06-13-2016, 08:21 AM
Hillary and Donald may have some opposition, and it will hurt the Trumpmeister:
Quote:As America prepares to choose between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, two of the most unpopular presidential candidates in history, voters have yearned for a third choice.
Now, in a flurry of recent national polls, Gary Johnson, the former Republican governor of New Mexico, has suddenly surged above 10 per cent.
Winning would take a miracle but, with little fanfare, Mr Johnson has emerged as a potential "spoiler" who could cost Mr Trump the White House.
Mr Johnson, 63, who made a fortune in construction, is running as the nominee of the Libertarian Party, which has secured a place on the ballot in all 50 states for the November 8 election.
"Someone told me today that against Clinton and Trump a dead person could get 10 per cent," Mr Johnson said. "But guess what? Dead person isn't on the ballot???? There's a growing realisation that it's just me."
On Friday Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, said he would consider voting Libertarian - a move that could spur other mainstream Republicans to switch.
Mr Johnson's key goal is to get into the televised debates. To do so he needs to hit 15 per cent in the polls just three points higher than the 12 per cent he scored in a Fox News poll last week.
It would be the highest profile support yet for the third party, which has traditionally been viewed as a fringe, and somewhat chaotic, group with some outlandish policies. In 2012 it secured just one per cent of the vote.
But the ticket this time has an exceptional amount of experience. Mr Johnson's running mate is Bill Weld, Mr Romney's predecessor as Republican governor of Massachusetts.
Mr Romney said he had "enormous respect" for Mr Weld and would find it easy to vote for him.
He told CNN: "I'll get to know Gary Johnson better and see if he's someone who I could end up voting for."
Asked if he felt any guilt about taking votes from Mr Trump and the Republican Party, Mr Johnson laughed. "None," he said, before going on to call Mr Trump "absolutely racist".
"I think he'd be horribly dangerous and he's sounding very fascist," added Mr Johnson. He described Mr Trump's plans to deport 11 million as uninformed, and the pledge to build a fence across the border as "just wacky".
"What he says about immigration is nothing short of incendiary," he added. "It's just human nature that we all look for a scapegoat."
He added: "For elected Republicans to say they continue to support Trump even though he's saying these things, I think it means we're seeing the demise of the Republican Party."
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/world/us-electi...z4BRfoHQUD
“Why don’t you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don’t you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don’t you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?” Oddball