ZadekpediaGary Johnson is a former two-term governor of New Mexico who appeared as a guest on The Bob Zadek Show in 2010 and 2011. In the 2010 episode he was described as honorary chairman of OurAmericaInitiative.com; in the 2011 episode he was identified as chairperson of that initiative and as a 2012 presidential candidate. Libertarians For Change (2010) Straight Talk with Gary Johnson (2011)
On the show
4 appearances, 2010–2012.
- 2010-08-01 · Libertarians For Change · 48:30 — Gary Johnson on Libertarian Governance and Fiscal Policy.
- 2010-10-17 · A Better America · 49:17 — Libertarian vision for a better America.
- 2011-04-30 · Straight Talk with Gary Johnson · 53:34 — Libertarian policy positions and federal budget reform.
- 2012-01-21 · The Triumph of Principle Over Politics · 50:34 — Gary Johnson Libertarian Presidential Platform.
Military spending and foreign policy
In the 2010 episode, Johnson told Bob Zadek that of every dollar spent worldwide on military expenditures, 50 cents is spent by the United States, which he noted is 5% of the world’s population, while China spends 8 cents. He said the government must protect citizens from individual harm and the country from hostile states and terrorists, but argued that security was not threatened in either Iraq or Afghanistan. He said he had believed before the Iraq intervention that military surveillance could have detected any weapons of mass destruction and that the situation could have been dealt with militarily within minutes, but that he feared the U.S. would become mired in a civil war. He called the initial foray into Afghanistan completely warranted as a means of getting Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, but said they are no longer there. Libertarians For Change (2010)
Johnson framed the fiscal problem in terms of borrowing: he said the government borrows 43 cents out of every dollar it spends, and proposed that the military take a 43% cut as its share of balancing expenditures with revenues. He cited a figure of more than 100,000 troops in Europe and suggested it might instead be 57,000. Libertarians For Change (2010)
Zadek asked whether the U.S. should intervene in genocides such as those in Bosnia, Darfur and the Sudan; Zadek answered his own question in the negative, saying it flunks the test of national defense. Johnson responded that he would hate to see the U.S. stand by and witness a genocide without participating in ending it, but acknowledged that interventions under the banner of stopping genocide sometimes make matters worse, and said he would like to leave that question open. Libertarians For Change (2010)
In the 2011 episode, the discussion covered the illegitimacy of U.S. intervention in Libya and the necessity of cutting the “Big Four” budget items — Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and Defense — to prevent financial collapse. Straight Talk with Gary Johnson (2011)
Vetoes and governing style
Asked in 2010 about governing with a legislature controlled two-to-one by the opposite party, Johnson said he vetoed 750 pieces of legislation and used the line-item veto to strike thousands of pieces of legislation, saying no to spending and to special interests. He said he would have dried up funding for neighborhood pavement projects in lieu of statewide funding projects, and that despite the vetoes he was re-elected. Libertarians For Change (2010)
Johnson attributed his re-election to public recognition of cost-benefit thinking and of his personal conduct — running his own business, making a payroll, buying commercial airline tickets rather than using the state airplane because it was cheaper, and standing in line as governor. Libertarians For Change (2010)
Drug policy and prisons
A caller named Chad, who identified himself as a Democrat, asked Johnson to expand on harm reduction and to address the conflict of interest he saw in private prisons. Johnson said that in New Mexico about 600 prisoners were housed out of state at state expense and the prison system was under a consent decree run by the courts; because the legislature would not appropriate money for new prisons, he privatized them. On an apples-to-apples basis, he said, the private prisons cost two-thirds of the public prisons. Libertarians For Change (2010)
Johnson said he found the opposite of the expected dynamic: no huge vested interest in keeping people in jail and no gigantic lobby. He said that if reasonable drug policies were adopted and people were released from jail, shutting down prisons would be a great thing, and that from his experience it is easier to shut down private prisons than public ones. Libertarians For Change (2010)
On harm reduction, Johnson said that if all drugs were legalized tomorrow the world would be a better place, but that the only drug he was espousing legalization of was marijuana. He said other drugs should be looked at first as a health problem rather than a criminal justice problem, that 90% of the drug problem is prohibition-related rather than use-related, and that he was not condoning drug use — he said he does not drink, smoke marijuana or do drugs, though he has in the past, and that from his own experience marijuana is much safer than alcohol. Libertarians For Change (2010)
Gulf oil spill and accountability
In the final segment of the 2010 episode, Zadek asked what the Gulf oil spill taught about the relationship between Americans, business and government. Johnson said the government could serve as an information clearinghouse, cited Bobby Jindal’s call for a sand barrier on beaches, and wondered why barges were not pumping up oil and water at sea to separate them. He said government has a responsibility and a role, including passing legislation to make it impossible for a similar failure — a shut-off valve that does not shut off — to happen again. Libertarians For Change (2010)
Zadek argued that BP would pay through the market while government culpability carries no accountability. Johnson said he did not have the answer, and noted that BP’s market value had decreased $70 billion. Libertarians For Change (2010)
Across episodes
The two episodes touch the same broad themes — foreign and military policy, budget cuts, and the scope of government — but the 2011 excerpt is largely a summary of topics rather than a transcript, so the episodes show no developed argument between the earlier and later treatment beyond the addition of Libya and the “Big Four” framing. Libertarians For Change (2010) Straight Talk with Gary Johnson (2011)