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I came to this country LEGALLY in 1994. I've been LEGALLY paying my taxes and filing for work visas and immigration since 1998 and I still do not have my green card. It is ridiculous that there are people like me who follow the process legally and people want leniency towards illegal immigrants. I agree with the person on your show that the immigration process is broken.

Brian you dipsh*t, Employers need a SS card from an employee. Thwe ilegals get fake SS cards and the employer takes taxes out under that number, yet the ilegal never files a return so the gov keeps the money. Thought an informed dude like yer self would know that.

Mr Johnson is not really much of an alternative when he talks about prioritizing fiscal issues.

So the Tea Party wants the government to stop borrowing money, okay, but to what human cost? How do we help people now and learn from our mistakes? How do we not make the same mistakes in the future? How do we regulate companies but also start practicing self-regulation?

We should prioritize responsibility in general not just fiscal responsibility.

Rousseau warned in the Social Contract about prioritizing money over humanity when he called for "little or no luxury". "For luxury is either the effect of riches or it makes riches necessary; it corrupts both the rich and the poor; it surrenders the country to indolence and vanity; it deprives the state of all its citizens by making some the slaves of others and all the slaves of opinion."

He went on to say, "...your muted tongues cannot make themselves heard in the open air; you care more for your profits than your freedom; and you fear slavery less than you fear poverty."

When Mr. Johnson supports the Tea Party's initiatives, and speaks of responsibility only in terms of how the government spends money, he just echos Republican policy.

I love listening to Brian Lehrer because I like to hear what issues are important to everyone on the socio-political spectrum. As a reporter Brian Lehrer has a responsibility to report and speak to/for both Democrats and Republicans. Normally I don't think it's so terrible how blatantly obvious he favors the Democratic side, but when I was listening to this show, I was disgusted. To me, it sounds like Johnson is a politically honest and forward thinking activist. Somehow, though, Brian Lehrer made it his business to affront him. Frankly, as a reporter I only trust him to tell me how extremist Democrats feel about an issue, and I say extremist because it is clear that he will fight to defend any Democratic viewpoint and/or offend any Republican even if it is clear that there is something perverse about the Democratic view.

illegals & illeguys

(Continuation of my comment) If Gary Johnson were to become a Republican standard bearer, I could again be a Republican.

Has he considered what happens when either legally or illegally, a worker ends up here for most of their lives without a path to citizenship all the while paying taxes and supporting the system but without any rights or benefits?

Allowing labor to freeing cross the border is just a conservatie ploy to lower the cost of labor. If the border can't be secured, provide long jail sentences for people who hire illegals. With no jobs, they'll self-deport. After the marijuana smokers are released, we'll have plenty of space for the guys in the suits.

Gary Johnson, former New Mexico governor republican will not make it in GOP primary unless he will be anointed by the baroness of Wasilla Sarah Palin

Look at the governor of Florida Crist another republican, is having a hard time in the primary

Senator Arlen Spector another republican could not win a republican primary

So forget about it, the ex governor Johnson if he wants to win the republican primary pick extreme right wing positions maybe then he may have a chance not a moderate

He calls drug taking primarily a health issue (which is great), but as a libertarian, those with health problems are going to be left to fend for themselves. Typical libertarian lack of logic and foresight that leads to gated communities and the I'm Alright Jack mentality and urban streets that resemble Dickensian London.

It's easy to say that we could save the billlions of dollars that we spend on enforcement, but what happens to all the people who are employed in that industry? Just like the military, like it or not, this is a part of our economy. It's not simply money going down the drain.

This lightweight has as much chance of becoming president as Sarah Palin does. Silly, given to unconsidered generalizing remarks, and pandering, both of them should focus on something more suited to them-- TV or radio, perhaps.

Who, really, takes this guy seriously? A waste of airtime.

Bringing the party to the Tea Party! I like this guy.

just to clarify the Dutch drug policy: marijuana is illegal but it is tolerated in small portions in certain areas. This way the focus can be on hard drugs and on the dealers. However, the Netherlands is being pressured by other EU countries to make marijuana illegal all together

Not to many dreamed about crossing Soviet Union Border in or out. It was guarded by the Army. So it not only illegals fault that they are here. Government faulted to secure borders and laws for those who overstayed visas. On that basis I suggest to legalize those who are already here, but make sealed borders and create laws that criminalize serious visa offenders.

I attended a the Drug Policy Alliance conference held in Albuquerque while Gary Johnson was governor. He appeared at a few events and advocated for legalization of ALL DRUGS. Marijuana is now produced domestically because it is bulky and hard to smuggle. Harm reduction is the issue!!!

Can you ask him what his stance is on the minimum wage?

I would also like to know his stance on gay rights.

Thanks

I am a Professor at Columbia University, teaching a class on migration and urban spaces. I agree with the last comment on the air that migration has to be addressed on an international level. Arizona, however shows us that we also need local policies for places that are more affected by this global mobility than others. Policies that are not 'immigration policies' but housing or labor policies or public services that recognize the demographics of these places. Arizona is confusing the two.

haha!... "our america".

I know what he means by, "issues of our day." it's more accurately, "old white people's angst of the day"

These people are hillarious. to compare this guy to ron paul, is to smear ron paul.

more legal mexicans and more marijuana consumption sounds great to me. how can i vote for this guy?

simpson-
don't group all latinos together- mexicans don't listen to salsa.

how much money is wasted on the drug war? also what does the governor say about wasteful the corn subsidy and other forms of red state welfare?
new mexico is near the top of the list when it comes to federal spending to the states. what could be cut to save NY tax payers from supporting NM
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2165/2994934040_ca5b05d221.jpg

We always hear about Texas, Arizona and California and the problems there with the border, but does New Mexico have the same problems with people crossing the border illegally? Their proximity is the same.

Calls'em As I Sees'em is back with your typical "illegals are taking jobs" talking point. It sounds like it makes sense, and you can find anecdotal evidence around to make the point, but statistically, it's just not true. They are not taking jobs from Americans, they are taking jobs that Americans aren't trying to get.

Blaming immigrants for our bad economy is as old as the Roman Empire. Why not blame Bush's war in Iraq (trillions of dollars), or the deregulation of the banks, or the bond rating agencies that got our pensions into the derivatives mess.

Sure, they are illegal because they are illegal immigrants. We need to legalize them. People who are against illegal immigration refuse to entertain any reasonable reform short of sending them all back to where they came from.

We need them to support our economy.

No one is against legal immigration. Everyone should be against illegal immigration, especially elected officials and poor and working class people who are citizens and can't get work.

Brian - Do your job as an objective reporter - cover this story - the Dems are again trying to sneak one by the people of this great country & change the rules. STOP HR 2499 - Call your Congressperson & say “Hell No” to enabling the New Progressive Party in Puerto Rico to make it a state. Most people there want to be a territory. The Dems/New Progs committed to this in 2008 & now they are cramming it down the people’s throats to declare statehood.

Simpsonsmovieblew is right. I've always wondered why Mexico wasn't gentrified by sun-seeking Americans who were fed up with US nanny laws and generic chain restaurants and Sarah Palin.

Gary Johnson was kind of a loose cannon as governor, quite libertarian, frequently off participating in triathalons or doing whatever occurred to him. He had a contracting
business and no political record when he boldly grabbed the Republican nomination by running a series of well-conceived ads before anyone was thinking of the upcoming election. He used his own money for the ads, which initially concealed his identity. It was a great campaign.
Unfortunately, once in office, he accomplished next to nothing. His popularity was bolstered throughout by a kind of anti-Hispanic backlash in a heavily Hispanic state, although he showed no evidence of being racist. Some backers regarded him as a man of ideas; problem was he (and they) had trouble distinguishing between the good ones and the horrible.
In my view, he was sort of a political freak. President? Absurd.

Or eliminate the border altogether, filling our empty houses with tax paying Mexicans! At that point, marijuana will naturally be forced into legalization as a critical coping tool for Americans to embrace their new neighbors' existentially increased levels of salsa music...