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Gary Johnson: 'Religious freedom, as a category' is 'a black hole'
Washington Examiner ^ | July 28, 2016 | Timothy P. Carney

Posted on 07/29/2016 7:34:10 AM PDT by C19fan

At the Democratic National Committee I ran into Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor and Libertarian Party nominee for president. Here's a transcript of our conversation, edited for clarity, and reorganized thematically.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: libertarian; religious
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To: C19fan

With all due respect to this prominent Libertarian, the present anti-liberty collectivist State started is the product of a redefinition of the social contract designed by the Founders and easily seen in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. That being a government of finite and limited enumerated powers, and the explicit statement that all other powers were reserved to the States and the People.

Recall that the Bill of Rights was only added after some Founders concluded that when a right was not explicitly listed that government might seize it under a newly-defined power. At first there was no Bill of Rights because it was thought to be redundant.

While the right to freely practice religion is an explicit right, one of those implied, unstated but still reserved rights is the right of freedom of association. Of the several options available to society to start to rectify the mistreatment of Blacks in the South in the 20th century, instead of using social pressure, government decided to usurp the right of freedom of association and private property rights.

This was done by defining business as some type of government franchise by which it fell under regulation of other franchises. Thus owners of business were stripped of their right to choose their customers and to fully control their business premises. This is yet one more example of how society makes choices that have the unintended consequences that are more damaging later on. It was far more easy for people to have faith in government to force owners of rest rooms and lunch counters in the south to treat Blacks decently, than it was for them to accept other more peaceful means.

Liberals never stop when government has addressed the Urgent Issue that excused government being given a new power. The new power must be used to gain yet more new powers. Once it was a matter of “civil rights” that a person could demand that a private business associate with them and sell them a good or service, the groundwork was laid so that government could expand the groups of people who enjoyed that “protection”. Recently that has included people who practice what many religions define as sexual immorality.

And here we are. It is a shame that a “libertarian” cannot see the horrible damage and destruction that will flow when one person is forbidden to politely decline to associate with someone else. Libertarians for generations have rightly decried government for the brutal and thuggish monster that it often can be. They have called for government to return to its role of just keeping society peaceful and the public infrastructure running smoothly.

When we allow government to force Christian bakers to bake cakes in support of activities they know to be a gross sin, we turn our backs upon the very principle upon which the federal government was given life by the Founders. We give government the power to enslave private citizens, in essence to draft them into its army of social engineers, in a cause that many Christians understand will in fact bring God’s judgment upon our nation.

We must not be surprised when God peacefully and politely declines to bless and protect this formerly great land.

#BakeTheCake #GodWins


21 posted on 07/29/2016 8:04:43 AM PDT by theBuckwheat
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To: samtheman

Full Libertarianism is Freedom and Liberty w/o morals or religion.

Can’t work because Freedom and Liberty are checked by morals and religion. With out that check, it is full-on Hedonism.


22 posted on 07/29/2016 8:05:50 AM PDT by Baldwin77 (They hated Reagan too ! TRUMP TOUGH - AMERICA STRONG)
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To: C19fan

Who is he?


23 posted on 07/29/2016 8:12:53 AM PDT by WENDLE (hillary in an unindicted criminal.)
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To: C19fan

I’ve been saying this for some time that the libertarian party is no longer libertarian.

Read this guy he’s got the government enforcing all sorts of crap on you you no longer have freedom of association freedom of religion freedom of anything


24 posted on 07/29/2016 8:17:28 AM PDT by tophat9000 (King G(OP)eorge III has no idea why the Americans are in rebellion... teach him why)
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To: Baldwin77
[ Full Libertarianism is Freedom and Liberty w/o morals or religion.

Can’t work because Freedom and Liberty are checked by morals and religion. With out that check, it is full-on Hedonism. ]

You got it slightly wrong

Full Libertarianism is Freedom and Liberty w/o morals or religion or personal responsibility for your own actions.

Can’t work because Freedom and Liberty are checked by morals, religion, and responsibility . With out that check, it is full-on consequence free Hedonism.

25 posted on 07/29/2016 8:18:56 AM PDT by GraceG (Only a fool works hard in an environment where hard work is not appreciated...)
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To: tophat9000

Johnston no longer wants to win, he is just wanting the libertarian party to aim for “matching funds” which is to say he wants a gubermint subsidy...


26 posted on 07/29/2016 8:19:49 AM PDT by GraceG (Only a fool works hard in an environment where hard work is not appreciated...)
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To: C19fan
He's not a "so-called" libertarian. He's a libertarian. They're all nuts. So nuts in fact they have no platform for themselves. No credibility. That's why they infest and infect conservative forums like FR.

Open borders, abortion, vending machine narcotics. These people are as demented as demonRATs.

27 posted on 07/29/2016 8:25:12 AM PDT by LouAvul (Freedom without responsibility is anarchy.)
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To: C19fan

Gary Johnson and William Weld are not Libertarian’s, they have pretty much destroyed that party.

Just read the writings of Dr. Murray Rothbard who helped found the Libertarian Party.

These guys are both moderate to liberals, especially Bill Weld who was Gov. of Mass. before Mitt Romney.


28 posted on 07/29/2016 8:28:06 AM PDT by Captain Peter Blood
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To: C19fan

The First Amendment is close to an absolute, as is the Second Amendment. It takes a whole lot to infringe on either basic freedom, and those infringements have to be the minimum infringement that meets a critical need.

For example, you can ban human sacrifice, even if it’s claimed as religious. You cannot compel someone to act in violation of religious beliefs.

Also, you can ban guns inside a court house, and disarm a convict while he is in prison. Laws that prohibit open carry or concealed carry in general, or disarm Americans after they are released from prison are unconstitutional.

I am not amused with this “libertarian”.


29 posted on 07/29/2016 8:32:45 AM PDT by Pollster1 (Somebody who agrees with me 80% of the time is a friend and ally, not a 20% traitor. - Ronald Reagan)
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To: C19fan

And you believe that the right of Muslims to
“EXERCISE their religion shall not be abridged”.

I too believe that the way the first amendment is currently written is not tenable. In fact it’s nonsensical, and it’s causing us and Europe a lot of problems.

You cannot have diametrically opposed belief systems coexist peacefully together.


30 posted on 07/29/2016 8:51:21 AM PDT by aquila48
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To: C19fan

And Romney is suppose to endorse this dope?


31 posted on 07/29/2016 8:59:05 AM PDT by dragonblustar
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To: Twinkie

No.


32 posted on 07/29/2016 8:59:26 AM PDT by sparklite2 ( "The white man is the Jew of Liberal Fascism." -Jonah Goldberg)
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To: IYAS9YAS

You are exactly correct. I used to debate on a local forum a so called libertarian. He always became angry when I called him a libertine. These folks are easy to spot, they want the government to control so much and provide so many services, such as national health care. A true libertarian would favor legalizing drugs but would oppose the government giving out free health care.


33 posted on 07/29/2016 9:02:30 AM PDT by rcofdayton (.)
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To: WENDLE

Gary Johnson is a former Republican governor of New Mexico. He is currently the Libertarian nominee for President of the United States.


34 posted on 07/29/2016 9:14:57 AM PDT by ConjunctionJunction
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To: C19fan

“You’re narrowly looking at a situation where if you broaden that, I just tell you — on the basis of religious freedom, being able to discriminate — something that is currently not allowed — discrimination will exist in places we never dreamed of.”

Wow. Now compare this to Rand Paul, who rightly noted that the current anti-discrimination laws are an infringement of our rights in the first place, so we should eliminate them in order to eliminate the potential conflict. Not that I am a big Rand Paul fan, but he is much more clear-headed when it comes to rights and liberties than this fool.


35 posted on 07/29/2016 9:16:26 AM PDT by Boogieman
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To: Mr. K

BernieBros are drifting to the Green party more than the Libertarians.


36 posted on 07/29/2016 9:17:09 AM PDT by Boogieman
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To: MtnClimber

You misunderstand his position. He is in FAVOR of discriminating against religious freedom. He’s arguing that we can’t allow too much religious freedom, because that would allow religious people to discriminate.


37 posted on 07/29/2016 9:18:56 AM PDT by Boogieman
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To: CitizenUSA
The LP is a joke. If drugs were legalized tomorrow, the LP would retreat to the TV room to watch Star Trek reruns through a haze of dope smoke forevermore.
38 posted on 07/29/2016 9:20:33 AM PDT by Major Matt Mason (Those that can, do, those that can't, work in the Beltway.)
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To: Red Badger

I asked the same thing...
Probably picking up his 30 pieces of silver.


39 posted on 07/29/2016 9:37:55 AM PDT by Zathras
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To: C19fan

Well I hope all the Mormons are paying close attention

This yob obviously doesn’t like the first amendment. Whete in the constitution is the right not to be discriminated against?


40 posted on 07/29/2016 9:50:15 AM PDT by Nifster (I see puppy dogs in the clouds)
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