Maddow Blog: Johnson “Worth Keeping an Eye On”

Steve Benen at MSNBC’s Maddow Blog:

At a certain level, I can understand the concern among GOP officials. The party wants President Obama’s critics to have one alternative — Mitt Romney — and fear giving voters more options would weaken the opposition to the incumbent. Given how many conservatives have never been altogether thrilled with Mitt Romney, Johnson starts to look like a threat.

But that’s not the whole story.

Unlike Virgil Goode’s candidacy in Virginia, which will appeal almost exclusively to the far right, Johnson has the capacity to appeal to likely-Democratic voters — he wants to legalize marijuana, supports marriage equality, and takes a Ron Paul-like approach to foreign wars.

Still, Johnson seems to be rattling Republicans’ nerves a lot more than Democrats’. The Libertarian doesn’t have much money, and will almost certainly fail to reach more than a few points in any state, but in an exceedingly close contest, his tallies will be worth keeping an eye on.