From: clc5q@uvacs.cs.Virginia.EDU (Clark L. Coleman)
Subject: Libertarian News From Georgia Senate Race
Originator: clc5q@hemlock.cs.Virginia.EDU
Organization: University of Virginia Computer Science Department
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1992 23:28:58 GMT


Libertarian Jim Hudson got 3 percent of the vote in the Georgia Senate
race (for the U.S. Senate, that is.)  Republican challenger Coverdell
got 48 percent, while Democratic incumbent Wyche Fowler got 49 percent.

Georgia state law mandates a runoff election between the top 2 vote getters
if the top vote getter obtains less than 50 percent of the vote.

Jim Hudson has endorsed Coverdell (I believe his full name is Paul Coverdell)
because he said he is certain that Coverdell has a better understanding of
economics than Fowler.  Ross Perot's state organization has also endorsed
Coverdell.

The UPI story had two shots at identifying Jim Hudson's party, and came
up with "Libertian" the first time, and "Libertain" the second time.

Fowler voted against term limits (see the first measure described in my
previous posting, a vote on 5/22/1991), against a school voucher system
in which federal funds would go to vouchers for parents instead of to
schools directly (Orrin Hatch's bill, voted down on 1/23/1992), against
a line item veto for the President, against the bill requiring a 60%
supermajority to raise taxes (see my previous posting; voted down on 3/13/92),
but he did vote in favor of the nonbinding balanced budget resolution
on 4/9/1992 (see previous posting also.)

Fowler refused to answer the National Taxpayers' Union questionnaire
this year.  Here are Coverdell's answers:

Balanced Budget Amendment: Yes  (and all tax increases must be recorded votes)
Tax Limitation Amendment:  Yes  (60% supermajority)
Temporary Spending Freeze: Yes
Retain Income Tax Indexing: Yes
Oppose Income Tax Increase: Yes  (corporate or individual both opposed)
Oppose Federal Value Added Tax: Yes
Bring back Universal IRA:  Yes
Control Spending:  Yes (sponsor legislation to balance budget; must agree
      with statement "If all the legislation I sponsor during my term
      became law, federal spending would decrease.")

Fowler got a 30 rating from the NTU for his votes in the last 6 years,
which puts him at the mean for Democrats in the Senate, but only at the 42nd
percentile for the full Senate.  A range of 27-39 is called "Average", while
below 27 is "Big Spender", 40-55 is "Fair", and 56+ is "Taxpayers' Friend".
Fowler's 30 puts him 1 point ahead of Teddy Kennedy's 29, to get a measure
of his fiscal conservatism.

The NTU rating system would take me a long time to describe.  It includes
all votes on spending, along with procedural matters like a balanced
budget amendment, tax limitation amendment, etc.  The votes are weighted
to reflect the impact on total spending.  If a legislator was absent often
enough to reduce the statistical sample of his votes severely, it is noted
(this did not apply to Fowler).


I commend Jim Hudson for his endorsement.  In the runoff election, there
are 2 choices, not 3; and sitting at home is not a viable choice for
Libertarians.  Bill Clinton will be working for Fowler,  The question is,
will Perot's people, and Libertarians, work for Coverdell, or give an
endorsement and sit home and complain for 6 years about Fowler's tax
and spend policies?

If the election were held tomorrow, Coverdell would probably win. I
believe it is in December.  I am pessimistic about predicting the
race, which will have a much smaller turnout than the race held on
the same day as the Presidential vote.  Who knows? But with fewer
votes, each one counts more.

Libertarians get to choose whether Fowler is reelected or not.
-- 
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"It is seldom that any liberty is lost all at once." David Hume
|||  clc5q@virginia.edu (Clark L. Coleman)
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