Gary Johnson Embraces His "Spoiler" Role
The electoral machinery needs a monkey wrench
Gary Johnson was governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003. He made a name for himself by vetoing 750 bills that didn't meet his standards for thrift.
Before that, Johnson made a fortune in construction, starting as a solo Albuquerque handyman in 1974 and selling his 1,000-employee company, Big J Enterprises, for $10 million in 1999. Johnson likes to ski, hike and cycle. He has completed 75 triathlons and climbed Mount Everest while healing from a broken leg. Also, he is running for president.
While Representative Ron Paul of Texas carried the libertarian flame all the way to the Republican convention this summer, it's Johnson, not Paul, who's on the ballot as the Libertarian candidate in 47 states --- and making his case in courts to get on in the remaining three, Bloomberg Businessweek reports in its Sept. 24 issue.
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In a little publicized announcement posted to the Mitt Romney campaign website last month, Mitt Romney endorsed and subsequently threw all of his campaign resources behind Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson saying, "Over the next few weeks, you're going to see me say and do a lot of things that make absolutely no sense unless you understand just how badly I want to see Gary Johnson as President."