Friday, September 23, 2016

Why You Shouldn't Vote for Gary Johnson (A Listicle)

This was originally the text of an email, but it seemed worth sharing.
1. He's only sort of pro-choice.
"Life is precious and must be protected. A woman should be allowed to make her own decisions during pregnancy until the point of viability of a fetus." (source: Johnson's 2012 campaign site, by way of ontheissues.org (a nonpartisan non-profit)). It should be noted that "viability" is a term that's disputed in the medical community and is typically used to be deliberately vague, but is often used to prop up 20-week bans.

Also: "I would have signed a bill banning late term abortion" (source:  2011 GOP Primary Debate)

2. He's opposed to the federal minimum wage.
Not raising it. The minimum wage. (source:http://secure.isidewith.com/candidate-guide/gary-johnson# Submitted by Johnson himself)

3. He supports Citizens United and opposes restrictions on campaign spending by corporations.
"Yes, any restriction on campaign spending violates the first amendment" (source)

4. When he was governor of New Mexico, the state's debt increased by almost $3 billion.
(source)

5. He vetoed early release of nonviolent offenders when serving as governor of New Mexico but is running on a platform of decriminalization to decrease the prison population. 
(sources:
"As governor, a highly-publicized bill was coming through the legislature, which would have allowed early release of prisoners due to overcrowding. When the bill passed, I vetoed it...Some representatives (including a few who were potential allies for me) were outraged because it made them look soft on criminals."(source)

"How is it that the United States, the land of the free, has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world? The answer is simple: Over time, the politicians have “criminalized” far too many aspects of people’s personal lives...These factors, combined with the simple fact that we have too many unnecessary laws, have produced a society with too many people in our prisons and jails, too many undeserving individuals saddled with criminal records, and a seriously frayed relationship between law enforcement and those they serve." (source: Johnson's campaign website))

6. He's opposed to mandatory vaccination.

I know this isn't an issue for everyone, but it's a big red flag in my book. (source: Johnson's Twitter)

7. He prides himself on viewing government the same way as Ayn Rand. No really, he wrote about it in Seven Principles of Good Government. "Overall, I think I view big government in the same way that the novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand did--that it really oppresses those that create, if you will, and tries to take away from those that produce and give to the non-producers."

8. He simultaneously supports "increased oversight" for fracking and "deregulating the energy sector," which to me seems contradictory. (source)

9. His 2012 platform supported a 23% national sales tax and the elimination of the IRS. 
As a reminder: sales taxes as the sole form of taxation are regressive taxes that most impact those who are already financially disadvantaged.
(source)

10. He's opposed to the Affordable Care Act (source) and the requirement that insurance companies provide birth control coverage. (source)

Other notes: He opposes any restrictions on firearms (source); He believes in climate change but no measures to stop it (or rather, only free market interventions) (source); I, for one, find his foreign policy underdeveloped and kind of incoherent (sourceother source)

And a few reasons you might still like him: He says that banning immigration for religious reasons is unconstitutional (it is); He supports gay marriage; He supports the legalization of marijuana; He supports term limits for congressmen and opposes Voter ID laws; He's pro-space travel (Space!)

That being said, I don't think the pros outweigh the cons.

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