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Gary Johnson's Our America (Full-Length Version)

Posted on February 5, 2010

Former Republican Gov. Gary Johnson was the top elected official in New Mexico from 1994 through 2002. He took office after beating a primary opponent backed by the Republican party and won election twice in a state that has two-to-one Democratic advantage in registration.

Born in 1953 and a one-time competitive skiier, Johnson was not your typical governor. Instead, he governed as fiscally responsible and socially tolerant. He didn't raise taxes at all during his time in office and pushed through an aggressive privatization agenda that reduced costs while improving services. He vetoed 750 bills and trimmed the state workforace by 1,000 positions at the same time. He was also the highest-level elected politician and one of the most vocal proponent of drug legalization during his tenure.

Johnson is now heading the Our America initiative, which is dedicated to advancing the public debate on topics ranging from immigration to civil liberties to free enterprise to the federal deficit to the war on drugs to Afghanistan and Iraq. He is frequently mentioned as a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2012.

Reason's Matt Welch and Nick Gillespie talked with Johnson about the issues of the day—and what it was like to climb Mt. Everest with a busted leg.

Approximately 27 minutes. Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg; edited by Bragg.

Note: This is the full-length version of the interview. For a condensed, 10-minute version, go here.

Back in 2001, Reason dubbed Johnson "the most dangerous politician in America." Find out why.

Gary Johnson's Our America (Condensed Version)

Posted on February 5, 2010

Former Republican Gov. Gary Johnson was the top elected official in New Mexico from 1994 through 2002. He took office after beating a primary opponent backed by the Republican party and won election twice in a state that has two-to-one Democratic advantage in registration.

Born in 1953 and a one-time competitive skiier, Johnson was not your typical governor. Instead, he governed as fiscally responsible and socially tolerant. He didn't raise taxes at all during his time in office and pushed through an aggressive privatization agenda that reduced costs while improving services. He vetoed 750 bills and trimmed the state workforace by 1,000 positions at the same time. He was also the highest-level elected politician and one of the most vocal proponent of drug legalization during his tenure.

Johnson is now fronting the Our America initiative, which is dedicated to advancing the public debate on topics ranging from immigration to civil liberties to free enterprise to the federal deficit to the war on drugs to Afghanistan and Iraq. He is frequently mentioned as a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2012.

Reason's Matt Welch and Nick Gillespie talked with Johnson about the issues of the day—and what it was like to climb Mt. Everest with a busted leg.

Approximately 10 minutes. Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg; edited by Bragg.

Note: This is a condensed version of a longer interview. For the full half-hour version, go here.

Back in 2001, Reason called Johnson "the most dangerous politician in America." Find out why.

Matt Welch on MSNBC with David Shuster

Posted on February 5, 2010

On February 3, Reason's Matt Welch appeared on MSNBC to discuss President Obama's flagging support among the American people. Thrill to Matt being misidentified as a "Republican strategist" and be inspired when he points out that Obama's policies, many of which simply continue awful programs initiated by George W. Bush, are genuinely unpopular.

3 Reasons Not To Sweat The Citizens United Ruling

Posted on February 3, 2010

No recent Supreme Court ruling have evoked more liberal fury than Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a campaign-finance case involving government censorship of a political documentary called Hillary: The Movie. The Federal Election Commission prevented the anti-Hillary Clinton film from being shown on television just before the 2008 Democratic primaries, a decision that was upheld by lower courts. Siding with The First Amendment, the Court struck down laws regulating independent political advertising by for-profit and non-profit corporations before an election even as they reaffirmed rules about disclosure and disclosures for ads and against direct corporate giving to candidates.

Critics fear that corporations will now overwhelm the political marketplace with commercials and advertisements that will program citizens to vote for whatever agenda "the corprations" want at a given moment.

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann railed against the decision, calling it "a Supreme Court-sanctioned murder of what little democracy is left in this democracy" and comparing it to the notorious Dred Scott decision, which ruled that blacks had no rights under the Constitution. His fellow corporate media host at MSNBC, Rachel Maddow, exclaimed, "If you are a regular person who has ever made a campaign donation before, forget about ever having to do that again. What's the point?"

Cyberlaw theorist Lawrence Lessig has called for a consitutional amendment to roll back the Citizens United ruling and President Barack Obama called out the Supreme Court during his 2010 State of the Union address, proclaiming to a standing ovation:

The Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations, to spend without limit in our elections.

Is there any truth to some hyperbolic, doomsday scenarios? In a word, no. The Citizens United ruling increases freedom of political speech, not simply for powerful, politically connected corporations like Citigroup, AIG, and the companies that run The New York Times and other media outlets, but for small-pocketed nonprofits such as Citizens United too. If you want to get bent out of shape about something, direct your ire at a massive and constantly growing government that has its hands in virtually every aspect of economic and social life in America.

"3 Reasons Not to Sweat The Citizens United Ruling" was written and produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie, who also hosts.

For Reason.com's archive on the Citizens United case, go here.

Approximately 3.30 minutes. Scroll down for downloadable versions.

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Dramatic Olbermann

Posted on February 3, 2010

Nick Gillespie Discusses Che Guevara on Glenn Beck

Posted on February 3, 2010

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie appeared in a special, hour-long Glenn Beck Show documentary called "The Revolutionary Holocaust: Live Free...Or Die," which examines the historical atrocities of communist and socialist governments in the 20th century and the persistence of their leaders--especially Che Guevara and Mao Zedong--as cultural icons adorning T-shirts, liquor bottles, and other kitsch items.

Gillespie discusses Che Guevara's role in the murderous Castro regime and demystifies a violent figure whose image is never more than a political rally, a Hollywood awards show, or even a greeting card away.

Obama's Doublethink Doubletalk (State of the Union Remix)

Posted on February 2, 2010

George Orwell defined doublethink as "the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.

When it comes to war, spending, and more, President Barack Obama's 2010 State of the Union address showed that doublethink is alive and well in Washington, D.C.

Approximately two minutes. Written and produced by Paul Feine.

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