Gary Johnson in Seven Principles of Good Government, by Gov. Gary Johnson

On Principles & Values: Seven Principles of Good Government for work & life

1. Become reality-driven. Don't kid yourself or others. Base your decisions and actions on what's what.
2. Always be honest and tell the truth. It is extremely difficult to damage people who are willing to tell the truth.
3. Always do what's right and fair. Remember, the more you accomplish, the louder your critics become. Learn to ignore them. Maintain your integrity and continue to do what's right.
4. Determine your goal. Develop a plan to reach that goal. Then act--don't procrastinate.
5. Make sure everyone who ought to know what you're doing, knows what you're doing.
6. Don't hesitate to deliver bad news. Acknowledge mistakes immediately. There may still be time to salvage things or make corrections.
7. Be willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. If your job doesn't excite you enough to follow this principle, resign and find a job you love.

On Government Reform: Should government be doing this policy in the first place?

As simple as it sounds, Democrats and Republicans alike long ago stopped asking that question. We hear much about cutting government spending and balancing the budget. But, if you listen closely, these promises are almost never made in the context of making government actually DO LESS. Instead, when you wade through the rhetoric, the politicians promise to keep government doing the same things--just cheaper. That approach, as we have seen via decades of Administrations and Congresses, doesn't work.

Source: Seven Principles, by Gary Johnson, p. 7-8 Aug 1, 2012

On Principles & Values: My desire to serve has been with me since childhood

My desire to serve has been with me for as long as I can remember. As early as fourth grade, I remember thinking I would like to run for high office someday. When my teacher did a class survey, I was voted most likely to become President of the US. That might have been when the political bug bit me.

On Principles & Values: Graduated from UNM and married college sweetheart

Near the end of college, I'd been working construction for a contractor who built from the ground up. It was good fortune for me: I learned electrical, foundations, masonry, sheetrock, framing and painting. But the contractor ran out of work, and I needed about $30 a week to get by. So, I started looking around for other jobs.

I passed out circulars door-to-door that read, "College student needs work. Will do carpentry, painting, cement, anything and everything." That was the origin of Big J.

On Corporations: Built Big J Enterprises into leading construction company

By the time I sold the company in 1999, it was one of New Mexico's leading construction companies, grossing $20 million a year. We had grown from a door-to-door business to a multi-million dollar corporation, ranked as high as #34 on the New Mexico Private 100 companies list.

When I sold the business, I made enough money that I wouldn't have to work ever again. I'd earned true freedom

On Government Reform: Won 1994 with $510K of own money & not beholden

Of the $540,000 I spent in the primary, $510,000 of it was mine. I did not solicit donations because I did not want to be beholden to anyone or any group. It was easier to focus on my message instead of having to be worried about fundraising.

I said this many times, and I still believe that people who would have given me money would have expected certain things from me. They would have wanted, or even demanded, my signature on legislation that I ultimately vetoed.

On Gun Control: Supports gun ownership rights

My message was a simple: individual freedom, individual rights and less government run with a common-sense business approach.

I opposed public funding of abortion and federal land management control, and I supported lower taxes, term limits, tough criminal sentences, gun ownership rights, right-to-work legislation and public funds for school vouchers.

I wanted to make certain that liberties and freedoms are equally available to all, with a limited government which basically ensures that no one is harmful to anyone else.

On Technology: Oversaw construction of 500 miles of new highway

• reducing taxes $123 million annually;
• cutting the historic rate of state government growth in half;
• leaving the state with a budget surplus and 1,000 fewer employees (without firing anyone);
• privatizing half of the state's prisons;
• shifting state Medicaid to managed care, cutting the historic growth rate in half and creating a better health care network in the state;
• defeating campaign finance legislation;
• increasing the percentage of the state's budget devoted to improving the state's education system 8 straight years;
• overseeing the construction of 500 miles of new highway.

On Government Reform: 750 vetoes & contentious relationship with legislature

Those 750 vetoes didn't include line-item vetoes in state budgets, which I raised to an art form. It was safe to say that I had the most contentious relationship with my legislature of any governor in the country.

I didn't mind for a moment saying "No" so often. I believe that every time you pass a law you take a little bite out of freedom. Although I do not believe that government is ill-intentioned, I strongly believe in less government. I vetoed 750 bills as governor because I abhor the government spending money on programs that show no improvement in our lives and criminalize actions that do not warrant criminalization.

On Crime: Vetoed hate crime legislation as thought-crime

On Principles & Values: I view government in the same way as philosopher Ayn Rand

Overall, I think I view big government in the same way that the novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand did--that it really oppresses those that create, if you will, and tries to take away from those that produce and give to the non-producers.

On Homeland Security: Torture has created millions of enemies we wouldn't have had

I don't believe our national security is being threatened in either Iraq or Afghanistan. I believe the torturing of individuals has created tens of millions of enemies for our country that we might not otherwise have had.

On Drugs: People 95% positive on legalizing; incumbents 100% negative

The responses I got in the governor's office--calls, letters, faxes, emails, people talking to me on the street--to my position on marijuana were about 95% positive.

The reaction from elected officials, on the other hand, at least officially, was 100% negative. But I have been approached by some elected officials who've said, "Way to go. This needed to be said. Your position is right, but I can't say that in public." I'm willing to risk my political future to educate people and bridge the divide.

On Crime: Built private prisons to replace out-of-state prisoners

• We have reduced taxes by $123 million annually.
• We reformed Medicaid and got Medicaid costs under control.
• We built a couple of new, private prisons in NM. We had prisoners housed out of state, and the federal court system had been running prisons in NM under a consent decree since 1980. We are now out from under that consent decree.

On Principles & Values: Gave fiancee "Atlas Shrugged" to explain his politics

Kate is beautiful, she's athletic, she's smart. We're in love. I asked her to marry me while we were on a chair lift at Taos. At one point, early in our time together, Kate asked me about my politics and political philosophy. What it was, how I'd come to it. I gave her a copy of "Atlas Shrugged." Kate and I each wear an engagement ring.

On Crime: Private prisons cost $20 less/day than public control

Approximately 700 prisoners from NM were being housed out of state due to prison wing closures resulting from federal oversight. This put prisons at the forefront of my agenda. The NM legislature did not want to address the prison issue. It had become an enormously expensive and embarrassing situation.

I figured that if we went to a privatized system, we wouldn't have to come up with the funds and it would cost only 2/3 of what it was costing the state.

Public control of the prisons cost about $76/prisoner/day, and private control cost about $56/prisoner/day. We were able to provide the same services and still run the prisons with those significant savings. The system is still running that way today.

On Education: $3,500 voucher for every K-12 student

I realized that many people believed vouchers take money away from the public school system. But my plan would have increased the per capita funding for kids who remained in public schools because we were actually spending about $5,500/child--so each public school district would get an extra $2,000 for each student who opted out.

I used this example to explain: If every student in Santa Fe were to opt out of public schools, which would never happen, Santa Fe public schools would be left with about 40% of their budget and no students. Tell me how that takes away from public education.

I believe that we should treat K-12 education more like higher education. The reason higher education in the US is the best in the world is because these institutions compete with each other for tuition dollars. We need that same competition in public education.

On Education: Vouchers are as constitutional as pre-school and day-care

The argument that vouchers are unconstitutional because you're giving money to private schools is bogus. If you want to start calling vouchers unconstitutional, then every single state has got a lot of unconstitutional programs. We give low-income parents money so they can take their pre-school children to day-care centers of their choice. Many are church-affiliated. We don't tell them where they have to take their child.

This is not about getting rid of or weakening public education, it's about providing alternatives that will force public schools to react very quickly. Public schools will get better if they have to compete.

On Crime: DNA evidence shows many people are mistakenly convicted

I understand the eye-for-an-eye, tooth-for-a-tooth mentality but, realistically public policy should have room for mistakes. Killing one innocent person who was wrongly accused is not worth executing 99 guilty people. DNA evidence and judicial appeals have shown many people are mistakenly convicted.

The death penalty is flawed public policy and its consequences are irreversible. Plus, the financial cost of capital punishment (mostly legal fees) is several times greater for taxpayers than keeping someone in prison for life.

On Drugs: Marijuana is safer than alcohol

Bad personal decisions should not be criminal if they don't harm anyone else. It is and should always be illegal to drive while you're impaired or to commit crimes. But people will always use drugs. We can't change that. Our real focus should be on reducing death, disease, crime and corruption. These problems are all related to drug prohibition, not drug use. But what I've found is that most people base their position on this issue on emotion instead of facts. The truth is that marijuana is safer than alcohol. I'll be the first to tell you that the world would be a better place if no one drank or did drugs. But that will never be the case.

On Social Security: Raise the retirement age to 70 or 72

"Citing a story in USA Today which reported that a rash of retirements in 2009 is pushing Social Security to the brink, Johnson said the retirement age needs to be raised perhaps to 70 or 72. "This is the reality, we're broke," said Johnson. "We're broke."

That's STILL the reality.

On Education: Competition would make our schools better

I didn't want to try to circumvent or dilute the issue. Instead, we took it to every part of the state, to the teachers' convention, to the parents, and made our case that, with so much money pouring into our schools, we had little to show for it. Competition would make our schools better.

When I sought re-election, my opponent thought the school voucher issue would be the death of me. I wasn't.

Business is about "Best product, best service, lowest price." If you can combine all three of those elements, then you're successful. Period.

I see vouchers as a way of bringing those three business elements into education: Best product, best service, lowest price.

On Education: Public education system needs major reform

We need to compare one school to another when it comes to test scores in the various categories. We also need to be able to look at one school from one year to the next, and have the results put out in a format that is easy to read and easy to understand

On Education: Vouchers OK for church childcare & church schools

On Homeland Security: Should we have 100,000 troops on the ground in Europe?

On Defense: We shouldn't have gone into Iraq and Afghanistan. But should we have 100,000 troops on the ground in Europe? Because America has been willing to be the world's policeman, other nations can afford infrastructure projects that the US cannot. That doesn't make sense. The alternative is for the US economy to slide to 3rd-world status. And the danger of a fundamental collapse is real.

On Social Security: A portion of Social Security ought to be privatized

The [Social Security] retirement age needs to be raised. A portion of Social Security ought to be privatized, if not all. And there probably needs to be some means testing. It's a Ponzi scheme that's not sustainable.

On Crime: Vetoed early release of prisoners due to overcrowding

Some representatives (including a few who were potential allies for me) were outraged because it made them look soft on criminals.

On Immigration: Arizona anti-immigrant law leads to racial profiling

On Immigration: A 10-foot wall just requires an 11-foot ladder

"I have never been supportive of the wall," I answered. "A 10-foot wall just requires an 11-foot ladder."

On Budget & Economy: Lay out a process for state bankruptcies

"If Gary Johnson were president, he would immediately cut all federal spending--entitlements, defense, education, everything--by 43% to rectify our fiscal blunders. And he'd just be getting started. What is [Johnson's] philosophy? In 2 words: limited government.

"He suggests that to encourage fiscal discipline, the federal government should pass a law that lays out a process for state bankruptcies--which are impossible under current law and would be hard to square with sovereign immunity--and makes it clear that federal bailouts are off the table. 'Everybody would scream' if a state went into bankruptcy, Johnson admits, but a federal bailout would only encourage profligacy."

On Homeland Security: Patriot Act is a direct assault on privacy & due process

On War & Peace: Afghan nation-building will fail; withdraw immediately

On Energy & Oil: Cap-&-trade imposes costs with no environmental improvement

Effective long-term environmental stewardship and conservation are impossible without a healthy economy and the freedom to make responsible decisions.

On Health Care: Government-managed healthcare is insanity

To the extent that we, as a society, want to help those who are truly in need, that help can best be provided by the states--with any federal assistance coming in the form of block grants to be applied to best practices, innovative programs and the most efficient delivery of services.