Libertarian Party Nominates Bob Barr for President

Eric Garris, May 25, 2008

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After 6 ballots, the Libertarian Party national convention has nominated former Congressman Bob Barr. Barr has turned around on many major issues since leaving congress. He now favors:

– Ending the Iraq War, withdrawal of all American troops from all foreign countries.

– Ending the federal War on Drugs.

– Repealing the Defense of Marriage Amendment, which he had authored.

– Repeal of the PATRIOT Act and Real ID.

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Comments to “Libertarian Party Nominates Bob Barr for President”

brent burk
May 25th, 2008 at 2:47 pm

that was very exciting to watch I must say.

Harry
May 25th, 2008 at 2:58 pm

it was fun to watch i hope he sticks what he said. did any1 else see V?

jwpegler
May 25th, 2008 at 3:50 pm

I never thought it would happen, because to me the LP seemed more like a church, providing a sanctuary for the faithful, than a political party. Obviously, they’ve changed. I will now rejoin the LP for the first time since Ron Paul ran in 1988.

mike
May 25th, 2008 at 5:06 pm

and the truth will set you free!

Andy
May 25th, 2008 at 5:15 pm

If I were a republican I would vote for him. I see no logic at all in supporting McCain.

KinkyKathy
May 25th, 2008 at 5:40 pm

Barr’s certainly done an impressive 180 since leaving office. I’m sure he’s still a bigot, but in a time when people have begun to recognize identity politics as a complete and utter fraud, it seems a bigot would ultimately do less damage in the White House than a hawk.

Brad Smith
May 25th, 2008 at 7:00 pm

Well why not, his voting record stinks but it could have been worse. He might even get one tenth of one percent. To be honest I think the only reason the LP has turned around at all was due to Ron Paul and even he couldn’t hope to stand a chance against the system. Well now the LP can get back to what it stands for, a complete protest vote. I will still write in Ron Paul but it amounts to about the same. It’s a vote for freedom, a vote for Liberty, a Vote for America. It says the F with the government, I believe in myself, I don’t need your BS anymore. Not your welfare, warfare, statism, or any other ism. Freedom means taking care of yourself it’s about time we start.

Peace!

Ron
May 25th, 2008 at 7:19 pm

Bob Barr, eh. I can’t stand him as a person, but he has come around to the platform, so I guess I’ll vote for him. We need to knock off the War Party somehow – permanently, not just in this election.

John Lowell
May 25th, 2008 at 8:31 pm

Sounds to me as though the Libertarians have nominated their version of Mitt Romney. Eric Garris posted a entry here a couple of weeks back which made it painfully apparent that Barr is no Justin Raimondo when it comes to withdrawing from Iraq. If I recall, Barr’s withdrawal plans are not much different than Hitlery’s. What I can’t fathom about the Libertarian Party is how it allows itself to commit so much of its energy into what are in my opinion questions of only the most marginal importance and that only if you agree with their positions on them, the war on drugs, for example. We’ve got an economy that’s going into the tank and another disasterous war in prospect and the Libertarian Party spends significant amounts of its time on the Marijuana Project! Perhaps some of this fetishism is catching and explains the oddness many have noted in Ron Paul, even though his last brush as Libertarian standard bearer came in 1988. If so, look for Bob Barr to identify himself with the cause of the three dollar bill. If anyone, Ralph Nader seems to me somewhat closer to the sense of things at antiwar.com than does Barr, although no candidate matches that sense exactly. Most of the rest are inimical to it.

Chris Baker
May 25th, 2008 at 8:39 pm

I think people who accept libertarian ideas have basically abandoned the Libertarian Party. I seriously doubt the party will do any better with Barr on the ticket. The nomination of Root also says a great deal.

John Adams
May 25th, 2008 at 8:40 pm

Bob Barr- “he isnt Hill-Bama or McBush“ , thats good enough for me, and i will now vote for him. Honestly, if there EVER was a modern US pres election that was suited to put a third party into real contention, this is IT. ONLY sucky bad candidates for dems and Repubs, all are like a fetus tied to the global business and the Israel lobby- this is the one time we need to martial all resources to break the De-publow-crat-icans.

You dont have to love Bob Barr in every way, shape, or form, personally, but this may be the one real chance to forever crush the freedom robbing two party monopoly.

dodsworth
May 25th, 2008 at 8:47 pm

I’m an antiwar radical who is willing to give Barr some slack. He was excellent in the debate last night and could be effective in the role of repentant sinner. Even Root said the rights things last things, that is withdraw ALL U.S. troops from the world. if it holds (and it might not) Barr and Root have not committed themselves to a position well to the left of Obama. Let’s hold our fire unless Barr gives us a reason to do otherwise. After all, he has had made tremendous progress in the last two years. Also, the Freepers see him as a peacenik traitor so let’s not be so quick to join them in their hate.

Root is another matter, Nobody can predict what he will do. He is a loose cannon but then nobody cares about veep candidates. Barr is my main concern and I’m willing to go along for the ride until I see reason to get off.

dodsworth
May 25th, 2008 at 8:48 pm

That’s they HAVE committed themselves to a position well to the left of Obama.

Dylan Waco
May 25th, 2008 at 9:20 pm

Barr is a step back on non-interventionism. If you read his interview in the American Conservative he refused to use the word Empire and answered the war question in a very political way. In fact he claimed he was “duped” by the intelligence and that no one really thought the vote to authorize force would lead to the actual use of force, something no one in America believed (.so basically he will be running on John Kerry’s wildly succesful “anti-war” plank. I eagerly await his call for “more troops” so we can combat “narcoterrorists”.). Curiously Barr was also duped on the Patriot Act (”but it had a sunset provision!”), the drug war (pot is okay now, but the cocaine that fuels most of his Congressional buddies is unacceptable) and even his pet the Defense of Marriage Act (”I didn’t know it would be used as a club by the federal government!”). One can safely assume with this track record that Barr, who avoided most debates and didn’t even declare until two weeks ago, is either an idiot or a typical, lying, fraud, politician. In a post-Paul world this guy as the LP nominee is a let down, plain and simple.

Root is even worse. Hell in the Reason debate Root said he supported Gulf War one because we had to protect our access to the oil in Kuwait. I must admit I admire that level of honesty to a degree, but has this war taught him nothing about the price of that precious commodity when the nation is in a state of war with a key producer? Does he even understand the moral implications of such a statement?

Gravel got a lot of crap from hardline libertarians and I myself am a lot less comfortable with the ultra-eccentric former Alaskan Senator than I am with most ACTUAL libertarians, but Gravel’s national initiative concept could have been a strong populist plank for the anti-warriors to seize. The Ludlow Ammendment, which nearly got a hearing many moons ago, combined with the Bricker Ammendment is essentially my dream foreign policy. Ludlow was a call for a national referenda before the nation can enter into a war. Bricker was a call to keep the Constitution from being subordinated to dangerous international agreements and pacts that entangle us in the affairs of others. I don’t necessarily like the broad national initiative project (though I would support such a concept being applied to states and certainly municipalities), but if Gravel had emphasized it as a return to Ludlow I could have supported and even voted for him. After all he is clear about drastically cutting the Pentagon budget, abolishing the Department of Homeland Security and bringing ALL the troops home. That’s a hell of a lot more than I can say for Barr or Root, though they routinely have been portrayed as closer to authentic libertarianism than Gravel.

Stephen Zurich
May 25th, 2008 at 9:49 pm

LP nominates a CIA agent.

LP CIA front all along?

DAK
May 25th, 2008 at 10:44 pm

Yes indeed, the inclusion of Rooty-toot Wayne Allyn says it all for this alleged “Libertarian” renaissance. How painful it is to watch the hula-hoops of circle-jerk logic these people will jump through to PROVE their viability.

Feral
May 25th, 2008 at 10:47 pm

We have a one party system folks. Get ready for the revolution.

Feral
May 25th, 2008 at 10:55 pm

Are your only middleast news sources harretz, wiredispatch and yahoo via ap? It’s laughably sad.

Robert Edward Johnson
May 25th, 2008 at 11:14 pm

I’m sorry to say that I’m considering ending my automated contribution to the LP Tuesday morning, as early as possible. If Root is on the ticket, Bob Barr has an even BIGGER problem selling himself with me on the war in Iraq and the war on drugs. It’s almost like a bunch of conservatives and even neo-cons got together and said, “well, McCain is so awful that we’ll even see the LP as an improvement, but only if you let US improve YOUR lousy little party, but you don’t mind THAT, DO you? I mean, as Michael Meth-head/Dead-Head/Med-Head/Medved/whatever said, you ARE the LOSER-tarian Party, right?” Well to heck with that. Let the LP kiss MY rear for once. About the only thing positive I see coming from this is that McCain will go down in flames, and as a last ditch attempt might Nixonianly announce he has “a plan” to get out of Iraq in a year or less, etc., which would probably make him more Libertarian than Bob Barr, not to mention Wayne Allyn Root!

Gary D
May 25th, 2008 at 11:44 pm

Bob Barr is a card carrying member of the gang of senior Republican elite known inside the beltway as the Gay Mafia. He is as much of a bigot, closet homosexual, warmonging, tax and spending idiot as anyone in Washington. This nomination just shows what a joke the Libertarian party is.

Joyce
May 26th, 2008 at 5:44 am

This is the perfect time for the rise of a third party. Of course the status quo will try to prevent this from happening. McCain is even recruiting comment trolls to post comments advantageous to him on various blogs. What’s really the difference between McCain and Clinton–nothing that I can see. Who is the Constitution Party running for president?

dodsworth
May 26th, 2008 at 5:51 am

He is as much of a bigot, closet homosexual

A bigot who has actively and openly worked with the ACLU and come out against both DOMA and the Patriot Act, eh?

dodsworth
May 26th, 2008 at 5:58 am

Again, Barr and Root were good in the last debate I saw two nights ago and supported withdrawal of all foreign troops. Let’s give this a chance before we completely give up.

André Kenji
May 26th, 2008 at 7:04 am

The LP found it´s John Edwards.

Cous Cous
May 26th, 2008 at 7:27 am

No. They also have the IHT, NYT, Washington Post, Stars and Stripes(!!), and several other versions of Pravda to choose from.

The intro page threatens “to slash services” if the money doesn’t start flowing in, which isn’t a very effective threat. Why would anyone spend money to have them parrot shameless propaganda that is available for free elsewhere?

Grady
May 26th, 2008 at 7:54 am

What Christine Smith said. It’s nice to see there’s still some people with principals left in the LP.

klyde
May 26th, 2008 at 9:03 am

So let me see if I have this right: Libertarians just nominated a man who wrote the Defense of Marriage Act and voted for the USA PATRIOT act to be their presidential standard bearer. Why because he has had some sort of Romney like conversion to the cause?

Robert Simon
May 26th, 2008 at 9:25 am

Bob Barr may not be Ron Paul,but he’s pretty damn close..I’ll enthusiastically support him as an alternative to the two authoritarian,freedom-destroying looney tune Major parties we have…I wish,however, that Barr had a Billionaire on the ticket with him or at least somebody with better name recognition…

Erich
May 26th, 2008 at 10:33 am

So the Libertarian Party is now Richard Viguerie’s pet female canine. So much for the LP.

I’ll take door number two, Monty: what’s happening with the Greens?

Piers
May 26th, 2008 at 10:50 am

If Barr’s message resonates, the major parties will propose a few tortured crumbs such as federally administering medical marijuana for terminal patients and funding foreign bases by making host countries pay for their “defense.”

1-20-2009
May 26th, 2008 at 11:33 am

Well, one thing we DO know is that there won’t be a Bush or a Cheney running things come January 20. The bad news is what that statement says about how far the bar has been lowered by the idiot-child president and his evil puppetmaster.

John Lowell
May 26th, 2008 at 1:43 pm

I wouldn’t worry about Barr’s “message” resonating, Piers. Hard to locate what’s unique about him on important questions. Nader has the same attitude on privacy and Hitlery on withdrawal from Iraq. Perhaps if you’re looking for something to smoke or snort everyday you’d feel more comfortable with Barr. Other than that I see nothing particularly distinctive in what he’s selling.

John Lowell
May 26th, 2008 at 1:53 pm

I’d not be entirely certain that the Regime plans on going peacefully. I’d venture there’d be an even chance of Bush declaring marshall law and suspending the election should some 9/11-like event develope. Frankly, I could see them formulating something to justify marshall law when they initiate war with Iran later this year. These people typically truck no restraint, 1-20-89.

Thomas
May 26th, 2008 at 2:00 pm

I have doubts about Barr, but the optimist in me says I hope Barr changes his ways, especially on the Fair Tax. The words “Fair Tax” are an oxymoron. The only tax that’s fair is a “No Tax” (i.e., replacing the tax with nothing), aka Ron Paul, and the law.

Libertarian Party Nominates Bob Barr for President « DetainThis
May 26th, 2008 at 2:38 pm

[...] 26, 2008 By Eric Garris ∙ AntiWar.com ∙ May 25, [...]

anti-neocon
May 26th, 2008 at 2:51 pm

Oh no, not Barr.

jack
May 26th, 2008 at 8:42 pm

I have no doubt that Barr would prosecute war crimes if they can be proven. He has stood up to power in congress and as a federal district attorney. I think he has courage to change things, but it’s all academic, it will be Obama. The more votes other candidates get, will make his plurality smaller, and restrain the neoliberal democrats who are just as warlike as Bush.

Luis Magno
May 26th, 2008 at 8:56 pm

Sorry, but only real identity politics, i.,e, ethno-racial politics, holds the promise of salvation for the U.S. of A. The biggest beneficiaries would be the ethnic Anglo-Saxons, otherwise known as “whites” who are well on their way to losing the country that their forefathers founded. They are historically the dominant majority and still are but because of the lack of an ethno-racial consciousness (everything is reduced to race, i.e., to the physical) they are intellectually and increasingly spiritually rudderless. They have become increasingly rudderless since around the turn of the century with the coup d’grace which occurred in 1913 with the US banking takeover by a highly organized alien ethnic group which fact remains unknown to the typically incredulous ethnically “whitewashed” culturally- and historically-ignorant American. Please don’t take what I am saying personally, it is not meant to be taken that way.

Jim
May 26th, 2008 at 9:20 pm

Those of us who were against DOMA, The War, and the Patriot Act could smell the stench of these decisions from beyond the horizon. Barr is a politician, not a Libertarian.

Luis Magno
May 26th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

Libertarianism is an ideal. I watched the proceedings after Mike Gravel’s campaign alerted me to the C-Span coverage. I listened to all the candidates. When I got to Jingosian I favored him with Nuwart a close second but then Jingosian nominated Gravel and Nuwart became my favorite. I like Gravel’s national referendum project but not as a Libertarian nominee for President.

I believe that Barr was favored by the majority because his candidacy will attract many conservatives and increase the vote totals in state contests thus assuring permanent ballot access to many Libertarian state parties, a practical consideration. The two women candidates were the ideological purists. Mary Nuwart would have been an good choice, in my estimation.

A big turnoff to me (I literally turned off the TV) was the nominating speech for Gillies by a homosexual. Libertarians are down big-time on so-called identity politics yet they all seem to welcome sexual-identity politics (including Gravel)! What they are really against is ethno-racial identity politics. (See my post above for my view on ethno-racial identity politics.)

Luis Magno
May 26th, 2008 at 10:07 pm

I believe that you are correct about Barr maybe the LP also. The idea is to draw votes away from McCain in order to insure the election of Obama. According to a former American intelligence operative there has been a silent coup with Zbignew Brezhinski as the brain and Jay Rockefeller (global warming hoax) as the oligarch in charge. The media is obviously all for Obama. David Rockefeller (war on terror hoax) seems to have lost out to Jay. But does it matter? The Rockefellers are junior partners to the British Rothschilds. The Illuminati are determined to get their way. However, if Benjamin Fulford is right (check out http://www.rense.com/) they are all scheduled to have their comeuppance shortly unless they decide to tow the new line recently laid down by the Asians.

Ian Evergood
May 27th, 2008 at 6:19 am

While I realize orthodox Libertarians would dislike her economic platform, on the critical issues of withdrawing from Iraq and winding down the imperialist foreign policy, on the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act and other assaults on civil liberties, on DOMA, Cynthia McKinney was never “duped”, has, unlike Barr, Obama, Clinton and McCain alike, been right the first time every time on all those issues. She has also shown by her direct action on Capitol Hill where she stands on the ever-intensifying encroachments of the Police State. I certainly hope the Greens are wise enough to give her their endorsement.

Fascist Nation
May 27th, 2008 at 10:53 am

Yes, I saw V. I was sitting behind him in the AZ delegation. He wasn’t pleased. Kept talking about a vendetta. Me, I don’t think the “reformers” are worth the bother. Let them have the party was my feeling in 2004. Nothing has changed since. If the party is not useful as a tool against the state, let the statists run with it without those possessing standards. In 2008, I was there helping the same friend run for LNC. He got his ass kicked again. But never let it be said that a libertarian wasn’t running on the ballot. He was. And he was the first to go. It was fun to reminisce with some of the old anarchists I haven’t seen in some time who wanted to see if the reformers would win or the anarchist would rise. Verdict: There ain’t no A in Libertrin.

James Parker
August 6th, 2008 at 5:45 pm

I need a candidate who will end the war at home and the war in Iraq. And who has the sense not to start a THIRD foreign war at the same time!

The War on Drugs is the biggest policy failure in American history. It has cost us the Rule of Law, and corrupted every part of our government including the last 3 Presidents and EVERY law enforcement agency. The effort of the LP to oppose it has been right. It will bear fruit this year, as Michigan will become the 13th state to recognize the legitimacy of medical marijuana.

What a queer choice Bob Barr is! I am far more comfortable writing in Ron Paul, although I have toyed with the idea of Nader as the least of 4 evils, or with Barr if I can believe his conversion.

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