Libertarians Beat Democrat Edward Kennedy in Election

The combined vote totals of the two "real" libertarian candidates in the recall election exceeded those of "big name" Democrat Edward Kennedy by 35%

NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA
14547 Titus Street, Suite 214
Panorama City, CA 91402-4935

For immediate release

The 3500 Club. "That's what we'll call it," declared Edward Bowers, Spin Doctor (Media Relations Subcommittee Chair) for the Libertarian Party of California. That's how many people in the state absolutely refused to cross party lines to "waste" their vote on a non-Libertarian. And thanks to that commitment, they beat out 114 other candidates, including the namesake of archliberal, deeply entrenched, career politician, Edward Kennedy. "Of course we're combining our scores," explained Bowers, "because those are the votes for freedom, for liberty."

There were three candidates on the Recall's special election ballot listed with a party affiliation of Libertarian. Two of them, Ned Roscoe and Jack Hickey, are really libertarians; the other, Ken Hamidi, was admittedly not. With 100% of precincts reporting, Roscoe's total was 2011 and Hickey's was 1489 for a combined total of 3500. (As of the morning of October 10, according to the California Secretary of States website, another 6 votes had trickled in for Hickey, putting him at 1495 and the Libertarian grand total at 3506.) That would put the Libertarians solidly in 20th place.

It would have required some kind of mind meld to get all the tens of thousands of libertarians, both dues paying party members and registered voters, on one page to vote as a block, but if the partys candidates had received the kind of vote totals seen in 2002, they would have finished ahead of all but the biggest name celebrity and ahead of some candidates who had been deemed worthy of being invited to the major debates, including Arianna Huffington and Peter Ueberroth and last year's GOP flag bearer, Bill Simon. "But that's the thing about libertarians," Bowers concluded. "They are not collectivists, bless 'em. They are not sheep to be ordered around. They are individuals."

Bowers insisted on being optimistic and sending the momentum across to other states where the fight for small government continues. "It can be done. We trounced our own Democrat Edward Kennedy by 920 votes. That's a 35% percent margin of victory. (You take 'em where you can get 'em.) So, take heart, Massachusetts. You're next!"