U.S. News: Libertarian Johnson says he appeals to rank-and-file Republicans

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From U.S. News & World Report on August 23:

“Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson…told CNBC that Trump has tapped into the anger that many Americans feel toward the status quo, but Johnson said, ‘That is not, in my opinion, representative of the majority of the Republican Party. And where’s that representation? Well, I think it’s me. I think it’s me right now… It’s a big six-lane highway down the middle that Bill Weld [Johnson’s vice presidential running mate] and myself are occupying.”

“Johnson also said, ‘I’ve been a self-declared libertarian since 1971. What was the old saying? That if you weren’t a Democrat in college, you didn’t have a heart. And if you weren’t a Republican in later life, you didn’t have a brain. Well, I happen to think libertarian kind of encompasses hearts and brains both. And that’s what we are all about. …This is the demise of the Republican Party. This is an opportunity, I think, for the Libertarian Party to become a major party.’”

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