Pot Smokers Gary Johnson supporters Rejoice. Gary Johnson has his first high profile endorsement. No, not the TEA PARTY. No, not an outspoken and influential libertarian. Nope. He has been blessed by the magic bong of none other that Country Music Singer and marijuana icon Willie Nelson; and his Teapot Party – kinda neat how they played on that whole tea party motif, isn’t it? Pretty sure the brainstorming session that produced that mind-bender was catered with something with a little more bite that Folgers.
The former governor of New Mexico, who previously admitted to smoking pot for medicinal purposes, supported legalizing the drug when he was governor. Since he’s been out of office, he has continued to speak out for marijuana reform. Johnson said, “I advocate legalizing marijuana – control it, regulate, tax it” during the Republican debate on May 5 in South Carolina.
Going by Johnson’s outspokenness about the drug – he once joked that he never exhaled – it comes as no surprise that he happily accepted Nelson’s thumbs up.
But wait. It gets even better.
Check out the banner over at the Teapot Party’s website. ”Tax it; Regulate it; Legalize it. We Lean a Little to the Left.” Looks like just the kind of place a Republican wants to be associated with, right?
In fairness, an endorsement means absolutely nothing without an acknowledgment or an acceptance. Candidates have absolutely no control over who or which organizations decide to “endorse” their campaigns. Without an acceptance or even a simple acknowledgment, the endorsement is relatively meaningless – save for a good laugh in some instances.
But yeah… that line of cover won’t really work for this one; because there’s also this…
Posted at the Teapot Party’s website… A Press Release issued by Gary Johnson’s camp…
“I am truly gratified to have the endorsement of such an iconic entertainer, philanthropist, innovator and champion for individual rights as Willie Nelson,” Johnson says, accepting the endorsement. “Not only is he a superstar talent, he is a bold advocate for social change. Americans are demanding the freedom and opportunity to pursue their dreams without interference from a heavy-handed government, and Willie Nelson lends a tremendous voice to those demands.”
I think that qualifies as an acknowledgment; no?
He just couldn’t help himself, could he? Who said pot’s not addictive. Dude just can’t seem to get away from it.
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Further Reading on Gary Johnson – in the interest of keeping an open mind – of course…
Related Gary Johnson posts here at Republican Redefined.
This one’s from Scratcher – our resident Libertarian and Gary Johnson supporter… Be sure to check out the comment feed on this one where we “debate” the man, the candidacy, and the cause…
This one’s from me – whatever the opposite of a Gary Johnson supporter may be…
Good post. You made me laugh.
But pot jokes aside, let me repeat:
Lowered taxes 14 times without raising them once. Cut the size of government. Cut the growth of government. Balanced the budget. Left office with a budget surplus. Reformed Medicaid. Used private companies in the prison and highway systems, saving the state money. Vetoed over 750 pieces of legislation. Used line item veto thousands of times, often to remove spending. Before office – started his own business, and turned it into a multi-million dollar corporation that employed hundreds of (at one point 1,000) people.
That’s not politician bs… that’s what he’s done. There is no other candidate or potential candidate I can name with that record. And it’s everything we’ve all been screaming for.
Certainly glad you enjoyed it. And very pleased to have given you another venue for sharing Gov Johnson’s track record.
Yeah… you may end up sick of me over it. I’ve decided I’m going to comment to as many internet posts about him as I can, cut & pasting what I think is most important about him. I may drive folks bananas with it, but hopefully it’ll stick.
Forgot to add… in 1999, Johnson vetoed collective bargaining. Ahead of his time again.
http://www.riograndefoundation.org/downloads/rgf_public_employees.pdf
Well. Seems Willie’s smoked enough to provoke short-term memory loss or something… Now it’s too early for an endorsement.
http://teapotpartyblog.com/?p=77
“I know I said that,” Nelson replied. “But I think I will wait and see where he stands on other things. My bad. Sorry. I still think he is a good guy but so Is Dennis and if he decided to run I would personally vote for him. If it came down to either him or Gary I’m already committed to Dennis. They both have said they support legal pot.”
Speaking for myself, this means nothing. Nelson’s endorsement was a source of great humor for many anyway. And Willie should consider cutting back on the weed. “wait and see where he stands on other things”? Damn shame Johnson doesn’t have… oh, I dunno… a public record as an elected official we can all look at! Kucinich? Oh, good grief.
Wow. I just read the post you linked to over there at the Teapot Party site. I have to say that it may have to be added to one of my daily reads. Willie smokes a little, emails a little, endorses a little, and then smokes a little more and realizes that the whole thing was a bad idea. Oh the life of a hippie.
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