November, Johnson, running on the Libertarian ticket, is an 
attractive conveyer of that message.

The erstwhile Republican served two terms as governor of New Mexico, 
a state where he's polling at 12 percent.

He's a strong advocate of state's rights.

And as an added edge in Colorado, he has raced eight times in the 
Leadville Trail 100 mountain-bike race and has a long string of 
extreme-athlete bona fides.

Johnson's strengths introduce an interesting dynamic: If the 
presidential race in Colorado is as close as some pundits predict, 
Johnson could end up being compared with third-party candidates Ralph 
Nader in 2000 and Ross Perot in 1992, viewed as spoilers in those 
presidential races.

Which party would likely benefit from a Johnson surge?

During a campaign swing through Colorado - where he marched in the 
gay-rights PrideFest on Sunday and spoke in favor of a ballot measure 
to regulate marijuana like alcohol Monday - Johnson downplayed such 
speculation.

"I've never viewed myself as a spoiler because I believe I'm going to 
take equally from both sides," Johnson said just before a news 
conference at a Denver medical-marijuana business.

"Mitt Romney talks about balancing the budget, but he talks about 
growing the military and holding Medicaid harmless. Well, I did 
finish second-grade math, and it doesn't add up," Johnson said. "I 
want to repeal the Patriot Act. I want to end the drug war. I'm 
better than President Obama on civil liberties."

Johnson ran for the GOP nomination for president before ending his 
sputtering campaign in December.

He's wooing voters unhappy with Obama and Romney, but he also 
believes that his stance on getting out of Afghanistan and reducing 
the national debt has a chance of attracting supporters who backed 
GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul.

That would mean taking votes Romney needs.

But Denver political consultant Floyd Ciruli said neither Romney's 
nor Obama's campaigns should be worried.

"By and large, the Libertarian Party brings almost nothing to the 
table other than ballot access," Ciruli said. "The individual would 
have to be a celebrity or be independently wealthy or have an issue 
that is just raging with the people."

In Colorado - where the party was born - Libertarians make up less 
than 1 percent of active voters. The party's presidential candidate 
captured less than 1 percent of the national vote in 2008.

Johnson made international news when as governor he supported 
legalizing marijuana, and at the Groundswell Cannabis Boutique on 
Monday, he talked about America's unsuccessful war on drugs.

He urged the Obama administration to stop "meddling in the affairs of 
Colorado."

"I am not going to spend federal resources cracking down on 
medical-marijuana facilities in states where the legislatures or 
citizens in those states voted to have these facilities," he said.

Johnson also offered his support for Amendment 64, a November ballot 
measure that would let voters decide whether to regulate marijuana 
like alcohol.

"But I am on the stump for a number of reasons that go beyond 
marijuana," Johnson said, noting that the common thread in his 
campaign is freedom and individual liberty.

If he were allowed to debate on the same stage as Romney and Obama, 
Johnson said, "I think there's a real possibility of winning."

"If I do end up in the spoiler role, that's more attention to the 
issues then," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom