There’s ample justification for welcoming former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson as he takes his rightful place onstage with the rest of 2012 GOP presidential field in tonight’s debate.
First off, Johnson promises to present his principled libertarian vision – and contrast it with the more traditional conservative takes offered up by the rest of the voices onstage – with a more cogent, coherent delivery than Ron Paul and “the good Dr.’s” own peculiar, sometimes-rambling, version of “constitutionalist” gold buggery.
And Johnson onstage, by virtue of his overlapping tenure in a governor’s mansion in a Mexican-border state next door, will be right there for the moderators, or other candidates, to call upon to shed a little learned scrutiny on Rick Perry’s record in Austin.
Johnson, too, can boast of experience winning heaps of independent, Democratic and Hispanic votes statewide in swing state New Mexico.
But it’s in the role that Johnson shares with Jon Huntsman, as a self-styled “truth teller” to the GOP base, that will be Johnson’s real place to shine and show why his voice has something to offer in this field.
Entitlement reform is one area where Johnson has staked out a “truth teller” role, and one that – despite Rick Perry’s recent emboldened “Ponzi scheme” statements – still sorely needs to be addressed by this Republican field. A demographic-fueled middle class entitlement crisis looms over our teetering economy. Count on “Gov. Gary” not to run away from the issue.
Johnson will speak up for a not-insignificant portion of the Republican Party’s base – and an even larger, unwisely-ignored chunk of GOP-persuadable general election voters – that is just as uncomfortable with government meddling in the bedroom as it is in the boardroom. But his dissent from the ever more-orthodox social conservatism of 2012’s GOP should find more appeal with real Republicans than Huntsman’s mainstream media-friendly message of warmed-over “center right” Republicanism.
Part of this is demeanor, and delivery. At the National Press Club last month, Johnson came off just as “Gov. Gary,” the only guy who sounds reasonable, like a “real person,” with his aw-shucks pronouncement, gosh, “I happen to believe in evolution.” In the last debate, Huntsman delivered nearly the same line, but it was dripping with condescension, with an “why am I being subjected to this, because I’m obviously the most presidential guy here” arrogant undertone.
“Gov. Gary,” as he told the Examiner’s Byron York, behind-the-scenes in the spin room in Orlando this afternoon, is just happy to be there, not under the illusion he’s entitled. Johnson isn’t afraid to bring his “truth telling” to Tea Partiers when he thinks they stray from their small government message, but he can’t help but respect their fervor, nonetheless. Jon Huntsman seems like he share the former part of that sentiment while rejecting the latter notion.
Johnson has an opportunity to score points that Ron Paul has assiduously foregone by drawing a stark contrast between his social libertarianism with Hunstman’s mainstream media-pandering by framing his take on social issues in vigorous Goldwaterite terms. Think of coming out in favor for “marriage ‘freedom,'” rather than “marriage ‘equality.'”
Remember, with the plastic debate invite criteria of this cycle, Johnson has come up just shy of the requirements, while Huntsman, barely registering in some polls, has nabbed invites thanks to a finger on the scale. Neither “Gov. Gary” nor “Amb. Hunstman” should be bounced from the dais in this or future debates, because they bring something to the table, messages that stand out from the rest of the field, and between each other.
