In a development that will surely amuse my gracious host, Willie Nelson has un-endorsed Gov. Gary Johnson for President.
Has Johnson changed his positions since yesterday? No. But apparently Nelson has smoked more than enough of the substance he and Johnson want legalized to affect his thinking and judgement.
When asked by his own TeaPot Party to explain why he was for Gary Johnson before he was against Gary Johnson, Nelson offered the following:
“I know I said that… 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 [Kucinich] 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.”
He went on to say (emphasis mine):
“If we back someone that’s us telling them how to vote. I’m not qualified.”
I’m inclined to agree. In fact, if he can’t stick to a decision from one day to the next, I’m not convinced he’s qualified to vote, let alone endorse a candidate.
In truth, Nelson’s endorsement would do more harm than good anyway. First, it offered itself as joke fodder for numerous bloggers and pundits. But more importantly, the TeaPot Party (as T pointed out) has “We lean a little to the left” as a portion of their motto. While I’d be happy to see a Republican candidate who can pick up moderates the way Obama did, the “lean left” and Nelson’s efforts for farm subsidies would be held against Johnson.
So I’m not heartbroken that “my candidate” has lost his first endorsement. It comes, after all, from someone with so little understanding of politics that he thinks Kucinich has a shot at the White House. And as a Reason commenter mentioned, “If pot smoking aliens invaded tomorrow, Willie would endorse them.”
No great loss.
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Cross-posted at Makes My Brain Itch
[...] On the road again… and under the bus —- From the Johnson camp… September 21, 2011, Santa Fe, NM — Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson released the following statement after receiving confirmation that he will be allowed to participate in Thursday night’s Fox News / Google debate: [...]