Several major newspapers in West Virginia, led by the flagship Wheeling Intelligencer, ran a prominent editorial on Oct. 25 heaping praise on the ideas advanced by the campaign of Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate John Buckley.
The headline of the editorial in the Intelligencer is, “Libertarian Ideas Merit Discussion.”
In the Martinsburg Journal News, the editorial was headlined, “All-Important: Individual liberties must always be kept in mind.”
The Charleston Daily said, “Government is too intrusive, too big and too expensive.”
The Inter-Mountain led with, “Libertarian Candidates Gaining Traction.”
The article begins with the proposition that Republican Shelley Capito, who leads in the polls, will win and that Buckley, Democrat Natalie Tennant, and a small-party candidate “have no chance of prevailing.”
It then continues, “But much of what Buckley, of Hardy County, has to say should be appealing to West Virginians who believe government has become too intrusive, too controlling and too expensive. The same can be said about other Libertarian candidates elsewhere in the nation.”
In concluding, the editorial makes a subliminal point: “Again, Capito is expected to win the Senate seat by a large margin. Knowledge of her lead may prompt some voters to cast ballots for Buckley.” The implicit message is, “vote for John Buckley for U.S. Senate to advance libertarian ideas.”
While LPers advocate voting Libertarian especially when the race between the Democrat and Republican is tight, it is nonetheless notable that a chain of newspapers would take this step.
“When we advance the message of small government and individual liberty, we win,” Buckley said. “This campaign, thanks to my supporters, has already proven to be a success.”
