.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

WASHINGTON — On the campaign trail, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson frequently urges those who aren’t familiar with him to “Google Gary Johnson.”

That internet search might prompt the curious to also Google “Libertarian Party” and its platform. For Johnson, that’s where things get complicated. The Libertarian Party platform — aimed at slashing the size and role of government — advocates the abolition of Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, the Internal Revenue Service, almost all taxes, and even rules that mandate driver’s licenses for those behind the wheel of a car.

Johnson, a former Republican governor of New Mexico, told the Journal he doesn’t personally espouse some key planks in his own party’s playbook for governing, including its call for the abolition of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

“I don’t think this is unique to the Libertarian Party,” Johnson said in a telephone interview, explaining his opposition to some of the platform’s principals. “I certainly wasn’t on board with the entire Republican Party platform, but I did run for governor as a Republican.”

Johnson, who served two terms as New Mexico’s governor from 1995 to 2003, won the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination in May. And while his campaign has gained some traction, he has been unable to reach the 15 percent support in national polls needed to be included in the presidential debates. A couple of recent high-profile campaign gaffes in which Johnson showed a surprising lack of foreign policy knowledge seem to have stalled — or even reversed — his once-ascendant popularity, according to the latest polls. A Real Clear Politics aggregation of national polls had Johnson between 5 percent and 9 percent support Thursday.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip

................................................................

But the unorthodox political candidate has intrigued millions of Americans who are looking for an alternative to Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, and Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee. Many of Johnson’s supporters trumpet his calls for relaxing U.S. drug laws, a less interventionist military posture, lower taxes and smaller government.

The Libertarian Party platform puts the concept of personal liberties front-andcenter, declaring in its preamble that “all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her

values for the benefit of others.” Libertarians challenge the need for a powerful state at every turn, but Johnson said that, if he were elected, he wouldn’t yank the taxpayerfunded social safety net out from under the sick, poor and elderly.

“I’m not looking to eliminate Medicaid and Medicare,” said Johnson, who is running on a ticket with former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld in the vice presidential slot. “I don’t think it’s possible to do that, and I do believe in a safety net.

“But in that context, can we at least bring those programs into being solvent?” Johnson added. “I think that is possible. But the Libertarian platform would take it a lot further than I’m believing is possible.”

And what about Social Security?

“I’m not looking to do away with Social Security, but we do need to reform it,” Johnson said. “Do I understand how, theoretically, to get rid of Social Security? Yeah. But I don’t think that’s going to happen in my lifetime.”

When it comes to the IRS, Johnson said he would, in fact, move to eliminate it.

“I espouse the ‘fair tax,’ ” Johnson explained, noting that the tax could negate the need for an IRS.

The fair tax would replace almost every federal tax — including payroll, personal and corporate income, and estate taxes — with a 23 percent national sales tax.

“The way the fair tax lays it out, the states would collect that tax as a consumption tax, alleviating the need for the IRS because … it eliminates virtually all taxes — the inheritance tax, capital gains, income tax, the corporate income tax,” Johnson said. “So when I say abolish or eliminate the IRS, it would no longer be a function that would be needed. That is one of the caveats to actually passing the fair tax. If the IRS is not actually abolished, then the legislation can’t pass. It’s all or nothing.”

When he was governor of New Mexico, Johnson aggressively championed the privatization of government services and did privatize some of New Mexico’s prisons. He said he would also push for privatization of government services at the federal level if elected.

“Privatize whenever possible with the notion that you would have lower costs and the same services, or lower costs and better goods and services,” Johnson said. “Wherever that equation might present itself, I would always be on board with that.”

Opponents of government privatization often contend that the profit motive would lead to cutting corners on administration and services in a way that would harm the public. Johnson takes a different view.

“It’s crony capitalism that has the system screwed up,” Johnson said. “Government interference in the marketplace is based on pay-to-play and favoritism and the status quo. You name it, and there is a special interest attached to every single (government) department.”

Johnson said he hopes voters don’t assess his candidacy strictly through the lens of the Libertarian Party. He said he was the most moderate candidate in the Libertarian nominating process.

“I was the only candidate that was in support of (government-mandated) driver’s licenses,” he said with a laugh.

But the former New Mexico governor said that, although he doesn’t support everything in Libertarian Party, he prefers it to either of the major parties.

“I’ve always said that the best political moniker is independent,” Johnson said. “Really — aren’t we all independent? But I think running as a Libertarian involves the least amount of explaining to me. It’s the best fit for me.”