[Originally posted at my blog Senate Guru.]
Allen Buckley was the Libertarian Party's nominee for U.S. Senate in Georgia in 2008. On Election Day, Buckley took 3.4% of the vote. Buckley's 128,000 votes would have put either Democrat Jim Martin or Republican Saxby Chambliss over the 50% mark, avoiding a run-off.
Of course, as neither Chambliss nor Martin scored over 50%, there is a run-off. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently asked: "How will Libertarians affect Georgia runoff?" Well, we may just find out. While Buckley has made it clear that he is not prepared at this time to endorse either Martin or Chambliss, he did respond to a couple of policy questions from the Senate Guru. Buckley's answers suggest a discontentment with Saxby Chambliss and an openness to (perhaps even a preference for) Jim Martin.
Here are my questions and Buckley's answers:
Senate Guru: Do you believe that Saxby Chambliss' position on the Wall Street bailout has been fiscally responsible?
Allen Buckley: Something needed to be done, but I wouldn't have voted for the bail-out bill. No, I don't think his position was fiscally responsible.
Senate Guru: Speaking as a Libertarian, which remaining candidate do you think would be more proactive in restoring the civil liberties of Georgians and acting appropriately in response to the Bush Administration's practice of wiretapping Americans' phones without warrants?
Allen Buckley: Jim Martin
Simple as that. Buckley considers Chambliss' position on the Wall Street bail-out to be fiscally irresponsible, and he says Jim Martin would be more proactive on specific issues of concern to Libertarian voters. The 128,000 Georgians who voted for Allen Buckley for Senate could prove pivotal in the December 2nd run-off between Jim Martin and Saxby Chambliss. I hope this gives them food for thought.
(You can make a contribution to Jim Martin's campaign for the U.S. Senate, currently in the run-off election, at Senate Guru's "Expand the Map!" ActBlue page.)