Johnson briefly participated in the Republican primaries and debates before switching over to the Libertarian ticket, and per Fox News, Johnson is polling about 5% nationwide, which isn’t particularly bad for a third party candidate. Despite his low numbers, Johnson isbeginning to show a little pull in a few battleground states out west which includes New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado.

Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson

According to the same poll, he is polling at about 9% in Arizona and 13% in New Mexico – it’s not enough to win, but it could certainly be enough to hand out a disadvantage to the major party candidate that he is taking votes away from.

Earlier in the week, the Libertarian Party had this to say about Gary Johnson, “Libertarian Presidential Candidate Gov. Gary Johnson Could Deprive Mitt Romney of 5 battleground states, 74 Electoral Votes, 27% of the Electoral Votes needed to win in 2012.”

No one can be certain on what kind of effect Gary Johnson will have on the outcome in November, if any, but he wouldn’t be the first ‘monkey to throw a wrench in the machine’.

Twenty years ago in the 1992 presidential election, third party candidate Ross Perot collected an astounding 19% of the popular vote. Some have come to think that Perot’s influence aided Bill Clinton into the White House with just 43% of the popular vote, and disadvantaged incumbent George H. W. Bush.

However, Ross Perot had a large amount national support, something of which Johnson is currently lacking. But with the race between former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and President Obama being so tight and within the margin of error, Johnson’s influence could likely turn a state red or blue.

To add, some think that Johnson might not just hurt one side of the aisle, but both. While most think that Johnson will pull votes away from Romney, the Liberal PPP (Public Polling Policy) believes that Johnson could hurt Obama in Colorado.

“He’s going to be a problem for somebody, somewhere,” writes political strategist and Fox News contributor Joe Trippi. “We don’t yet know which candidate he might harm the most … both campaigns should be looking over their shoulders at that guy almost nobody is talking about.”

All of the numbers and opinions aside, Gary Johnson is a legitimate candidate for presidency, and shouldn’t just be thought of as a ‘vote stealer’. Johnson is the third party alternate in an election where the two major candidates are thought to have a lot of similarities. Johnson stands for a lot of what the other two candidates won’t stand for, simply because of political ramifications.

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The primaries start in February so the current polls showing Romney leading the pack are going to change. Whether or not Romney falls is yet to be seen, but the polling statistics will change.

The primary vote is where you get to be slective – pick a Romney, Bachmann, Huntsman (really?), Paul .. whoever. If you don’t vote in the primaries, don’t complain about who goes up against Obama and certainly don’t sit at home and sulk. Either be active during the primary season or be prepared to support whoever wins – inaction has consequences.

Once the general election starts, you have one choice – the GOP nominee. You could choose to support whatever moronic candidate decides to come back in as a third party candidate. There is historical precedence for that – its big-eared name was H. Ross Perot. In a failed third party bid, he not only didn’t get himself elected, he actually caused the loss of the right-of-center candidate.

If you love your Ron Paul, Sarah Palin, Donald Trump so much .. get them nominated. Go get your grass-roots effort in-motion so that they might take the primaries. If they lose .. buck up and take one for the country.

Vote your conscience in the primaries and be prepared to swallow your pride in the general election. If you don’t, what will four more years of Obama look like?

• Obamacare will be fully implemented
• QE3 and perhaps QE4 (AKA stimulus 2 and 3) will be complete
• The Senate will ratify the U.N. treaty on personal arms (guns) and he will sign
• Unions will continue to run our government and run our employers out of the country
• Education will continue to be run by big labor
• Your kids will be left with a bill they can NOT pay

It’s time to be the parent and/or patriot. Swallow your pride and realize that either you got off your butt and got your candidate nominated or that someone else did. If your candidate does not take the nomination, do NOT take it out on OUR country. Obama must go, we must take the Senate – plain and simple.

It is understandable that we all pick the perfect candidate as the primaries come closer. There will not be general agreement on who should take that spot – that is precisely why primaries are held. Use that mechanism to voice your opinion about one Republican candidate or another. Once the primaries are over – it’s time to understand the real decision in front of you. Do you have the will to drop your pride and decide that having a good candidate is better than losing the election while hoping for a perfect one? Can you vote for someone that at least approaches your beliefs – or will you sacrifice the country just to show that you and 8% of the electorate voted for your favorite candidate?

If you aren’t active in the primaries, you may just have to vote for a RINO – no way to soften the blow.