There have been plenty of rumors that New Mexico's 29th governor is planning a presidential bid in 2012, however we can't be sure until he makes an official announcement. These speculations has been fueled by Johnson's recent cross country travel and his launch of a new non-profit website addressing America's current issues.
Johnson won't say whether or not he is running in 2012 and has been busy doing speeches across America while promoting his new book. His traveling has raised suspicion that is is intending on putting in a bid due to the fact he has traveled to key primary states. He has made three visits to Iowa and South Carolina, and six to New Hampshire.
Some argue Johnson's appearance on the Colbert Report back in May helped boost his popularity, what Colbert himself would call the "Colbert bump", and thus further helping a 2012 campaign run. The support group, Johnson for America, has recently sprung up in an attempt to persuade the governor to run.
Through his non-profit campaign Johnson is raising the issues that America is facing today and speaking at events all over the country in order to create awareness. The first issue Johnson is facing is the overwhelming deficit America has accrued over the years. He believes this is not only a challenge, but one of the biggest threats to America. In an effort to reduce the deficit Johnson advocates we make cuts in spending to defense that fund overseas campaigns such as in Afghanistan. He argues further that if fighting and occupying Afghanistan didn't work for the Russians it isn't going to work for us and it will be at great cost.
Johnson says we can improve America's economic status by focusing on three major components. Initially, he says, we need to stop spending so much money. He proposes that we make major cuts to programs of entitlement that have to do with medicaid, social security and medicare. The second thing we can do is create a flat tax on income and eliminate the investment & savings tax. The last component is to stop funding major corporations with tax dollars and take away the federal reserve's grip on the economy.
Marked by controversy, Johnson's belief that marijuana should be legally taxed and regulated by the United States government has proven to make some conservatives question his seriousness as a political candidate. However, Johnson argues his point well by declaring marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol. He admits both are negative substances and shouldn't be encouraged, but that doesn't mean marijuana should be excluded from legalization. Putting people in jail for marijuana crimes is a burden on tax payers dollars and if users are not harming others by risky behavior, such as driving under the influence, then there should be no criminal penalty. His stance on more dangerous drugs, for example heroin, is that it should be decriminalized (not legalized) in a manner where people are able to fix the problem of their addiction in treatment centers, rather than being placed in jail.
Author Resource:-
Derek Thomas is the editor in chief of republican2012.org which is a Republican 2012 website following the latest on the candidates, which will be tracking the 2012 republican political hopefuls. You can also discover more information about governor Gary Johnson on his squidoo page at Gary Johnson 2012
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