Dossier: Gary Johnson

It's back to the routine and now that the Labor Day weekend has passed I'm going to return to my Dossier series. The final of my "non-polling" Republican candidates is former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson.

Political resume: After starting his own business, Gary decided to run for governor of New Mexico in 1994. He won and served two terms, wrapping up his tenure in 2003.

On campaign finance/election reform (three points): While his idea of transparency is admirable, I hope he’s joking about wearing the jackets with patches like a NASCAR driver. I’ll give him a point.

On property rights (five points): I would imagine Johnson would oppose the Kelo decision, but when he talks about “civil liberties” he doesn't speak to private property rights. I'll grant him one point since he talks about other civil liberties that most GOP candidates don't.

On the Second Amendment (seven points): If you watch this video at about the 21-minute mark, you'll see that Gary has a broad view of the Second Amendment. But this line in Slate is the clincher: “I don't believe there should be any restrictions when it comes to firearms. None.” I believe this will get him a bunch of points. Seven.

On education (eight points): Helping his cause immensely with me, not only does Gary have the right ideas on the educational issue but he explains it very well. He gets the full eight points.

On the Long War/veterans affairs (nine points): This subject in particular is where I differ from Johnson. While I do agree we should bring our troops home from certain areas, I think he's quite Polyannish on the usage of military alliances (look what NATO and the UN drag us into) and I disagree that “soft power” works with our enemies – that's what President Obama is trying. He is docked five points.

On immigration (eleven points): I think his immigration approach is naïve, and the idea of any sort of grace period for illegal immigrants rubs me the wrong way. What saves him are some of his ideas about legalizing immigration eventually, such as “one strike, you're out” - problem is too many already have that strike against them. I'll call it a wash and keep his point total where it is.

On energy independence (twelve points): Gary has a mixed bag, as he placed his imprimatur on items which would suggest he's a believer in government incentives for “green” energy but also Tweeted his opinions that we should drill in ANWR and can help our energy cause by drilling domestically. I'll give him five points.

On entitlements (thirteen points): “Responsible entitlement reform” is his mantra. He wants to “revise the terms” of entitlement programs as well. But I thought he'd be more bold than the tinkering around the edges he seems to be advocating – a better step is doing away with Medicare Part D. I'll give him eight points.

On trade and job creation (fourteen points): Gary is a free trader, which is a plus. I also like the idea of getting rid of the “mountain of regulation” that the federal government provides and keeping the internet free. I think I can give him eleven points.

On taxation and the role of government (fifteen points): The two things that stick out at me are Gary’s veto record as governor – meaning that he took the job of not growing government beyond its means seriously – and his support for the FairTax. I believe he has the right ideas in terms of limiting government, although I don’t agree with all the terms in his platform. I give him fourteen points.

Intangibles (up to three points): While there’s a lot to be said about his stance on civil liberties, like the legalization of marijuana, it also unfortunately extends to being pro-choice on abortion and for same-sex marriage. It nets out at minus one point.

Total (maximum, 100 points): Gary scores out at 49 points, which places him in the middle of the pack. Needless to say if he had scored better on the areas he was docked points he would have been near the top.

Gary is running a very low-budget campaign which is struggling to gain traction, as he couldn’t gain a chair in the Republican debates. In many respects it’s a shame because he could introduce a number of ideas into the race which deserve discussion and could be incorporated into the Republican platform. Many consider him the heir apparent to Ron Paul with a similar libertarian-based platform, but Johnson differs from Paul in that he has executive experience and has won a statewide election.

I’ve said on a previous occasion that I think Gary will stick it out several primaries deep because he has a relatively unique message and record of accomplishment that none of the other candidates can quite match. Sure, a number of them are or have been governors but most of them were reticent to use their veto pen as much as Gary did. That fact tells me that he took being an executive seriously, but insofar as I know he didn’t abuse the privilege of being an executive like the current occupant of the Oval Office seems to do from time to time.

If you’re looking for a libertarian-style candidate and can stomach his isolationism and free-for-all stance on immigration, Gary might be your guy. Having heard him in person, I can see where he wouldn’t be the establishment’s choice but there’s many in the TEA Party who would like him.

Postscript: Maryland state director Kevin Waterman sent along some additional information, which I edited slightly to include appropriate links within the text:

How are you doing? I'm enjoying your dossier series on the presidential candidates.

That being said, as the Maryland State Director for Gary Johnson's campaign, I wanted to note a few things that might warrant revision in your assessment of Gov. Johnson as a candidate.

On the issue of campaign finance, I would only note that in addition to his support for 100% transparency, Gov. Johnson also supports removing all limits on the size of donations, a position I would assume you support based on other writing you've done.

On entitlements, I'm not quite clear the point you're making. From the wording of that section of your post, it sounds as though you believe Gov. Johnson should promote the repeal of Medicare Part D. However the article you link to clearly highlights his support for the measure. I'm assuming this is just and issue of wording, but it might be worth rephrasing if that's the case.

On trade and job creation, I would only add to your list Gov. Johnson's recognition of the fact that he has repeatedly emphasized that he didn't create a single job as governor of New Mexico. I'm sure you'd agree with me that far too few politicians seem to understand that basic truth, a point made all the more impressive by New Mexico's job creation numbers during Johnson's administration.

On the issue of abortion, while Gov. Johnson is statedly pro-choice, it is important to weigh that against his support for the overturn of Roe v. Wade and his record from his time as governor of New Mexico where he supported both parental consent laws and signed a ban on partial birth abortions.

I don't know that any of this will prompt a re-evaluation of where you've rated Gov. Johnson, but even if it doesn't I know you'd appreciate the fuller picture of him as a candidate.

Based on that additional information, I could be convinced to add one point for campaign finance and election reform, giving him two. It would give him an even 50 points.