Gary Johnson: Millennials ready for government to “leave them alone” — socially and fiscally

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson frequently boasts about being socially liberal and fiscally conservative — a combination that he says represents the majority of American voters, and that he calls the best of both worlds.

In an effort to pitch himself as an alternative to Bernie Sanders, Johnson has spent much of his campaign showcasing his socially liberal side, drawing parallels between himself and the Vermont senator on issues such as immigration, gay marriage, abortion, and marijuana. In using this tactic, it’s clear that Johnson is hoping to draw some of Sanders’ supporters, a huge portion of whom are millennials, away from voting for Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Recently, however, Johnson has focused on playing up his fiscally conservative side and his views on personal freedoms, two areas in which he greatly differs from democratic socialist Sanders, as a means to attract not only #NeverTrump Republicans, but also young voters.

“Millennials — who will soon be a full one-third of American adults — may be especially ready to become engaged in politics with a candidate who wants to give them a government that will leave them alone and get its finances in order so that they don’t inherit an economic collapse,” said Gary Johnson in an op-ed for CNN on Friday.

Despite the fact that millennials seem to favor socialism and big government, studies have shown that Generation Y is being faced with high unemployment, low earnings, and large college debt — economically crippling factors that will only grow larger along with the size of our national government.