From today's Political Notebook:
LIBERTARIAN RUNS FOR SENATE
You know there are actually four people now running for the U.S. Senate in Georgia this year, right?
There's Saxby Chambliss, the current senator and the Republican. There's Vernon Jones, the DeKalb County CEO and top vote-getter in this week's Democratic primary. There's Jim Martin, the former state legislator and head of the Georgia Department of Human Resources, who polled second and faces Jones in the Aug. 5 runoff. And there's the Libertarian candidate, who tends to get short shrift when it comes to media coverage.
Well, not for the next few column inches, he doesn't.
Allen Buckley, the Libertarian Party's senate nomination, is a certified public accountant and an attorney living in Smyrna, according to his campaign Web site, www.buckleyforsenate.com. He must be a genius of compromise, since he lists degrees from both the University of Georgia and the University of Florida in his biography.
Buckley considers himself a real conservative and plans to pitch real solutions that "will involve sacrifice." Sounds popular, huh?
"It's a tough sell," Buckley said. "But a little bit of pain today - an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
Buckley links to Government Accountability Office reports on his site (the GAO is essentially the federal government's auditor), including one that warns that "our nation is on an imprudent and unsustainable fiscal path."
Buckley said the federal budget must be balanced every year.
He proposes a new tax structure: No taxes for anyone on income up to the federal poverty level, a 20 percent tax on the next $25,000 in income and an "X" percent tax on any income above that.
And "X" is whatever it takes to cover the costs of government, which he pledges to deal with as a fiscal conservative. There would also be four deductions: interest on your mortgage, charitable contributions, retirement funds (up to a limit) and basic health coverage.
Buckley said he also supports government incentive packages for a company that can produce working hydrogen cars in bulk. He sees solar power becoming more common in homes and said the country should pursue more nuclear, wind and water energy.
Props to Travis Fain and Matt Barnwell for some political integrity in a state that still won't include Buckley in polling.
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