SECRET WEAPONS

As The Libertarian Party Grows, It Lends A Helping Hand To Top Democrats

Garrett Michael Hayes, the Libertarian Party's gubernatorial candidate in
Georgia, doesn't have much in common with Ralph Nader.

But if that race, as well as the contest for U.S. Senate, is as close as
many people are predicting, Hayes and fellow Libertarian, Senate candidate
Sandy Thomas, may do to the Republicans this November what Nader did to Al
Gore and the Democrats two years ago.

Like Nader's infamous Green Party, the Libertarians in Georgia don't stand
much chance at winning any election. But the Libertarians -- with their
platforms of less government and more civil liberties -- are able to tap
into a rich vein of voter discontent. And the voters drawn to the
Libertarians are, by and large, Republicans.

The result? If Hayes or Thomas manage to draw just 2 or 3 percent of the
vote, it could spell the difference between Roy Barnes or Sonny Perdue, or
Max Cleland or Saxby Chambliss.

If that happens, it won't have been the first time. In the 1996 U.S. Senate
race, for example, Guy Millner lost to Cleland by just 30,000 votes. The
Libertarian candidate, Jack Cashin, garnered 80,000 votes. If not for
Cashin, it's Millner who'd be running for re-election this year, not Cleland.

"Clearly, those Libertarians, with their 2 or 3 percent of the vote, are
working for the election of Democrats," says Charles Bullock, University of
Georgia political science professor.

Essential to the "Libertarian effect," however, is black voter turn-out. If
blacks stay home, Democratic candidates suffer and no Libertarian candidate
in the world will keep Republicans from attracting enough votes to win.

Hayes, who could torpedo GOP gubernatorial hopeful Perdue's chances Nov. 5,
isn't apologizing.

Republicans might say they're for smaller government and personal freedom
- -- the mantra of the Libertarian Party -- but there's a big difference
between what they say and what they do, Hayes says.

"They're still increasing government," he says of Republicans. "They just
do it in a different way. What you have is one group going 80 miles per
hour in one direction and the other group three degrees off at 60 miles per
hour."

Mark Mosley, executive director of the Libertarian Party of Georgia,
expects Libertarians at the top of the ticket to continue to pull 2 or 3
percent of the vote while the party makes greater gains in the lesser-known
races, such as Public Service Commission. He says Libertarians will
continue to run unless the state's two dominant parties start addressing
their concerns.

"Truth is, the Republican Party could put Libertarians out of business
overnight if they got serious about pro-freedom issues," Mosley says.

That would mean that Republicans would have to drop some of the
law-and-order issues -- stringent anti-drug policies, for instance -- that
make the party popular but increase the government's presence in our lives.
And instead of simply saying they would reduce taxes, the party would have
to fight against the governmental structure that so many people count on
for so much. Not such a popular position.

Mosley says that thus far Republicans have paid only lip service to the
central beliefs of the party. Take the Barr-Linder primary race, in which
Linder clobbered Barr.

"Both of them are dead set against medical marijuana; as Libertarians, we
see that as a cruel position to hold," Mosley says. "If you're sick, you
should be given the freedom to make that choice. We want a candidate who
understands the 2nd Amendment and that you can choose the medicines that
are best for you."

While the appeal of a little-known, third party candidate might seem
quixotic to some, Mosley says there are voters who believe deeply in the
principles of the party. Of course, another factor may be radio talk show
host Neal Boortz, one of the most prominent Libertarians in the nation.

"What's here that is not in other markets is a consistent voice telling you
you're not a wack job for voting Libertarian," says Gary Horlacher, a
former press secretary for Gov. Roy Barnes.

Mosley attributes much of the modest success the party has had in Georgia
to the base the blustery Boortz has helped build. Hayes is more cautious,
but he says the talk show host's advocacy has certainly cut down on the
number of people asking, "The Librarian Party?"

This year, nine Libertarian candidates are running statewide races, up from
eight in 1998, and five district candidates, up from three in 2000. These
are small increases, but they're all part of the continuing effort to build
the party, says Mosley, who is himself running for a state House seat.

For now, though, there's an artificial cap on the party's growth. The
state's antiquated, and arguably undemocratic, ballot access laws provide
two sets of standards for hopefuls: one set for Democrats and Republicans
and another set for third-party candidates. If you're not a Democrat or
Republican in Georgia, to get on the ballot, you have to collect signatures
from 5 percent of the population in the district. So in a stateHouse of
Representatives district, prospective candidates have to collect signatures
of 1,000 people, and that usually means going door-to-door. For a U.S.
House of Representatives seat, the signature tally jumps to 15,000, a tough
task if you have to, say, hold down a job.

The ballot access laws were put in place in 1943 and haven't been changed
since.

So for now, the Libertarian Party will have to content itself with its
ideological stand and the role of potential spoiler.