Libertarian Party nominee Richard Davis began his closing statement to the crowd of 600 acknowledging his position as the odd man out as the debate in the 1st Congressional District race ended at Salisbury University this past week.
“Is there anyone in this room that can’t tell who’s the minor party candidate with limited experience?” Davis, 56, asked as Democrat Frank Kratovil and Republican Andy Harris waited their turn.
The audience laughed.
“Part of the problem is that those two parties have been running us into the ground for many years, and nobody’s paid enough attention to the other parties to do anything about it,” Davis said.
The Libertarian Party is one of the largest of the minor parties in the United States and the second-largest in Maryland with 6,602 registered voters.
The party put Davis’ name on the ballot, but that’s about it for the campaign of this political novice.
He’s raised no money, has no office and doesn’t even have a Web site, a necessity for even an under-funded candidate.
The soft-spoken Davis, a dentist from Hurlock, didn’t always use all of his allotted time to respond to questions and make rebuttals.
He also didn’t tell the crowd much about himself, but instead offered a short tutorial on his party.
“We stand for personal liberty coupled with personal responsibility and for limited government,” Davis said.
“We believe that the function of government should be to protect its citizens, in so far as possible, from force or fraud by all enemies foreign and domestic.
“We are opposed to the initiation of force, believing it should only be used as a response to force by another party.
“We believe fiscal responsibility is an integral part of limited government.”
In other words, no Bush doctrine and no Iraq war — “I believe it was wrong to go into Iraq,” and the Iraqis should have a right to vote whether they want the Americans to stay or go, David said.
“We’ve got troops in a lot of places they shouldn’t be, and they all weren’t sent there by Republicans,” Davis said.
Davis and Libertarians said they believe in a balanced budget and opposed the recent Wall Street bailout.
“My impression is that whether we have a bailout or not, there is going to be disruption,” Davis said.
“There is going to be a lot of money lost, and I’m not sure that the bailout will help the situation.
“I don’t know anything about either of these gentlemen,” Davis said about Kratovil and Harris.
“I have nothing against either of them, but I’ve seen what their parties have done for 20 years, 30 years and 50 years.
“I’m still waiting for something that I really appreciate and feel is good for the country.”
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About Richard Davis:
Age: 56; born Feb. 9, 1952, in Buffalo, N.Y.
Family: Lives with wife Sue and children James and Christine in Hurlock
Education: Bachelor’s from Allegheny College; Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Ohio State University College of Dentistry, 1980
Career: Dentist in private practice since 1982; U.S. Navy, Naval Regional Medical Center, Philadelphia, 1980-1982
Political experience: None
Voters registered Libertarian as of Wednesday:
Anne Arundel – 845
Baltimore City – 527
Baltimore County – 1,123
Carroll – 213
Harford – 357
Howard – 389
Maryland – 6,602
Source: Maryland Board of Elections
About District 1:
This district consists of the ntire Eastern Shore, as well as parts of Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Harford counties.
