Topic: Bob Barr
Phillies to conservatives: "Help me Beat Bob Barr!" Libertarian candidate George Phillies normally doesn't have much use for conservatives. For the sake of his presidential campaign, though, he's willing to make an exception.by George Dance
(libertarian)
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Operation Chaos, the Rush Limbaugh-inspired scheme to have conservatives skew the results of the Democratic primaries by voting for Hillary Clinton, was a great success in Pennsylvania last week. Almost 250,000 Republican voters went over to the blue side to help give Clinton an impressive 10-point win, prolonging the Dem contest for at least another month.
Now a Libertarian presidential candidate is hoping he can persuade conservatives to skew the results of his party's nomination race, too.
On Apr. 16, Phillies sent Third Party Watch an Open Letter to Conservatives in which he urges them to "Help me Beat Bob Barr, and keep the conservative vote united."
Phillies, who has spent much of his campaign attacking conservatives in both the Republicans and Libertarians -- at one point dismissing the entire Republican Party as "antilibertarian" -- now wants them to send his campaign money, to ward off the threat Barr poses to their electoral success:
"Support me against Bob Barr. Barr's drive to become the Libertarian Party nominee would fatally divide the American conservative movement."
Ex-Congressman Bob Barr has formed an exploratory committee to look at running for the Libertarian nomination, but has yet to declare his candidacy.
In his letter, Phillies pulls no punches warning of the threat Barr poses:
He wants to be the Libertarian nominee. It's no secret. He wants to capture millions of conservative votes.
2008 is already a challenging year for conservatives.
How many conservative political parties does America need? Aren't Republican and Constitution enough? Do you want Bob Barr to split the conservative vote even more?
That answer was "NO!", wasn't it?
Fortunately, you can do something about Barr. You have a strategic option. Barr has a real libertarian opponent. Me. If I beat Barr at the Libertarian Party convention, he will not be the nominee, and one of your right-wing flanks is safe.
Carolyn Marbry, the Phillies' campaign's Press Director, expounded to TPW on the danger conservatives face: "As George Will and Hannity & Colmes have said, Bob Barr gave us the Clinton impeachment and the Defense of Marriage Act. As the Libertarian nominee, Barr will only draw conservative votes, strengthening the Democratic campaign in November."
Phillies promises that, as the Libertarian nominee, he will help the conservative movement by drawing votes from the Democrats instead:
I'm anti-war, pro-choice, unimpressed by the war on drugs, and an ACLU activist. To read more on my campaign: http://ChooseGeorge.Org.
My credentials will draw votes from liberals, the people who inhabit Daily Kos, not good conservatives.
Thus leaving a united conservative movement (presumably united behind Republican candidate John McCain) to triumph in November. And all they have to do is send him a cheque:
Will you keep Bob Barr from splitting the conservative movement? Your donation, sent to http://phillies2008.org/donate (full instructions for checks on that page), will be spent thriftily on my campaign.....
Help me Beat Bob Barr, and keep the conservative vote united.
-------------
References:
"George Phillies to Conservatives," (media release), Third Party Watch, Apr. 18, 2008. http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/04/18/george-phillies-to-conservatives/
"Phillies: Help me beat Bob Barr" (media release), Third Party Watch, Apr. 16, 2008. http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/04/16/phillies-help-me-beat-bob-barr/
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