Official Gary Johnson/Will Weld Libertarian Party election headquarters!

[Dre Space Age]

This will be my 2nd time voting for Gary as president.

 

[SirReginald]

If he wins New Mexico he has a high chance of winning.

 

[GoPro]

All i know about this dude is he's a marijuana proponent

So y'all are gonna ride for this dude simply cause he'll let you smoke weed in peace? I'd suggest you take a look at his other views before you spark an L in his honor.

 

[JF]

All i know about this dude is he's a marijuana proponent

 

[Jello Biafra]

All i know about this dude is he's a marijuana proponent

He is strongly pro-private prisons.

 

[714562]

He is strongly pro-private prisons.

"Strongly?" He built a whopping two private prisons during his term as governor, and only because New Mexico was facing a shameful shortage of prison space. He's also strongly against overcriminalization and punishment of nonviolent drug offenses. I'm not a big fan of private prisons, but would oversight of private prisons really be such a nightmare if we didn't have the highest prison population in the world?

February 10, 2016 - Santa Fe, NM– I am often asked about private prisons – and whether they create political and financial pressure to unnecessarily incarcerate drug offenders and others. I understand the concern and the potential for such pressure, but when I was Governor, it simply didn’t happen.

Much to the contrary, building two private prisons in New Mexico solved some very serious problems - and saved the taxpayers a lot of money.

When I took office as Governor, the federal Department of Justice had, years earlier, taken control of the New Mexico prison system under a consent decree resulting from the Courts declaring that that state’s system was horribly inadequate and being operated incompetently. 700 prisoners were actually being housed out-of-state because New Mexico had nowhere acceptable to put them.

It was a serious and urgent problem, and the legislature was unwilling to address it. I explored the available options, and it quickly became obvious that the solution was private prisons that could be operated at significantly lower cost, meet the standards necessary to get the State out from under Federal oversight, and resolve what was a tremendously costly and, frankly, embarrassing situation. At the time, the “per-prisoner” cost in the state prisons was $76 per day. The cost to house prisoners in the private facilities was $56 per day. Better service, lower cost.

Never in that process did I experience any pressure to “fill beds” in the private prisons we built. And if I had, it wouldn’t have worked. It might happen elsewhere, but it absolutely did not happen in New Mexico when I was Governor. Anyone who has actually overseen a prison system and dealt with the politics thereof knows that the real pressure to fill cells comes from the public employees’ unions intent on keeping their jobs. They consistently lobby against sentencing reform and go to war to prevent common sense privatization of inefficient, incompetently managed government services.

Some who are concerned about private prisons have also suggested that, as Governor, I should have simply pulled out a pardon pen and released enough prisoners to solve the State’s prison crisis. Actually governing is very different than commenting. Yes, as in many states, the Governor of New Mexico has the authority to grant clemency and pardon. But also as in most states, there is an established process for doing so – and it is a lengthy and very structured system. The notion of simply turning hundreds of prisoners loose in order to immediately vacate cells was not a real-world option – and I operate in the real world.

I have made it clear that the U.S. incarceration rate – the highest in the developed world – is a tragic consequence of over-criminalization and the failed War on Drugs. In 1999, I became the highest-ranking elected official in the country to call for the legalization of marijuana and harm-reduction strategies for other drugs. A major consideration in that position was the financial and human cost of arresting, prosecuting and punishing nonviolent drug offenders.

Calling for the legalization of marijuana and harm reduction approaches toward harder drugs – as an elected official more than 15 years ago – is clearly NOT the action of a Governor concerned about filling prisons.

 

[Jello Biafra]

"Strongly?" He built a whopping two private prisons during his term as governor, and only because New Mexico was facing a shameful shortage of prison space. He's also strongly against overcriminalization and punishment of nonviolent drug offenses. I'm not a big fan of private prisons, but would oversight of private prisons really be such a nightmare if we didn't have the highest prison population in the world?

When he was governor he privatized half the prisons in New Mexico.

 

[SirReginald]

So y'all are gonna ride for this dude simply cause he'll let you smoke weed in peace? I'd suggest you take a look at his other views before you spark an L in his honor.

I'd take him over Clinton and Trump (If He Makes It To The National Debate Stage)

 

[714562]

When he was governor he privatized half the prisons in New Mexico.

I can't find any source as to how many state prisons were privatized during his governorship (and to what extent) apart from statements by Johnson himself saying "I privatized half the prisons in New Mexico." This is, admittedly, distinct from constructing new private prisons (he only built two).

But the broader point is still valid. Private prisons would at least be easer to oversee (and at most, unnecessary) if we ended the war on drugs.

 

[Jello Biafra]

I can't find any source as to how many state prisons were privatized during his governorship (and to what extent) apart from statements by Johnson himself saying "I privatized half the prisons in New Mexico." This is, admittedly, distinct from constructing new private prisons (he only built two).

But the broader point is still valid. Private prisons would at least be easer to oversee (and at most, unnecessary) if we ended the war on drugs.

Johnson himself makes the statement in this interview from 2012: Presidential candidate Gary Johnson talks guns, for-profit prisons

And if he said it I don't see any reason to doubt him on it. And his making the statement indicates to me he is a strong proponent of private prisons.

Now I agree with him (and you) about the war on drugs being a problem but people don't only go to jail for drug crimes and an over proliferation of private prisons would have the unintended consequence of people still getting far more heavy sentences for minor non-drug crimes just to make sure there enough bodies in those private prisons to turn a profit.

 

[714562]

Johnson himself makes the statement in this interview from 2012: Presidential candidate Gary Johnson talks guns, for-profit prisons

And if he said it I don't see any reason to doubt him on it. And his making the statement indicates to me he is a strong proponent of private prisons.

Now I agree with him (and you) about the war on drugs being a problem but people don't only go to jail for drug crimes and an over proliferation of private prisons would have the unintended consequence of people still getting far more heavy sentences for minor non-drug crimes just to make sure there enough bodies in those private prisons to turn a profit.

Right, but Johnson's rebuttal to that is that even without private prisons, there is still a huge motive to increase the prison population. Public prison lobbies are extremely strong all over the country, particularly in my home state of Florida. Building a prison creates construction and law enforcement jobs, the latter of which are union positions. Depending on where you are, the inmate population may also count toward political districting, which gives politicians in small districts to build prisons in order to increase their relevance. Keeping corporations out of the game doesn't mean that there's no motive to make a buck off of prisons. You just have to be part of the government to do it.

 

[Tate]

Disappointed in how unfunny this thread is.

Y'all really let @DEAD7 walk around with out holding these Ls brehs?













By the way libertarians still don't actually exist. Their plan to get votes is to be candidates no one knows anything about.

The young social democrats and bummed neocon think tankers aren't voting for the neoconfederate weed guys sorry

 

[Street Knowledge]

I agree with him/the party platform on 90% of the issues. I don't believe in the concept of an income tax, I think all drugs should be legalized, I think we need a reform on term limits, I believe we need to roll back occupational licensing, ending foreign aid etc

 

[714562]

By the way libertarians still don't actually exist. Their plan to get votes is to be candidates no one knows anything about.

The young social democrats and bummed neocon think tankers aren't voting for the neoconfederate weed guys sorry

I'm not sure that lack of popularity is tantamount to nonexistence. If Gary Johnson gets 15% in the polls, then he will be on the debate stage. Libertarians would consider that a victory in itself.

As far as the neoconfederate reference, Gary Johnson far from that. The LP has its share of those knuckleheads but Johnson isn't one of them. In fact, he supports public accommodation laws, which gets him into huge trouble with his own party.

 

[DEAD7]