{"id":630826,"date":"2018-10-01T07:00:30","date_gmt":"2018-10-01T13:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=630826"},"modified":"2018-10-01T08:31:57","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T14:31:57","slug":"mr-johnson-wants-to-go-to-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/10\/mr-johnson-wants-to-go-to-washington\/","title":{"rendered":"Mr. Johnson wants to go to Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_630829\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-630829\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180921_162453-e1538085831303-771x605.jpg\" alt=\"Gary Johnson\" width=\"771\" height=\"605\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180921_162453-e1538085831303-771x605.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180921_162453-e1538085831303-336x264.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180921_162453-e1538085831303-768x603.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180921_162453-e1538085831303-1170x919.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Andy Lyman \/ New Mexico Political Report<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gary Johnson<\/p><\/div>\n<p>LOS ALAMOS \u2014 Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate and former two-term Republican governor Gary Johnson is killing time outside a Starbucks in Los Alamos between campaign events.<\/p>\n<p>Technically he shouldn\u2019t \u00a0be here at all \u2014 or, at least not running for office. On election night in 2016, Johnson\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Anjreu\/status\/796214902482309120\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told\u00a0<i>NM Political Report<\/i><\/a>\u00a0he was done with politics after his second presidential run. Asked about that night, Johnson answers the question he knows is coming next.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t be believed,\u201d Johnson interrupted sarcastically. \u201cI lost my credibility on what you\u2019re going to ask.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article comes from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmpoliticalreport.com\/881207\/mr-johnson-wants-to-go-to-washington\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Mexico Political Report<\/a>,\u00a0a nonprofit news organization\u00a0focused on promoting a greater public understanding of politics and policy in New Mexico.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Almost two decades after he left the governor\u2019s office in Santa Fe and two years since his last presidential run, Johnson now wants to be \u00a0a U.S. senator. And though he ultimately needs to beat the incumbent, Democrat Martin Heinrich, he\u2019s also up against Albuquerque construction contractor Mick Rich, a candidate from Johnson\u2019s former political party. According to a recent\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmpoliticalreport.com\/878561\/poll-dems-lead-in-two-key-statewide-racs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">poll<\/a>\u00a0conducted for the\u00a0<i>Albuquerque Journal<\/i>, Heinrich maintains a large lead over both of his opponents. A lead that leaves Rich and Johnson in a race-within-a-race for the the remaining conservative and independent votes.<\/p>\n<p>The two-term governor makes a point to not focus on Heinrich personally in interviews \u2014 just his politics. The same goes for his Republican opponent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI came to the epiphany the other day, you know, he ran an uncontested primary,\u201d Johnson said of Rich. \u201cHe is completely un-battlefield tested.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But on a personal level?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019s a nice guy and if I were him, I\u2019d be pissed,\u201d Johnson said, speculating how Rich feels about Johnson getting in the race.<\/p>\n<h3>Libertarian ideals<\/h3>\n<p>In recent years, Johnson\u2019s candor has become a thing of wonder for journalists when it comes to colorful quotes.<\/p>\n<p>The day before\u00a0<i>NM Political Report<\/i>\u00a0spoke with him, for example, Johnson addressed a group of almost two dozen pueblo leaders at a meeting south of Albuquerque.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I\u2019m given enough time to speak here this morning, I will piss off everybody in this room,\u201d Johnson told the All Pueblo Council of Governors.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Quoted in a recent\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/united-states\/2018\/09\/13\/gary-johnson-for-liberty\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Economist<\/i>\u00a0story<\/a>, Johnson complained about bad breath from voters on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n<p>During his 2016 campaign for president, Johnson was on record, at least twice, saying \u201cTrump\u2019s a pussy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson said after he had trouble answering a question about Syria in 2016, news reporters were on the hunt for salacious quotes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen Aleppo happened in the \u201816 run, every interview I had, no matter who I had an interview with, it was like, \u2018I gotcha,\u2019\u201d Johnson said. \u201cEvery interviewer was casting a line.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But spend more than a soundbite-amount of time with him, and Johnson will also delve into how his limited government beliefs would guide him as a U.S. senator to tackle the national debt and cut government spending, including for some assistance programs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLook, whatever you subsidize, you get more of, whatever you tax you get less of,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe subsidize not working. What\u2019s going to happen when you subsidize not working? There\u2019s a lot of people that aren\u2019t going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Medicare for all, he said, is \u201cthe exact opposite direction\u201d the country should be headed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI guess we\u2019re just going to hasten the collapse,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson does however support expanding airspace for Holloman Air Force Base into the Gila Wilderness, which he said would create thousands of jobs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHaving ridden [on a bicycle] through the Gila Wilderness the last couple of years,&#8221; he said, &#8220;if a low-level F-16 flight went overhead, personally? Yeah!\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Walk of shame<\/h3>\n<p>During his two terms as governor, Johnson got a public relations lesson from a high-profile Texas governor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGeorge W. Bush gave me some advice: Never get introduced at an event where you\u2019re not the attraction. Don\u2019t go to an athletic event and get introduced because people are going to boo and it makes it sounds like the whole place is booing,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI know that for a fact because when a politician is introduced and I hear that, I\u2019m yelling \u2018Boo!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Recalling his second gubernatorial term, Johnson said he swore off parades because of hecklers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe State Fair parade in Albuquerque, I called that the walk of shame,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWithin every minute somebody would call you out for being a shitbag.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then, Johnson said, things changed when he came out in favor of legalizing cannabis. In 2002, he said, he went back to the same parade and while he didn\u2019t necessarily hear cheers, there was also no jeers.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson acknowledges his near-celebrity status is thanks to cannabis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen somebody comes up to me on the street and says, \u2018I absolutely love you,\u2019 you know what that means? That\u2019s a pot smoker,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n<p>His investment in two different cannabis producers raises questions about how altruistic his motives are, but he said, the advocacy came first.<\/p>\n<p>Heinich supports legalization. And Johnson\u2019s advocacy for legalizing recreational cannabis is diametrically opposed to the Republican candidate\u2019s view.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you don\u2019t have good paying jobs, crime\u2019s out of control and you don\u2019t give a damn about education, then just zone out with booze or drugs,\u201d Rich told\u00a0<i>NM Political Report<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson counters that idea in typical fashion: with a healthy dose of hyperbole.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have always said that the issue of legalizing marijuana is a litmus test as to whether or not you have a brain or not,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n<p>A\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abqjournal.com\/1223550\/nm-voters-back-legal-marijuana.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">recent poll<\/a>\u00a0on the issue showed that 60 percent of likely New Mexico voters support legalization, but it is unclear which candidate those voters support.<\/p>\n<h3>Splitting the vote<\/h3>\n<p>When Johnson first entered the race for U.S. Senate and a poll showed him ahead of Rich, many Johnson supporters called for the Republican to drop out and unify efforts to beat Heinrich. When the\u00a0<i>Albuquerque Journal\u00a0<\/i>poll showed Rich in second place, with a 10 point lead over Johnson, the Republican Party of New Mexico, along with Rich\u2019s campaign, called for Johnson to drop out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet him spew his radical beliefs elsewhere, so the hard-working families of this state can gain a voice in the U.S. Senate,\u201d a Rich fundraising email read.<\/p>\n<p>But Rich told\u00a0<i>NM Political Report<\/i>\u00a0he is confident he can win the race with or without competition from Johnson, because they are each going after different voters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGary\u2019s out there, he\u2019s saying \u2018I\u2019m a Libertarian, I\u2019m an independent.\u2019 He\u2019s taking the independents and he\u2019s going to take the progressive Democrats with him, those millenials that are all in for legalized marijuana, all good with open borders, all good with abortion up to the point of delivery, all of that,\u201d Rich said.<\/p>\n<p>Rich added that he thinks he can easily pick up the more socially conservative \u201cRepublicans who are the Trump supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The candidate different doesn\u2019t seem worried about losing support from fellow candidates or politicians already serving in the Senate though. In fact, he gained the endorsement of Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who espouses financially libertarian ideals, and Johnson expects there to be more. But he coyly wouldn\u2019t comment on who else might endorse him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI guess you\u2019ll just have to stay tuned on that one,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson is confident he can win this November and provide a swing vote in the Senate, not beholden to any one caucus. But if he doesn\u2019t win, would he consider running for another office?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t imagine that these circumstances will ever exist again,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n<p>Then again, he may have lost his credibility on that question.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Technically, Gary Johnson shouldn\u2019t\u00a0be running for office at all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":630829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[2238,297,267,116],"class_list":["post-630826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2018-election","tag-gary-johnson","tag-u-s-senate","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630826","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=630826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}