The Bob Barr candidacy
Many readers have e-mailed asking what I think of former Ga. Rep. Bob Barr’s presidential candidacy (he’s making an official announcement for the Libertarian Party nomination at 11am this morning).
Two words: Not much.
On immigration, he’s virtually indistinguishable from all the other remaining presidential candidates.
On homeland security, he’s joined with what Heather Mac Donald calls the “privocrats” in whipping up unfounded hysteria about intelligence-gathering efforts in a post-9/11 world.
On Iraq, he’s what Allahpundit calls the “poor man’s Ron Paul.”
And doesn’t the ACLU, for which Barr consults, already have enough candidates in the race?
***
The Other McCain has decidedly more positive views about Barr. He’ll be covering the announcement.
Ralph Hallow at the Washington Times reports on some Republicans who are apparently worried about a Barr candidacy.
Why bother?
***
More from Hallow’s piece:
In a debate last week at Oxford University, Mr. Barr argued that in some ways the end of freedom predicted in George Orwell’s “1984″ has arrived, “not in the form of a brutal dictatorship but in the guise of modern governments using the tools of digital technology and the fear of terrorism to take away what vestiges of privacy remain to our citizens.”
He said the debate topic would be a major part of his platform if he runs.
See what others have said
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Trackbacks
- The American Pundit
- The Bob Barr Candidacy « Constitution Club
- Will Barr Spoil the Election for McCain? | The Daily Conservative
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Tainted, recycled goods. Sorry, but I don’t like stale self-serving politicos.
For most politicos the “Constitution” is merely a placeholder deserving a passing reference when giving a speech before the local VFW. Otherwise, these curmudgeons or corruption have no need for it. It only complicates their efforts at implementing more useless laws and spending monies on entitlements.
There’s what we need, another lackluster candidate in the mix for November.
My only consolation this election year has been watching the Democrats work on tearing themselves apart.
Will someone please run for President, who I can vote for? At this rate, I’ve voting for MM. At least, I will walk out with a smile on my face.
Yeah, good luck with that…. lmao
The republican version of Nader. You can vote your conscience by voting for a smaller party like Barr’s, but you might as well have voted for Obama.
A deal killer from the get go.
Who’s this guy again? LOL
I think many conservatives have been against the Iraq war from the beginning. I don’t think that disqualifies them at all as a true conservative. In fact at the beginning the Iraq oil was suppose to start paying for the war, and it never has and probably never will. As the democrats steal from our right pocket, the republicans steal from our left.
I think that whole war was started by the globalist republicans (neo-cons) who do not value nationalism at all (including American Nationalism). McCain like Bush is a globalist. So are Clinton and Obama.
Right now we have no Presidential candidate who will stand up for the rights of the US citizens over other countries or illegal aliens.
No.Thanks.
Next.
Not true, since a vote for Obama increases his total by one, while a vote for Nader does not.
A new Mr. 1%
A little story about Bob Barr…
I attended one of the Inaugural Balls for Bush’s first term win. Bob Barr showed up and was immediately miffed because no one recognized him as soon as he waltzed in the door (there’s a little more to that story, but it may tend to incriminate this poster :D)
Bad taste number one.
Up until 9/11/01, Barr was somewhat palatable as a politician. Then he went nutters on the issue of encroachment of civil liberties and sounded no different from a career ACLU hack. Since that time, he has officially joined the Libertarian party, which is a pretty good litmus test for determining someone’s grasp on reality.
Bad taste number two.
Incidentally, Barr is a very outspoken adversary of the “Patriot Act.” Of course, he voted for it when in Congress.
Bad taste number three.
He’s your run of the mill politician.
Isn’t this the clown Borat goofed on in his movie by feeding him cheese made out of his wife’s breast milk? Haha.
Looks like another cookie cutter politician . Who cares, hes just as weak as the other three.
This MM post illustrates the difference between social conservatives and economic conservatives. Libertarians are economic conservatives. They believe in maximal individual freedom (e.g. to engage in homosexual activities and buy and sell drugs). They are against government activities such as wiretapping. They would not want the government to prevent nonviolent people from other countries living in America even if they refuse to learn English and take jobs away from Americans.
True libertarians also are against things like public school, social security, welfare, or even government funded road building.
Lemme guess… Barr is writing a book?
Yawn? Self-serving? Cookie cutter politician?
Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.
LGM: While I appreciate the clarification…it is not hard and fast. Barr, for example, served as the “Anti-Drug Coordinator” for the Dept. of Justice. Some would say he lost his re-election bid to Congress partly due to his opposition to medical marajuana legalization. Although, it was more related to re-districting in my opinion. The bottom line is that he calls himself a Libertarian…and the Libertarian party recruited him (no lie).
Personally, I don’t think Barr holds fast to any ideology with the exception of any issues that benefit Bob Barr. Plus, I think he is scorned and out for vengeance due to the re-districting of Georgia’s 7th and 11th.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
[snort]
Huh? What? Did I miss something? OK.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
I think this is a better announcement for a candidate running for President.
It’s something to see people bemoan John McCain as not being conservative, yet when a true conservative comes on the scene - one who favors limited federal government, states’ rights, civil liberties, etc. - he is immediately attacked by the same crowd.
*eyeroll*
Absolutely.
And some republicans can’t leave well enough alone - enjoying the view as the democrats bloody themselves, but they need to bring some of this to our own house. They are actively participating in the same destructive behavior against us all when they claim that McCain would be worse than a President Obama. (Not so much here, but over at HotAir.)
Our electoral system leaves a lot of people upset because the candidate they support doesn’t win the nomination. Too bad. This is the lousy system we have.
I like Walter! I like Peanut’s banter with Jose Jalepeno too! ROFLMAO
I may need to go home tonight and watch my Jeff Dunham CDs again.
Since you do not have the common courtesy to wish Michelle Happy Mothers Day, why don’t you just shut up? Nothing you say here is ever going to make a difference. You are just a rude freakin troll.
Let’s just go ahead and abbreviate it, Soap, and call it RFT. I suspect lgm will provide plenty of opportunities to use that term again and it could save some time on typing.
300 million Americans and this is the best we can do?
What happened to Barr? He wasn’t like this in the 90s.
I’ll probably cast my vote for Barr. He seems like he at least begins to understand the real problems facing this country. A Ron Paul he is not, but, at the very least he is running on a platform of smaller government.
The issue of most importance to me is the issue of out-of-control government. It tops immigration, terrorism, homosexual marriage, and abortion all by a mile. In fact I think many of these issues are a result of said government.
When I look at his platform of repealing the 16th amendment, patriot act, military commissions act, and trusting the individual over the government - yeah, he’s way superior then the other candidates. Here’s a particularly enlightening bullet point from his website:
Bingo.
As for the thought that a vote for Barr equals a vote for Obama. Fine, most likely that will be the case - but I accept that whole heartedly. The Republican Party must suffer massive losses by dissenting conservatives before they even start paying lip service to what they are supposed to represent.
Hey! Ron Paul grew a moustache!
If ignorance really was bliss, wouldn’t there be a lot more happy people in the world? Or at least a lot more blissters?
Let’s see he would do the following:
1. Destroy our Intelligence Agencies ability to protect us from terrorists.
2. Do nothing about our borders or illegal immigration.
3. Turn over Iraq to Iran & Al Quida.
3 strikes & your out. Next
Well, I guess he was able to grow something.
Well, I was toying with the thought that I might need to get blistered, before I go to the polls in November, just to make it through the ordeal.
As I always tell my Libertarian friends…yes, I have a few and they happen to be members of my VFW( damn it).. the only thing middle of the roaders accomplish is being road kill. Hmm, He looks a little , shall we say, mushed?
It would be easier and faster to just vote for Obama and get on with the marxian US he envisions - Barr is past his expire date IMO.
Re: MNUSMCDavid
You think Libertarians are Middle-of-the-Roaders?
Hopefully Bob Barr will become the pied piper who leads the Paulistinians out of the GOP and back into the sewer from which 90% of them came. But I doubt it.
You sure it isn’t painted on? You can tell if it looks pink.
That’s what makes libertarianism so goofy and adolescent. “Individuals” are made, they don’t spring fully formed from the ground or the womb. So all this really says is “I’ll defer to the wishes of liberals”.
I didnt say it either soap………..
At any rate.
lgm’s assessment is kinda correct, so i’ll give him points for that much. credit where its due, right? Yeah, thats gonna get me in trouble too
i believe there is a distinct difference between what people want to do, and what benefits the whole of our country. Its striking a balance that’s always -interesting-, for lack of a better term.
As much as I talk about him, i think Uncle Phil has the right idea..that basically, the private sector should handle what the government cant, wont, or shouldnt do, and that they are there to maintain infrastructure, provide military defense, and to maintain and uphold law and order (there are others, but thats the idea).
Dont know…this could get into a long discussion I’m not sure I want to trudge through. But by the looks of it, the postings earlier were correct…this guy is just another ron paul with a mustache, and ron paul gives me a creepy feeling everytime i see him. couldnt vote for him if he was the only one running.
They’re a lot closer to Reaganism than the other people calling the shots in todays GOP.
As opposed to, say, Obama or Clinton or McCain? If the answer is yes, you ought to get your creepometer recalibrated.
dont get me wrong…they ALL give me that feeling. just for different reasons. but no, far as i’m concerned, its for them all, not just RP. didnt mean to not be clear
BIG difference:
I have not seen you take cheap shots at Michelle. When one spend a lot of type bashing Michelle, one should have the courtesy to say something nice when given the opportunity - right?
Credit where credit is due!
It’s just as bad because a vote that could go to the one candidate able to defeat Obama (or Clinton) doesn’t go to him, it goes to somebody else, somebody who has no chance of winning the election.
This is the ultimate problem of minor party and independent candidates in a two-party system.
I’m glad you’re on a higher plane of enlightenment regarding individualism. Now just comes the question of who has responsibility in the role in ‘making’ individuals, and more importantly - what responsibility does that individual have to their ‘maker’.
LOL, i cant disagree with you there!
I dont agree with everything she puts here, but…there’s a way to disagree and there’s a way not to.
Holidays, regardless…….arent my bag really :/
Wow.
Bob, When you forget how to spell ‘we’ and somehow it becomes ‘me’; you make me want to barf. So I christen you ‘Bob Barf’ and your campaign ‘Barf 08′
African American Weighing in on Obama’s Campaign. Black Leadership owes Don Imus an apology, Really! Obama’s Convictions on Issues that count to African Americans Missing or is he Just replying Present.
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/childress/080510
I have a LOT of respect for Michelle, so I’ll be darned sure not to take shots at her. That said, I am disappointed in a lot of folks,that the dismiss Bob Barr out of hand. Then again, there do seem to be a lot of social conservatives, that concentrate on the social issues, and not the economic issues. I guess I’m different. I tend to concentrate on the economic issues.
I always considered myself a hardcore Republican, but grew tired of the influence of people like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. I don’t think they’re necessarily bad people, but I don’t like the government meddling into my personal affairs.
I’m not sold on Bob Barr, as I think he tends to err on the side of personal liberty (but then again, I’m not convinced that is a bad thing) in the whole intelligence thing. I’ll just say that I’ll give him a fair look, and not summarily dismiss him (like too many have done).
This is a major disappointment. There really is no one to vote for this fall
Prepare to go underground for a while until we some of our people back in congress
Bob Who? Most of America have never heard of this guy and are too tuned out to care. He won’t pull votes away from McCain. Anyone voting for Barr probably would not have voted for McCain anyway. I am not a McCain fan, however, I will take McCain over anything the Democrats end up running this year.
As someone who believes in small government on both the fiscal and social sides, I’ll have to take a serious look at Barr’s candidacy, especially if, as Hot
Air is reporting today, Huckabee is McCain’s top choice for
VP. Ugh.
I wouldn’t vote for Barr, because he’s weak on national defense, like Obummer, and want’s to do away with our surveillance programs, just like the dems, because he wants you to believe that each and every American’s phone is tapped, and all of our rights have been taken away. With the risk of sounding dumb, I’d like to know what rights I have lost.
All a third party candidate will do is help put a dem in office. Funny how I don’t hear much about a third party until election time rolls around. Seems to me they’d be campaiging the year around, if they’re really serious.
Ok, whose turn is it to rearrange the deck chairs? Because at this point thats how all the candidates strike me.
Bob…..ahem, BOB! Cough cough…
The question is do you think you have lost your rights if the following occurs without your knowledge:
- Your phone conversation’s time, length, recipient and content are logged by your phone company for government data mining purposes.
- The money you have in savings is being devalued by an unaccountable, unelected Federal Reserve.
- A portion of your income is taken every month/year, with the burden of proof on you as to why you shouldn’t pay more/less.
- Your bank records, including all transfers, deposits, and withdrawals are logged for purposes above.
- Your ability to buy a gun has become a privilege sanctioned by the state.
- Your ability to carry a gun requires massively intrusive checks and expense.
- You television and internet activity are logged for the purposes above.
A sampling of violated rights you probably have experienced and not payed any attention to. Now try looking at some of the new laws passed and how they could violate your rights much more egregiously.
Remember laws that are passed are meant to be used.
I suspect that there are more comments here than votes he will garner in the election.
I’m surprised MM isn’t more excited about this… after all, I haven’t seen much happiness on her end about McPain, and it seems like this Barr guy, who led the impeachment proceedings (!), would be right up Michelle, and others, alley.
lgm,
Yours was a
good insightful post on the difference between social and economic conservatives.
AHH A Lion what you listed has been going on for years. No one has knocked down my door for something I’ve said over the phone, or wanted to know where my $13,000 401K depoist came from. If they checked, they knew where it came from, and that I was legit. I’m retired and have my checked automatically deposited each month. They don’t touch that. I applied for a gun permit in 1975 and waited 3 days for a background check, again, I was legit. I paid $10.00 for the permit, which wasn’t expensive or intrusive. They wanted to
to know if I was eligable to carry a gun. What’s wrong with that?
As for as my television watching and internet activity goes, have at it, for again, I’m not breaking any laws so the law has no reason to come knocking on my door. Call me naive, but I don’t believe someone is monitoring every phone call, tv watching, enternet surfing,or every 5 bucks that millions of people take out of theire checking accounts everyday.
No one complained untill after 9/11, and only then because a Replublican was President. You wouldn’t have heard complaints against a dem president.I still don’t know what rights I’ve lost. The laws you named seemed to be to prevent people from beaking laws, like money laundering, or depositing large amounts of drug money. But, that’s just my opinion.
Excuse the misspelled words.
As the vast majority of Americans so willingly surrender their liberties to the authoritarians in both parties, Bab Barr is beginning to look more like Otto Wells–who also failed to stop a totalitarian steamroller.
Good lord Barr . . . take a hike.
Lowering the Barr.
(Did I miss it, maybe someone already said that.:)
This Barr thing means a repeat of what happened in MN when Ventura became Governor. The GOP was fractured because the Republican base could not solidify, so a 34 % candidate won. Ok McCaniacs, live with THIS mess.
Great news. Good luck to you Mr. Barr. Now, hopefully McCain will pick Alan Keyes to be his running mate, and Obama will taking the oath of office January 2009.
Just like John McCain, Bob Barr is just another Dud.
There really are alternatives. For instance, Chuck Baldwin. He is running for president with the Constitution Party. I am not impressed with many of this year’s Constitution Party Candidates, but I do like Baldwin. He seems to be the real deal…that is….he talks the conservative talk and walks the conservative walk.
(Disclosure: I belong to the Constitution Party.)
“There really are alternatives.”
Hey cactusjoe, you are right, there are indeed alternatives. One could just flush their vote down the toilet, as voting for Barr, Nader, or even Chuck Baldwin is akin to doing. Laughable meaningless jestures are just that.
#72 Bogtrotter:
So let me get this straight: unless you vote for the winner, yours is a wasted vote. Sir, voting for someone who reflects my core beliefs and principles is not a meaningless gesture.
You may return to your grazing.
Party automatons like you are one of the main reasons this country has gone to hell.
Write in for Hunter, at least I can vote for my choice. When we get 4 years of one of the current crop of idiots then maybe the GOP will wise up and offer up a real candidate. Bob Barr is a nasty little self-serving man.
Go Bob!!!
I am intrigued right now by anyone else entering the race. The real dilemma right now is that in order to overcome who we have now to choose from, that person must be recognizable and a big figure. How do you get that without them also being part of the elite and susceptible to “compromise?” Barr is being bashed just for showing up and not really on his credentials, which I admit, I don’t know anything about, but then again I am not saying I am voting for him. I just think we need to stop thinking of someone else entering as being a “third party.” Who is to say they are the third party? Why isn’t the GOP the third party? Why not make them the 3rd party?
We all here at MM.com have a lot of opinions and most do not support McCain. A matter of fact, the supporters don’t actually seem to be supporters as much as they seem to be trying not to lose. These are the same people that told me a year and half ago that I had to vote for Rudy because he is the only one that can win. Really??? People say Barr who, but I say Rudy who?
Why don’t we MM.com followers come up with a candidate. I am not and will not vote McCain and this bs about him being better than the alternative is like asking me if I want to be shot in the head or the stomach? I don’t want to be shot at all! McCain is against us on taxes, against on immigration, says he will support conservative judges but what “conservative” definition is he using, the same one the gang of whatever did, hates the first amendment and is really iffy on the Iraq war (we know he wants to stay, like forever). On top of that we have the choice of three Senators, the same bunch that hold to some principles for 16 months they are in office and the rest they spend frolicking with each other and going to parties and participating in bipartisanship. Blthhh!