Gary Johnson’s Supreme Court problem

Small government moralists, who refuse to support Donald Trump because he’s not conservative or libertarian enough, face a conundrum: Gov. Gary Johnson isn’t conservative either.

At least when it comes to Supreme Court picks.

In fact, Johnson is far to the left of the Republican nominee. In an interview with Reason TV, Johnson and his VP nominee Bill Weld said they would pick Supreme Court Justices that shared similar opinions to Stephen Breyer and Merrick Garland.

There is nothing even slightly libertarian or conservative about either of these men’s judicial philosophies. Justice Breyer ruled in favor of affirmative action in college admissions and against vouchers for parochial schools. He supports gun control and Obamacare, believes the Supreme Court can learn from foreign laws, and has said we cannot rely on the original Constitution alone.

Justice Garland is equally supportive of big government, especially on gun rights. He voted to uphold a Clinton administration policy to store records of gun purchasers and wanted to re-hear the case that overturned D.C.’s handgun ban.