Though winning the GOP nomination looks unlikely at this point for former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, that hasn't stopped him from getting creative when seeking much-needed campaign contributions.
After making surprise appearances on online poker forums earlier this week, Johnson opened a new page on his website Thursday geared exclusively toward poker players. "You're getting a raw deal," it reads. "It's your money. Government has no business telling adults how they can spend it." Johnson, in Las Vegas, has met with the Poker Players Alliance.
I guess we can think of this as another desperate attempt for attention gone...well...totally right! At least among those affected by increasing government regulations on the online poker industry. In several states across the nation, and even at the federal level, regulators are cracking down on what many perceive to be an illegal industry that has a history of bank fraud. But the retaliation has been strong from Republicans and libertarians alike, and a bill is currently making its way through Congress that would leave the issue of whether to legalize online poker to the states.
Johnson, whose libertarian views have also garnered him some strong support among opponents of the drug war, has been polling at less than 1%, though he remains popular in his home state (as governor, he twice won as a Republican in a majority-Democratic state and vetoed more bills than all 49 other governors combined).
