{"id":27833,"date":"2011-03-29T09:15:52","date_gmt":"2011-03-29T15:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=27833"},"modified":"2011-03-30T06:22:31","modified_gmt":"2011-03-30T12:22:31","slug":"johnson-presents-an-opportunity-for-the-tea-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/03\/johnson-presents-an-opportunity-for-the-tea-party\/","title":{"rendered":"Johnson presents an opportunity for the tea party"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Heath Haussamen<\/p><\/div>\n

Former NM governor shares the tea party\u2019s ideology but has actually had to balance that ideology with governing in a practical way; his candidacy may present a moment for the tea party to decide its future<\/h4>\n

Conventional wisdom might suggest that former N.M. Gov. Gary Johnson<\/a> has no chance of winning the GOP presidential nomination next year, but I believe people would be foolish to dismiss his candidacy at this point.<\/p>\n

Remember that many dismissed then-District Attorney Susana Martinez as a \u201cregional candidate\u201d<\/a> when she entered the gubernatorial race in 2009. As it turned out, she was, in fact, the \u201cgame changer\u201d a headline on this site called her<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why? Because New Mexicans, like Americans, are fed up with their government. They\u2019re willing to take a chance on unknown candidates because they no longer trust most known politicians. They want someone to lead who isn\u2019t afraid to say things are a mess, who can articulate how he will clean it up, and who has a record of actually doing it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the last point \u2013 actually doing it \u2013 that makes Johnson\u2019s candidacy interesting. Because he draws much of his support from the tea party that has long supported Ron Paul<\/a>, Johnson has to distinguish himself from Paul and his son, since one or the other is also likely to run for president. Here\u2019s how Johnson set himself apart in an interview with Politico<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a big difference between Ron Paul and me when it came to the \u2018no,\u2019\u201d Johnson recently told Politico. \u201cHis \u2018no\u2019 was philosophical. It was reasoned. It was right. My \u2018no\u2019 actually put a stop to legislation. It cut spending. Mine carried further than just \u2018no.\u2019 I had to follow through with the debate, discussion and dialogue on why my \u2018no\u2019 wouldn\u2019t result in people starving, schools being shut down and the delivery of services to the poor wasn\u2019t going to be curtailed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson has a record, and on the most important issue \u2013 the economy \u2013 it\u2019s one GOP primary voters will love. Of course, on the flip side, Johnson also takes some very visible positions many GOP voters will hate \u2013 such as his support for civil unions and legalizing and marijuana. But the libertarian wing of Johnson\u2019s party that sides with him on such issues has grown more active.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A moment for the tea party<\/h3>\n

However, the tea party is in danger of becoming, in my view, a stagnant movement. Millions of frustrated voters \u2013 most conservative \u2013 loosely banded together in 2010 and kicked a lot of politicians, most Democrats, out of power. But to become a more influential force, the movement must mature, and it must stand for something, instead of only standing against things.<\/p>\n

That takes a candidate who is articulate. Johnson very genuinely and passionately believes in smaller government, and he\u2019s had to make difficult decisions to accomplish that goal.<\/p>\n

In addition, he isn\u2019t just another extremist \u2013 education funding actually increased while Johnson was New Mexico\u2019s governor.<\/p>\n

Johnson is someone who shares the tea party\u2019s ideology but has actually had to balance that ideology with governing in a practical way. His candidacy may present a moment for the tea party to decide its future.<\/p>\n

If the tea party gathers around him<\/h3>\n

Johnson is intelligent and articulate; he\u2019s athletic and hip (he climbed Mount Everest with a broken leg); he will be viewed as honest (he\u2019s very open about his past drug use). He has potential in most categories that lead to likeability. That\u2019s far different than the situation with Ron Paul and his son.<\/p>\n

Johnson has a very simple message for America: We\u2019re bankrupt, we\u2019re on the verge of financial collapse, and we have to balance the budget, no matter what it takes. It\u2019s a message that will resonate with many.<\/p>\n

And he has the experience to back up his message: He\u2019s made difficult choices, cut government waste and vetoed hundreds of bills, all while, he will argue, articulating \u201cwhy my \u2018no\u2019 wouldn\u2019t result in people starving, schools being shut down and the delivery of services to the poor wasn\u2019t going to be curtailed.\u201d<\/p>\n

I have my doubts about whether the tea party movement is prepared to follow someone like Johnson. And even if the movement is ready, Johnson\u2019s positions on social issues will make the road ahead difficult for him.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it\u2019s likely that Johnson\u2019s presidential campaign will go nowhere. But I think there\u2019s also a chance, if the tea party gathers around him, that he will become a significant candidate \u2013 and the tea party will become a lasting force.<\/p>\n

A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that Johnson supports gay marriage.<\/em><\/p>\n

Haussamen bio<\/a> \u2502\u00a0Commentary page<\/a> \u2502\u00a0Feed<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Conventional wisdom might suggest that former N.M. Gov. Gary Johnson has no chance of winning the GOP presidential nomination next year, but I believe people would be foolish to dismiss his candidacy at this point.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,10],"tags":[156,107,199,116],"class_list":["post-27833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-haussamen-columns","tag-2012-election","tag-roundhouse","tag-tea-party","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27833\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}