Topic: Libertarianism
The Suspense is Over, or Maybe Not Bob Barr has finally announced that he is seeking the Libertarian nomination for President.by rtbohan
(Libertarian)
Monday, May 12, 2008
I doubt that anyone, friend or foe of Bob Barr, has felt any anxiety that he might decide not to compete for the nomination, or that anyone was sweating out a bet that he would. Once he announced that he was setting up an exploratory committee, everyone knew that he would run.(www.bobbarr2008.com)
The media has jumped on the story, assuming that Barr will be the new ideol of Ron Paul supporters, and that Ron Paul will covertly be giving support to Mr. Barr. The main theme in the press seems to be that Barr, as the Libertarian canddiate, will be the bete noir of the Rpublicans as Ralph Nader is for the Democrats. That is, that he will siphon off enough votes in key states to cause McCain to lose a close election in November.
There is little doubt that Mr. Barr, if he is nominated, will draw disgruntled Republicans in November. But that leaves three questions. Will he be nominated? Will he lose more Libertarian votes than he gains among Republicans? Will the election be close enough for the Libertarian vote to have a critical influence?
Mr. Barr, since leaving Congress, has acquired a libertarian image as a lawyer which he did not have as a Congressman. He has won some important victories for liberty in the courtroom. He has joined the Libertarian Party and worked hard, and is well know to Libertarians. He has solid support from the national leadership of the Libertarian Party.
But he also has opposition. A number of Libertarians have announced their candidacy for the Presidential nomination. Although two of those candidates have withdrawn, some attractive candidates with stronger libertarian credentials and philosophies--George R. Phllies, Wayne Allyn Root, Mary J. Ruwart, Christine Smith and others. These candidates and their supporters make no secret not only of their own intentions, but of their opposition to Mr. Barr as a candidate even if they cannot get the nomination. From the information on the intenetion of delegates to the Libertarian National Convention which is available, it appears that Barr will have the lead, but not a majority, on the first ballot. My impression is that he must win on the first ballot or he will not be the nominee.
I have already made clear that my choice for the nomination would be Christine Smith, and the I think the best of the other candidates is Mray J. Ruwart (Nolan Chart Article ID=3421). I have also indicated that I do not regard Bob Barr as the ideal candidate for the party. Like Ron Paul, he is both a conservative and a libertarian. But it seems that he is libertarian in the sense that he supports a return of power in a good many areas to the state. This is certainly a necessary first step in restoring liberty, but the limits of Mr. Barr's commitment to individual liberty, once the power to regulat is transferred to the state from the federal government,is open to question. I think a great many libertarians will see Bob Barr as a conservative rather than a libertarian alternative to supporting the Republican or Democratic nominee. And while many libertarians are conservatives, not all are.
While the nomination of Bob Barr for President will get coverage from the national press, it is likely to be coverage only from the point of view that a second Republican is in the race rather than coverage of Libertarian principles. And it would be tragic if the Libertarian Party went from being "the party of priciple" to being the party of political vandalism.
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2008 rtbohan, all rights reserved.
Published: Monday, May 12, 2008
Last modified: Monday, May 12, 2008
The views expressed in this
article are those of rtbohan only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. rtbohan is
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employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
As you know I agree that Christine Smith would be the best choice. The question is my head is whether Bob Barr already knows he will be the nominee. Was the purpose of the exploratory committee to see if he would get the nomination if he ran? He knows running would make a lot of his friends angry, why do it if he wasn't sure he would get the nomination? I hope I am wrong. But, I would support Barr if he was the nominee. One plus with Barr is that the Left wing media will give him play just to hurt McCain.
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2008 rtbohan, all rights reserved.