Allen Buckley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Political party | Libertarian |
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| Residence | Smyrna, Georgia |
| Occupation | Attorney/CPA |
| Website | Buckley for Senate |
Allen Buckley is an attorney and CPA, who in 2008 ran for one of Georgia's United States Senate seats as a member of the Libertarian Party. He was the party's candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia in 2006, where he drew 3.6% of the vote, and for Senator in 2004, where he took 2% of the vote.[1]
Buckley attended Kent State University, earning his bachelor's degree and then graduating in 1985 from the University of Georgia with his JD.[2] In 1989, he earned his LLM in taxation from the University of Florida.[2] Buckley is now an attorney and a CPA in Smyrna, Georgia, with a specialty in tax law and employee benefits.[1][3]
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[edit] 2008 Senate campaign
Prior to the election, Buckley captured around 4% to 8%[4] in polling within the margin or difference between the main party candidates.
Buckley has launched two television ads in support of his campaign, calling the Iraq War a "fraud."[3] In August, Chambliss invited Buckley and the Democratic candidates to participate in debates.[5] Buckley polled 8% after appearing in the debates in September, with most of his support coming from Democrats.[4] He has appeared in six debates.[6]
In August, Atlanta-based radio host Neal Boortz said he might vote for Buckley over Chambliss for Chambliss's participation in the "Gang of Ten" energy compromise.[7] Buckley and Boortz argued opposite sides in a Fair Tax debate on CNN, and they had previously debated on Boortz's radio show.[8]
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote that Buckley is "a viable third option. He is an intelligent, honest, and well-informed advocate of fiscal sanity — on both the spending and revenue sides — with a message of responsibility that both parties would do well to heed."[9]
On election day Buckley's received 128,002 votes for 3.4% of the vote. Since none of the candidates running got a majority of the vote Georgia law requires a runoff election election between the top two finishers which will be held on December 2 .[10] This has in turn caused great interest on national news programs due to its potential effect on a Democratic supermajority in the Senate. Buckley has stated he would not endorse either Martin or Chambliss.
[edit] Political positions
Buckley is a fiscal conservative[11] who has attacked incumbent Chambliss for his support of the Farm Bill, which provides for many subsidies to the farming industry; Chambliss has called them subsidies for the rich during a time of record farm profits.[1] He has attacked the Fair Tax as penalizing the middle class: "The Fair Tax proposal amounts to a vote buy. Presumably, the politicians pressing for it know that the numbers do not work.”[1]
Buckley has said of his energy proposals: "I believe the cleaner a fuel is, the less tax it should bear and the dirtier a fuel is, the more tax it should bear. For example, the current federal excise tax is 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline. If, in the future, one-third of our vehicles run on gasoline, one-third run on batteries and one-third run on hydrogen, and the respective 'well to wheels' CO2 output is 6, 3 and 1, then the 18.4 cent excise tax should be allocated so that gasoline bears 33.1 cents per gallon, battery-powered cars pay 16.6 cents per gallon in gasoline-equivalent terms and hydrogen vehicles pay 5.5 cents per gallon in gasoline-equivalent terms. I support similar tax changes for energy other than vehicle fuels."[2]
To encourage the development of clean fuels, Buckley proposes "rewards (i.e. not grants) be provided for producing systems that convert the U.S. to cleaner-burning energy sources. For example, for vehicles, I recommend a $7 billion reward be granted to the first company or joint venture that produces 10 hydrogen or similarly clean-burning fueling stations and 1,000 vehicles that run on the clean-burning fuel in U.S. metropolitan areas with a population of 3 million or more."[2]
To prevent more federal deficits, Buckley said: "I like tax cuts but only when they're matched with spending cuts, and I've proposed a 25 percent across-the-board cut in spending apart from Social Security. If we did that right now it would balance the budget, allow the Social Security surplus to be funded, and provide for tax cuts."[6] Buckley has also called for a referendum on whether to increase FICA taxes.[6]
[edit] See also
- United States Senate election in Georgia, 2008
- United States Senate elections, 2008
- Georgia statewide elections, 2008
- Georgia state elections, 2006
- United States Senate election in Georgia, 2004
- United States Senate elections, 2004
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d "Allen Buckley, the Libertarian for Senate, and a conspiracy of events". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2008-05-12. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/05/12/allen_buckley_the_libertarian.html?cxntfid=blogs_political_insider. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ a b c d "Allen Buckley (Candidate)". Scientists and Engineers for America. http://sharp.sefora.org/people/senate/allen-buckley/. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ a b "Libertarian Allen Buckley on TV: The Iraq war was a ‘fraud’". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2008-10-17. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/10/17/buckley_on_tv_the_iraq_war_was.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ a b "New Poll: Commanding Lead For McCain, Chambliss In Georgia". 11 Alive. 2008-09-18. http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=121298&catid=39. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ "Libertarian Buckley gets his invitation from Chambliss to join the debate". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2008-08-05. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/08/05/libertarian_buckley_gets_his_i.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ a b c ""Can I Get Equal Time Here?"". Reason. 2008-11-03. http://www.reason.com/news/show/129825.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-04.
- ^ "Talk radio’s eruption over Chambliss and his energy agreement spreads to Atlanta". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2008-08-11. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/08/11/talk_radios_eruption_over_cham.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ "Libertarian candidate blasts Boortz/Linder plan". Creative Loafing. 2005-08-31. http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/PrintFriendly?oid=117807. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ "Martin best choice for Georgia". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2008-10-14. http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2008/10/14/senateed_1014.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ "Senate runoff in the offing?". Georgia Public Broadcasting Blog. 2008-10-26. http://gpbelectionnews.blogspot.com/2008/10/senate-runoff-in-offing.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ "Busted budgets raise ire of GOP base". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2008-08-26. http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/shared-blogs/ajc/thinkingright/entries/2008/08/26/busted_budgets_raise_ire_of_go.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
