journal" looking at immigration issues on wednesday here on c-span. libertarian gary johnson now from today's "washington journal." the former new mexico governor talks about his candidacy. this is 40 minutes. >> "washington journal" continues. host: joining us from new york is gary johnson, former governor of new mexico. good morning. pedro.good morning, host: tell us about your philosophy of governance and what it means to you if you wear to become -- if you were to become president of united states. guest: i would stand for smaller government. the notion that government is too big and it taxes too much. it takes money out of my pocket

that i could be spending on my life. it should all be about choice. all of us should be able to make choices in our own lives that only affect our own lives unless those decisions put other people in harm's way. regarding military intervention, let's stop with military intervention that has resulted in the world being less safe. the fact that we put boots on the ground and drop bombs and fly drones and kill thousands of innocent people, it has the unintended consequence of making things worse, not better. host: we had a viewer that asked how you differ from the other presidential candidates. how would you differ from hillary clinton or donald trump on the economy? guest: at the end of the day,

government will grow under hillary clinton, taxes will rise. she has been the architect of a foreign policy in this world -- where changes from a foreign policy perspective? not much. government gets bigger, taxes get higher. i am 180ld trump, degrees when it comes to deporting 11 million illegal immigrants. they're are not taking jobs that u.s. citizens want. don't build a fence across the border. that is a crazy idea. they are not murderers and rapists. they commit far less crimes than u.s. citizens. he wants to kill the families of muslim terrorists and bring back waterboarding, or worse. freeys he is for market, but in the next sentence makehe will make apple iphones in the u.s. and impose a

30% tariff on goods entering the u.s. host: 202-748-8000 for democrats. 202-748-8001 for republicans. .or independents, 202-748-8002 for libertarians, 202-748-8003. there were several questions about what separates you from another form of republican. how would you define yourself? do you think the purity idea is going to be a challenge for you in gaining support? guest: i think there are tens of millions of americans who have no idea what it is to be a libertarian and yet, are a libertarian, they just don't know it.

fiscally conservative, socially liberal -- most people fall in that category. i have issues when it comes to democrats, when it comes to spending and government being the solution to everything. the government does not provide solutions at the end of the day. it just taxes more. socialcans bent on this conservative dogma that puts people in prison for personal choices. the drug war being an example. mandatory sentencing. have the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. people should be allowed to make choices in their lives. s host:.own lives -- their own lives. host: tell us about your running mate.

why did you choose governor weld? guest: bill weld has been a role model to me. he served two terms as the governor of massachusetts. a heavily blue state, served as a republican, served as a fiscal conservative and social liberal. termsed as governor, two as a republican in a heavily blue state. both of us have labeled ourselves or considered it a badge of honor to be labeled as libertarians. on the a problem republican side when it comes to social dogma. it speaks volumes that both of us got reelected by larger , bills the second time

weld especially. doesn't that speak to broad appeal? host: first call is from michael, identifies and salt as a libertarian from los angeles. -- identifies himself as a libertarian from los angeles. caller: congratulations on winning the nomination. guest: thank you. caller: i want to ask a question regarding tax policy. you seen multiple times discussing the fair tax, how that might be a better system than the income tax. a systemever looked at of land value taxation as opposed to consumption tax? economists across the spectrum have found that that might be even more efficient than consumption taxation and fairer

to the general public. if i'm elected president, count on me to sign off on anything that would make things better. would bee of how that a real positive to what we are currently doing. i do advocate eliminating income tax, corporate tax. it is the basis for crony capitalism today. -- pink slipsrs would go out to 80% of washington lobbyists if there was no corporate tax. congress, it is possible that they could do that. they would replace it with something -- i think a consumption tax is a lot more fair on how to accomplish a , i've alwaysax pointed out the fair tax as a and cross the i's

t's. imagine life without the irs, ingine zero corporate tax the tens of millions of jobs that would get created in this country as opposed to anywhere else in the world because the u.s. would have zero corporate tax. guest: a viewer on twitter -- host: baby were on twitter asks if you would keep the federal reserve. on twitter asks if you would keep the federal reserve. guest: if congress were to submit legislation to abolish the federal reserve and replace it with regional banking, i they will, but if they did, i would sign off on the legislation. we should audit the federal reserve and get rid of a dual mandate that the federal reserve now has, keeping inflation in check and full employment.

the mandate should be to reduce inflation. ed in georgia on the republican line. know, our you military has been shrinking. if you were president, what i is, would you increase the amount of money we spending right now or lower it? isn't it true that you would like to get rid of the military? guest: absolutely not get rid of the military. if we are attacked, we will attack back. we should provide ourselves with an individual national defense -- impenetrable national defense, not offense. we need to involve congress and a declaration of war and how we proceed in the middle east.

in the declaration of war. areave 69 treaties where we obligated to defend 69 countries's foreign borders. we need an open debate and discussion over military policy. something that is currently not happening. host: albuquerque, new mexico. libertarian. eric, low. -- eric, hello. guest: i attended a convention here -- caller: i attended a convention here. we grow thent that libertarian party. statement at the i don't think anyone labeled a republican can

say that. guest: sorry, bit of static in the year. ear.n the bill weld was talking about things in the early 1990's that nobody was talking about. gay-rights, medical rights, choose -- hes to was pro-choice, pro-gay rights and pro-medical marijuana. there -- most of you were not born at that time. have any of you done things in the 1990's that perhaps you have different thoughts about today? wore libertarian as a badge of honor.

a headline in the albuquerque said gary johnson is not a republican, he is a libertarian. i took it as a badge of honor, which broadly speaking, i am i carey conservative and about people making their own choices in their own lives. host: rea come independently. line.ia, independent caller: if people would go to --igration counters immigrationcounters.com, they of immigration. tariff, that was the way we supported our country prior to 1916. it would have eliminated the irs. president and takes an

oath to uphold the constitution he pretends, how can it is the right for people to stream over the border? what is the definition of a country? it should be border, culture and language. isst: a big misunderstanding the whole notion of illegal immigration. 10 years ago, 20 years ago, it was the people here who were undocumented. hard-working people, the cream of the crop when it comes to workers. it would be an economic catastrophe to send people back over the border. isuntold story right now that president obama has broken up 3 million families because of the deportation of parents that have now been separated from their families living in the u.s. this is something i do not want to engage in.

i want to make it as easy as possible for someone who wants to come into this country and work to be able to get a work visa. that would require you talked about tariffs providing most of the income in this country well prior to the prohibition of alcohol the number one revenue source in the country was the taxation on alcohol. at the taxation on marijuana as an added source of revenue also. exclude revenue from legalizing marijuana just because the savings and law enforcement and the courts and prisons i think the savings in those three areas would dwarf the revenue on the legalization side. talk about your relationship with the company cannabis at

tivo. gary johnson: i view that is making the world a better place. products legally compete with antidepressants that statistically kill 100,000 people year. marijuana products are arguably just as affected not one documented deaths due to the use of marijuana products. i have always used legalizing marijuana as leading to less overall substance abuse because people will find it as such a safer alternative and every thing that is out there starting with alcohol. the campaign to legalize marijuana in colorado was a campaign based on marijuana is safer than alcohol and all the statistics that were supposed to go south in colorado have actually gotten better. driving incidents, crime, you name it.

colorado is a vibrant place. does it have to do with marijuana? i think it has something to do with it. colorado is at the top of the list when comes to personal liberties and freedom. host: gary johnson joining us. jacob in nevada. hello. caller: you really sold me on the libertarian party, but i have one question. how will smaller government help those under the poverty line pay high medical bills? guest: you hit on a couple of things -- high medical bills. medical bills are driven by the government. if we had a free market approach to health care -- health care right now is about as far removed from free market as it

could be. we would not have insurance to cover ourselves for ongoing medical needs. we would have insurance to cover ourselves for catastrophic injury and illness. and we would pay as you go in a system that would cost about 1/5 of what it currently costs right now. we would have gallbladders r' us, stitching r' us and x-rays r' us. come get your x-ray for $40 and 100% of our x-rays are readable and without mistakes. i use that as an example right now, you walk into a hospital or doctor's office, you have no idea what it is going to cost because you are not paying for it. your insurance is and you know the costs that are billed never actually get paid.

chief justice roberts was right that the affordable health care act it really is a tax. my premiums have quadrupled and i have not seen a doctor in three years. host: would you advocate the dismantling of the law that currently stands? guest: yes, i would. i would be president of the united states and the reforms that are needed when it comes to health care to genuinely make it more affordable, to genuinely make it more affordable, you have to allow for competition. government itself could actually involve itself in blowing the lid on the supply of doctors available, expanding medical school. there are a limited number of doctors, there could be a lot more doctors.

host: mike from tampa, florida. democrats line. caller: we have a $19 trillion debt. how would you propose reducing that or even paying it off given the fact that we have necessary government obligations such as the defense department? guest: let's forget about paying it back. all we do is add to it. currently, 20% of everything we are spending is really printed money, new debt. just the ability to put a lid on spending or to reduce spending even a little bit, coupled with economic growth has a profound impact. i would like to turn it on its air command meaning 20% of government is actually

government that does not need to exist. i would be president of the u.s., not dictator who can wave a magic wand, but we would be suggesting right out of the block a way to reduce government spending by 20%, providing for a balanced budget. i don't see congress getting on board with that, but maybe they do, but at a minimum, you put a lid on spending, reduce spending over a short period of time. that has a profound impact. host: you advocate the dismissal of government workers to achieve those goals. how many? guest: you cannot -- you can wave a magic wand in some cases because so much of what has been implemented his executive order. take the nsa and the fact that

they are spying on you and i as u.s. citizens. satellites are pointed at us. that is executive order 12 333 from truman. i could make sure that those satellites get turned away from u.s. citizens, something i do advocate. those are supposed to be pointed at the enemy. is the nsa arguing that you and i are the enemy? i hope not. host: mike is next. libertarian. caller: congratulations. the party chose well with you and governor weld. donald trump has seemingly endorsed vladimir putin's policy of assassinating critical reporters.

he said recently, "putin is running his country, at least he is a leader, unlike what we have in this country." the tools were provided for trump to "disappear quietly." mr. obama inserted a provision allowing for the detention of u.s. citizens without due process. the national press does not allow issues that are not issues between the two major parties. how would you get through that?

guest: you laid the table perfectly, your question in the form of a statement is a profound statement that donald trump points at vladimir putin who in fact does deal with dissidents in a way that we are not supposed to be able to and yet, donald trump is advocating first amendment assault on the press, making it easier to see the press for statements. this country is all about the constitution, the bill of rights. donald trump assaults the constitution, starting with the first amendment. thank you for your statement. host: you mentioned the media.

what is your plan for getting involved in the debate process? guest: right now, the only chance that a third party has of getting elected is to be in the presidential debate. i think my name should be included in the poll that determines who gets to debate. the debate commission has been made up of republicans and democrats. my name should appear in all these polls because i'm going to be the only third-party candidate on the ballot in all 50 states. all this talk in the media about a third-party -- if you had all the money in the world, you could not get on the ballot in all 50 states starting tomorrow. if you had all the money in the world, starting tomorrow, it would be almost impossible to get on the ballot in enough states to mathematically be elected president of the united states, being able to garner 250

electoral votes. a demand from the polling organizations that my name be included -- i've been included in three national polls, 10%, 10% and 11%. my name appears in those three polls, there's another 40 polls that come out that only show hillary clinton and donald trump and when 50% of americans now registering to vote declare themselves as independents, where is that representation. i happen to think that most people in this world are libertarian, they just don't know it. host: bill is up next on our republican line. caller: good morning. i would like to find out the libertarian's stance on assault rifle bans. guest: if you outlaw guns,

criminals will have guns. if you outlaw the number of bullets in a magazine, only the criminals will have bullets in the magazine. gun control sounds terrific, but at the end of the day, it makes this country less safe. this is the second amendment. the constitution guarantees all of us the right to bear arms. host: anthony in puerto rico. independent line. caller: i have a question. a big concern in this country right now is our national security.

how can you expect us as american citizens to take you seriously as a candidate when you are for open borders? our national security is on the line here. our security for our children, our families is on the line. guest: first of all, this is greatly misunderstood. what i am for is an easy way to obtain a work visa. make the line moving to be able to get a work visa, which entails a background check and social security card. right now, border patrol has to deal with illegal immigrants that arguably contain some criminals, but the majority of those illegal immigrants are just hard-working people who want to get into this country and work.

women with kids are wading the rio grande and border control has to deal with them along with bad components. what if you made it easy for the women and children to make it over here to work so that border control can identify the fact that anybody coming across the border illegally is somebody to be reckoned with? i don't know if i would call that open borders, i would just call that prudent management over something that can be done much more effectively. dot the i's and cross the t's about everything we care about. we want immigrants to pay their

fair share when it comes to taxes, recognizing that we are a country of immigrants. immigration is really a good thing. host: the front page of "the new york times" takes a look at president obama's efforts to resettle syrian refugees. guest: i think we bear a responsibility for the refugee crisis and we should be taking on our fair share. what is the mathematics of having disrupted 11 million syrians, half the population? when it comes to the u.s., i think we can deal with this effectively. should it be carte blanche? no, but we can have a system in place to accept refugees right off the bat. other refugees might be questionable, backgrounds or whatever.

we've directed enough of our resources on the military side to deal with the refugee side of it humanely and in a way that reflects what america is all about. opportunity, freedom, liberty -- you want to come to the u.s. and work hard and be honest, you will get ahead. host: gary johnson with us. harold in new jersey. republican line. caller: gary, you make a lot of sense, you really do. you make a lot of sense on a lot of issues. but, there is one thing. you apparently ignore a part of the constitution in regards to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. would you give money to planned parenthood? additionally, do you believe that our country was founded on the value that god is father of all?

god loves all, god sent the golden commandments, love god and love your neighbor as yourself. i would vote for you -- i normally vote for the constitution party. i believe in the constitution. if you stand for what our founding fathers worked for so collaboratively for months and months -- if you were there when our constitution was started, would you believe in life? god loves us all. the one other thing that -- the reality is that we are, by nature, fallen people. the devil is trying to stop you and any other people trying to do good things.

i pray that you and other libertarians will love life because life is so precious. host: governor johnson, go ahead. guest: you've touched on a number of things. first and foremost, abortion. how could there be a more difficult decision in anyone's life? it is the woman involved that needs to make those choices. i firmly believe that. when it comes to planned parenthood, i'm looking to reduce the size of government. would i propose a reduced expenditure to planned parenthood? yes. just like i would propose a reduced expenditure to

everything. republicans at the end of the day end up taking it on the chin when it comes to planned parenthood. they are part of the whole. regarding the separation of church and state, i fervently believe there should be a separation of church and state. i grew up as a christian, but should god play a role in government? no. that is firmly established in the constitution. host: claudia in prescott, arizona. democrats line. caller: hi there, mr. johnson. i know you are a republican -- guest: libertarian. caller: well, he was a republican as a governor, wasn't he?

guest: yes, but a libertarian republican governor. today, libertarian presidential candidate. i want to draw a distinction. caller: you cannot bury your past. guest: nobody can. caller: i want to see you and bill weld support bernie sanders. there's a lot of people out here that want bernie sanders to win the nomination. if he is not in the nomination, i'm sure you would take home the prize if you had all the ideas that bernie sanders has and three quarters of america have. guest: claudia, here is a pitch to make to everybody out there. the website isidewith.com. get online, take that political

quiz. really simple. 60 questions, you don't have to register. at the end of that quiz, you get paired up with the presidential candidate most in line with your views. don't we all owe it to ourselves to find out who we align with and side with? i side 70% with bernie sanders. there is crony capitalism. the government really isn't fair when it comes to this level playing field. legalize marijuana.

73% of what bernie says, i agree with. we come to a t in the road when it comes to economics. if we absolutely had a fair system of economics, free markets, we would do a lot better than going down the path of socialism. libertarians agree with socialism as long as it is voluntary. when it is forced, that is tyranny. there is so much in common that just factually speaking, take a look. take a look, bernie sanders supporters. take a look at who you next side with.

host: david in north carolina. independent line. caller: you were talking about the affordable care act. there were some polls in the country that showed 65% of the population were not happy with the affordable care act in its current state. would like to see it repaired and improved upon. i want to know if you would be open to something like that to address pre-existing conditions and children staying on their parents's plans. you are convincing one voter that it would be an outrage if you were not allowed to compete in the debate. thank you. guest: would you sign on -- what i'm hearing you say is, would

you sign on to things that make things better? yes. count on me to sign on to anything that makes things better. but also count on me to actually veto legislation that, although sounds terrific, at the end of the day, if it just adds time and money to our lives and doesn't add anything to government other than adding time and money to our lives, let's get rid of it. as president of the united states, i will tell you what i advocate, but count on me to sign on or support anything that comes out of congress that makes things better. host: republican line. caller: i'm hearing you saying that we've always been a nation of immigrants. any good rancher knows you cannot put more than so many cows on a piece of land or the land will be adversely affected.

at some point, we have to decide, how many people can we have in america and still sustain our population with land to grow our crops? christians have been under attack by the lgbt population. what will you do to protect the cake maker being forced to sell to the lgbt? the government has gotten so involved in this and they will threaten you with removing federal tax dollars if you do not go along with it. i'm very concerned about christians. the legalization of pot -- it is a gateway drug to harder drugs. what are you going to do to make sure people smoking pot, especially children, are able to learn in school and do not go on

to bigger and badder drugs? host: you can answer one of those. guest: a lot on the plate. i probably addressed every one of those questions. i support gay rights. we should not have any part of this discrimination whatsoever. with regard to immigrants, look, and untold truth, we need a lot of immigrants to be working and paying into a social security system that in the future looks bankrupt. isn't this country a country of immigrants? don't we want people to pursue the american dream? this is rooted in working hard, being honest and rewarded for the fruits of your efforts.

host: governor gary johnson is the libertarian presidential nominee. thank you for being on c-span. guest: a pleasure. a wonderful format. i hope you will invite me back.