"An important statement in favor of personal liberties"

California daily the Long Beach Press Telegram endorses Libertarian Senate candidate Judge Jim Gray over Barbara Boxer (the sitting Democrat) and her Republican opponent Bill Jones. They like his refreshing takes against the Drug War and the Patriot Act. They sum up their endorsement like this:

Gray is a former Republican, a law-and-order judge who has in two decades on the bench gained a refreshing perspective on the issues facing the country. He has become a Libertarian because he sees the party's platform as the most respectful of personal freedoms and individual rights.

Sen. Boxer doesn't need any more votes, and giving them to Jones won't do much good. A vote for Gray, however, would help make an important statement in favor of personal liberties and against the abuses of governmental power.

I've written previously about Gray's attempts to get in the debates. It was the Drug War that helped turn this Superior Court judge into a libertarian, and he was a star participant in a 2002 Reason symposium on second thoughts on the drug war from people required to help wage it.