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He's tanned. He's rested. He's ready. But he's still Gary Johnson, so forgive me if I think there are folks with ulterior motives who are happy to see him making a nuisance of himself in Democratic senator Martin Heinrich's re-election race down in New Mexico. From The Daily Beast:

Johnson, who served two terms from 1995 to 2003 as a Republican governor of the state, tweeted on Tuesday that “New Mexico deserves a strong, independent voice in the U.S. Senate,” accompanied by a campaign video put together by Elect Liberty PAC.

Remember after he ran for president, he said he wasn't going to run for anything again? Well, the Republicans in New Mexico are running a guy named Mick Rich, and polls showed Heinrich beating Rich like a tin drum. So down from the slopes of Everest comes Gary Johnson again representing that tiny splinter of the Libertarian movement that lies between The Paul Family and Completely Insane. Heinrich's going to have to spend more money now to win and, I guarantee you, Johnson will have a lot of national media following him around for a while as he explains why he's not entirely in favor of stoplights.

Plus, this ad? A very smart person noted the similarity in cinematographic technique between this video and the beginning of The Big Chill, when they're dressing the dude's body for his funeral.

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Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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