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KATHY GILL
Writer, Political Junkie, Educator
Articles Posted: 149; Links Seeded: 100
Member Since: 1/2006Last Seen: 11/25/2009
Member Since: 1/2006Last Seen: 11/25/2009
6 Comments
PrintBob Barr: Libertarian Presidential Nominee
News Type: Event — Sun May 25, 2008 10:14 PM EDT
Bob Barr, 107th Congressional Photo
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While most Americans were BBQing, watching the Indy 500 or following the Mars Phoenix Lander this weekend, Libertarians were holding their national convention. And like the Democrats and Republicans have shown us since January, picking a nominee is not a one-ballot matter.
After six ballots, the 650+ Libertarian delegates selected former Republican and former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (GA) as their presidential nominee. There were seven candidates; among them, former Democratic presidential candidate Mike Gravel (AK).
Pragmatically, perhaps, delegates picked millionaire television host, author and CEO, Wayne Allyn Root for the vice presidential slot. Since 2000, Root has hosted Winning Edge, a website and cable television show that promotes "sports betting, gambling, handicapping, live lines and odds."
Brief Bio
Born in Iowa, Barr spent his high school years in Iran (he graduated from Community High School, Tehran, Iran, in 1966). From 1970-1978, he worked for the CIA and was the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, 1986-1990 (spanning the Reagan-BushI terms of office).
Barr represented Georgia's 7th congressional district (northeast of Atlanta) from 1995 to 2003. Writing in the Athens Banner-Herald in 2002, Georgia political analyst Bill Shipp described Barr as "the idol of the gun-toting, abortion-fighting, IRS-hating hard right wing of American politics." (tip) Barr lost that 2002 (fifth term) re-election bid to John Linder, "a former lieutenant to ex-Speaker Newt Gingrich." Today he runs Liberty Strategies, a lobbying firm headquartered in Atlanta.
Barr gained national attention as one of the leaders of the Clinton impeachment; on 5 November 1997, he introduced H.Res. 304, "Directing the Committee on the Judiciary to undertake an inquiry into whether grounds exist to impeach William Jefferson Clinton, the President of the United States" (pdf). Like another prominent Republican from Georgia, Barr has had multiple marriages and has not walked the Republican party's "conservative family values" talk, something uncovered when Hustler magazine Publisher Larry investigated Republican hypocrisy. From American Journalism Review (1999):
Barr was one of 13 House Republicans chosen to act as prosecutors in Clinton's Senate trial. Barr, Flynt's investigators found, was guilty of king-size hypocrisy: An outspoken foe of abortion, the Georgia lawmaker had acquiesced to his then-wife having an abortion in 1983. And he had invoked a legal privilege during his 1985 divorce proceeding so he could refuse to answer questions on whether he'd cheated on his second wife with the woman who is now his third.
Barr, in Flynt's mind, was guilty of far more heinous moral crimes than Clinton. "Bob Barr stood on the House floor and said abortion was the equivalent to murder,'' Flynt told the assembled press. "To me, that represents the ultimate form of hypocrisy, and in many ways it's worse than failing to tell the truth under oath.''
But that was 10 years ago, and Americans have short memories.
While in Congress, Barr voted for the U.S. Patriot Act but now opposes it; in 2005 he formed Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances in an effort to have the Act amended during its reauthorization process.
The Libertarian Party is America's third largest political party, founded in 1971. Go to Barr's campaign website.
This article first appeared at US Politics @ About.com
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 | The Swamp: Bob Barr: Libertarian Party nominee | The Baltimore Sun | Sun May 25 | 0 |
| McCain is about to get BarRoot'd | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Sun May 25 | 0 |
 | Former Ga. Rep. Barr picked as Libertarian candidate | Associated Press | Sun May 25 | 43 |
- Public Discussion (6)
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6.2
{"commentId":1840465,"authorDomain":"uspolitics"}
His website reminds me of Ron Paul's for some reason (I haven't done an analysis). Big difference between his website and the one Wayne Allyn Root put up.
What do y'all think? How do you reconcile his votes and policies when he was in Congress with those he's advocated since 2004 (when he left the GOP)?
{"commentId":1840465,"threadId":"269672","contentId":"1511799","authorDomain":"uspolitics"}
- 2 votes
#1 - Sun May 25, 2008 10:16 PM EDT{"commentId":1841483,"authorDomain":"onlineapps"}
The Libertarians are making a big mistake. I (a Republican) was rather worried that Paul might decide to run and steal votes from McCain. But Paul was the only fellow who could have done that. No one except the libertarians have heard of Barr before, and the libertarians would have voted that ticket anyway. My guess is that he'll just end up like the other libertarian candidates of yesterdecade.
{"commentId":1841483,"threadId":"269672","contentId":"1511799","authorDomain":"onlineapps"}
- 3 votes
#2 - Mon May 26, 2008 10:56 AM EDT{"commentId":1842961,"authorDomain":"ffeineandsugar"}
I don't know about that one. Barr has a reputation in Georgia and in some of the nearby states. If these states come in play, Barr could steal just enough votes from McCain to swing these states into the Obama column. Will the Libertarians hit the 5% threshhold this time? I'm not too sanguine about it, although their issues have gotten a lot of publicity. An endorsement from Ron Paul would help, and if Root wants to spend some of his $$, there could be some advertising, which would be a change. Overall, though, I would guess that they'll just double their usual 1% or so. Make it 2.5% for this run through. Will the Greens do that much? (With McKinney? With Nader? Hmmm...)
{"commentId":1842961,"threadId":"269672","contentId":"1511799","authorDomain":"ffeineandsugar"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":1843455,"authorDomain":"uspolitics"}
{"commentId":1843458,"authorDomain":"uspolitics"}
{"commentId":1843903,"authorDomain":"ffeineandsugar"}
KG - That was my first point - Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina would not normally be in play, but given the particular candidates and the arrival of a local libertarian as a "favorite son" candidate, they are now contestable. As for 2-3% nationwide....that's more just seeing if the Libertarians can qualify for federal funding. Not this time.
{"commentId":1843903,"threadId":"269672","contentId":"1511799","authorDomain":"ffeineandsugar"}
- 2 votes
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