From an op-ed by David Boaz published in USA Today on June 3:
“Not since the nomination of arch-conservative Barry Goldwater in 1964 have so many Republicans been so dissatisfied with the presumptive nominee of their party….
“The Libertarian Party gathered in Orlando and nominated two former governors: Gary Johnson of New Mexico for president and William Weld of Massachusetts for vice president. It’s an impressive ticket: two of the most libertarian governors in memory, with more public-sector executive experience than either Trump or Clinton, the first ticket with two governors since the Republican campaign of 1948, perhaps the most politically experienced third-party ticket ever….
“You’d think the #NeverTrump Republicans would shout ‘Hallelujah!’ Yet they’ve been strangely quiet. Here are two former Republican governors, both re-elected in a Democratic state and a swing state, both with a record of accomplishment. And most specifically for the #NeverTrump crowd, both men of good character who are fit for public office and have thought seriously about public policy.
“True, they’re not conservatives. They’re libertarians. Or at least libertarian-ish, as some more radical members of the Libertarian Party grumbled. They both supported gay marriage even before many Democrats. Johnson wants to legalize marijuana — Weld supports legalization for medical use — both want to rethink the failed drug war. They’re pro-choice. And perhaps most galling to some conservatives and neoconservatives, Johnson wants a new foreign policy that rejects endless war and futile attempts at ‘nation-building.’”
