Hello 2+2,

First, I'd just like to say that I'm very grateful for all the interest and support I have received from the poker community. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

The campaign trail has been very busy. I'm in our newly-opened New Hampshire campaign headquarters this morning, kicking back after three full days of campaigning in the Granite State. This afternoon I'll be flying to New York for a number of media appearances Monday and Tuesday, and then I'll be visiting Washington, DC, and Iowa before returning to New Mexico for a couple days of rest. After that I'll be right back in New Hampshire again!

I have written answers to a few of the questions asked in the 40+ page thread about my campaign, and (with Matt's help) I'm preparing to post those answers to kick off this discussion thread.

Whether you agree with all of my positions or not, I really appreciate you all for being active citizens -- for taking time to consider and discuss the important issues facing our country.

Gary Johnson

Well you have my support, even though I can't vote! All the best...

The Justice Department is an executive branch agency that answers to the President. The sudden decision to begin enforcing UIGEA earlier this year was a decision that did not have to be made and should not have been made. There are literally thousands of federal crimes now (only three are listed in the U.S. Constitution), so it’s clear not all of them can be enforced. The Justice Department must choose which laws to prioritize, and for as long as UIGEA remains on the books, I believe it should be at the bottom of the Justice Department’s list with a priority of zero.

As President I would support legislation to repeal UIGEA and correct the problem at its core. I would prefer for there to be no federal laws interfering with online gaming, which is obviously a passion for millions of Americans. If there is to be government regulation of online gaming sites based in the U.S., I would prefer for that to be done at the state level rather than at the federal level. The best way to go about legalizing online poker and other forms of online gaming is, of course, an open discussion, and I welcome that discussion going forward.

I would argue that the writing is on the wall with regard to inflation. We are now borrowing and printing 43 cents out of dollar that we spend as a country. There is no way we can possibly repay 14 trillion dollars in debt when our ongoing deficits are 1.6 trillion dollars a year.

Because of this reality, we already see a reduced appetite for U.S. debt. Do you realize that the Federal Reserve is currently printing money and buying up to 70% of U.S. treasuries? This is what economists call “monetizing the debt,” simply printing more money to cover shortfalls, and it’s an obvious recipe for serious inflation.

When government simply increases the amount of money it prints, that’s more money chasing the same amount of goods and services. Doesn’t it have to result in higher prices? Of course it does, and all Americans suffer. Also consider the fact that over half of our currency is overseas -- if the dollar stops being used as a world’s reserve currency, those dollars will come back to America, and massive price inflation will be the result.

As for economic growth, I believe my 8 year term as governor suggests that I do understand what conditions are necessary for economic growth. One proposal I really like is the Fair Tax, which I believe would blow the lid off of jobs in the U.S. -- learn more at FairTax.org.

Ok, this is a fun pair of questions! I’ll do my best.

(1) No -- I believe his father, John Adams, would be considered a founding father of the U.S. but not John Quincy.

(2) I believe I do!!!

Thank you very much for your offer to volunteer! If this campaign is to achieve its ambitious goals, we will need to develop a strong base of volunteers across the country.

If others would like to sign up to volunteer, here is the web form for doing that: http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/volunteer

Thanks again to Mason, everybody at 2+2, and all of you on the forums for your well-placed concerns regarding the future of this country. I hope to be seeing many of you soon on the campaign trail!

I have issues with this thread being in this particular sub forum but since this may be my only opportunity to post something political in NVG and to someone who may be a future President of the US - ho hum...

Mr. Johnson, when if ever, do you think that the rating agencies will downgrade US debt? If you believe 'never' do you believe that that will be because it is simply not justifiable or because the rating agencies would consider it political suicide to do so?

Cordially, yours,

Rhubarbwp.

Best of luck in your campaign. You have my support, 100%.

There was no sudden decision earlier this year to begin enforcing the UIGEA. The actions of April 15th were the result of an investigation that took at least five years and primarily dealt with bank fraud. They were not even the first seizures of gambling-related transactions that happened. I believe the first major seizure that affected poker players was Neteller in 2006, and after that there was a long series of seizures beginning I believe in June of 2009.

The bank fraud was slightly related to UIGEA in that many banks stopped accepting gambling transactions because of UIGEA. However, many banks reject gambling transactions simply because they are a frequent cause of chargebacks and because customers who gamble frequently don't repay their loans.

It is true that the president technically could have stopped the actions on April 15th, but I disagree with the characterization that this was a sudden decision. It certainly wasn't sudden, and I wouldn't be surprised if the president was completely unaware of it. I'd be very surprised if either Obama or Bush ever directly said "Let's go after online gambling" or anything similar.

This is not level....

Not voting for you...

Who lines your pockets Sir?

Have you ever played online poker?

Governor Johnson answered this question in my interview with him:

NSD: Alright, so I’ll finish with a softball: Do you play poker?

GJ: Well, I’ve played poker my entire life. Have I ever played it online for money? No.

NSD: But you enjoy the game?

GJ: Yes, well, I’m a chess guy, and I’m a backgammon guy, and I’m a game guy. I’ve been a game guy my whole life.

You've done amazing things as Governor of New Mexico.

You have my support & good luck!

Where do you stand on gay marriage, death penalty, and abortion?

A couple of your questions are answered here:
http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/issues/civil-liberties

His homepage for issues:

http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/issues

Thanks. this definitely helps. The statements are a little confusing, however, especially on gay marriage. Also, is "fetal viability" the 3rd trimester? Sorry for asking social questions - I hope that is alright.

There are plenty of really good interviews with Gov.Johnson on youtube that answer all of these questions.

Wikipedia: "Viability refers to a point in fetal development at which the fetus may survive outside the womb. The lower limit of viability is approximately five months gestational age, and usually later"

Edit: Personally, for an issue as sensitive as abortion I feel that the concept of viability is a great point at which to draw the line.

Hacking off the arms of a few processors is a lot different than effectively shutting down 95% of the places US players play.

While your details are obviously correct and the governor isn't likely aware of all of them, he's still effectively correct.

If Obama didn't know about online poker stuff, that's still inaction and inaction in our case is the equivalent to opposition.

If the governor were at the helm he says he wouldn't enforce this, so that would be an example of a pro poker prospect.

I would certainly characterize Obama as anti poker, whether he pays attention or not, it's still a bad result for us.

Many banks blocking poker transactions versus all banks blocking poker transactions is a big difference too. Without the justice department's aggressive stance on online poker would we not be in "many" territory instead of "all?" I'm deliberately not counting misleading or creative cashout methods.

Some people are not supporting you because they do not see you as a viable candidate (meaning one who has any chance of winning even your party's nomination). What do you say to those people?

What made you decide to run as a Republican? Your social views (most of which I agree with btw) clearly put you at odds with the Republican right and they currently control who is getting nominated and who is not.

I understand that running as a Democrat wasn't an option, but did you ever consider a third party run?

In your heart of hearts, do you truly think you can win election to the presidency? I know there are many people who run for president (e.g., Ralph Nader) who can't rationally believe they will win, but who maybe want to use it as a forum to express their views, to satisfy some ego needs, etc. Given that the you have no realistic chance of winning, what are your real reasons for running? In other words, when it's over and you've lost, for what reasons will you feel it was worth spending all this time and money?

Collection of Gary Johnson videos:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/vi...e=gary-johnson

Gary, how are you going to win an election talking about legallizing online poker? When there are so many more important issues to talk about. All these people donated money to the PPA in hopes of doing what your trying to do, and that failed, and I can not help but think that all the money being sent to you right now will be just as much of a waste as the PPA.

Do you really consider yourself a serious candidate for president espousing such views as 'some laws are created more equal than others, therefore we should pick and choose which ones to enforce arbitrarily?' Wouldn't the more responsible approach be say that the DOJ was correct to act the way it did given the laws in place, but that you believe that the laws are wrong and should be changed on an ideological basis?

Do you further believe that it is responsible or even politically prudent to lobby the support of a group of people who on a wide range of political issues pretty much 100% disagree with you, other than on this single, solitary issue?

Please explain how repeal of UIGEA would correct, at it's core, the problem of UIG. Or are you saying UIGEA is the problem?

Federal laws don't interfere much with lawful online gaming; so are you saying unlawful online gaming is a problem caused by states and all "interfering" fed laws should be repealed? Various Congresses put those laws in place and had good reasons; are you saying they were all wrong? What is the probability of any repeal if you are elected?

Me too, in fact states have already regulated gambling businesses, online and other, and it works well.

Great, me too.