Bob Barr for President 2008 - The Thread

"Why chase such a small prize?

One obvious answer is national ballot access, normally a huge hurdle to clear for independent candidates. The LP nominee will be on the ballot in at least 46 states(48 - KH). That otherwise would have cost millions of dollars and tens of thousands of man hours to accomplish.

A less cynical answer has to do with Barr’s ideology. Barr always had a libertarian streak.(emphasis mine - KH) He once tried to run for U.S. Senate (from Georgia!) as a moderately pro-choice Republican. This tendency was exacerbated by the heavy-handed way President Bush has prosecuted the War on Terror. After he was redistricted out of a seat in 2003, Barr has worked closely with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Marijuana Policy Project and editorialized against the Patriot Act and war in Iraq.

Analysts understand that Barr could hurt Sen. John McCain in November. But they mostly miss the extent of the damage the former congressman could inflict. In the Republican primaries, John McCain showed himself to be vulnerable in the South, where the socially conservative former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee trounced him. Since Republicans usually clean up in the South, that was assumed to be a non-issue.

Barr is now perfectly positioned to plunge an electoral dagger into that soft underbelly, starting in Georgia. If Sen. Barack Obama can max out black votes and Barr can peel off some white conservatives and antiwar voters, McCain will lose several Southern states. McCain is vulnerable in key Western states as well, including Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and possibly Montana, as Barr peels off some leave-us-alone votes that Republicans can usually count on.

And then there are all those Ron Paul revolutionaries. Rep. Paul received more than a million votes in the Republican primaries this year and raised over $35 million from enthusiastic small donors. In fact, that significantly understates his support. Paul’s vote totals were held down because many of his supporters failed to register as Republicans in time for the party’s closed primaries, and his poor showings in the early contests slowed donations to mere drips.

Paul’s supporters are poised to become Barr supporters, and there’s nothing to keep them from voting for him come November. They’ll have plenty of company." - Jeremy Lott

- http://americasfuture.org/doublethink/2008/06/spoiled/

 

Bob Barr Media Appearances

Bob Barr Media Appearances

Watch for him on Wednesday, June 4, when he will appear on “The Colbert Report,” which airs at 11:30 EDT Comedy Central. Thursday, June 5, he will appear on “The Glenn Beck Program” on CNN Headline at 7:00 EDT. Glenn Beck has had him on several times over the past few weeks and has devoted the full hour-long broadcast exclusively to Bob! He will also appear on “Night Talk” with Mike Schneider on Bloomberg Television later Thursday evening at 10:00.

- http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/06/04/bob-barr-media-appearances/

 

Bob Barr Welcomes Election Contest with Obama and McCain, Urges Weekly Debates

June 4, 2008 12:12 am EST

"Atlanta, GA — Tonight the Democratic Party effectively finished its nomination process, choosing Sen. Barack Obama as its presidential candidate. Sen. Hillary Clinton fought long and well, helping spur a record voter turnout on the Democratic side. In most any other year she would have been her party’s standard-bearer, but she fell short against Sen.Obama, perhaps the Democrat’s most eloquent proponent of liberalism.

Sen. John McCain defeated his leading opponents even earlier to become the presumptive Republican nominee. Sen. McCain has a distinguished career, beginning with his military service during the Vietnam War. He well represents a Republican Party that has become an advocate of slightly smaller big government at home and aggressive war-making abroad.
I, and the Libertarian Party, offer a very different alternative to the American people: limited, constitutional government dedicated to protecting individual liberty. I look forward to a vigorous contest this fall and meeting my fellow candidates to debate the many important issues facing our nation. But there is no need to limit the debates to the usual handful of carefully choreographed contests.

In congratulatory letters I am sending, I challenge Senators Obama and McCain to meet me in weekly debate in cities across America with just the candidates and a moderator to keep order. Let us argue the issues, after which the American people can make their decision on Election Day. Surely the citizens of the greatest nation on earth deserve no less."

- www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2008/06/barr-calls-for-weekly-debates-with-mccain-obama/

 

Bob Barr on ABC News

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSNUbW6vCpQ

 

Bob Barr Calls for a New Tax Revolt

Bob Barr Cites Anniversary of Proposition 13, Calls for New Tax Revolt June 5, 2008 2:00 pm EST

Thirty years ago this week California voters passed Proposition 13, "inspiring an entire generation of advocates of individual liberty and limited government," notes Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president. It was a true people's revolt against the entire political establishment—politicians, lobbyists, interest groups, and unions.
"We need a similar popular revolt today," says Barr. Tax Freedom Day wasn't until April 23 this year, meaning that on average Americans spent almost four months just to pay their taxes. That isn't the end of the burden: "it also took six billion hours to comply with Uncle Sam's dictates," notes Barr.

"We must both reduce and simplify taxes," he adds. That could mean replacing the income tax with a consumption tax. It could mean a low, flat income tax. But, he emphasizes, "the bottom line is that taxes are too high and too complex. It's time for Americans to say that they are mad and aren't going to take it anymore, just like they did in California three decades ago."

- www.bobbarr2008.com/press/press-releases/19/bob-barr-cites-anniversary-of-proposition-13-calls-for-new-tax-revolt/