Libertarians are hoping that the 2016 election can launch their party as the official alternative to the mainstream parties — the only problem is their leading presidential candidate didn’t really support limited government.
The National Review reported that former Republican New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson (turned Libertarian Party presidential candidate) rapidly increased government spending during his tenure.
New Mexico’s budget in 1995 when Johnson took over was $4.397 billion; by the time he left in 2003 it stood at $7.721 billion. That’s about a 75 percent increase in government spending.
In fact, Johnson’s annual spending increases surpassed even those of liberal Democratic governors like Vermont’s Howard Dean and Maryland’s Martin O’Malley.
He also ballooned the state’s debt, from $1.8 billion to $4.6 billion — a 250 percent hike which increased every New Mexican’s share of the debt by $1,500.
The only governor to run for president with a worse record in the past 20 years was former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack (D).
According to Market Ticker, Johnson’s love of big spending even surpassed the rate of inflation by 240 percent.
That’s the problem with ideological political parties and candidates; increasing spending is often easy for a politician and demanded by their constituencies. Very few executives have the skills, abilities, and moral fiber to find an alternative. Certainly, Johnson did not.
