Gary Johnson Turns Up the Heat on the NSA

After getting 1 percent in the 2012 presidential election as the Libertarian Partys candidate, former Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico is remaining active, calling for an end to the National Security Agencys (NSA) surveillance programs. Johnson spoke at a rally in Washington, D.C., on the NSA this weekend, made a host of media appearances and sent out an email late Monday on the issue.

I find it more than a little amusing that German Chancellor [Angela] Merkel, the Spanish government, and our friends in France and Mexico are demanding explanations for NSAs spying on them, Johnson wrote supporters. We Americans can sympathize. But we dont need explanations. We need the NSA surveillance on innocent Americans to stop. Nations spy on each other; theres nothing shocking about that. But when our government turns its massive surveillance machine on its own citizens, thats another matter entirely.

Johnson called for supporters to turn up the heat on the politicians who, frankly, dont get it. They dont understand that, as I told the crowd in Washington Saturday, we are mad as hell."