I wanted to pause for a moment to thank Governors Gary Johnson and Bill Weld for running for President and Vice President.
Running for office as a Libertarian can be a very rewarding activity, but it’s also very challenging.
I am so glad to have two such highly qualified people representing the Libertarian Party at the top of our ticket.
Governor Johnson was famous for vetoing wasteful spending in New Mexico 750 times – probably more vetoes than all other Governors combined!
Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld was rated, “The most fiscally-conservative governor in the United States” by the Wall Street Journal.
Johnson and Weld support free markets, will cut taxes and spending, will bring our troops home from the Middle East, and will end the war on drugs – one of the biggest excuses the government uses to spy on Americans.
In contrast, Hillary Clinton would ramp up military spending and foreign intervention, increase deficits, continue domestic spying, continue the Patriot Act, and continue prosecuting the war on drugs – just like Donald Trump!
Clinton and Trump have different personas, but their policies are very similar – and both will make America worse. I don’t personally care so much about Hillary’s scandalous emails or Trump’s thuggish behavior – it’s what they want to do with government power as President that worries me.
A more Libertarian America will be a better America for all: a safer, more prosperous, more friendly America. And, that’s why I encourage you to vote Libertarian Johnson/Weld.
I haven’t always agreed with everything Johnson or Weld have said, or how they’ve framed the issues. In fact, I’ve sometimes fantasized about what it would be like to run for President myself. Could I do better? It sure looks like it could be fun. I’ve run for local offices before. I love organizing campaigns and debating the issues.
But, then I remind myself that I simply can’t afford to take off more than a year from work to run around campaigning. I’ve got a family to support and bills to pay. Running for President, or any other office for that matter, is a volunteer effort. You don’t get paid to run for office. And since I haven’t been a governor before, it’s unlikely as many people would take me as seriously as they’ve taken two former governors on our ticket.
With that said, I want to say in a very big way — THANK YOU — to Gary and Bill for taking time out of their lives to support the Libertarian Party and to represent the Libertarian Party. I want to thank them for the thousands of hours they have volunteered for their campaigns.
And if they are like most other Libertarian candidates, it’s likely they have also spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars of their own money covering various activities or expenses that are at least indirectly related to their decisions to run for office as Libertarians.
Bill Weld and Gary Johnson have worked tirelessly on their campaign. I want to thank them wholeheartedly for their efforts, and if you get a chance to, I encourage you to thank them as well. Of course I also want to thank the thousands of donors and volunteers who have contributed so much to the campaign.
This is a great year to be a Libertarian. Others must agree, because our dues-paying membership has skyrocketed this year from 11,184 in January, to 20,170 as of October 1!
Thanks again, Gary and Bill. Thank you to our 9,000 new members! And, thank you to the 600 other candidates running for office as Libertarians this year.
Finally, don’t forget to vote Libertarian November 8.
Now get back to work campaigning, everyone – and please be nice!
Yours in liberty,
Wes Benedict
Executive Director
