Conference largely unmoved by Gary Johnson's principles

Gary Johnson, former Republican governor of New Mexico, spoke at the Conservative Political Action Committee's annual conference in suburban D.C. on Friday. The event is drawing a number of potential candidates for the Republicans' 2012 presidential nomination - and some are better received than others.

Johnson endorsed repeal of the health care reform act of 2010, but, as a man of principle, went one step further and embraced a position I've advocated in this blog in the past: Repeal of Medicare Part D. A consistent libertarian, Johnson told reporter Amanda Carey from political website the Daily Caller that the new congressional majority needs to look at cuts to Medicare, Social Security and Defense. “I don’t think there’s any kicking the can down the road anymore,” the Daily Caller reports he said.

And how receptive was the conference to Johnson's acknowledgement that a federal government that cannot justify providing some Americans with health insurance also can't justify paying some Americans' prescription drug bills? The Boston Globe's Less is More blog notes the crowd was tepid and uninspired by his speech, applauding only the most generic lines. And as the Daily Caller and Politico, another political website observe, Johnson nearly didn't get to speak at all, with conference organizers only adding him to the itinerary at the last minute.