Hannah Cox

In 2012 I described myself as a libertarian-leaning Republican. Ironically enough, I also had a strong distaste in my mouth for Ron Paul and his supporters that year.



To refresh your memory, Ron Paul was a candidate in the 2012 Republican primaries who held very principled, libertarian views and garnered a great deal of support. When he ultimately lost the nomination to Mitt Romney, many of his supporters voted third party or didn’t vote at all.

I personally was outraged by this. Beating the Democrats and Obama was crucial in my eyes, and clearly a third party could not win. These people were simply not facing reality and were putting our future in jeopardy because of it.

A lot has changed in four years though, and so have I. I’ll be voting third party this year and I’d like to tell you why.

Had Rand Paul won the Republican nomination, wild horses couldn’t have pulled me away from the GOP. Had Jim Webb won the Democrat nomination I very well might have voted for a Democrat for the first time in my life. That’s because I now vote on principles, not people, not personalities and not party.

Neither of the two major parties nominated individuals whom I can vote for. I’m equally disgusted by both of them.

Fortunately, there is a third option. That option is Gary Johnson. He’s the Libertarian Party nominee and the former governor of New Mexico where he has a fantastic track record.

He also has an outstanding platform with thoughtful, original policies that address the root issues of problems we are facing as a society. If you agree with me on the following topics, I would highly suggest you look into Gary Johnson as well.

Foreign policy is of the utmost importance. The bases are loaded so to speak, and the decisions made by our next president will be of paramount consequence in all of our lives. For too long, the United States has held a reckless and rash foreign policy that has led to the rise of ISIS, the demolition of Libya and the destabilizing of the Middle East – among other equally disastrous things.

Enough is enough. America should be focusing on problems at home, no more nation building, no more playing police dog for the world and especially no more inserting ourselves in conflicts that don’t pertain to us at all. If an existential threat arises then we should rise to meet it – constitutionally, by Congress declaring war.

Speaking of dealing with problems at home, immigration reform is essential. But I adamantly and wholeheartedly disagree with Trump’s proposals on both ethical and economic grounds.

Immigrants are a vibrant and cherished part of our nation’s fabric, and no one knows this better than a former governor of a border state. A wall is a senseless waste of money, and the cost of deporting millions of people, both financially and to our civil rights, is an asinine expenditure. Instead, we should focus on creating a more efficient and simple system for legally entering our country.

Other problems we must address at home include criminal justice reform, ending the war on drugs and stopping the infringement of our Fourth Amendment rights. It’s equally important we reform our tax code and balance our budget, as well as scale back regulations.

The rights to self-protection, free speech and religious liberty have all come under attack recently and must be defended. And as our public education system continues to erode, expanding educational choice is imperative. I’ve heard both major candidates threaten these liberties outright or propose policies that would be detrimental to their advancement.

That is why Gary Johnson is the only candidate for me in 2016.

Hannah Cox resides in Nashville. She is a political activist and has worked in the nonprofit and private sector arenas.

Editor's note: This column is part of a series of articles commissioned by The Tennessean making thoughtful cases for 2016 presidential candidates: