Gary Johnson stood at a podium in the backroom of the Ukrainian National Home, a restaurant in the East Village of Manhattan, and looked at ease as he addressed the crowd of approximately 75 people. The Annual Manhattan Libertarian Party Convention was a different setting than the nationally televised GOP debates.
Johnson, the former two-term governor of New Mexico, had entered the presidential race as a Republican on April 21, 2011, and after lobbying restlessly and unsuccessfully to be part of the debates, Johnson exited on December 28.
Johnson immediately reemerged as a Libertarian candidate, a route in which, if he won the nomination, would ensure Johnson a spot on the ballot in all 50 states for the general election.
"Gary clearly understands the limited role that the government should have and the importance that individuals be free to live their lives as they choose," said Mark Axxin, Chairman of the Manhattan Libertarian Party.
"For me this is like coming out of the closet, it's really refreshing," Johnson said to the crowd. "I don't have to defend Republican dogma anymore."
[Related video: What is wrong with this country? | Why Gary Johnson is different | Passion, part 1 | Passion, part 2]
Johnson had flirted with the idea of running for governor of New Mexico as a Libertarian in 1994, but quickly changed his mind when he realized he had a better shot running assuming the guise of a Republican under the slogan, "People Before Politics."
Talk to Johnson for any amount of time and that slogan holds true today.
Johnson does not waive away questions or confer with advisors, he walks his walk, talks his talk and everyone calls him Gary.
Johnson does not smoke marijuana, but he used to, and as an advocate, does not mind if others partake.
Johnson feels the same way about alcohol, and gambling, with a stress on personal responsibility as a substitute for the government parenting the individual.
As different as he is socially than the other candidates, it is all the things Johnson says he will not do as President that separates him from the cadre of prospective candidates.
"That's going to be significant and it's going to make a big difference in your life when you don't have to spend the added time and the added money to comply with laws that get passed or rules and regulations that don't make a difference in any of lives and yet add so much time and so much money in our daily existence."
Johnson points to rejecting over 750 bills, which earned him the nickname "Governor Veto", as proof of his actions in contributing to limited government.
Johnson believes that most of the bills that pass through political chambers are unnecessary and that the passions of people should not be stifled by legislation.
As a passionate mountain biker, Johnson was recently miffed about laws being passed to stifle one of his beloved freedoms.
"Right now the Department of the Interior is going to lengths to ban me to ride my mountain bike on trails where horses are allowed," Johnson said. "So in publicly held lands I can't ride my mountain bike but horses can be on those trails with horse excrement. I gotta tell you, I think there should be equal access to those trails and yet I'm banned, I'm banned from my passion because somebody makes a decision to do that."
Johnson sees similar scenarios with legalized gambling.
"If my passion happens to be poker, I can't play poker online? Because of that tens of thousands of jobs that would be involved in the online poker industry don't even exist and yet I can go into a casino and play poker for hundreds of dollars," Johnson said. " Come to find out there are paraplegics whose passion is playing poker and are unable to play poker because they can get into a casino."
American politics today, according to Johnson, are indebted to whoever is willing to pay and that both parties are selling themselves, a common practice that Johnson does not subscribe to.
America may not come cheap, but it certainly has its price.
Johnson said it is not only a few people who are voicing this opinion, the voting public are starting to become conscious of and airing their grievances toward the ills of the government.
"I share in the outrage of the Tea Party which is that we spend too much money and that we need to balance the federal budget and I share in the outrage of Occupy Wall Street which is this country is not fair," Johnson said. "It's not a level playing field."
As a Libertarian, Johnson has found a place to free himself as well as getting another shot at freeing the people.
"I want to suggest that in my resume there is nothing to suggest that I am not going to doggedly pursue this agenda," Johnson said. "nothing."
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