Gary Johnson Outraged By 'Marriage Vow' Pledge

That "Family Leader" pledge may have won the enthusiastic endorsement of Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum, but former New Mexico Governor and long-shot presidential hopeful Gary Johnson is having an equally enthusiastic reaction in the opposite direction. On the Johnson campaign's "Truth For Change" blog, Johnson calls the pledge "offensive and unrepublican," an "[attempt] to prevent and eliminate personal freedom," and finally, the "type of rhetoric" that "gives Republicans a bad name":

Government should not be involved in the bedrooms of consenting adults. I have always been a strong advocate of liberty and freedom from unnecessary government intervention into our lives. The freedoms that our forefathers fought for in this country are sacred and must be preserved. The Republican Party cannot be sidetracked into discussing these morally judgmental issues -- such a discussion is simply wrongheaded. We need to maintain our position as the party of efficient government management and the watchdogs of the "public's pocket book."

This "pledge" is nothing short of a promise to discriminate against everyone who makes a personal choice that doesn't fit into a particular definition of "virtue."

Johnson goes even further, making a web video with a piano, gently weeping about how "un-American" the pledge is:

It's stuff like this that sometimes makes me wonder if anyone will ever make clear the distinction between "Tea Partiers" and "libertarians."

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Comments

[caspiansails]

02:45 PM on 07/21/2011

I agree with Gary to the extent that we all need to be tolerant of each other's beliefs and choices to the point they are not harmful. I have relatives who are gay and love them the same as those who are straight. Do I agree with their lifestyle, no, do I let it become a wedge no. Tolerance means tolerate not accept. One can tolerate without accepting. The problem I have is that those on the far left don't want tolerance they really want things to be accepted on their terms and if you choose to not accept you are labeled a homophobe or bigot or racists or what have you. I can live without you accepting my beliefs and hopefully the reverse is true. I don't know it just seems that those who scream tolerance the loudest really only mean that we should tolerate what they want and not vice versa. Some, and likely the minority, of liberals or maybe progressives, are not so tolerant of smoking, overweight folks and so on claiming it is mostly due to the increased cost of treating the possible health issues some of these folks may have later in life but they do not apply that same standard to some choices they want everyone else to accept, I mean tolerate. Just saying......

[dine2010]

12:52 PM on 07/16/2011

Gary Johnson is a breath of fresh air compared to the other republican candidates. He is honest and smart! Its so nice not to be pandered to by slick talking sound bite politicians.

I believe Governor Gary Johnson is Obamas biggest threat. Its really hard for Obummers re-election team to paint a pro-choice, pro-gay rights, anti war GOP candidate who wants to legalize marijuana as a right wing extremist. His socially liberal stances will be attractive to democrat and independent voters. Not to mention he was a very successful two term(that's one more term than mitt romney) republican Governor in new mexico a state that is 2 to 1 democrat. He left office with a billion dollar surplus and was arguably the most fiscally conservative governor ever. He is a true Statesman and practices good stewardship of your tax dollars.

He also will not engage in mud slinging or name calling. He ran two campaigns in NM where he never mentioned his opponent. He will stick to the issues and not try to blame obama. I met Gary Johnson twice last year in my state of MO.. Once when he spoke at UMKC and another event he spoke at Missouri Southern State University. in Joplin Mo. He took the time to answer all my questions and sincerely listened to my concerns.. He is obviously working harder than the other candidates! For this he has earned my vote and support!

[pgayprof]

05:05 PM on 07/15/2011

Johnson's other positions may be odious, but holding one decent position puts him light years ahead of the Palins and Bachmanns of this world. Those two have no have no redeeming qualities!!

[dine2010]

01:12 PM on 07/16/2011

Which positions.. Ending the unjust and costly wars, Ending the drug war and legalizing marijuana, or being fiscally conservative and not wanting to wasting billions of dollars on crap for pet projects for Washington cronies?

[BobbyKearan]

10:29 AM on 07/13/2011

I hope Gary Johnson pulls an upset victory in the Republican Primary. At least we would have a choice between "Bad" and "Bad" instead of "Bad" and "Batwing Crazy Bad"

[truly moderate]

07:41 AM on 07/13/2011

A quote from his blog:

"“Government should not be involved in the bedrooms of consenting adults. I have always been a strong advocate of liberty and freedom from unnecessary government intervention into our lives. The freedoms that our forefathers fought for in this country are sacred and must be preserved. The Republican Party cannot be sidetracked into discussing these morally judgmental issues — such a discussion is simply wrongheaded. We need to maintain our position as the party of efficient government management and the watchdogs of the “public’s pocket book”.

THIS to me sums up what I feel are the traditional republican values that have been lost. His ideology of moderacy and government efficiency (as sensible small government principles are ultimately not a bad core ideology, blind small government/slash everything principles coupled with morality police are). Its good that we have both Johnson and Huntsman with a more traditional and moderate republican core ideology, but these two unfortunately have no chance. The public, while freeing slightly from conservative GOP grasping is still for the most part caught in its strong hold. The only thing that seems to be changing slightly is that some conservatives are taking a harder stance on corporate welfare. Again however, this is still the minority view as the tea party has done an incredible job of promoting false claims concerning the application of large corporations out of balance with government and personal needs.

[Benjacomin Bozart]

07:26 AM on 07/13/2011

Boy, what a RINO

[dine2010]

12:56 PM on 07/16/2011

I think your a little off there.. The other GOP candidates.. The ones who enjoy wasting billions of tax payer dollars are the RINO's. The GOP's reputation for fiscal sobriety is over, they are just as eager to fill barrels of pork as the dem's.

Its refreshing to see an actual true republican like Governor Gary Johnson who understand freedom is something you have to give in order to get. And restricting anyone's' right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness is un-republican.

[richj45]

06:58 AM on 07/13/2011

Gary Johnson an evolved republican.. maybe you should consider becoming a dem or an independent, there's little room in the GOP for a person who thinks rationally.

[nmdromero]

03:01 PM on 07/13/2011

There is plenty of room for him in the GOP. Here in New Mexico, a State that is 2-1 Democrat he was able to win the GOP Nomination and went on to win for Governor, 2 terms. He was the best Governor our State has ever had in my opinion, taking a major deficit to a 1 billion dollar surplus Lowering taxes 14 times in his two terms while raising taxes 0 (ZERO) times.

There was more done for our infrastructure (ie: roads) during his governorship then there was the previous 20 years. Small business flourished, and he made government smaller and more efficient through attrition from 13,000 + to under 12,000 gov't jobs without ever firing anyone. He is the man to get the US out of it's debt and turn the economy around.

[caspiansails]

02:57 PM on 07/21/2011

I think many folks in the GOP are more "evolved" than you think, although differences in thought doesn't really mean evolved as that would raise the question evolved into what and also what constitutes an evolutionary leap - I leave that to someone else to think more about. I think he may be off base when it comes to legalizing drugs but to be truthful I have not read his full position on that as in reality it would have no chance in DC of becoming a law. So, I am what some would call a fundalmental christian with that moral value as a base. However, while I may think something does not line up with by belief system it does not mean I cannot accept folks who practice it or have a different belief system. What I can do is have a discussion based on facts where they exist and faith with a person and let them and myself draw our own conclusions based on the discussion. Afterwards they are still either my family, my friend or my fellow man. Does not mean I hate them or shun them, I just disagree with them. Somewhere along the path the ability to disagree, sometimes strongly and remain friends or whatever has been lost and that is what we need to regain to bring civility back. Is it really more important to be right than to be kind? All sides of political and religious spectrum should consider this with relations and

[dennis1943]

05:57 AM on 07/13/2011

The Christian Rights angst about decining enrollment drives these purity tests.Maybe they should better try role model upgrade...............

[lvdragonlady]

01:34 AM on 07/13/2011

I agree BUT shouldn't that include WHAT they can and can not do with their OWN bodies?

[dine2010]

12:59 PM on 07/16/2011

It does.. Governor Johnson is the only candidate calling on the govt to end to the war on drugs (war on people) and to legalize marijuana. He understands that it is your body not the govt's and its your decision to put whatever you want in your own body.

[lastcallmd]

12:55 AM on 07/13/2011

Go get'm Garry. Finally a candidate that has the sense, and nerve, to tell these idiotic pledge pushers to go jump. Why any candidate allows themselves to be bullied by these tinpot dictators is beyond me. Johnson is the only candidate on either side that makes any sense at all.

[SonicUltimate]

11:16 PM on 07/12/2011

Too late Senator, your party has already thrown being the fiscally responsible party to the wayside and has now opted to make every issue a moral/value judgement instead of a rational/logical decision. That tends to happen when beliefs become more important than reason.

[UncleSim]

12:30 AM on 07/13/2011

You'd think a Pundit would know the difference between a Senator and a Governor. ;)

Super description of the GOP leadership though, but it seems a bit prejudiced to assume all republicans hold those neocon values.

I suspect Johnson's beliefs are based on reason, unlike most pols, who merely seek power and will say anything they think will secure it for them.

[SonicUltimate]

09:27 AM on 07/13/2011

Woops. I guess that's what I get for reading and posting on my smart phone. I would agree that not all Republicans hold the neo-con value set. However, those who don't have also been marginalized to the point of becoming their own party at this point. IN fact, many of them were run out of office by Tea Party counterparts. As for Johnson, I don't give the Libertarian belief structure much more credit than I give the neo-cons. Libertarianism sounds good on paper, but in reality would lead to a lot of public harm due to its reliance on people, and business in particular, to "do the right thing". Sometimes those kinds of "reasoned beliefs" lead to the worst outcomes (the road to Hell is paved with good intentions).

[zwyziec]

11:11 PM on 07/12/2011

It is very easy for any republican candidate to make themselves look more "moderate" relative to the extreme positions taken by the majority of them. But he's still a republican!

[UncleSim]

12:35 AM on 07/13/2011

And Obama's still a politician (ie, liar). Don't forget to lump Dems in with the Reps... After all, we haven't pulled our troops out of anywhere, closed gitmo, ended the Patriot Act, or made govt any more transparent, since Obama became Bush III.

In such an environment, anyone who actually tells the truth can seem far too moderate to be electable. I think our fault lies in our assumption that politics is too complex to understand, so anyone who we DO understand is regarded as unqualified to manage the un-understandable.

[Fatdoggie]

12:56 AM on 07/13/2011

In the past he also advocated for legalization of Mary Jane. Should probably be a Independent. Would probably vote for him before any of the Republican whack jobs.

[nmdromero]

02:55 AM on 07/14/2011

He does want to legalize Marijuana, and his reasoning for it is excellent. It's a cost benefit to do so, we are spending Billions incarcerating over 1.5 Million people for drug related activity, 95% marijuana. We are spending billions on the war on drugs for law enforcment, Billions in the court system, and billions on the borders for security.

Additionally, if we legalize it it will be regulated and taxed while making it much tougher for kids under 21 to obtain. It will also cause it not to be a gateway drug, which it is now exposing people to harder drugs, by legalizing it these people won't be exposed as readily to the harder drugs. Here is his website, take a look at all his stances.

www.garyjohnson2012.com

[lessthanepsilon]

10:24 PM on 07/12/2011

you wrote:

"It's stuff like this that sometimes makes me wonder if anyone will ever make clear the distinction between 'Tea Partiers' and 'libertarians.'"

i wish the rather obvious distinction (ignoring the ironic scare quotes around each term offered, i assume, as an attempt at humor) were more widely grasped. even a cursory glance at the positions of each group on defense and social issues offers striking differences. to discover this requires a minimal amount of effort and reading, so, it is unlikely to occur.

[Hareega]

09:55 PM on 07/12/2011

Wait until other conservatives call him Gay Johnson

[muellerwurst]

09:38 PM on 07/12/2011

How do liberals feel about a Republican being more friendly to gay rights than Obama?

[zero1319]

03:54 AM on 07/13/2011

Great, actually. Conservatives should offer more Gary Johnson, less Michele "They Attacked Me In The Bathroom" Bachmann.

[dine2010]

01:09 PM on 07/16/2011

I believe Governor Gary Johnson is Obamas biggest threat. Thats why the liberals at CNN did not let him debate. Its really hard for Obummers re-election team to paint a pro-choice, pro-gay rights, anti war GOP candidate who wants to legalize marijuana as a right wing extremist. His socially liberal stances will be attractive to democrat and independent voters. Not to mention he was a very successful two term(that's one more term than mitt romney) republican Governor in new mexico a state that is 2 to 1 democrat. He left office with a billion dollar surplus and was arguably the most fiscally conservative governor ever. He is a true Statesman and practices good stewardship of your tax dollars.