Ed Clark: Difference between revisions

He was the first State Chair of the [[Libertarian Party of New York|New York Free Libertarian Party]] and upon relocating was elected the State Chair of the [[Libertarian Party of California]].  He was elected Vice-Chair of the national party at the [[1972 Libertarian National Convention|1972 National Convention]] in Denver, Colorado.

In [[1978]], Clark ran for Governor of California. Although he was a registered Libertarian, the Libertarian Party did not yet have ballot status in California and he ran as an independent. Clark received some 377,960 votes, 5.46% of the popular vote. His vote total in that election is still a Libertarian Party gubernatorial record.

[[File:359px-EdClarkBackCover.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Ed Clark 1980 Presidential campaign excerpt]]

In [[1980]] Clark won the Libertarian Party nomination for the Presidency at their party convention in Los Angeles, California. He published a book on his programs, entitled ''A [[New Beginning]]''. The book's introduction was by [[Eugene McCarthy]].  During the campaign, Clark positioned himself as a peace candidate and tailored his appeal to [[liberalism|liberals]] and [[progressivism|progressives]] unhappy with the resumption of [[Selective Service]] registration and the arms race with the [[Soviet Union]].  When asked in a television interview to summarize libertarianism, Clark used the phrase "[[Low-Tax Liberalism|low-tax liberalism]]," causing some consternation among traditional libertarian theorists, most notably [[Murray Rothbard]].  A growing split within the Libertarian Party between a moderate faction (including Clark) and a purist faction led by Rothbard eventually came to a head in 1983, with the moderate faction walking out of the party convention.

[[Category:Independent Libertarian Candidates]]

[[Category:National Party Vice-Chairs]]

[[Category:State Party Chairs]]

[[Category:New York State Party Chairs]]