Gary Johnson Speaks at CPAC 2010

Although he did not share the stage in the main ballroom with such conservative heavyweights as Glenn Beck, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Ann Coulter, or Ryan Sorba, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson did take his turn at a microphone provided by the Campaign for Liberty, a youth-oriented outgrowth of Representative Ron Paul's bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.

Widely rumored to be considering his own run for the White House in 2012, the two-term GOP governor from a Democratic-leaning state spoke for about 20 minutes on a range of topics including the need to decriminalize marijuana and other drugs, the net economic gain for New Mexico due to immigrants (even undocumented immigrants), and the necessity for fixing our broken political system in Washington.

In fact, those were his first words when he took to the podium, in front of a crowd of 175-200 CPAC attendees and other interested political activists:

Our politics have failed us in America.  Our leaders on both sides of the aisle are making things worse for us every year, not better.  And the proof is all around us.  Take a look at our America today, take a look at the brink of economic collapse that our government has led us to, and tell me that we're busy living the dream.  We're not.  We're busy getting deeper into debt.  We're busy losing the freedom that so many have given their lives to achieve.

Thomas Jefferson said that it was our patriotic duty to stage a revolution every generation just to kick out the riff-raff.  He was right.  He understood politicians and politics perfectly.  We do need a revolution in America in this generation, an armed rebellion.  Let's arm ourselves with common sense.  Let's stop spending money we don't have.  Let's live within our means.  This is our America.  How can we justify borrowing money for our retirement and health care and hand the bill to future generations?

Our country is about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Let every Member of Congress and the President of the United States take an oath to take on these difficult spending issues that we face and vow that they're not going to be re-elected:  understand that they won't be re-elected.

Here's the video of part one:

About nine minutes after he began his remarks, Johnson stated:

Leadership on both sides of the aisle have to cut Medicare.

Look, we've made commitments to individuals who are on Social Security. I think it would be wrong to back away from those commitments, so ... this has to be a commitment that we keep.

But these entitlement programs for the rest of us, they have to be reviewed. Cuts need to be made because the very viability of this country is at stake.

Here is the video for part two of Johnson's speech:

Not backing away from one of his more controversial positions, about 18 minutes into his speech, Johnson said straightforwardly:

Let's deal from reality. I think marijuana should be legalized.

It's never, never going to be legal to smoke pot, become impaired, and get behind the wheel of a car. It's never going to be legal to smoke pot and do harm to others. It's never going to be legal to get kids to smoke pot.

Here is part three of Governor Johnson's speech, which ends with a question by Alex Knepper, who has been making a name for himself since CPAC. The recording ends abruptly because my camera's battery died at that point.

Gary Johnson is honorary chairman of the OUR America Initiative. More information can be found on that organization's web site.

Trivia tidbit:  If Gary Johnson is elected President, he will be the first person to do so and also to have climbed Mount Everest.

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