Bob Barr announces possible presidential bid

[seamusTX]

Kansas City, Missoui, April 5 - Former U.S. Representative Bob Barr announced that he is considering a run for President in 2008 on the Libertarian Party ticket. He was speaking at a Libertarian conference, and the audience applauded.

Mr. Barr was a Republican stalwart while in Congress, leading the effort to impeach Pres. Clinton. Since retiring, he has taken a more (small-L) libertarian bent. In recent month he has been participating in Libertarian Party events.

He is a director of the NRA.

America’s voters, when they go into that polling booth on Nov. 4 of this year, they deserve better than the choices that they have faced year after year after year, and that is for going for the lesser of two evils.

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/metr ... 06WEB.html
http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/barr-l ... 04-05.html
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jGwp ... AD8VRUCDO0

- Jim

[KBCraig]

Barr seems to have truly embraced the libertarian message, which is a welcome departure from his hard-core Drug Warrior days as a federal prosecutor.

Contrast him with Mike Gravel's recent switch to the LP. Gravel thinks being against the war makes him a libertarian; in reality, he's still a big-government social spending "government has all the solutions" type.

[seamusTX]

Barr seems to have truly embraced the libertarian message, which is a welcome departure from his hard-core Drug Warrior days as a federal prosecutor.

Many participants in the WoD (I might say the intelligent ones) have changed their minds about it when they realize that banging your head against a brick wall does not cure a headache.

- Jim

[frankie_the_yankee]

I agree with Barr in many, many areas.

I just hope he doesn't siphon too many votes away from McCain so as to allow for either Hillary or Obama to get in.

If it looks like TX is a "safe" state for McCain, I might consider voting for Barr myself. But I would urge all those who live in contested states, where the vote could be close, to make sure they do not lose sight of the big picture when they are in the booth.

[seamusTX]

This is a difficult calculation. I agree that Sen. McCain is likely to carry Texas by a significant majority, as every Republican candidate has since 1980. Florida is iffy. What other states are on the edge?

- Jim

[tarkus]

He sounds like a possible antidote to the poison.

[Liberty]

I agree with Barr in many, many areas.

I just hope he doesn't siphon too many votes away from McCain so as to allow for either Hillary or Obama to get in.

If it looks like TX is a "safe" state for McCain, I might consider voting for Barr myself. But I would urge all those who live in contested states, where the vote could be close, to make sure they do not lose sight of the big picture when they are in the booth.

When Libertarians start influencing elections, and folks stop looking at them as the granola party. Maybe then the Republicans will start looking at being more libertarian themselves .

Many folks look at Ralph Nader and his greenies as a failure, because he stole votes away from Democratic presidential candidates, but the absorbed the greenies and the extreme leftist took more control while the Democratic Conservatives got put aside. They won elections (ie. Pelosi rose while Lieberman got abandoned). The Libertarians costing Republicans an election might be what it takes to wake them up. Sometimes it takes losing to wake a party up. Right now the Republicans are totally clueless on why the can't seem to win an election any more.

Mcain is nothing more than a Democrat dressed in Republican clothing, He is an enemy of the Bill of Rights. I will have no problem voting for long hot slow wheat Libertarians if I believe that it might waken the Republicans. I am not willing to sacrifice the 1st amendment to salvage the 2nd. How will the Republicans ever know we are unhappy with them when we continue to vote for them?

[thejtrain]

How will the Republicans ever know we are unhappy with them when we continue to vote for them?

Just thought that bore repeating.

There's an analogy I heard during the 2004 election, and it had to do with ordering pizza. It's not perfect, but I think it makes a good point.

If one shop is offering cold anchovy pizza, and another shop is offering cold sardine pizza, how does continuing to buy from one or the other ever get the point across that I don't want either, but rather hot pepperoni pizza?

JT

[drw]

Bob Barr's candidacy is the only thing that'll bring my wife and I to the polls in November. I'm excited to see him considering a run!

[KBCraig]

I'm disappointed that Barr supports the "Fair Tax" scheme. If government were cut to Constitutional constraints, we could eliminate the income tax and replace it with nothing.

[seamusTX]

I don't like the "fair tax" either (though probably for different reasons than you).

The President's view on the federal income tax means little unless he has a solid majority in both houses of Congress behind him. I think the income tax will be with us in one form or another for the foreseeable future.

I would be much more interested in a libertarian President using the powers that he has, such as revoking a bunch of executive orders and appointing like-minded people to the cabinet and judiciary.

- Jim

[lawrnk]

I'm probably more of a libertarian than a republican. But I just don't see the interest there. Mickey mouse garned thousands and thousands of votes in 2000. The Libertarian party has not yet chosen a truly viable candidate. Many think that person was Paul, but I disagree.

How will the Republicans ever know we are unhappy with them when we continue to vote for them?

Just thought that bore repeating.

There's an analogy I heard during the 2004 election, and it had to do with ordering pizza. It's not perfect, but I think it makes a good point.

If one shop is offering cold anchovy pizza, and another shop is offering cold sardine pizza, how does continuing to buy from one or the other ever get the point across that I don't want either, but rather hot pepperoni pizza?

JT

[lawrnk]

I'm disappointed that Barr supports the "Fair Tax" scheme. If government were cut to Constitutional constraints, we could eliminate the income tax and replace it with nothing.

I'm not opposed to the income tax. I'm opposed to Americans being penalized for success, and rewarding those who sit on their bums. Flat tax sounds fair to me.

[seamusTX]

He now has the requisite web site: http://www.bobbarr2008.com/

- Jim

[KBCraig]

Flat tax sounds fair to me.

Me too. Flat tax: zero percent, across the board.