Why Are There Any Liberals Supporting Gary Johnson? (Kevin Drum)

[swag]

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/09/why-are-there-any-liberals-supporting-gary-johnson

He supports TPP.
He supports fracking.
He opposes any federal policies that would make college more affordable or reduce student debt. In fact, he wants to abolish student loans entirely.
He thinks Citizens United is great.
He doesn't want to raise the minimum wage. At all.
He favors a balanced-budget amendment and has previously suggested that he would slash federal spending 43 percent in order to balance the budget. This would require massive cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and social welfare programs of all kinds.
He opposes net neutrality.
He wants to increase the Social Security retirement age to 75 and he's open to privatization.
He opposes any kind of national health care and wants to repeal Obamacare.
He opposes practically all forms of gun control.
He opposes any kind of paid maternity or medical leave.
He supported the Keystone XL pipeline.
He opposes any government action to address climate change.
He wants to cut the corporate tax rate to zero.
He appears to believe that we should reduce financial regulation. All we need to do is allow big banks to fail and everything will be OK.
He wants to remove the Fed's mandate to maximize employment and has spoken favorably of returning to the gold standard.
He wants to block-grant Medicare and turn it over to the states.
He wants to repeal the 16th Amendment and eliminate the income tax, the payroll tax, and the estate tax. He would replace it with a 28 percent FairTax that exempts the poor. This is equivalent to a 39 percent sales tax, and it would almost certainly represent a large tax cut for the rich.

. . . more

[safeinOhio]

1. Ayn Rand light n/t

[LakeArenal]

2. I am part of a small insulated group of Dems in Wis

I don't know any liberal that is voting for Johnson. If they are voting for Johnson, they "ain't no liberal". Are sure someone says they are a liberal voting for Johnson in the hope of attracting low info liberals (yes, there are some) to vote for him?

[bmstee01]

3. This may seem complicated

It's not.
1. Gary Johnson smokes weed and wants to legalize it.
2. Wants government out of the bedroom
So Millenials here those two things and don't read anything further. That's a sweeping generalization, but typically the ones I know don't know anything about how out there libertarians are.

[Locrian]

6. yep - pretty much nails it

also don't forget a lot of millenials (not all, but a lot) are in debt etc and hear "lower taxes" etc and fall for the oldest lie in the book.

[Jim Dandy]

4. Yes, but he wears a peace sign and smokes pot!

You'd have to be braindead to vote for this asshole.

[TomCADem]

5. Libertarians are not Liberals.

Does not help that neo-liberal, which literally means "new liberal" is now seen as Right wing.

[Warpy]

7. He wants to end the drug war and stop military expansion

Those are two very big, very compelling reasons for a lot of people.

Libertarians only get really stupid when they talk about the economy. They're dreamers.

[Fast Walker 52]

12. Very true. Those are huge.

Not sure which one is more realistic to be ended.

But there are a lot of huge and important issues.

[Tarheel_Dem]

8. It's about pot. n/t

[Fast Walker 52]

11. that was my first thought

[JI7]

9. they aren't liberals

[BlueMTexpat]

13. This --

and they literally don't think beyond pot.

[geek tragedy]

10. Low information voters who vote based on emotion nt

[Warren DeMontague]

14. there seems to be wide agreement that marijuana legalization is a big chunk of his appeal.

what I don't seem to get a cogent answer on, is why it would be so difficult for our party to do at the national level clearly what local leaders like CA Lt. Gov. Newsom have done; and come out forcefully and once and for all, for legalization- or, at the very least, for real federal reform on cannabis law- descheduling from the CSA, so that the conflict between federal and state law -not just recreational, but also medical- can be reconciled.

Some language about legalization is in our platform, already, thanks to the efforts of pro-legalization advocates, a good step, to be sure--- and the sky has not fallen.

It's a position supported by a majority of Americans, it brings millennials to the polls, and even if no other state changes their law, the most populous state in the country and the 8th biggest economy on the PLANET is quite likely going to vote to legalize the stuff for recreational adult purchase and use, in November.

So what's the problem? What's the hold up? Only thing I can figure out is, stuffy East Coast beltway types who think the Jr. Senator from Oregon is named "Berkeley", think it's all a big ha-ha-stoners-joke.

[Madam45for2923]

15. He thinks Citizens United is great.

He supports TPP.
He supports fracking.
He opposes any federal policies that would make college more affordable or reduce student debt. In fact, he wants to abolish student loans entirely.
He thinks Citizens United is great.
He doesn't want to raise the minimum wage. At all.

Woah!