Gary Johnson is twice governor of New Mexico, one of 4 governors who balanced the budget. He has asked for immediate withdrawal of all troops
from Afghanistan, a 43% cut in military spending, decriminalization of pot
and a host of other issues. http://garyjohnson2012.com

Libertanian is a right wing version of anarchism.
The difference is that in this version, the Capitalist stay in total, absolute power and in charge, since they no longer need to worry about any restraints that a democrately elected government might hold over their absolute rule over society.

The anarchist were of course hounded and destroyed (not that they were sane either) as terrorists, but at least in their utter naivetee, they at least stood for a real absence of government and a certain principle --as insane as that is.

The Libertarians on the other hand simply want to duplicate the ultimate Capitalist wet-dream (a la S.America) of Money ruling over everything, and to hell with everyone who doesn't already have it. Their version of libery is the same as the lion wanting a level playing field with the lamb.

I liked a number of your ideas. The VAT/Sales tax
with progressive "PREBATE" sounds quite smart.
VAT's are far more efficient than other taxes and
dont discriminate against local employment.
Effectively ANYONE who sells to a market with a VAT
pays their share of supporting the economy/society/government
that hosts that market.

I think you should add an ADDITIONAL VAT/Sales tax
on Intellectual property monopolies - copyright,
patent and trademark sales/licensing/revenues.
Economic theory demonstrates that
taxes on monopolies have very little impact on
prices to consumers (rather it comes almost
exclusively from a reduction of "monopoly rents").
IP - particularly copyright - has been grossly
extended in recent decades - against th braoder
interests of society. These EFFICIENT taxes could
be used to reduce the deficit and/or to completely
and reliably fund additional R&D and education.

Make inflation illegal and let the federal reserve give new money directly to the people instead of directly to the banks. People will put it in the bank. Save the environment 100%

Gary Johnson could afford to be a bit more buttoned up and "Presidential" (whatever that means). I suppose because the popular press and TV news ignore his candidacy, his responses and soundbites are not as tight, formal, and reserved as they could be.

Ralph Nader, Ross Perot, and certainly Lyndon Larouche suffered from the same treatment and the same affliction. I assume this was a lot different for third-party candidates Teddy Roosevelt (1912) and Robert LaFolette (1924).

Today, the political reality is that you have to 'sound' serious to be taken seriously. That, in addition to the hurdles placed on third-party candidates, makes it virtually impossible for even prominent third-party candidates to make an impact on the national stage.

@Scott (11:24 a.m., on "plurality voting")

Most people are not even /aware/ of third-party candidates because they are /ignored/ by the mainstream media, who conspire with both wings of the party of the ruling corporate-military elite (a.k.a. the Democrats and Republicans) to keep such alternative voices out.

George Farah of Open Debates ( opendebates.org ) has exposed and documented how the debates have become a sham carefully manipulated and controlled by both parties.

(I see that Farah was a guest on the Brian Lehrer show back in June 2004:
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/2004/jun/03/debate-and-switch/

Why not now?)

Listen to Ralph Nader speak, for example, and tell me that someone like him (or even Rocky Anderson or Jill Stein) wouldn't have a real chance if they could only get real coverage and be in the debates.

"Please get Jill Stein on the show if you are going to have this guy on."

Yes, and Rocky Anderson as well (Justice Party candidate).

Why have these alternative candidates not been on the show?

People need to confront Brian Lehrer and WNYC about this (and so much else...).

Ho hum, another rich white guy who thinks he knows how to run the country.

Please don't pat yourselves on the back and ask for money for giving this guy airtime. The reason the media doesn't treat him seriously is, because he isn't a serious candidate.

The simple reason third parties are ignored is plurality voting. If voters ceased to forfeit their right to express a preference among the major parties whenever they vote for one of the outside alternatives, they would be less inclined to simply dismiss such alternatives.

As much as I want to vote for a third-party, this guy is not getting my vote.

Your guest seems far better qualified to be a radio talk show host than President of the United States.

this guy is dumb. he said i would sign that legislation if i were in congress. If he doesn’t know how government works he should not run!!

as soon as anyone starts talking about replacing the entire tax structure with a consumption tax you know you are in for a wild ride. talk about making the world an even more skewed and unequal place. loony.

Mr. Johnson says his proposed consumption tax is "scored as revenue neutral" but didn't name any source. Who scored it that way?

Isn't the irony of a libertarian being excluded/ignored by the "media" an argument for Campaign Fiance Reform, even though they don't believe in that?

Has Johnson calculated how many people would become unemployed as a result of his proposal?

$200.00 dollar credit for the poorer amongst us? Thanks, and Marry Christmas. Well, can we also use Wampum for currency?

Can you ask him about his views on Foreign Aid? And specifically monies toward Israel?

Well Noah - that's has always been the issue with American absolute libertarianism, much of it is a guise, or at least a gateway for 18 century style Darwinian (monopoly) capitalism.

That being said, we should considering returning to what the federal government was created for, protecting our borders and enforcing our constitiution.

As to his claim that deficit spending and a weak dollar will lead to a currency collapse: if that is so, why hasn't that happened in Japan yet?

Can you really block grants all states at the same rate? That'll make people move to poor states, no?

Listener hears: 'Consumption Tax'
Listener thinks: 'Tax munchies'

Please get Jill Stein on the show if you are going to have this guy on.

$2400 might go far in some states but not NY

Yes, one giant regressive tax. Brilliant. What a great way to curb social inequality. Ha. But you get "$200" to buy food? Gas? Clothing? Lunatic.

Gary Johnson, is a great guy, and in my opinion, would make a terrific president, until like the 2 tools we have to choose from.

CORRECTION to my previous post:

The sentence at the very end of the post, after the URL, should be part of the quoted block of text.

Apropos quote from Noam Chomsky:

<blockquote>But you see, “libertarian” has a special meaning in the United States. The United States is off the spectrum of the main tradition in this respect: what’s called “libertarianism” here is unbridled capitalism. Now, that’s always been opposed in the European libertarian tradition, where every anarchist has been a socialist—because the point is, if you have unbridled capitalism, you have all kinds of authority: you have extreme authority.

If capital is privately controlled, then people are going to have to rent themselves in order to survive. Now, you can say, “they rent themselves freely, it’s a free contract”—but that’s a joke. If your choice is, “do what I tell you or starve,” that’s not a choice—it’s in fact what was commonly referred to as wage slavery in more civilized times, like the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, for example.</blockquote>

See more at:
https://digitalresistance.wordpress.com/2012/03/04/american-libertarianism-aberration-libertarian-and-capitalist-compatible-3/

The American version of “libertarianism” is an aberration, though—nobody really takes it seriously.

1.) Please ask Mr. Johnson why he declined to appear on Democracy Now's "Expanding the Debate" broadcast with Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Justice party candidate Rocky Anderson. Host Amy Goodman said that Mr. Johnson was invited but declined to appear. (both to the previous event as well as the upcoming one).

2.) Have either Dr. Stein or Mr. Anderson appeared on the Brian Lehrer Show? A quick search suggests not.

Were they invited?

Forget this guy. Virgil Goode is going to give mittens a nightmare election night in Virginia

Great news that you have Gary Johnson on...but its 4 months too late.