Libertarian Gary Johnson: ‘I’m No Spoiler’

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson says he plans on pulling support in November from unhappy supporters of both President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

That’s why, he told the Denver Post Monday, “I’ve never viewed myself as a spoiler because I believe I’m going to take equally from both sides.”

Johnson, a former GOP presidential contender who was twice elected governor of New Mexico, is touring Colorado and other states where the election is expected to be close in hopes of siphoning off voters who are dissatisfied with Obama’s record and what Romney offers as an alternative.

He says Romney’s math doesn’t add up, even to “a second-grader,” when he talks about balancing the budget and growing the military. And, he says, unlike Obama, he would end the war on drugs and restore civil liberties by repealing the Patriot Act.

Johnson also believes his position on getting out of Afghanistan more quickly and moving more forcefully to reduce the national debt will help draw support from backers of former Republican presidential candidate, Texas Rep. Ron Paul.

The Libertarian candidate says his uphill campaign would be a lot easier if he were allowed to debate on the same stage with Obama and Romney. That would give him, he told the Post, “a real possibility of winning.”

But, he added, “If I do end up in the spoiler role, that’s more attention to the issues then.”