Still, Johnson isn’t concerned much with libertarian purity, because he isn’t concerned much with ideology in general. He’s guided not by idols or a standard set of principles that the refers to, but his own innate sense of right and wrong.
Asked what he would do about ISIS, Johnson said he would “involve Congress,” but he also said that, despite wanting to be “the skeptic at the table,” he believes in military intervention when necessary.
“If we are attacked, we’re going to attack back,” he said.
As an example, Johnson said that “if Americans are being beheaded…You certainly have to look at putting boots on the ground in a situation like that.”
Of course, ISIS did behead an American—the journalist James Foley, in 2014. Johnson wouldn’t answer when asked how many Americans would need to be beheaded in order for him to support boots on the ground. He said providing a number was what normal politicians do, while he is, as he put it, “the different cat here.”
Different is one way to put it.
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