Voices
GARY
JOHNSON
HUFFINGTON
12.02.12
Standing
Still on
a Down
Escalator
WHEN I ANNOUNCED my candidacy for president in the spring of
2011, I did so as a Republican. It
made sense at the time. After all,
I had served two reasonably successful terms as a Republican governor of New Mexico, a 2-1 Democrat state that also happens to
be the most Hispanic state in the
Union. On pocketbook issues of
taxes, spending and job creation,
my credentials were strong.
Trying to be objective, I understand the reality that my shot at
the Republican nomination was
severely hampered by a lack of
national recognition and funding. But that wasn’t the only hin-
ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL FISHEL
drance. Though my record on fiscal issues is as conservative as it
gets — I vetoed more bills than
probably all the other governors
combined, cut taxes at every opportunity, and balanced the budget — my positions on Republican
litmus-test issues didn’t exactly
endear me to the powers-that-be
in the party of so-called “values.”
I didn’t proclaim that gay marriage is a threat to society, as we
know it. I actually believe a woman should make her own decisions
about her body. I don’t even sup-
Gary Johnson
was a 2012
presidential
candidate
and is the
former
governor of
New Mexico