Introduction
Edward Harrison Crane (born August 15, 1944) is an American libertarian and co-founder of the Cato Institute. He served as its president until October 1, 2012.
In the 1970s, he was one of the most active leaders within the Libertarian Party.He directed the Party as its National Chair from 1974 to 1977, worked on John Hospers's Presidential bid and managed Ed Clark's 1978 campaign for Governor of California. In 1980, Crane served as Communications Director to the Libertarian Party Presidential ticket of Clark and Vice Presidential candidate David Koch. In 2012, Ed Crane stepped down from Cato's board.
Crane has been a member of the board of various political organizations, including Americans for Limited Government, a group that assists grassroots efforts throughout the country, and the Center for Competitive Politics.Crane is also a member of the Mont Pelerin Society.
Tenure at Cato Institute
In 1977, with the funding of Charles Koch and the assistance of Murray Rothbard, Crane established the Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank.
While at Cato, Crane grew the organization: from a staff of 10 and a budget of $800,000 when it first opened in San Francisco, to a staff of 127 and a $21 million budget in a newly renovated building in Washington, DC. He retired from Cato in 2012. In 2013 Crane launched Purple PAC, a super-PAC that supports candidates and causes consistent with the libertarian philosophy.
In 2018, several former Cato employees alleged longtime sexual harassment by Crane, and Politico reported that he settled one such claim in 2012. Crane denied the allegations.
Political views
Crane is politically libertarian. To him, the core principles of libertarianism are personal liberty, free markets and limited government.
He was supportive of then-presidential candidate Ron Paul on issues such as cutting spending, lowering taxes, support for a non-interventionist foreign policy, protecting civil liberties and promoting Austrian economics. "Support for dynamic market capitalism (as opposed to crony capitalism), social tolerance, and a healthy skepticism of foreign military adventurism is a combination of views held by a plurality of Americans," he states in his column. "It is why the 21st century is likely to be a libertarian century. It is why the focus should be on Ron Paul's philosophy and his policy proposals in 2012."
In 2016 he supported presidential candidate Rand Paul. It was reported that Crane had stopped raising money for the Purple PAC that was supporting Rand; but Crane stated that the PAC was still operating and it wasn't shutting down. He stated, "I'm still 'standing with Rand,' as they say, and there's no one else I can think of supporting."