Top 5 Reasons It’s Okay for Libertarians to Criticize Gary Johnson
by Aya Katz
In this election cycle, the Libertarian Party and its presidential candidate Gary Johnson have an unusual opportunity. This year, unlike all other years, a large plurality of voters dislike both the Republican and the Democrat running for President of the United States. In addition to the usual animosity of the GOP faithful toward the Democrats, and the usual belligerence displayed by dyed-in-the-wool Democrats toward Republicans, large portions of the population are disgusted by both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
This year, the Libertarian Party has the opportunity to win over many more voters than ever before, and a possible upset in our favor looms on the horizon. Because of this, we Libertarians have been urged not to openly criticize our candidate, Governor Gary Johnson. It would be like airing dirty laundry in public, we are told. We are urged to show the same kind of solidarity that families used to display in support of the sole breadwinner back in the “good old days.” Otherwise, we are warned, the enemy will win.
But there are some very good reasons why it is more than okay for Libertarians to criticize Gary Johnson. Here are the top five.
5. Criticism Helps Gary Johnson confront the Opposition.
In order to win, Gary Johnson has to beat both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. This means he must appeal to those voters who dislike both of the nominees. It is not enough for Gary Johnson to praise Clinton to Democrats and to praise Trump to Republicans. He cannot possibly win by talking out of both sides of his mouth along the model set forth for us by other middle-of-the-road politicians.
Trying to masquerade as a “moderate” will lose us all the support of the most crucial block of voters Gary Johnson must win over: those who have lost all respect for both Clinton and Trump. During the start of the campaign, Johnson was reluctant to criticize Hillary Clinton, even going so far as to call her an admirable public servant. But perhaps in part due to brave Libertarian Party members who called him on this, Johnson is now willing to go after both Clinton and Trump. If it were not for our criticism, maybe Johnson would not have done what was necessary to win over “Never Trump” and “Never Hillary” voters.
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4. Criticism Helps Gary Johnson to Understand the Issues.
Sometimes Gary Johnson ends up on the wrong side of an issue because he does not quite understand what is at stake. If we don’t correct him, then he might very innocently support the wrong position. For instance, he might see that coal miners are losing their jobs in Kentucky and want to help, but he might be unaware that it is government regulation that is causing unemployment and the demise of the coal industry. Or he might think that a “carbon fee” would be a good solution, but he might not quite understand what carbon is, in what way it is related to coal, or what the difference is between a tax and a fee.
When people buy coal to heat their house, they are paying a fee to the coal producer for the most important element in coal: carbon. When people buy a diamond, they are also paying a fee for carbon. But when people pay the government for their right to purchase, sell, or consume coal and diamonds, that is called a tax. If we don’t tell Gary Johnson these things, he might never know. But perhaps because some very brave libertarians did tell Gary Johnson the facts about the coal tax — that is, the carbon fee — he has changed his position. Like pressure on a piece of graphite, our criticism is changing Johnson from a lump of coal to a diamond. Constructive criticism is good.
3. Criticism Helps Gary Johnson Prepare for the Debates
Sometimes it is all just a question of presentation. It’s appearances and slogans and style over substance. It’s not really that Gary Johnson isn’t a libertarian — he just doesn’t sound like one, at times. We can help with that, but we have to be allowed to speak up. At the beginning of his campaign, Gary Johnson used to answer the question about what is a libertarian like this: “Someone who is fiscally conservative and socially liberal.” By saying this, he alienated all voters who happen to be socially conservative.
Some of his opponents within the party called him on this, and now Johnson has improved his answer. He says “fiscally conservative and socially whatever” — which is still a little weak, but is an improvement. By the time he gets to the debate, he may have polished it up to something even better, like “someone who believes we should do whatever we want, as long as we don’t hurt others or take their stuff.” Wouldn’t that be nice?
2. Criticism Helps Gary Johnson Stay in the News
Bad news is better than no news at all. Even when we appear to be very critical of Johnson, we’re still talking about him. We publish articles about him. And this keeps him on other people’s minds. Trump has catapulted himself into the Republican nomination by staying constantly in the news, usually because he said something very stupid. People enjoy reading about mistakes by politicians. It does not hurt a candidate that much when he is criticized. What really hurts is complete silence. By keeping Johnson in the news, we are helping him achieve the name recognition he desperately needs.
1. Criticism Helps Gary Johnson Fight for and Demonstrate Libertarian Principles
The Libertarian Party is the only party of principle. Principles matter to us more than the public figures we support. We would gain nothing by endorsing Johnson blindly without making sure he continues to abide by the Libertarian Party platform. In this, we are all united, starting with Libertarian Party Chairman Nicholas Sarwark and going all the way down the chain of command to the lowliest foot soldier of the libertarian movement. When Johnson recently made a faux pas and came out in favor of mandatory vaccination and a carbon fee, it was Sarwark who had a talk with him and explained the principles at play. Once Johnson understood, he quickly corrected himself and took the libertarian position on the right to self-ownership was reestablished.
The constructive criticism of Johnson demonstrates that in the Libertarian Party, the chairman is not a stooge of the candidate (unlike the Democrats and Republicans), and the candidate does not dominate the party rank-and-file. We are not afraid to speak our minds, and our candidate is not too proud to accept a correction. Isn’t that the American way? Would you vote for a candidate who does not accept constructive criticism? Thanks to our criticism, Gary Johnson may still have a chance. And if he wins, we will all win, because he will be representing us.