Johnson Gains Third Newspaper Endorsement
By: Elias J. Atienza
The New Hampshire Union Leader endorsed Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson Wednesday night. It is the third newspaper endorsement that the Libertarian nominee has received and will help boost his standing in a state where he recently polled 15 percent. Said the Union Leader:
Running on the Libertarian Party ticket, Johnson and Weld don’t stand a chance, unless American voters demand better than the horrible candidates foisted on them by the two major political parties.
Electing a third party President might be just the ticket to snapping a squabbling Congress out of its partisanship. Both Republicans and Democrats would be independent of the White House, and freer to debate issues apart from tribal loyalties.
Restoration of these checks and balances might be the most promising benefit of a Johnson presidency. The pattern of presidential overreach stretches back not just eight years, but eight decades, as every commander-in-chief worked to consolidate political authority in the Executive Branch, and every Congress meekly consented.
Gary Johnson would be the first President in modern memory to limit the scope of both the federal government, and his own power as President. Neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump show any signs of such political humility.
The Union Leader is the largest newspaper in New Hampshire with a daily circulation of 35,800, and 47,800 on Sundays. The paper joins the Winston-Salem Journal and the Richmond-Times Dispatch in endorsing Johnson.
The Union Leader also published an editorial by publisher Joseph W. McQuaid. He writes:
Libertarians Gary Johnson and Bill Weld are on the ballot in all 50 states. Their records (as Republican governors in politically-divided states) speak well of them. They would be worth considering under many circumstances. In today’s dark times, they are a bright light of hope and reason. The Union Leader and Sunday News endorse them.