Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson stumps at CU-Boulder

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson on Monday assured an enthusiastic, standing-room-only crowd at the University of Colorado campus that voting for him isn't a wasted vote.

"Wasting your vote is voting for someone you don't believe in," he said.

Johnson highlighted his record as the former governor of New Mexico during the campaign stop, noting that he was not only elected in the heavily Democratic state, but re-elected. He said he likely vetoed more legislation than all the governors before him combined.

He said he's opposed to military intervention, would get American troops out of Afghanistan, doesn't support military action in Iran and wants to slash military spending. He supports the fair tax proposal and would like to abolish the federal reserve. He said he would have vetoed the Patriot Act.

He's not a fan of the healthcare reforms, instead supporting a pay-as-you go system with insurance for catastrophic injury or illness. He's pro gay marriage and marijuana legalization. He urged the crowd, which numbered around 400, to vote for Colorado ballot measure Amendment 64, which seeks to legalize marijuana and regulate it like alcohol.

"I go around the country telling people Coloradans get it," he said, adding the state has a large number of marijuana users.

Pollsters say Johnson's pro-pot agenda could siphon votes away from President Barack Obama in his razor-close race against Mitt Romney in this battleground state.

Traditionally, Libertarians such as Johnson tend to draw votes away from Republican candidates. But with marijuana legalization being a key issue for Johnson, there's the potential for voters already enthused about Amendment 64 to also cast votes in favor of the Libertarian presidential candidate -- including some from the left-leaning youth demographic, pollsters say.

Brian Barnhart, a CU junior majoring in physics who attended Monday's event, said he was introduced to the Libertarian party this election season and will likely vote for Johnson.

"I wanted a chance to hear him speak," he said.

Read more from the original source:

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson stumps at CU-Boulder

Related Posts

Comments are closed.