Politics

Gary Johnson Calls Obama and Romney "Dueling Phil Donahue Acts"

|

While Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein was busy getting arrested for protesting her exclusion from last night's presidential debate at Hofstra University, Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson responded to the debate without mentioning his own exclusion:

America's challenges and the crises we face demand a real debate — not dueling Phil Donahue acts carping at one another over who is worse.

I defy anyone who watched the debate to identify a plan from either the Republican or Democrat that will achieve a balanced budget. Behind the fuzzy math and the quibbling, there was nothing more than a commitment to continue the status quo — with at most a few minor adjustments. We don't need adjustments. We need a fundamental reduction in the role and cost of government, and both Romney and Obama are fundamentally big-government guys.

We watched a blame game over immigration, while the problem festers with no solution in sight. We heard quibbling over whose government plan would have saved GM better, but nothing about why the government should be bailing out any company at all. And we heard cheap shots about government-run health care from two candidates who both support it. Where is the reasonable argument that government shouldn't be running health care in the first place?

On the attacks in Libya, the debate we must have is not over what we call it or when; we need a debate over why we were there at all.

There are clear choices in this election, but they weren't on the stage tonight.

Johnson attempted to sue his way into the debates, but so far those efforts have been unsuccessful. According to campaign press secretary Joe Hunter, the lawsuit is "pending."  On Tuesday Johnson will appear at the Free and Equal debate in Chicago with Stein, Constitution Party nominee Virgil Goode, and Justice Party nominee Rocky Anderson. CNN legend Larry King will moderate.

Johnson and Stein are participating in a one-on-one live debate sponsored by IVN tomorrow. The two will participate via a Google+ Hangout while taking questions from each other and the general public.