Editing Ed Clark

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Short description|American lawyer and politician in California}}
{{About other people|the Libertarian Party politician}}
{{Infobox politician
|name        = Ed Clark
|image       = File:Ed Clark (cropped).jpg
|caption     = Clark, 1980
|office      = Chair of the [[Libertarian Party of California]]
|term_start  = 1973
|term_end    = 1974
|office1     = Chair of the [[Libertarian Party of New York]]
|term_start1 = 1972
|term_end1   = 1973
|predecessor1= ''Party established''
|birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1930|5|4}}
|birth_place = [[Middleborough, Massachusetts]], U.S.
|death_date  =
|death_place =
|party       = [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]] (after 1971)
|otherparty  = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] (until 1971)
|occupation  = Attorney
|education   = {{unbulleted list|[[Dartmouth College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])|[[Harvard University]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])}}
|spouse      = {{marriage|Alicia Garcia|1970}}
|branch      = [[United States Navy]]
|rank        = [[lieutenant (junior grade)#United States|Lieutenant (junior grade)]]
|serviceyears = {{ubl|1952–1954 (active service)|1954–1965 ([[United States Navy Reserve|reserves]])}}
}}
'''Edward E. Clark''' (born May 4, 1930) is an American lawyer and politician who ran for [[governor of California]] in [[California gubernatorial election, 1978|1978]], and for president of the United States as the nominee of the [[United States Libertarian Party|Libertarian Party]] in the [[1980 United States presidential election|1980 presidential election]].

==Background==
Clark was born in [[Middleborough, Massachusetts]], in 1930.<ref name = OAC>{{cite web|url = https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt5779r70z/entire_text/|title =Register of the Ed Clark papers, 1972-1994|date = 2012|website = [[Hoover Institution Library and Archives]]|publisher = [[California Digital Library|Online Archives of California]]|accessdate = May 29, 2023}}</ref> He is an honors graduate of [[Tabor Academy, Massachusetts|Tabor Academy]], [[Dartmouth College]], and received a [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] degree from [[Harvard Law School]].<ref name=People>{{cite magazine|url=https://people.com/archive/ed-clark-is-the-libertarian-partys-headstrong-candidate-for-the-white-house-vol-14-no-12/|title=Ed Clark Is the Libertarian Party's Headstrong Candidate for the White House|first=Karen G. |last=Jackovich |date=September 22, 1980|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]}}</ref> He was in active service in the [[United States Navy]] from 1952 to 1954, as a [[lieutenant (junior grade)#United States|lieutenant (junior grade)]], and was a [[United States Navy Reserve|reservist]] until 1965.<ref name = OAC/>

Clark worked as a corporate lawyer with [[ARCO]], first in New York City and then in Los Angeles.<ref name = OAC/><ref name = Boaz>{{cite web|url = https://www.cato.org/blog/happy-90th-birthday-ed-clark|title = Happy 90th Birthday, Ed Clark|last = Boaz|first = David|date = May 4, 2020|accessdate = May 29, 2023|website = [[Cato Institute]]|authorlink = David Boaz}}</ref><ref name = AClark>{{cite web|url = https://www.laopera.org/support-us/legacy-giving/the-bella-voce-society/meet-our-members-2/alicia-and-ed-clark/|title = Alicia & Ed Clark |accessdate = May 29, 2023|last = Clark|first = Alicia|website = [[Los Angeles Opera]]}}</ref> Once a [[Rockefeller Republican|liberal Republican]], he joined the Libertarian Party following President [[Richard Nixon]]'s imposition of [[Incomes policy#United States|wage and price controls]] in 1971.<ref name=People/> In 1972, he was the first chairman of the [[Libertarian Party of New York]], and chaired the [[Libertarian Party of California]] from 1973 to 1974.<ref name = OAC/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40297718/oakdale_leader/ |title=Libertarian runs for state governor |date=February 22, 1978|newspaper=[[Manteca Bulletin|Oakdale Leader]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209025118/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40297718/oakdale_leader/ |archive-date=December 9, 2019 |url-status=live |page=6 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

In 1970, Clark married Alicia Garcia, a Mexican-born textiles executive. She chaired the Libertarian National Committee from 1981 to 1983.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://ca.lp.org/libertarians/ed-alicia-clark/|title = Ed & Alicia Clark|website = [[Libertarian Party of California]]|accessdate = May 29, 2023}}</ref> The couple are longtime supporters of the [[Los Angeles Opera]].<ref name = AClark/>

==1978 California gubernatorial campaign==
In 1978, Clark received some 377,960 votes, 5.5% of the popular vote, in a [[California gubernatorial election, 1978|race for governor of California]].  Although a member of the Libertarian Party, he appeared on the California ballot as an [[Independent (politician)|independent candidate]], due to ballot access laws.<ref name = Boaz/><ref>[[Brian Doherty (journalist)|Doherty, Brian]]. ''Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement'', New York: Publicaffairs, p. 406</ref>

Another factor leading to the unprecedented (for California) 5.5% vote total for Clark was his libertarian campaign occurring the same year as the successful [[California Proposition 13 (1978)|Proposition 13]] which limited property taxes, and the unsuccessful anti-gay [[Briggs Initiative]] (Proposition 6).  Clark and the California Libertarian Party campaigned in support for Proposition 13<ref>Doherty, pp. 405–406</ref> and in opposition to Proposition 6<ref>''Libertarian Review'', vol. 7 no. October 9, 1978</ref> both of which turned out people to the polls who might be more inclined to favor a libertarian candidate.

Clark lost the race to [[Jerry Brown]], who was re-elected with 56.0% of the vote.  Republican nominee [[Evelle J. Younger]] had 36.5% of the vote.<ref>[http://www.joincalifornia.com/election/1978-11-07 JoinCalifornia election history for the state of California], November 7, 1978</ref>

==1980 presidential campaign==
In 1979 Clark won the Libertarian Party presidential nomination at the party's convention in Los Angeles, California. He published a book on his programs, ''A New Beginning'', with an introduction by [[Eugene McCarthy]]. During the campaign, Clark positioned himself as a peace candidate and emphasized both large budget and tax cuts, as well as outreach to [[Modern liberalism in the United States|liberals]] and [[Progressivism in the United States|progressives]] unhappy with the resumption of [[Selective Service]] registration and the [[arms race]] with the [[Soviet Union]].<ref>See [http://www.icue.com/portal/site/iCue/chapter/?cuecard=5818 The "Ed Clark: Isolationist Libertarian" television ad]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}  and [http://www.icue.com/portal/site/iCue/chapter/?cuecard=3253 NBC's August 8, 1980 profile of the Libertarian Party]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Clark was endorsed by the ''[[Peoria Journal Star]]'' of [[Peoria, Illinois]].<ref>Doherty, p. 414</ref>

When asked in a television interview to summarize [[Libertarianism in the United States|libertarianism]], Clark used the phrase "low-tax liberalism," causing some consternation among traditional libertarian theorists, most notably [[Murray Rothbard]].<ref>Doherty, p. 415</ref><ref>[[Justin Raimondo|Raimondo, Justin]]. ''An Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard'', Prometheus Books</ref> Clark's running to the [[Centrism#United States|center]] marked the start of a split within the Libertarian Party between a moderate faction led by [[Ed Crane (political activist)|Ed Crane]] and a radical faction led by Rothbard<ref>[[Christopher Hayes (journalist)|Hayes, Christopher]]. "Ron Paul's Roots". ''The Nation'', December 6, 2007</ref> that eventually came to a head in 1983, with the moderate faction walking out of the party convention after the nomination for the 1984 presidential race went to [[David Bergland]].<ref>Doherty, pp. 418–421</ref>

Ed Clark's running mate in 1980 was [[David H. Koch]] of [[Koch Industries]],<ref>Leonard, Christopher. [https://archive.org/details/kochland-the-secret-history-of-koch-industries-and-corporate-power-in-america-ch/page/n18/mode/1up  Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America, p. 2. Simon and Schuster, 2019.]</ref> who pledged part of his personal fortune to the campaign for the vice-presidential nomination, enabling the Clark/Koch ticket to largely self-fund and run national television advertising.

Clark received 921,128 votes (1.1% of the total nationwide);<ref>[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1980&off=0&f=1 1980 Presidential General Election Results], [[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]].</ref> the highest number and percentage of popular votes a Libertarian Party candidate had ever received in a presidential race up to that point. His strongest support was in [[Alaska]], where he came in third place with 11.7% of the vote, finishing ahead of [[Independent (politician)|independent]] candidate [[John B. Anderson|John Anderson]] and receiving almost half as many votes as [[Jimmy Carter]].<ref>[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1980&fips=2&f=1&off=0&elect=0 1980 Presidential General Election Results – Alaska], Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.</ref> Clark's record for most votes won by a Libertarian presidential candidate stood for 32 years until it was broken by [[Gary Johnson]] in [[2012 United States presidential election|2012]].  His Libertarian vote percentage of 1.1% ranks 3rd behind Johnson's 3.3% showing in [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]] and [[Jo Jorgensen]]'s 1.2% performance in [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=486001|title=Our Campaigns – US President – Popular Vote Race |date= November 6, 2012|website=www.ourcampaigns.com}}</ref><ref>[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=2012&off=0&elect=0&f=0 2012 Presidential General Election Results], Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.</ref><ref>[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php 2016 Presidential General Election Results], Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Boaz |first=David |author-link=David Boaz |editor-first=Ronald |editor-last=Hamowy |editor-link=Ronald Hamowy |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism |title= Clark, Ed (1930– ) |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yxNgXs3TkJYC  |year=2008 |publisher= [[SAGE Publishing|Sage]]; [[Cato Institute]] |location= Thousand Oaks, CA |doi= 10.4135/9781412965811.n46|isbn= 978-1412965804 |oclc=750831024| lccn = 2008009151 |pages=70–71|url-access=subscription }}

==External links==
* {{C-SPAN|65787}} (2012)
* {{C-SPAN|44356}} (1996)

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Ed}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:California Libertarians]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1978 United States elections]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1980 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:Corporate lawyers]]
[[Category:Dartmouth College alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard Law School alumni]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Lawyers from New York City]]
[[Category:Libertarian Party (United States) presidential nominees]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:New York (state) Libertarians]]
[[Category:New York (state) Republicans]]
[[Category:People from Middleborough, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:United States Navy officers]]
[[Category:United States Navy reservists]]
[[Category:Tabor Academy (Massachusetts) alumni]]