Getty In The Arena The GOP Is a Dying Party. That’s Why I’m Running Against Trump. My Libertarian Party running mate, Bill Weld, is also a vastly better choice than Mike Pence.

Gary Johnson is the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee. His running mate is former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld. Learn more at johnsonweld.com.

As a former Republican, I’m shocked that the party of Abraham Lincoln is nominating a man with a vision of America that doesn’t even resemble that of the party I once knew. And his vice presidential pick, Mike Pence, who as governor of Indiana has left a record of division in his state, only makes matters worse.

Despite the calls at the GOP convention in Cleveland for national unity, Donald Trump sees our country as a land of exclusion. He wants Americans to act as powerless serfs bullied by someone who says he will protect them. Throughout world history, that has been the calling card of Big Government autocrats.


His character assaults are unbounded. His campaign has been one of serial attacks on opponents and climbing to the top by hurting people. And frankly, his immigration and trade policies appear to consist of the same strategies.

I was the Republican governor of a very Democratic state. I succeeded because I brought a brand of fiscal conservativism, together with respect for people with different lifestyles. Government must live within its means, and we have to respect one another’s freedoms. Government should not incite culture wars that divide a state’s citizens as has Trump’s new running mate.

In Indiana, Governor Pence unwisely pushed a law that pitted religious freedom against the rights of gays and lesbians, and then backtracked on religious freedom. A better approach is to rely on the Constitution’s protections for free exercise of religion and for equal protection.

This is a decisive moment in the history of party politics in America. In the period leading up to the Civil War, American politics was dominated by a Democratic Party and the Whig Party. The controversy over slavery split the Whigs, and the party embraced nativism, opposing immigration and members of certain religious faiths.

The Republican Party is on its way to becoming like the Whigs. The Whigs died, then a new party came forward with an inspiring and positive vision for America.

The Republican Party is on its way to becoming like the Whigs.”

We in the Libertarian Party hope to do the same. We start out from a fundamental premise: As Americans, we believe in freedom. Every individual has dignity and is worthy of civility and respect. The core of our character is one of generous and enlightened self-interest: Every man and woman has the right to choose what to do with their time, their talents and their lives.

I've lived the American dream as an entrepreneur with a construction business, and I hired and employed more than 1,000 workers—and achieved financial freedom.

I took a common sense, business-like approach with me when I ran for and won the governorship of New Mexico. I reduced the size of government while striving to provide essential services responsively and efficiently. The people of New Mexico reelected me by a comfortable margin.

Now, I'm running for president of the United States. And with my vice presidential running mate, Governor Bill Weld, we're giving American voters a real choice.

We provide an honest, principled and sane alternative to the madness that we see in two so-called mainstream political parties. Today, Bill Weld and I want to offer that vision. Americans are tired of games. They want and deserve simple, straightforward and good government — not overwrought theatrics and demagoguery.

I have a record of balancing budget and of vetoing wasteful spending. I worked to bring competition to our state’s educational system.

Trump, on the other hand, hasn’t succeeded in business. He made himself rich by climbing over the backs of others. Creditors have been hurt as he walked away from debts. Is that the kind of moral example that he would bring to the U.S. government—finding ways to duck obligations?

That’s not an academic question. He has pledged to tear up agreements and even concoct some scheme by which America could walk away from its debt—just as he did in his business dealings. America doesn’t do that.

Bill Weld and I believe that fiscal responsibility is at the core of what our government needs to do. We believe in a free market that allows entrepreneurs to launch businesses and to trade freely. We reject Trump's efforts to impose a 45 percent tariff on Chinese imports or a 35 percent tariff on Mexican imports.

Are these the policies of a man who calls himself a member of the Republican Party?

What about the federal budget: How do Republicans propose to address government spending? Gov. Weld and I propose to reduce government’s size and cost enough to make a balanced budget a reality rather than a talking point—without raising taxes. How can we say this so confidently? Because we did it as governors, in Democratic states.

And about immigration. For too long, Republicans have been torn between leaders who have sought to address the opportunity of immigration—and those, like Trump, who have responded with fear-mongering and nativism.

As a governor of a border state, I understand that our nation needs to control our border. However, of the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., a minute percentage present any real threat to our safety and security. The vast majority are here seeking opportunities and better lives, and they wouldn’t be “illegal” if we had a functional system that made “legal” immigration a viable option for those excluded by arbitrary quotas and bureaucratic paralysis.

Immigration is one more example of the promise that is in America. How our government reacts to those who want to work hard and become a part of our nation is a test of character.

Trump fails that test. Americans must have another choice.