Gary Johnson: Obamacare's the Problem, Not the Website

Former Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico, the Libertarian Partys presidential candidate in 2012, ripped into President Barack Obamas health-care law on Thursday.

Im growing a bit tired of news stories about the daily status of the governments Affordable Care Act website, Johnson wrote in an email sent out to supporters on Thursday night. The website isnt the problem! Sure, the fact that hundreds of millions of our tax dollars were spent to build a website that doesnt work is important -- and a glaring example of what happens when the government tries to do something that is better left to the private sector.

The website is just the tip of the iceberg," Johnson added. The real problem is the government takeover of health care that it represents.Lets not forget, the politicians justified President Obamas Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, on two basic claims: First, it would make health care more affordable, and second, it would make it more accessible.

As is now becoming clear, they lied, Johnson continued. Many of us knew at the time that the math simply didnt add up, and more importantly, we knew that putting the government squarely in the middle of any marketplace will not reduce costs or improve services. But now, as the realities of cancelled insurance policies, higher premiums for new policies, and the growing list of private health-care providers who are not going to participate set in, the rest of America is seeing the truth.

Johnnson pointed to polls showing younger voters are increasingly opposed to the law and cited his record in New Mexico as proof that free-market solutions would be a better option than the law. Johnson, who has not ruled out a second presidential bid in 2016, vowed his Our America initiative would continue to play a role in pushing back against Obamas law.