Bob Barr has jumped into the race as a Libertarian candidate. Will this siphon off some of the disaffected Republicans voters who cannot stand McSame, or is this just a blip.
Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr launched a Libertarian Party presidential bid Monday, saying voters are hungry for an alternative to the status quo who would dramatically cut the federal government.The Freepi are alternately seeing this as a good thing or a disaster spoiler situation.His candidacy throws a wild card into the White House race that many believe could peel away votes from Republican Sen. John McCain given the candidates’ similar positions on fiscal policy.
…Barr first must win the Libertarian nomination at the party’s national convention that begins May 22. Party officials consider him a front-runner thanks to the national profile he developed as a Georgia congressman from 1995 to 2003.
Barr, 59, quit the Republican Party two years ago, saying he had grown disillusioned with its failure to shrink government and its willingness to scale back civil liberties in fighting terrorism.
And look at this fun — McCain is going to have a pain in the posterior as Ron Paul’s revolutionaries are plotting a “convention revolt.” The GOP convention may be more interesting than expected. (LAT)
[L]argely under the radar of most people, the forces of Rep. Ron Paul have been organizing across the country to stage an embarrassing public revolt against Sen. John McCain when Republicans gather for their national convention in Minnesota at the beginning of September.…But what’s been largely overlooked is Paul’s candidacy as a reflection of a powerful lingering dissatisfaction with the Arizona senator among the party’s most conservative conservatives. As anticipated in late March in The Ticket, that situation could be exacerbated by today’s expected announcement from former Republican Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nod, a slot held by Paul in 1988.
…They hope to demonstrate their disagreements with McCain vocally at the convention through platform fights and an attempt to get Paul a prominent speaking slot. Paul, who’s running unopposed in his home Texas district for an 11th House term, still has some $5 million in war funds and has instructed his followers that their struggle is not about a single election, but a long-term revolution for control of the Republican Party.
So eager are they to follow their leader’s words, that Paul’s supporters have driven his new book, “The Revolution: A Manifesto,” to the top of several bestseller lists.
13 Responses to “Bob Barr runs as Libertarian; Ron Paul supporters plotting ‘convention revolt’”
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I see Paul’s use of a spoiler can be a mixed blessing; he might attack away the votes of the “I’m a-scared of brown people” arch-conservatives, but he also has a lot younger voting block who would most likely vote for Obama.
Rioting Republicans! I hope it’s on CNN.
Now we’ll see how crazy this guy really is.
Now we’ll see how crazy this guy really is.
Ron Paul’s the reason I always say “but I’m not that kind of libertarian” after I tell people I’m a libertarian.
Barr is an interesting character. He’s a throwback to the days when conservatives opposed government digging into people’s private lives. I vehemently disagree with many of his positions, but on civil liberties he’s a hell of a lot better than the crony corporatist authoritarians that pass themselves off as conservatives these days. He could peel off a lot of votes from exactly the conservatives that McCain has the greatest appeal for, especially since McCain will have to pander hard to the religious right and the neocons.
Barr isn’t that much of a throwback. He made his name protesting gays and pagans in the military. I wouldn’t be too surprised if the LP rejects him, despite his newly acquired dedication to civil liberties.
The Paul campaign deeply disturbs me. I think that it’s the fascist right organizing under cover of his campaign. Disruptive like the brownshirts. And with Berlusconi’s minions in Italy talking about the size of their street army, I don’t wanna hear any ‘ohnoway, american fascism’s a myth’ talk.
Paul is no fascist. Racist, misogynist, but not fascist. He lacks the essential elements of fascism such as nationalism and statism. His followers are nutty to the point of being almost cultists, but if they do resort to large scale civil disorder to push their message it will be more like the anarcho-douchebag contingent in Seattle than the Brownshirts.
togolosh: He doesn have the nationalism and statism issue — he’s voted for the anti-flag-burning amendment.
It’s my understanding that he’s isolationist — is that a form of nationalism?
Ron Paul is definitely no fascist, but he’s also not a libertarian, and neither are his gibbering sycophants. The only real difference between Paul and those anti-state backwoods militiamen we used to hear about up in Montana is that Paul wears a red tie to work every day.
“The Revolution: A Manifesto”
A perfectly reasonable book title.
Know who else recently switched to the libertarian party?
Mike Gravel.
That’s quite a contrast.