My Personal Endorsement of Ed Kless for State Senate

I’ve decided to personally endorse Libertarian Ed Kless for State Senate, District 8 over State Senator Florence Shapiro, for what it is worth.  This CANNOT be taken as any sort of Tea Party endorsement; I do this ONLY as an individual.

It was not a decision I take lightly; Ed is a fine articulate fellow and a true believer in the Libertarian message, while Florence had followed a pretty conservative line in the past, only sliding off in the ‘moderate’ realm in the last few sessions.  There are parts of the Libertarian platform- those dealing with drug legalization and an isolationist foreign policy- that I have serious disagreement with and would contest most of the Libertarian objectives there.  However, there is one overriding factor in my decision: Impending national bankruptcy trumps all other issues and the fight for rigid fiscal constraint renders all other issues secondary. And, most importantly, the Republican Party- as it is now and always has been- is NOT the answer.

It was Senator Shapiro herself convinced me to take this step in the recent candidate forum, when she defended her poor fiscal responsibility rating (42% by Heritage Alliance, 53% by Empower Texans) by pointing out that no Senator got out of the 60s in rating by Heritage Alliance.  That is true and that needs to change, even if it requires a substantially different viewpoint to get that fiscal picture properly aligned..

I doubt this proclamation of my endorsement will cause a Palinesque type of stampede into Ed’s camp;  it certainly will set off a firestorms with some people I consider friends (not to mention making it pretty clear I really don’t have any desire to run for office.).  However, I hope what this will do is get Tea Partiers to think of the level of non-conventional thought that that may be needed to turn this beast around.  When the choice is between a fiscal moderate that supports policies that drive us over the fiscal cliff at only a slower pace, and a Libertarian with whom we might disagree on certain social policies that are limited impact in state government decisions; is it not possible the Libertarian is the best choice for our country and our children’s future?  I have made my decision and certainly respect others who decide differently.

I will be heading off to Africa on Wednesday to do my way-overdo ‘good deeds‘, and will have limited access to emails and blogging tools for the following 18 days.  So getting in lengthy discussions on my decision will be unlikely (and those that know me should know not to bother anyway). Possibly it’s for the best that Uganda is a non-extradition treaty at the rate I’m irritating the political class at all levels. 🙂