Gov. Gary Johnson: Cut Spending by 43% - and Cut Social Issues from GOP Agenda

According to the latest CNN/ORC survey, former two-term Gov. Gary Johnson (R-N.M.) is polling at 2 percent, neck-and-neck with pizza magnate Herman Cain and ahead of former Gov. John Huntsman (R-Utah) and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.).

Yet while Cain, Huntsman, and Santorum will mix it up with Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas), former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.), and Reps. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Ron Paul (R-Texas) at the next GOP candidates debate on September 7, Johnson has been told to stay home once more. This latest exclusion has prompted writers at National Review, which isn't particularly amenable to Johnson's libertarian-leaning platform, and elsewhere to wonder what's going on with the selection process.

While Johnson may not make it to the Republican debate at California's Ronald Reagan ranch, Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie caught up with him at FreedomFest in July to talk tax reform, cutting federal spending across the board by 43 percent (the amount currently being financed by debt), and how focusing on social conservatism could reduce the GOP to minor-party status.

Shot by Jim Epstein and Zach Weissmueller, and edited by Epstein. About 4 minutes.

Held each July in Las Vegas, FreedomFest is attended by around 2,000 limited-government enthusiasts and libertarians a year. Reason.tv spoke with over two dozen speakers and attendees and will be releasing interviews over the coming weeks. For a playlist of videos released so far, go here.

Go to http://reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube Channel to receive automatic notifications when new material goes live.

For more of Reason's coverage of the 2012 election, go to http://reason.com/topics/2012-election

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[NAGGERNUTZ]

He's right, the FairTax is the answer.

[TigerghostPictures]

@migkil I suggest that you read a book called Freakonomics. There is a chapter devoted to the correlation between the declining crime rate in the 1990s and Roe v. Wade. Apparently, when children are raised in households that they are not loved in, they are more likely to become criminals. The decline in the crime rate was directly linked to Roe v. Wade because these criminals were never born in 1st place. In fact it was found that nearly 50% of the drop in crime rate was due to the abortion law.

[ledawg1138]

@4x4jeepjeep Cain? What the hell...

[migkillertwo]

"Because you want to impose your morality on other people"

And you're imposing your morality on other people. Everyone imposes their morality on everyone else when there's a state.

"the same way you poison our schools with creationism"

Assuming that creationism ought not be taught in schools (which I don't grant), who exactly is "you"?

If these are your reasons for being pro-choice, then I must say you are quite stupid.

[simonburbank]

@migkillertwo Because you want to impose your morality on other people the same way you poison our schools with creationism. If you want your kids to learn Creationism, take them to a Evangelical school.

[migkillertwo]

you know the pro-choice movement is dying when they resort to calling their opponents "theocrats"

[simonburbank]

@migkillertwo If you want to impose a theocracy at least get it right.

[dink65]

@NAGGERNUTZ - Correct. Also, the elimination of the IRS is a great idea. Anything parasitic needs to be abolished, which would mean all of CONgress, etc.....

[4x4jeepjeep]

Cain/Johnson 2012!

[moonraven3]

@NAGGERNUTZ Although I don't want any tax and the FairTax is better than what we have right now, it's still not the solution. The FairTax would demolish the lower and middle-income families. Again, we're on the right track with the FairTax but it can't be the answer.

[TravistheHuman]

@louiethegreater His opinion is to be expected of big government types, but Hong Kong is a free trade zone and the US has been a free trade zone up until people started misreading "regulate trade between the states" If there was a war here the enemy would target BIW and burn all our farms and shops. We can do more in peace. I don't see any problem with someone not getting charged by someone who has no right to charge. Anyway, it looks like the tariff still brings in more than they need.