Gary Johnson Must Earn My Vote, Part 2

Commenting on my earlier post on Gary Johnson, Thomas Knapp argues that, regarding my three complaints about Johnson, that Ron Paul is essentially the same or worse.

It's true that Ron Paul is no Mary Ruwart (or whomever may be the purist libertarian still active in the Libertarian Party), but it's also true that he didn't run for the LP nomination. My point is that a vote for him in the GOP primary would send a message - NOT that I agree with the conservative views he shares with other Republicans, but that I support him on the issues he a) emphsizes, and b) DEVIATES from the GOP line.

The Johnson case is different. He DID run for the LP nomination, but all I really know about him is about issues where he sounds like a Democrat or Republican, instead of a libertarian. I like Republicans (like Paul) and Democrats (like, say, Kucinich) who DEVIATE from their party's line. I DON'T like it when a Libertarian deviates from the LP line.

Four years ago, a friend commented here about Barr: "I am voting for Barr, but I will not be surprised if this is the last election in which I vote. When I have to hold my nose to vote Libertarian, things have gone too far."
 
Conceding that Johnson's not as bad as Barr, from what I know so far he doesn't smell like roses either.