Pro: "I support women's rights to choose up until viability of the fetus. I've supported the notion of parental notification. I've supported counseling and I've supported the notion that public funds not be used for abortions. But I don't want for a second to pretend that I have a better idea of how a woman should choose when it comes to this situation. Fundamentally this is a choice that a woman should have."
"Meet Gary Johnson, the GOP's Invisible Candidate,” Rolling Stone, June 15, 2011
Pro: "I’m always the guy to advocate for lower ages. I just believe that the lower the age the better you come to grips with what these substances are...
If you can go to Iraq and die, or Afghanistan and die as a service man or women at 18, and you can’t drink — I’m sorry I don’t buy into that...
Hypothetically no, there shouldn’t be [a drinking age]... but the lower the age the better.”
"Gary Johnson: Lower the Drinking Age!," www.dailycaller.com, Apr. 10, 2012
Con: "When people understand that the United States spends 52 cents out of the worldwide dollar on military spending and that China spends 9 cents, what arms race are we gonna engage them in? I mean really, is China a threat? No, they're not."
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "Free markets are good for America, and individuals making their own decisions, without government interference, are what make a free market work. As a matter of personal finance, one hopes credit cards are used responsibly; however, they are a part of today’s marketplace and commerce, and the costs, risks and benefits of their use will be accommodated in that marketplace."
Email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, on Feb. 10, 2012
Pro: Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico, signed into law Senate Bill 204(8 KB) on Mar. 15, 2001, An Act Relating to Elections; Restoring the Right to Vote to a Person Convicted of a Felony who has Satisfied All Conditions of a Sentence; Amending, Repealing and Enacting Sections of the NMSA 1978, available at www.nmlegis.gov:
Senate Bill 204 stated in part: "A person who has served the entirety of a sentence imposed for a felony conviction, including a term of probation or parole shall, upon his request to the corrections department, be issued a certificate of completion by the corrections department. Presentation of the certificate of completion to a county clerk shall entitle the person to register to vote."
Con: "Abuse of hard drugs is a health problem that should be dealt with by health experts, not a problem that should be clogging up our courts, jails, and prisons with addicts. Instead of continuing to arrest and incarcerate drug users, we should seriously consider the examples of countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands, and we should ultimately choose to adopt policies which aim to reduce death, disease, violence, and crime associated with dangerous drugs… We can never totally eliminate drug addiction and drug abuse. We can, however, minimize these harms and reduce the negative effects they have on society by making sure drug abusers are able to access effective treatment options (jail is not an effective treatment option)."
Con: "Stop and frisk policies in New York. 700,000 New Yorkers have been stopped in the last year and basically searched. And we're not talking about getting on an airplane here. We're talking about on the streets of New York and Mayor Bloomberg had criticism for Arizona's law [SB 1070] said it was going to lead to racial profiling. Well I have got to tell you in New York I think racial profiling is going on right now with regard to the whole stop and frisk. Isn't this why we fought wars when it comes to protecting our civil liberties? Well this is civil liberties out the window."
Interview on RT's The Alyona Show, YouTube.com, Apr. 25, 2012
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "Governor Johnson, here in Florida, charter flights from Ft. Lauderdale to Havana, Cuba, have resumed. Is there a problem with that? And what are your thoughts on U.S.-Cuba policy?
JOHNSON: ...With regard to flights to Cuba? You know, I'm - I'm in favor, I think, of the whole notion that trade promotes friendship, as opposed to not. So I would be inclined to looking at establishing or supporting those kinds of things."
Now Con: "As governor of New Mexico, I was a bit naïve and I did not think the government made mistakes with regard to the death penalty. I came to realize that they do. I don't want to put one innocent person to death to punish 99 who are guilty.”'
"Interview with Gary Johnson," www.scottholleran.com, Aug. 21, 2011
[Editor’s Note: Gov. Johnson reportedly first publicly announced his opposition to the death penalty at a Jan. 16, 2002 news conference following his State of the State speech to the Legislature where he said in part: “I have to come to believe that the death penalty as a public policy is flawed… I believe that this country has put innocent people to death and that in the future this country will put innocent people to death.”]
Pro: [Editor's Note: Prior to Gary Johnson's Con statement made on Aug. 21, 2011, he expressed a Pro position as indicated below on Aug. 28, 2001.]
"I have no plans to render a stay on his execution. Terry Clark committed the crimes that he has been convicted of. I happen to think that's just punishment for him…I happen to support the death penalty for individuals who commit these types of crimes."
"Governor: I Won't Stop Terry Clark Execution," Amarillo Globe-News, Aug. 28, 2001
Con: "We Should: Reject auto and banking bailouts, state bailouts, corporate welfare, cap-and-trade, card check, and the mountain of regulation that protects special interests rather than benefiting consumers or the economy."
"The Economy and Taxes," www.garyjohnson2012.com (accessed Jan. 18, 2012)
Con: "The bailout program was not a success in any way. Look, we have a mechanism for restructuring in this country, and it is bankruptcy. If Chrysler and General Motors would have entered into bankruptcy proceedings, arguably they would have re-emerged as the true car companies of the 21st century...
So government involvement, picking winners and losers, here we go again. Stop the notion of picking winners and losers. Make it a fair environment, a fair competitive environment. These companies bankrupted themselves, they should have been allowed to reap the consequences of that and have gone into bankruptcy... I would argue we have got troubles for these companies down the road."
"Gov. Gary Johnson Responds to Every Question Asked in CNN Debate He Was Excluded From," YouTube.com, June 13, 2011
Con: "The sound America is hearing today is the sound of the can being kicked down the road — again. The result of this agreement is that the debt ceiling will be $900 billion higher tomorrow than it is today, and the nation's actual debt higher at the end of the year than it is now. Only in Washington is such a deal something to be celebrated as an accomplishment.
Nowhere to be found in this deal are the entitlement reforms, structural changes in government, or the immediate and real spending cuts that must be made to actually put our financial house in order. I doubt the markets will be impressed, and I know the American people won't be impressed."
"Gary Johnson: 'Debt Kicking the Can Down the Road,'" www.garyjohnson2012.com, Aug. 1, 2011
Pro: "Americans deserve the truth. The truth is that our deficits are not only unsustainable, but represent a very real threat to this nation. And of the $16 trillion in debt our government in Washington has racked up, it is almost equally split between Republican and Democrat administrations.
It doesn't have to be that way. I will submit a balanced budget in 2013. Yes, that budget will call for spending reductions of 43% - the reductions necessary to match revenues without raising taxes.
If, as I suspect will be the case, Congress cannot muster the courage for such cuts, I will veto any legislation that mandates deficit spending. As governor of New Mexico, I vetoed 750 bills and thousands of budget line-items - and left the state with a healthy surplus after my two terms, even with a Democrat legislature.
Our economic condition is too precarious for us to nibble around the edges. We must dramatically reduce not only what government costs, but what it does."
"Gary Johnson: My Response to the Presidential Debate," www.usatoday.com, Oct. 4, 2012
[Editor's Note: In an Oct. 9, 2012 email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, Gary Johnson stated "Absolutely" in response to our question "Can the federal deficit be eliminated without raising taxes?"]
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "The Federal Reserve deserves full responsibility for the housing bubble and as well deserves credit for mitigating the bust. Overriding that, the dollar is now worth a nickel. I understand the arguments for a free market in money and I support them. I shy away from the phrase 'regulate the Fed' because I do not want Barney Frank deciding monetary policy. I wouldn’t say the Fed needs to be abolished. I understand the argument for a gold standard, though. The US government should be pursuing a strong dollar policy, which the Fed hasn’t done."
Interview with Mitchell Langbert, "Interview with Governor Gary Earl Johnson," www.rlc.org, Jan. 19, 2010
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "I support the notion of right-to-work [legislation that let employees decide for themselves whether or not they want to join a union or financially support it] and worked hard to see that happen in New Mexico. It didn't while I was governor of New Mexico, but that didn't take away from my support. The only basic problem that I have with unions is the union gives me two workers. One is the worst worker that I've ever seen, the other is the best worker that I've ever had. I can't reward the best, I can't get rid of the worst. Right-to-work, I think, is a decision that states should make. I think based on right-to-work legislation in states across the country, those states that have passed right-to-work have shown much greater economic prosperity as a result of that legislation."
"Gov. Gary Johnson Responds to Every Question Asked in CNN Debate He Was Excluded From,” Gary Johnson's YouTube channel, June 14, 2011
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "So much of the legislation that we pass isn't really free market at all. It's touted as free market when the reality ends up to be very corporate. That the reality ends up to be corporatism where one business gets advantage over another. This was something that I witnessed as governor of New Mexico. I'd like to think that I vetoed that kind of legislation. That I was always looking at legislation, business legislation, from the standpoint of having it affect everyone equally as opposed to big business being further advantaged than what they are already are. So I think that so many of these treaties, NAFTA being one, and I can't speak specifically to it, but I think the criticism of NAFTA should be rooted in the fact that big business became even bigger business.”
Con: "I say we do away with corporate income taxes altogether – which the FairTax would do. That alone will foster more real job creation than all the stimulus and tax code tinkering that is currently being discussed, and would immediately move the U.S. to the head of the class in terms of global competitiveness...
Rather than exporting jobs and losing employers to more friendly tax environments overseas, America would become a magnet for job-creating investment both by businesses who are already here and those who would come here.”
"Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson Calls for Fair Tax While Visiting New Hampshire Business Incubator," www.garyjohnson2012.com, Aug. 4, 2011
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "All education in schools, whether it be about sex or mathematics, should be determined at the state and local level, and if freed from federal mandates, will reflect local priorities and values. Such local control, especially if combined with true school choice, will address issues of curricula and encourage parental influence thereon."
Email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, on Feb. 10, 2012
Con: "So what's the Federal role though when it comes to education and what's the primary reason in this country why college tuition is so high? Well it's because of guaranteed government student loans. That because of guaranteed government student loans, no one has the excuse of not getting an education and so because of that, institutions of higher learning, colleges and universities, are immune from pricing. That if kids would take a harder look at it 'gee I don't think I can afford fifteen thousand dollars a semester, I think I'll just sit this one out' when that happens in mass I guarantee you the cost of college tuition will drop dramatically, but today that is a situation that does not exist. I can't afford fifteen thousand dollars, and yet friends and family will point and say look you can get a guaranteed government student loan. That is another one of government's unintended consequences that has college tuition at such a high rate."
"Third Party Presidential Debate," in Chicago, IL, hosted by the Free and Equal Elections Foundation, www.c-span.org, Oct. 23, 2012
Con: “I think the best thing the federal government could do when it comes to education nationwide would be to abolish the Federal Department of Education… Washington top down doesn’t work. No Child Left Behind, everything it is that the federal government mandates ends up giving us this mediocre education system. And it’s not a mediocre education system. It’s terrible.”
"Gov. Gary Johnson's First Google+ Hangout," YouTube.com, Sep. 17, 2011
Con: "Having proposed, as Governor of New Mexico, a statewide voucher program, I am a staunch advocate of education vouchers and education choices. However, I strongly oppose federal funding of such vouchers. We can't afford it, and we need to leave education to the states - without federal funding and the strings that go along with it."
Email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, Oct. 9, 2012
"Was the US Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, which allows for unlimited political contributions on the grounds of free speech, good for America?"
Pro: "Yes. Limits on political contributions have never fulfilled their intended purposes, and never will. I believe that contributions are, indeed, speech, and that transparency and full disclosure allow voters and the public to make their own decisions as to the propriety of a candidate's sources of funding."
Email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, Oct. 9, 2012
Con: "While ballot integrity is clearly important, I am concerned that the growing trend among states to require photo ID's for voting poses a risk of broad vote suppression, particularly among the elderly and minorities, that outweighs the questionable benefits. In short, I fear that requiring photo ID is a solution in search of a problem."
Email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, Oct. 9, 2012
Con: "Government subsidies and incentives for specific energy resources don’t work.
Cap and Trade schemes, tax subsidies, and government efforts to steer us to one energy source over another are inherently inefficient, disrupt the market, and ultimately impose costs we cannot afford.
Nowhere in the Constitution is the government given the power to manipulate our behavior as consumers or producers of energy."
"Energy & the Environment," www.garyjohnson2012.com (accessed Oct. 25, 2012)
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "I’m a free market guy when it comes to energy. In a free market approach to energy I don't know if we build any new nuclear facilities given that no private underwriter is going to underwrite the liabilities associated with nuclear. I am open to seeing the government in a role to do that. It is an exciting notion to me that we have zero carbon emission from nuclear and the new electrical generation facilities are a one refuel for fifty years of life. To me that’s a really exciting prospect."
"Green Energy vs. Fossil Fuels vs. Nuclear - Gary Johnson Online Town Hall Q&A 11-2," YouTube.com, Nov. 2, 2011
Pro: "Yes. Gas prices should be determined by a marketplace freed from unnecessary government interference, and in the case of domestic oil drilling, that interference comes in the form of effectively keeping millions of acres of land off-limits to drilling - and to the marketplace. The development of the Bakken formation in North Dakota is a perfect example. Not only is Bakken formation oil bringing down prices, but it is creating thousands of jobs and significant economic activity."
Email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, on July 9, 2012
Pro: "I accept the fact that there is global warming and I accept the fact that it's man caused. That said, I am opposed to cap and trade. I'm a free market guy when it comes to the clean environment the number-one factor when it comes to the clean environment is a good economy."
"Meet Gary Johnson, the GOP's Invisible Candidate," Rolling Stone, June 15, 2011
Pro: "Yes. At the heart of CO2 regulation under the Clean Air Act is EPA's authority - confirmed by the Courts - to decide that CO2 emissions 'endanger' the public health and safety. That required EPA to decide that climate change is both caused by CO2 emissions and that climate change is endangering us. I would suggest that the threshold EPA should use to decide that CO2 is endangering us must require more certainty than has been provided to date on either of those questions.
What IS certain is that more regulation of CO2, based on uncertain need, is essentially a tax on every American who drives a car or uses electricity. Given what has happened with CO2 regulation under both the Bush and Obama Administrations, and the costly uncertainty that has resulted, perhaps the greater need is to amend the Clean Air Act to tighten the requirements that must be met before imposing job-killing regulations -whether it be CO2 or any other 'pollutant'."
Email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, on July 9, 2012
Pro: "While individual religious and moral views vary, both Ayn Rand and Mises recognized suicide as one of the most basic rights that not even a totalitarian state could take away from the individual. They are correct, and government efforts to impede that right are doomed to fail."
Email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, on July 9, 2012
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "While I generally resist the idea of government mandates, public safety is a legitimate government function. For many people, certain food ingredients can do serious harm, and knowing what is in food is absolutely essential. For example, I have celiac disease, and absent adequate labeling, I cannot risk eating foods that may have gluten. For millions of Americans in similar situations, knowing what we are eating is not a matter of preference or convenience; rather, it is an issue of basic safety."
Email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, on July 9, 2012
Pro: "I'm an ardent supporter of the 2nd amendment and openly advocated conceal carry as Governor. It was a new concept at the time, but I believed it would result in less crime - a fact borne out by the statistics."
"Guns Must Never Be Up for Grabs," www.garyjohnson2012.com (accessed Oct. 13, 2011)
Con: "Now, the DOJ's [Department of Justice's] plan to address gun trafficking is to require law-abiding citizens in border states to be reported and entered into a federal database for buying perfectly legal rifles from licensed dealers.
Not only will this requirement do absolutely nothing to curb violence on either side of the border, it is yet another unacceptable infringement on fundamental 2nd Amendment rights. It is an outrage that this Administration is using border violence as an excuse to add the names of more law-abiding gun owners to their database. The President and his Attorney General need to get off the backs of American gun owners, and focus on policies that will actually work to stop border violence – without eroding basic constitutional rights."
"Governor Johnson Calls Department of Justice Reporting Requirement an Outrage," www.garyjohnson2012.com, July 13, 2011
Con: "I would do everything I could to repeal President Obama's health care plan. I think that very simply we can't afford it…The long-term solution to health care is a free market approach to healthcare. And by the way, healthcare in this country is about as far removed from free market as it possibly could be."
"Gov. Gary Johnson Responds to Every Question Asked in CNN Debate He Was Excluded From," Gary Johnson's YouTube channel, June 14, 2011
Con: "While vouchers might be preferable to the current system, I believe Medicare funding should be provided to the states via block grants - allowing substantial cost savings and federal outlays, while allowing the states to fashion more effective ways of providing health care for those who need assistance."
Email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, Oct. 9, 2012
Con: "I am proposing that the federal government cut Medicaid and Medicare by 43%. Give the programs to the States, and also do away with the strings and the mandates that go along with Medicaid and Medicare... I believe that if the Federal government would have given me complete control of Medicaid and given me 43% less money in New Mexico that I could have effectively delivered health care to the poor in New Mexico... Is Health Care a right, I don't think so."
"Gov. Gary Johnson's First Google+ Hangout," YouTube.com, Sep. 17, 2011
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "Reform immigration to make it easy for individuals to come over here, be documented, pay taxes - immigration reform is needed to state that it's about work, it's not about welfare... Set up a grace period where they can get a work permit... social security card so that they can pay income tax, social security, Medicare."
"Gary Johnson on Immigration, Presidential Run and Denish-Martinez Race," YouTube.com (accessed Feb. 14, 2012)
Pro: "Enact an application and tracking procedure for guest workers, such as an e-verify system. Procedures must be quick, simple and efficient in providing documentation information, and must meet the needs of both employers and willing workers."
Pro: "I have said that I would not have signed the Arizona immigration law, because I’m concerned it could lead to racial profiling. But, having served as governor of another border state, New Mexico, I empathize with Arizona’s frustration, and absolutely support the prerogative of that state’s officials to act...
Certainly, securing our border and managing the flow of people across that border is an appropriate federal role – consistent with the Constitution. But, where is it written in the founding documents that a state doesn’t have the right to enact its own laws and policies relating to immigrants, both legal and illegal, who choose to enter and reside in that state?
I would suggest that just the opposite is true. Every state is different, and is presented with its own challenges and opportunities related to immigration – and countless other issues. Rather than trying, as the Obama administration is doing, to stop Arizona from implementing its own approach, we should be encouraging the states to be the policy laboratories they were intended to be in our federal system."
"States' Rights Should Be Encouraged, Not Punished," www.tenthamendmentcenter.com, May 10, 2012
Con: "The notion of building a fence across two thousand miles of border, the notion of putting the National Guard arm in arm across two thousand miles of border in my opinion would be a whole lot of money spent with very little if any benefit whatsoever."
"Former Gov. Gary Johnson (R-NM) Announcement of Candidacy Capitol Front Steps," www.p2012.org, Apr. 21, 2011
Con: “We shouldn’t stop what we’re currently doing. But the notion of securing the border, I think the rhetoric right now when we talk about securing the border is building a fence or putting the national guard arm-in-arm across 16 hundred miles of border. I just see that as a whole lot of money spent with no benefit whatsoever.”
“Gary Johnson on Immigration,” www.youtube.com, Jan. 11, 2011
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "First of all, I support immigration. I think immigration is a good thing. I'm opposed to building a wall across the border, which we have built a wall across the border. What we really need to do is we really need to make it easy for immigrants that are here in the United States to work in the United States... I think that illegal immigration is really the issue. We need to make documentation of illegal immigrants as easy as we possibly can. There're all sorts of ways we could do that, starting with the employer. Let's make it easy to document illegal immigrants so that they become legal, tax-paying immigrants."
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "I also happen to think that Israel, you know, we were responsible for the creation of Israel and that was through the United Nations; that they've been a strong military ally, that they will remain such. I do not think a military threat right now exists from Iran, but we should be vigilant to that. And I think it's naive to think that Israel is not going to act in their best interests should there be weapons of mass destruction showing themselves.
SIEGEL: And you would say the U.S. should support an Israeli action in that case, if Israel were to act militarily?
JOHNSON: Well, I would argue that that would probably be in our best interest. And to have them do that is a better situation than U.S. men and servicewomen engaged in the same."
Con: "Our security is not being threatened [in either Iraq or Afghanistan. America's] actions have actually had a reverse impact on our security. We have made enemies out of tens of millions of individuals that maybe we wouldn't have made otherwise."
Niall Stanage, "The Most Interesting Republican You've Never Heard of," Slate, May 5, 2010
Con: "I was opposed to us going into Iraq from the beginning, I really thought that there was no threat to our national security, I really thought that if we went into Iraq we would find ourselves in a civil war to which there would be no end and I thought we had the military surveillance capability to see Iraq rollout any weapons of mass destruction and if they would have done that, we could have gone in and dealt with that… But that was 10 years ago, we're building roads, schools, bridges and highways in Iraq and Afghanistan and we're borrowing 43 cents out of every dollar to do that. In my opinion, this is crazy."
Republican presidential debate, Greenville, SC, hosted by Fox News, May 5, 2011
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "I think it's a mistake that we [the US] know what's in Israel's best interest - they do and they need to be left to decide that and determine that."
Interview, Fox Business Network, www.youtube.com, May 20, 2011
Now Pro: "As a believer in individual freedom and keeping government out of personal lives, I simply cannot find a legitimate justification for federal laws, such as the Defense of Marriage Act, which 'define' marriage. That definition should be left to religions and individuals – not government. Government's role when it comes to marriage is one of granting benefits and rights to couples who choose to enter into a marriage 'contract'. As I have examined this issue, consulted with folks on all sides, and viewed it through the lens of individual freedom and equal rights, it has become clear to me that denying those rights and benefits to gay couples is discrimination, plain and simple…
[G]overnment's promise should be to insure equal access to those rights to all Americans, gay or straight… Today, I believe we have arrived at a point in history where more and more Americans are viewing it as a question of liberty and freedom. That evolution is important, and the time has come for us to align our marriage laws with the notion that every individual should be treated equally."
“Governor Gary Johnson Announces Support for Gay Marriage,” garyjohnson2012.com, Dec. 1, 2011
Not Clearly Pro or Con: [Editor's Note: Prior to Gary Johnson's Pro statement made on Dec. 1, 2011, he expressed a Not Clearly Pro or Con position as indicated below in a June 8, 2011 interview on C-SPAN.]
"Well, I think that government should get out of the marriage business, be in the civil union business, and leave marriages to the churches. So, I would like to think that I am in support of gay rights. Included in those rights would be the ability of gays to be civility united."
“Gary Johnson Interview,” c-spanvideo.org, June 8, 2011
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "Honesty and transparency will provide voters with the information they need to make that decision for themselves. Other than the requirements of the Constitution and governing laws, it is not for me to render judgments as to personal qualifications for office."
Email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, on Feb. 10, 2012
Con: "With weapons being allowed to ‘walk' to drug cartels in Mexico and Solyndra walking with $500 million of taxpayers' money, I would think DOJ and the Administration have better things to do than mount an assault on medical marijuana dispensaries in California that are legal under state law. Regardless of one's view of medical marijuana, Americans who believe in states' rights should be extremely disturbed that the federal government is in the process of shutting down businesses, threatening criminal charges, and confiscating the property of small businesses operating under good faith according to state law."
"Gary Johnson on Fed Crackdown on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries: DOJ Has Better Things to Do," www.garyjohnson2012.com, Oct. 7, 2011
Pro: "Rather than using painkillers, which I have used on occasion before, I did smoke pot, as a result of having broken my back, blowing out both of my knees, breaking ribs, really taking about three years to recover."
John McCormack, "Gov. Gary Johnson: I Smoked Marijuana from 2005 to 2008," The Weekly Standard, Dec. 6, 2010
Con: “We need to provide ourselves with a strong national defense. It’s one of government’s fundamental responsibilities. But the operative word here is defense not offense and not nation-building. The biggest threat to our national security is the fact that we’re bankrupt. That we’re borrowing and we’re printing money to the tune of 43 cents to every dollar that we spend. So I am promising to submit a balanced budget to Congress in the year 2013 that would include a 43% reduction in military spending.”
"Third Party Presidential Debate," Chicago, IL, hosted by the Free and Equal Elections Foundation, www.c-span.org, Oct. 23, 2012
"Is the 2012 NDAA, which authorized arresting and indefinitely detaining suspected terrorists (including US citizens) without charge, good for America?"
Con: “I would have never signed the National Defense Authorization Act allowing for you and I as US citizens to be arrested and detained without being charged. That’s the reason we fought wars in this country.”
"Third Party Presidential Debate," Chicago, IL, hosted by the Free and Equal Elections Foundation, www.c-span.org, Oct. 23, 2012
Pro: "I’ve been trying to figure out what the 'Occupy' protesters are protesting, so this week, while in New York, I took the time to visit the protesters and just talk to them. What I found is pretty straightforward: They are angry about a system that is being gamed for the benefit of a connected few. I also concluded that it is a mistake to dismiss these protests, as the Establishment is trying to do, as a bunch of malcontents.
The fact is, Americans are angry, and Wall Street may be as good a target as any. Why shouldn’t we be protesting the fact that our tax dollars were used to bail out AIG and General Motors and a bunch of banks, while the rest of us — who aren’t too big to fail — are left to sink or swim in an economy the politicians have strangled with deficit spending, over-regulation and punitive taxation?...
The system is corrupt. There is no other way to describe it, and it’s time we faced that simple truth. And maybe instead of dismissing or trying to manipulate the Occupiers to partisan advantage, we should all just go join them. All we need to agree about is that the status quo sucks.”
Gary Johnson, "Government Picking Winners and Losers = Corruption," www.huffingtonpost.com, Oct. 21, 2011
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "All education in schools, whether it be about sex or mathematics, should be determined at the state and local level, and if freed from federal mandates, will reflect local priorities and values. Such local control, especially if combined with true school choice, will address issues of curricula and encourage parental influence thereon."
Email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, on Feb. 10, 2012
Con: "As with almost all aspects of the current tax code, the granting of exemptions, credits, etc., to specific groups is a recipe for favoritism and government manipulation. That is one of the primary reasons I advocate a simple federal consumption tax to replace all income taxes - and eliminate all tax subsidies, credits and exemptions."
Email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, Oct. 9, 2012
Pro: "Social Security is flawed. When it was brought into existence the life expectancy was 55. Benefits started at 65. Now, life expectancy is 75, and benefits start at about the same age. It's a Ponzi scheme. A combination of benefit reduction and/or privatization are necessary. At least part of Social Security should include private accounts that are counted in your estate."
Mitchell Langbert, "Interview with Governor Gary Earl Johnson," www.rlc.org, Jan. 19, 2010
Con: "Let's stop the growing police state. Let's stop our military interventions...
Government has a role to protect us against foreign countries that would attack this country. But I use the notion of under attack. We are - we continually militarily intervene. And as a result of that, we have hundreds of millions of enemies to this country that but for these military interventions would otherwise not exist...
Whether you vote for Mitt Romney or Barack Obama, I'm going to offer up a couple of predictions. One is we're going to continue to have a heightened police state in this country. The other is, is that we're going to find ourselves in a continued state of military intervention. We are at continuous war with everyone."
"The NPR Third-Party Candidate Debate," www.npr.org, Oct. 6, 2012
[Editor's Note: In an Oct. 9, 2012 email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, Gary Johnson stated "No" in response to our question "Should the United States intervene militarily in Syria?"]
Pro: "We have the highest corporate income tax in the world right now, let's abolish it, let's make it the way that it was to begin with and that will literally create tens of millions of jobs overnight because this country will be the only place to establish, grow, build, nurture business, why won't that happen?"
Republican presidential debate, Greenville, SC, hosted by Fox News, May 5, 2011
Con: "When I talk about any of this, raising taxes is absolutely unacceptable. Raising taxes in this country is not acceptable. We should eliminate the corporate income tax if we really want to bring about a situation where this country is going to be the place to start up and incubate and grow businesses, in this country."
Speech to Conservative Political Action Conference, Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2011
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "Govt. should be a level playing field where all of us have the same advantages and the same threats if you will. Implementing the Fair Tax for example throws out the entire Federal tax system. No income tax, no IRS, no business tax, no corporate tax and isn’t the fact that some people pay tax and others don’t isn’t it the fact that some corporations pay tax and others don’t that has us outraged. It’s just not fair. Let’s implement something that is totally fair and in fact is a system where the more you make, the more you consume, the more Fair Tax you’ll pay. In a Fair Tax environment you’ll be incentivised to save money. So back to US treasuries. It’s okay to borrow money it’s just not okay to print money. We need to stop printing money."
"Full Transcript of Q&A with Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson," available at www.patheos.com, Oct. 18, 2011
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "The tea party is a mixed bag. If the tea party stands for the federal checkbook, great. But I have seen tea party events that don’t have that as a basis but have a social agenda as its basis. I don’t see that as addressing the problems this country faces.”
Michael Coleman, "Johnson Forges Ahead Sticking to ‘Pocketbook’ Issues," Albuquerque Journal, Aug. 21, 2011
Pro: "Balance the federal budget now, not 15 years from now, not 20 years from now, but now. And throw out the entire federal tax system, replace it with a fair tax, a consumption tax, that by all measurements is just that. It's fair. It does away with corporate income tax. If that doesn't create tens of millions of jobs in this country, I don't know what does."
Republican presidential candidate debate hosted by Fox News in Orlando FL, www.foxnews.com, Sep. 22, 2011
[Editor’s Note: The "fair tax" mentioned in the above quote by Gary Johnson refers to the Fair Tax Act of 2011 (H.R.25). The act "repeals the income tax, employment tax, and estate and gift tax," and replaces that tax income with a national sales tax of 23%. The bill also supports the repeal of the 16th amendment to the US constitution which gave congress "power to lay and collect taxes on incomes." Because Gary Johnson supports the Fair Tax Act of 2011, and the repeal of the income tax, we have labeled him as PRO to our question.]
Not Clearly Pro or Con: "It is appropriate that property rights and local control be respected. My opinion as to who builds what and where they build it is a matter of taste that should not be imposed on anyone’s rights."
Email to ProCon.org from Gary Johnson's Communications Director, Joe Hunter, on Feb. 10, 2012
Gary Johnson's Biography
Title(s):
Former Governor of New Mexico
Personal Information:
Full Name: Gary Earl Johnson
Marital Status: Divorced
Birthdate: Jan. 1, 1953
Children: Two
Birthplace: Minot, ND
Religion: Lutheran
Involvement:
Founder, Our America Initiative, 2009
Governor of New Mexico, 1995-2003
Cofounder and Owner, Big J Enterprises, 1976-1999
Education:
BS, Political Science, University of New Mexico, 1975
Affiliations and Memberships:
Board of Directors, Students For Liberty, Apr. 2011-present
President, Hi Beta
Cochair of the Board, Alpha Security Group Corp.
Appeared in the documentary American Drug War: The Last White Hope, 2007
Appeared in the documentary Last Party 2000, 2001
Board of Directors, Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce
Honorary Board, Drug Policy Alliance
Board of Advisors, Republican Liberty Caucus
Advisory Board, Marijuana Policy Project
Advisory Council, Students for Sensible Drug Policy
Advisory Board, Anderson School of Management's Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development