Topic: Bob Barr
3rd Parties Get No Respect Barr left off the Louisiana ballot. Nice double-standard, there.by RS Davis
(libertarian)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Bob Barr is like Rodney Dangerfield - can't get no respect. If you recall, I wrote about Mr Barr and his troubles in Texas, where he was the only candidate to meet the filing deadline to be included on the ballot for president.
According to Chapter 192 of the Texas Election Code, all nominees for President of the United States of America are required to turn in the following at least 70 days before the general election:
(A) the names of the party's nominees for president and vice-president; and
(B) the names and residence addresses of presidential elector candidates nominated by the party, in a number equal to the number of presidential electors that federal law allocates to this state;
The magic date was August 25, 2008, but Obama didn't provide his until August 28th, McCain on September 4th. But they were still certified by the Secretary of State.
So, Bob Barr filed a writ of mandamus with the Supreme Court of Texas, trying to force the SoS to follow the law and remove the Democratic and Republican candidates from the ballot.
The Supreme Court simply denied the writ, with no explanation - but no explanation was needed. This is a two-party duopoly, and while third parties have to jump through hoops to get on a ballot, the elites are there somehow by birthright.
So, fast forward to today, when reason magazine's Radley Balko reports that Bob Barr lost his lawsuit to be included on the Louisiana ballot, after having missed the deadline.
There was a slight difference, though. While McCain and Obama missed the deadline because of elitist indifference, Bob Barr missed the deadline in Louisiana because of a hurricaine.
You see, the filing deadline was September 2nd, but the state offices in Louisiana were closed that week due to Hurricaine Gustav.
Now, can anyone still tell me with a straight face that there isn't a double standard in this country when it comes to ballot access for third party candidates?
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More on this issue:
Obama/Barr '08 Published: September 30, 2008 Strange bedfellows could make for some interesting politics.
Why Bob Barr Is Right Published: September 26, 2008 Inside the Texas Election Code, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Tyranny.
Barr Gets Smacked Down Published: September 25, 2008 The Texas Supreme Court makes a decision about Obama and McCain's right to be on the ballot after missing the deadline.
Barr Finally Fights For Texas Published: September 19, 2008 Obama and McCain didn't file in time to be included on the Texas ballot, and Bob Barr is trying to make sure they aren't.
Barr Fights for Texas Published: September 2, 2008 This battle could mean big things for the Libertarian Party
The views expressed in this
article are those of RS Davis only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. RS Davis is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
This election could be shut down on November 4th by having voters walk into voting boths and just taking their sweet time voting even if their sweet time is all day. Your candidate isn't on the ballot then shut the booth down!
It would piss me off more if Barr was actually a libertarian advocating the Non-Aggression Principle. Oh yeah, the Party gave that up. So I'll just be an anarchist and a small-L libertarian. Barr (and his VP choice) are just rewarmed republican socialists. Not much better than McClown and Obamalamadingdong.
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