Many are calling the 2016 presidential race a “circus” and rightfully so. In my opinion, we have witnessed the rapid rise of two anti-establishment candidates, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and businessman and TV personality Donald Trump, running as major party candidates. Despite Senator Sander’s loss in the primaries to Hillary Clinton, his revolutionary, albeit extreme, ideas inspired many millennials searching for a voice in the political process and incited a passionate call for major social and economic reform. Mr. Trump surged to a landslide victory in the Republican primaries, partly by capturing the attention of many first time voters. Love him or hate him, he is a controversial public figure who has appeared in countless news headlines for his unabashed rhetoric and political stances.
Secretary Clinton and Mr. Trump are now in the home stretch of the campaign and both candidates find themselves struggling to attract the millennial vote. Both candidates are using social media, especially Twitter, in a vast and unprecedented fashion in order to connect with potential voters, especially the younger crowd of voters known as millennials. Too often, however, their tweets have included personal attacks, derogatory language, or outrageous claims that further alienate their intended audience, many of whom are first time voters in this close election. Hashtags denouncing these two candidates such as #WhichHillary, #IGuessI’mWithHer, #HillaryForPrison2016, #DumpTrump, #NeverTrump, and #SaferThanATrumpRally receive thousands of uses and searches on Twitter.
Are you one of the many who can’t imagine voting for Secretary Clinton or Mr. Trump, but want to cast a vote come November 8, 2016? Well, you have another option who is definitely not as much of a household name as Secretary Clinton or Mr. Trump, but is gaining lots of attention lately as the presidential debates and ultimately the election near. That candidate is third party Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, with running mate William Weld. The Libertarian party is a popular third party whose central political mission is to maximize individual liberty and freedom and minimize government in every way possible, especially government interference in citizens’ everyday lives. The Libertarian Party’s official website states that, “Each individually has the right to control his or her own body, action speech, and property. Government’s only role is to help individuals defend themselves from force and fraud.” It could be said that the libertarian party supports a socially liberal and fiscally conservative agenda, to put this party in comparison with the two dominating parties of our nation.
So what are Mr. Johnson’s opinions on the main political issues of our nation? He believes that our national debt is a serious and growing problem that he will fight to control as president. As governor of New Mexico, Mr. Johnson balanced the budget there by vetoing 750 bills that required excess spending. He plans to do the same as president by submitting a balanced budget to Congress and vetoing any legislation proposing deficit spending, the spending of money that the USA does not have and would need to borrow. Another one of Mr. Johnson’s largest economical platforms is his idea for reforming our currently disastrous tax code. As president, he would replace income taxes with a consumption tax, meaning taxes are based on spending, not including necessities. Many college students are more immediately worried with the tough job market after graduation than national debt or taxes, however. Mr. Johnson plans to help the struggling job market by alleviating unnecessary regulations, codes, and taxes that suck up business’s assets in exchange for businesses using these newly extra assets to create more jobs and job growth programs.
Mr. Johnson has the utmost appreciation for the civil liberties granted to us in our constitution, and believes our current government has continually overstepped their boundaries. He wants private citizens to have the right to do as they please without government surveillance and interference. For example, Mr. Johnson is completely for internet freedom and against any internet surveillance of private citizens, such as the abused Patriot Act, which allows the government to monitor our online activity. Mr. Johnson also believes in private citizens’ rights to marriage equality, a woman’s right to choose, owning firearms, and using marijuana medically and recreationally. Additionally, Mr. Johnson is a strong advocate for criminal justice reform, believing that our nation has incarcerated far too many individuals, especially minority citizens, for far too long without options for rehabilitation. He wants to eradicate mandatory minimum sentences, which he believes undermines the duty of juries and judges.
In regards to foreign policy, Mr. Johnson believes we should use our abundant military resources to protect our own nation and take care of our veterans, rather than attempt to police the world and involve ourselves in wars that result in thousands of deaths of our soldiers and citizens of other countries. Unlike Secretary Clinton’s and Mr. Trump’s impossible proposals of open borders and amnesty to all undocumented immigrants, or “building a wall”, respectively, Mr. Johnson wants to simplify the immigration process and offer more work visas. He wants our current border control resources to go towards stopping those who want to harm our country, not those who want to join it.
While Mr. Johnson wants to protect the environment, he wants do so by incentivizing innovations and businesses that help the environment, rather than allowing the Washington, DC bureaucracy to enforce a series of money-making codes and regulations on businesses under the guise of protecting the environment. In regards to education, Mr. Johnson believes that education policy should be left to local and state governments, rather than the national government who does not understand what works best for the many diverse communities across our country.
Gary Johnson’s ideas and platforms are innovative, healing, and beneficial to the vast majority of our country, which is just what we need. Our current government is full of corruption, debt, and increasingly polarized party members, and Mr. Johnson’s main mission is to reduce the size and power of this government. He wants private citizens to succeed in their respective lives without restrictive government interference. Currently, Mr. Johnson’s largest struggle with this election is getting his name out there amongst our corrupt two-party dominated system. The citizens of our country deserve to know there is another choice besides Secretary Clinton or Mr. Trump. The largest chance Mr. Johnson could have for a fair share of media coverage and the opportunity to share his message with all of America is participating in the 2016 presidential debates.
Mr. Johnson is currently polling at 11% in the national polls, behind Mr. Trump and Secretary Clinton, and will be on the ballot in all 50 states. The Commission on Presidential Debates (the CPD), unfortunately, has decided that no candidate may participate in the national debates unless he or she crosses a 15% average polling threshold. So what can we do to help Mr. Johnson qualify for the debates and, ultimately, take up residence in the White House next January? Most importantly, SPREAD THE WORD! Talk about Gary Johnson with peers, professors, relatives, or anyone who will listen. Spread articles about Mr. Johnson or his campaign website on your social media profiles. Donate to his campaign if you have the means.
Additionally, the Johnson/Weld Campaign has created a petition to demand that Johnson be included in the 2016 debates, and this petition is almost at its 850,000 signature goal! YOU can sign here at: https://www.johnsonweld.com/debate, and after you sign spread this petition on your social media profiles or use the hashtag #LetGaryDebate. You can also check out the rest of this website for more detailed information about the Johnson/Weld Campaign! Finally, if you’re not for Mr. Trump, Secretary Clinton, or Mr. Johnson, there are many other third party candidates you can also check out such as: Jill Stein (Green Party), Tom Hoefling (American Independent Party), and Gloria LaRiva (Party of Socialism and Liberation). Most importantly, no matter who you support, get out there and vote on November 8, 2016 and make your voice count (the deadline to register to vote is October 11)!