Posted on 07/02/2025 3:49:37 PM PDT by DallasBiff
Ed Clark, the Libertarian Party's (L.P.) 1980 candidate for president, has died at age 95.
Clark, a Harvard Law graduate who for much of his career practiced corporate law for Arco in Los Angeles, brought a calm normalcy to his libertarian messaging in his two prominent runs, famously trying to define this then-clandestine political philosophy as "low-tax liberalism" to explain his combination of fiscal prudence, foreign policy restraint, and mostly letting people make their own personal choices.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Don’t even remember this guy. Of course he ran in 1980 and there was Ronald Reagan so I paid no attention to him.
Thanks for posting. Condolences to family and friends of Ed Clark. RIP.
Rest In Peace, Ed.
We had John Anderson as the third party candidate who actually debated the Gipper during the fall campaign when Carter refused. It would have been a Ross Perot three way, but Jimmy wouldn’t take it.
Clark had a wife who I believe spoke Spanish and she was doing a lot of bilingual radio. He was a decent enough fellow, but there weren’t a lot of votes left to be gained. RIP.
In the 70s I was in a Libertarian phase. But by 1980 I had shifted, and I skipped over Clark (a decent fellow) and voted for Reagan instead.
I’m still a libertarian but never voted for one. They’re trouble. It would have to be really bad. Mittens and McLame weren’t bad enough.
The only Ed Clark(e) I ever knew was the late guitarist for Motorhead (aka “Fast Eddie”).
RIP
95 is good. See ya
I saw Ed Clark speak at my university n 1980, and voted for him in that election. I was a Democrat as a teenager and a young college student, but was smart enough to know that Jimmy Carter was a bad deal. But hadn’t found my way to Reagan yet. In 1984, I enthusiastically voted for Reagan’s re-election.
I voted for Ed Clark in 1980 - much better choice than John Anderson.
He was arguably the best candidate the National LP ever fielded. He got my vote. (I was furious when I watched Reagan steal libertarian rhetoric in the 1980 campaign, not meaning a word of it. I chose the genuine libertarian.)
I remember John Anderson, but not this guy. RIP Ed Clark
I remember him. He had a weird haircut. RIP Ed. You lived a long long life.
His running mate was David Koch of the Koch brothers.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.