R J Harris: Let’s chill on “Gary Johnson Mania”

Hello all,

R J Harris is a candidate for the LP’s presidential nomination. In a preface to his March 7 “Money Bomb” plea, R J Harris said:
Clearly the GOP has screwed us again but even if Ron is not on the ballot in2012, his platform and principles still can be. There is time left to help nominate a Liberty Candidate for President from the Libertarian Party. Please help today.

http://www.rjharris2012.com/blog/defeat-two-party-tyranny-mb/

Contrary to both Ron Paul’s and RJ Harris’ platforms, Gary Johnson supports keeping GITMO open, “humanitarian” war, giving foreign aid to Israel, the “Fair Tax”, accepting federal matching funds for his campaign, aggressive and intrusive regulation of small restaurants, keeping the Federal Reserve system, the death penalty…and the list goes on. HE IS NOT a Libertarian. In the wake of what happened to our Champion Ron Paul on Super Tuesday we have to help RJ stand up and fight for us like never before.

Won’t you please help get the word out about this champion of Liberty? He needs your help right now before its too late to stop the LP from making another Bob Barr mistake.

3/7/12 Money Bomb – Defeat Two Party Tyranny | RJ Harris for President
www.rjharris2012.com

 

I’ve heard Gary Johnson speak several times when he appeared on Fox Business Network and when he was at the Republican debates, the two times he was invited. I also heard him during the February 21 Manhattan LP Convention, which I attended. I think those who met him will agree when I say Gary is an articulate libertarian-like supporter, a sweet, easy going guy who you wouldn’t mind introducing to one of your female kins.

Still, R J Harris accused Gary Johnson of not being a libertarian. Perhaps this is just political posturing on Harris’ part, but I don’t think his accusation should be dismissed. Can we at least take a time out on the veritable “Gary Johnson Mania” and examine the reasons for Harris’ accusation? Perhaps after we examine them we might even decide to put the kibosh on Johnson, himself. (“Beware of false prophets and fake Coach handbags.”)

Harris gave me pause, however, when he faulted Johnson for accepting federal matching funds for his campaign. Frankly, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I know this stance is both an apostasy and an anathema for most libertarians, but guess what? My stance is supported by none other than the great, prototypical, quasi libertarian, Ayn Rand.

Remember when a student of Rand’s felt badly about receiving a government scholarship? How could the student countenance taking the scholarship and not feel hypocritical? Rand’s answer was, in part:

The recipient of a public scholarship is morally justified only so long as he regards it as restitution and opposes all forms of welfare statism. Those who advocate public scholarships, have no right to them; those who oppose them, have. If this sounds like a paradox, the fault lies in the moral contradictions of welfare statism, not in its victims.

Since there is no such thing as the right of some men to vote away the rights of others, and no such thing as the right of the government to seize the property of some men for the unearned benefit of others—the advocates and supporters of the welfare state are morally guilty of robbing their opponents, and the fact that the robbery is legalized makes it morally worse, not better. The victims do not have to add self-inflicted martyrdom to the injury done to them by others; they do not have to let the looters profit doubly, by letting them distribute the money exclusively to the parasites who clamored for it. Whenever the welfare-state laws offer them some small restitution, the victims should take it . . . .

But the victims, who opposed such laws, have a clear right to any refund of their own money—and they would not advance the cause of freedom if they left their money, unclaimed, for the benefit of the welfare-state administration.

(“The Question of Scholarships,”http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/government_grants_and_scholarships.html)

So, if Ayn Rand were here today, she would no doubt tell Harris to chill on Johnson for accepting federal matching funds for his campaign, and take those funds for himself as restitution, since he opposes all forms of “welfare statism” and especially to advance the cause of freedom by not leaving all that money to those motherfuckers.

Anyhow, on a related matter, I”m not sure, but I think Harris’ “J” don’t mean anything like the “S” in Ulysses S Grant, which Grant admitted didn’t mean anything. (Who’s buried in Grant’s tomb? Ulysses S Grant, of course. Who’d you think? Jimmy Hoffa? JFK’s real trigger man? Obama’s real father?) Harry Truman’s “S” didn’t mean anything either.

I hope Harris’ “J” don’t mean anything, because it would be a nice affectation. You think maybe Harris did one better by not having the “R” mean anything either?

So, please don’t dismiss R J Harris’ accusation that Gary Johnson is not a libertarian. And, just as important, please don’t dismiss R J Harris’ candidacy for the LP’s presidential nomination, because as that great Yankee slugger, Ron Swaboda, once said, “It ain’t over till the sun sets in the East,” or something like that.

Thanks for reading.

Alton

Manhattan Libertarian Party