Politics: Cato at Peace

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Politics Cato at Peace Ed Crane steps down to end the Koch brothers' attempted coup at Cato, and libertarians cheer. By David Weigel Posted Monday, Jun 25, 2012, at 11:37 PM ET Shortly before 3 p.m. today, the men and women of the Cato Institute strolled into the renovated Friedrich von Hayek Auditorium to confirm their good news. Five days earlier, the Washington Post broke news of a settlement between David Koch, Charles Koch, and America's largest, longest-lived libertarian think tank. Ed Crane, 68, Cato's president since its 1977 genesis in San Francisco, would step down. His replacement would be John Allison, 64, a banker who'd endowed college courses on the work of Ayn Rand. Bob Levy, chairman of the Cato board, took the stage first and explained the deal—a new board of directors (minus Crane and Charles Koch) and the end of the "shareholder" system that started the whole conflict. The avuncular Crane spoke next, introducing the staff to Allison. After meeting the new boss, the Cato-ites got to field questions about a treaty that had been hashed out over two months—from two in-person meetings in the Kochs' home base of Wichita, Kan., to some increasingly fruitful conference calls, all apparently moderated by Allison. There would be 16 board members, 11 of them unaffiliated with the Kochs. "I didn't see today as Ed's swan song," says Levy. "He's going to stay on for a while as CEO, and after that, he's going to remain a very important consultant on fundraising and other issues." What about all of that public Jell-O wrestling with two of the planet's richest men? "We've ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Obscure Texas Legal Battle That Could Determine the Fate of America's Unions Whiz-Bang Technology in the Classroom Is Making It Harder To Teach Math, Not Easier In the Future, We Will All Eat Bugs	Advertisement
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