ACLU: Johnson, Paul better than Obama on Defending Constitution
Click chart to see the full report.
Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson and Republican candidate Ron Paul have earned top scores on the recently released 2012 Liberty Watch Candidate Report Card from the American Civil Liberties Union. Many Democrats may be surprised to find that President Barack Obama has been ranked third, by an organization many accuse of a “liberal bias”.
“Barack Obama has disappointed many civil liberties advocates by keeping Guantanamo Bay open, continuing unconstitutional surveillance under the PATRIOT Act, and giving the US military the authority to detain American citizens indefinitely on American soil in the National Defense Authorization Act,” said Texas Libertarian, Robert Butler.
According to the ACLU:
“Over and over during debates, on TV ads and splashed across campaign websites and Twitter feeds, the candidates have invoked the Constitution as a means of undermining policies they oppose and promoting policies they support.
It’s a great political device to use a document revered as much as the flag itself. What sometimes gets lost, however, is that the Constitution wasn’t written as fodder for political campaigns. It was written to be the foundation for all our freedoms.
That’s why the American Civil Liberties Union launched a new campaign this year — ACLU Liberty Watch 2012 — to be a watchdog on the candidates of all parties so that the Constitution is defended throughout the election campaign.
Just in time for the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, we’re releasing a report card today, with the ACLU’s Constitution and civil liberties experts providing a critical assessment of the major candidates of all parties, grading them with four to zero constitutional “torches” on seven key issues, including national security, immigration, marriage equality and reproductive choice. More issues will be added.
Republican-turned-Libertarian Gary Johnson scored even better than Paul, Huntsman and Obama, earning four and three torches on most major issues. They stand in stark contrast to the other major GOP candidates, three of whom — Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum — didn’t earn a single torch in any of the seven major categories.”
Critics of the ACLU, including both libertarians and conservatives, will note that the ACLU does not include property rights in their assessment of the candidates. If they included protection of the second amendment gun rights, and cutting taxes as civil liberties, some of the Republicans would have scored higher.
It should be noted that other Libertarian candidates such as R. Lee Wrights, Roger Gary, and R.J. Harris were not included in the ACLU report, and would likely have an equal or higher ranking than Gary Johnson.
No one but philosophical libertarians like Gary Johnson and Ron Paul protect and defend the complete US Constitution on a wide range of topics including both economic and personal issues. This ACLU report is an important acknowledgement from the American left that Libertarians consistently do a better job in protecting civil liberties than elected Democrats and most Republicans.
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Posted by RobertButler
on Jan 2 2012. Filed under 2012 Presidential Campaign, Barack Obama, Candidates, Features.
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It is no surprise that Gary Johnson is surging ahead in the polls. We have reached a unique point in history. Many Democrats feel disaffected by Obama and seek and alternate candidate. Republicans are lukewarm about their potential choices and we have more Independents than ever. This makes Gary Johnson the ideal candidate as he embodies the best qualities of both parties combined.
Gary Johnson will stir up the presidential election. This race will have an historic three way split. Ron Paul supporters will go to Johnson as his philosophy is very close. Johnson will take votes from the left and the right wings as well. The Libertarian Party is melding into something very special.
I think Gallup, CNN, Rasmussen and the other polling organization dropped Gary Johnson from their polls, even when he was still polling higher than Santorum and Huntsman last Summer and Fall, because Johnson would wipe the floor with Obama. What’s to stop Democrats from voting for someone who will legalize marijuana (where as Obama’s DOJ is shutting down dispensaries in higher numbers than Bush), not build a fence but reform immigration whereas Obama is saying “I’ll do int in the next five years”, pro-gay marriage (where Obama has flip-flopped and hemmed and hawed on that) and has proven to take New Mexico from a $1billion deficit to a $1billion surplus in 8 years. Obama’s knees would be knocking in fear if Johnson really had a chance last Summer and Fall to be in the GOP debates instead of getting railroaded out of town by the polling organizations and the news organization who were complicit in changing criteria at the last minute to exclude Johnson. I hope Johnson polls at at least 15% so he can get on the debate stage with Obama and the GOP nominee and clean their clocks with Johnson’s brand of common sense.