Ex-N.M. Gov. Gary Johnson speaks at Ron Paul rally in Minnesota
RIO RANCHO -- Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson spoke at Ron Paul’s Rally for the Republic late Tuesday afternoon. Both are Republicans with strong libertarian streaks.
The Minneapolis event billed speakers as “performers” and the main performer of the evening was former Presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul of Texas. Johnson endorsed Paul for President earlier this year.
Paul gained fame from his run for President this year, where despite low totals in the Republican primary, he gained a small army of dedicated followers. The followers advocated a “revolution” against the current state of politics and the Republican party.
Johnson had always been a bit of a maverick, bucking his own party, the Democrats and the establishment alike. Johnson recounted some of his infamous battles with the state legislature and boasted of vetoing 750 bills in his eight years in office in his nearly 20 minute speech.
“I had the most contentious relationship of any governor to their legislature in the country. They thwarted me on dozens of my issues. To put that into perspective, that was vetoing more bills than the other 49 governors in this country combined,” Johnson told the crowd at the Target Center.
“A la Ron Paul.”
He also spoke of personal freedom with some eyebrow-raising statements. Johnson mentioned he had one pet peeve that he told the legislature to never send to his desk – any law mandating the use of helmets for motorcycle riders. “I wear the helmet, but for somebody that wants to drive their motorcycle and not wear a helmet, we have an organ donor shortage in this country,” Johnson said to enthusiastic cheers from the crowd.
Johnson also received cheers for his much publicized stance on the war on drugs. “I have advocated the legalization of marijuana and I advocated harm-reduction strategies for all these other drugs. This is a health problem, not a criminal justice problem.”
Johnson’s stance on drugs is perhaps the one thing all New Mexicans remember about his tenure as governor. Johnson was the highest-ranking elected official to advocate the legalization of marijuana. The idea did not gain much traction among either the Democratic majority or the Republican Party.
“We privatized half the prisons in the state at two-thirds the cost,” Johnson said, “and I would argue best product, best service, lowest price.”
The organizers of the event billed it as “a clear call to the Republican Party to return to its roots of limited government, personal responsibility, and protection of our natural rights.”
Other performers at the event included former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura and Barry Goldwater, Jr. Goldwater, Jr. was simply billed as Barry Goldwater on the website for the Rally for the Republic.
Ventura, the professional wrestler-turned politician, encouraged the crowd to boo him, calling it “a sign of affection” since he was “a villain” when he was a pro wrestler.
Johnson ended his speech with a plea for unity between the attendees of the splinter convention and those at the Xcel Center in St. Paul. “Go out and adopt a Republican… Let’s see if we can’t go out and build some bridges here,” Johnson told the crowd. “Nothing to lose, everything to gain.”
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