As co-founder and longtime president, he helped turn the Cato Institute into one of the Beltway’s largest and most influential think tanks.
Today, the Cato Institute announced the passing of its co-founder and longtime president, Ed Crane. Crane helped found the Cato Institute in San Francisco back in 1977 and served as Cato’s president from 1977 to 2012. His fundraising and organizational prowess help turn the Cato Institute into one of the Beltway’s largest and most influential think tanks.
Interestingly, Crane got his start in Libertarian Party politics. He was Libertarian National Committee chairman from 1974 to 1977. He managed Ed Clark’s 1978 campaign for governor of California. Crane was also the communications director for Clark’s 1980 presidential campaign, which garnered over 900,000 votes. However, Crane’s main professional legacy is the Cato Institute.
Libertarian policy work is certainly challenging. Libertarians often do not have a natural home in either major political party. There is often not a large political constituency that supports either spending cuts or free-market approaches to public policy issues. Furthermore, producing libertarian policy research that is both principled and relevant to contemporary policy debates is a consistent challenge.
That said, because of Crane’s leadership, libertarian ideas have more credibility and visibility. He succeeded in hiring a strong team of scholars who could effectively communicate libertarian ideas to policymakers and the general public. Cato’s research has informed countless public policy debates for nearly 50 years. Furthermore, Cato’s presence as a well-funded think tank within Washington, D.C., will allow it to influence policy debates for years to come.
I have not been active in the libertarian policy world lately. However, I owe a debt of gratitude to Ed Crane and the Cato Institute. When I was a Cato Institute intern, I reviewed a manuscript that analyzed state-level fiscal limits. This became the topic of my doctoral dissertation. I was also very honored when, months after receiving my Ph.D., Ed and the team at Cato thought enough of my policy research to name me a Cato Institute adjunct scholar.
On a personal note, Crane always enjoyed meeting various Cato staffers. He was a regular on the Cato softball team well into the 2000s. One of my favorite memories as a Cato staffer was when he invited everyone to his house to celebrate a hard-fought win on the softball diamond. He will be missed. R.I.P.