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Gary Johnson on Government Reform
Former Republican NM Governor
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Vetoed more bills than all other governors combined
Q: How do you plan to restore the 10th amendment, hold the federal government only to those enumerated powers in the Constitution and allow states to govern themselves?PAUL: The responsibility of the president would be to veto every single bill that
violates the 10th amendment.
JOHNSON: If anybody doubts my willingness to veto bills, I think I vetoed more bills than any governor in the history of the United States. I think I vetoed more bills than all the other governors in the country combined.
Source: 2011 GOP Google debate in Orlando FL
, Sep 22, 2011
As governor, vetoed 750 bills
I'm Gary Johnson, former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico. In office, I vetoed 750 bills, cut taxes 14 times & left the state with a
$1 billion budget surplus. To learn more about me watch my YouTube video "Who is Gary Johnson?"
Source: 2011 Republican primary debate on Twitter.com
, Jul 21, 2011
Government creates jobs by reducing its role, not expanding
Q: Can a president create jobs without expanding the role of the federal government? A: As I proved in NM, government creates jobs by reducing its role, not expanding it. Get government out of the way. Government can create certainty.
Something that is completely lacking at the moment. Eliminate the cooperate income tax completely and adopt what is being called the Fair Tax: a one-time federal consumption tax.
Source: 2011 Republican primary debate on Twitter.com
, Jul 21, 2011
Full disclosure, but no limits on campaign donations
Q: What's your view about campaign finance reform? A: If you're talking about reform where you want to do away with soft money, yeah, I think that's good. If RJR wants to give me $100,000 for my campaign, it can't. But it can give it to the Republican
Party and then the Republican Party will write a check to me. It's not directly from the cigarette manufacturer and all I have to say is that I got it from the party. So I think that should be reformed. The public should know exactly where every penny
comes from. But I don't think there should be limits on contributions.
Q: But big contributions mean the wealthy have much more political influence.
A: My biggest contributor during the last two campaigns gave me over $150,000. Not once since
I've been elected has he been on the phone to tell me anything about what I should do. Is that not better than 150 people giving me a limit of $1000? Of those 150, there's a good chance that 50 are going to be on the phone trying to tell me what to do.
Source: David Sheff interview in Playboy Magazine
, May 2, 2011
Reforms must respect state's rights to select electors.
Johnson adopted the National Governors Association position paper:
The Issue
In the wake of the United States presidential election in Florida, the Congress and the administration has expressed interest in federal standards for elections. Recognizing that Articles I and II of the United States Constitution grants states, not Congress, the authority to determine the manner of selecting presidential electors and conducting elections generally, most legislative proposals do not mandate federal standards. Rather, current proposals direct federal agencies or commissions to study and make recommendations concerning the election system. Nonetheless, the possibility of legislation in the 107th Congress requiring states to implement federal election standards remains. If enacted without adequate funding by the federal government, such legislation could also result in an unfunded mandate to the states.
NGA’s Position
Articles I and II of the United States Constitution grant states the authority to determine the manner of selecting presidential electors and provide that states are responsible for establishing election procedures generally. However, in the wake of the 2000 presidential election, the nation’s Governors recognize the need for election reform. NGA will continue to monitor federal legislation addressing this issue, but has not taken a position in support of or opposition to election reform efforts.
Source: National Governors Association "Issues / Positions" 01-NGA11 on Aug 1, 2001
Page last updated: Nov 23, 2011