{"id":170263,"date":"2016-07-20T09:22:39","date_gmt":"2016-07-20T15:22:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=170263"},"modified":"2016-07-20T16:16:49","modified_gmt":"2016-07-20T22:16:49","slug":"is-gary-johnson-a-fiscal-conservative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2016\/07\/is-gary-johnson-a-fiscal-conservative\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Gary Johnson a fiscal conservative?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gary<\/a>

Gage Skidmore \/ Creative Commons<\/p>

Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson (photo cc info<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

COMMENTARY:<\/strong>\u00a0Donald Trump has tried hard to consolidate his \u201cbase\u201d in Cleveland. Nonetheless, fiscally-conservative Republicans, many of whom are concerned about the rhetoric and likely policy proposals of their party’s standard-bearer, may be looking for viable alternatives.<\/p>\n

Former New Mexico governor and current Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson is likely their only alternative (assuming that disaffected Trump supporters don’t shift to Hillary Clinton).<\/p>\n

\"Tristan

Courtesy photo<\/p>

Tristan Goodwin<\/p><\/div>\n

As Johnson has come under closer scrutiny, his spending record as New Mexico’s governor has come under attack from some corners. National Review<\/em> columnist James Spiller, for one, wrote a scathing article<\/a> in which he argued that Johnson\u2019s is \u201cnot conservative and not even all that libertarian\u201d based largely on Johnson’s fiscal record which he further labels \u201cbig-government.\u201d<\/p>\n

To understand Johnson’s spending record, it is important to understand something about New Mexico politics. Throughout his tenure, Johnson contended with overwhelming Democratic majorities in both of New Mexico\u2019s legislative bodies. These majorities amounted to 60 percent of all legislators being Democrats during Johnson’s term. Outnumbered in the Legislature, Johnson’s veto pen became his primary weapon. He used it with gusto, turning away 739 bills during his tenure. His heavy use of the veto is a strong point in his favor among fiscal conservatives.<\/p>\n

Did Johnson\u2019s veto pen stem the spending tide? Not entirely. Johnson\u2019s term was marked by a 37.4 percent general fund spending increase. The general fund includes state funds, which the governor and Legislature directly control. In a vacuum, Johnson\u2019s spending record is less stellar than his vetoes and small-government talk would suggest. However, creating a state budget is a complicated process involving negotiations, compromises, and conflicts between executive and legislative priorities and desires. That doesn’t even begin to address the obvious issue of party disagreement.<\/p>\n

A more realistic approach is to examine of some of his fellow governors\u2019 records. A review and comparison of Johnson’s spending record with the records of several prominent Republicans of the era shows that Johnson’s discretionary spending record is better than those of several of his most prominent Republican contemporaries.<\/p>\n