Gary Johnson Not Buying Obama's NSA Reforms

President Barack Obama is scheduled later this week to speak on reforming the way the federal government collects information on citizens -- but former Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico is not buying it. Johnson was the Libertarian Partys presidential candidate in 2012 and has left the door open to running again in 2016.

Later this week, President Obama plans to announce reforms to the way the government conducts intelligence-gathering surveillance -- surveillance that we now know includes monitoring virtually all of our phone calls, Internet activity and financial transactions, Johnson emailed supporters on Monday. Heres what is going to happen: President Obama will try to convince us that he is committed to protecting our civil liberties and Fourth Amendment rights. He will propose some changes in the way the NSA and other government surveillance agencies do things. Some of those proposals may, in fact, make sense.

But heres the reality, Johnson continued. Even if he wants to, Obama cant wave a magic wand and change the Patriot Act and other laws that created and fund the secret courts and that gave the NSA what it obviously believes is the power to gather up virtually all of our private information and communications. And even if he proposes changes to those laws, there is absolutely no guarantee that Congress will go along. After all, it was those same politicians who threw the Fourth Amendments protections against unreasonable search and seizure out the window in the first place.

Johnson is planning to use his Our America Initiative to hit the airwaves, the Internet and social media over the next weeks and months to mobilize Americans all across the country to hold the politicians accountable.

Along with Judge Jim Grey, who was his running mate in 2012, Johnson will be attending events in Texas this week.