Libertarian National Committee in a deadlock over how to address growing Bob Barr controversies
The Libertarian National Committee (LNC) was reported to be in a deadlock Sunday night over how to address the growing controversies surrounding their party’s U.S. presidential nominee, former congressman Bob Barr.
Many libertarians have spoken out against Barr since his last minute refusal to attend former Republican presidential hopeful Congressman Ron Paul’s third party unity conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on Wednesday.
Apparently, the effort to replace Barr as the nominee has been rejected. Not a single person on the 17-member LNC was willing to make the motion.
However, at-large representative Dr. Mary Ruwart — who lost the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination to Barr at the National Convention in May by only a few votes — is supporting a resolution to apologize to Paul.
This is being countered by Treasurer Aaron Starr, who favors a resolution to chastise Paul for not endorsing Bob Barr and “splitting the Freedom Movement.â€
Currently, neither resolution has enough votes to pass.
Background on Barr’s 2008 presidential campaign
Former Republican Congressman Bob Barr of Georgia announced his candidacy for the Libertarian Party’s nomination for President of the United States on May 12, 2008 after months of grassroot draft efforts. He won the party’s nomination after six rounds of voting on May 25 at the 2008 Libertarian Party National Convention. The candidate portrays himself as an alternate for conservatives to the Republican nominee John McCain. He emphasizes his opposition to the Republican Party for its positions on the War in Iraq and the PATRIOT Act but stands as an advocate for border security and fiscal constraint.
Early stages
On March 19, 2008 Barr confirmed his interest in running for president. This came as the media acknowledged a movement on Facebook to encourage the former Congressman to begin a campaign. Barr remarked that there existed a “dissatisfaction with the candidates for the two major parties” but commended presidential candidate and Republican Congressman Ron Paul for “advocat[ing] libertarian and true conservative principles.” Pollster John Zogby commented on a possible Barr candidacy as potentially upsetting for Republicans, and described his possible supporters as individuals who see him “as a consistent libertarian who opposed the PATRIOT Act, budget deficits and gun control.” Later in March Barr stated that he was “looking very seriously at” a presidential run.
Barr launched an exploratory committee and created a campaign website on April 5, 2008. Within two days the committee reported that $25,000 had been contributed from supporters. Later in April the committee found through polling research that Barr had the support of 7% of the electorate despite not being an announced candidate. On the lead up to Barr’s impending announcement, columnist George Will wrote an article in Newsweek chronicling the Libertarian Party and the potential candidate’s run. Will stated that Barr could have a similar effect on the election as Ralph Nader did in 2000 yet described the potential effect as a “condign punishment” to John McCain for his co-sponsorship of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, which Barr opposes.
Campaign developments
Libertarian Party nomination campaign
Barr announced that he had officially begun a campaign on May 12, 2008. He stated in his announcement that his run would give the American people a “meaningful choice” to vote for in November so they would not have to “hold their nose and pull a lever…for the lesser of two evils.” He cited his belief in the need for a reduction in the size of the government as a primary reason for his run. In response to the run, Republican consultant Christopher R. Barron took a different approach than that of George Will on the effect of the Barr candidacy to John McCain, stating that his run “is unlikely to hurt Sen. McCain in any significant way” because “Barr’s candidacy [could] actually help McCain by siphoning off some of the enthusiasm among college voters and antiwar advocates for Obama.”
During an interview with Newsweek following his entrance into the race, Barr responded to a question on why he decided to announce his candidacy two weeks before the Libertarian convention by remarking that hadn’t “seriously consider [running] until about five or six weeks” prior to announcing. When asked if he believed he was a “spoiler” in the race to John McCain, Barr stated that “the votes [he would receive] are not going to come from people that are committed to voting for McCain.” Also during the interview Barr commented that his campaign would make use of the internet like Ron Paul and Barack Obama to mobilize young voters.
Barr’s campaign manager Russ Verney sent a fundraising memorandum on May 19 that included his predictions for the campaign’s prospects. He compared the candidate to Ross Perot, for whom Verney served as advisor in 1992 and 1996. He set a future timeline where Barr participates in the nationally televised debates in October 2008, and captures 19% of the vote on Election Day. The manager commented that Barr’s campaign is “no ordinary presidential campaign” and that he has a chance to do well in the election because “America is swamped in Libertarian information.”
Barr participated in the Libertarian Party presidential debate on May 20, 2008 at Dupont Circle sponsored by Reason Magazine, and attended by fellow contenders Mike Gravel and Wayne Allyn Root. Barr remarked during the debate that “inside the heart of every American beats the heart of a libertarian” and that the nation was entering on a “Libertarian era.” He also stated that as president he would eliminate the Department of Education. Later in the debate, Barr’s opponent Root criticized the “Washington media” for its portrayal of Barr as the “only candidate”, which he described as “absurd.”
Libertarian presidential nomination
As the 2008 Libertarian National Convention held in Denver, Colorado approached, the “radical” members of the Libertarian caucus criticized the “mainstream” Barr by distributing fliers that declared that the “Libertarian Party [is] not for sale.” The criticism is in response to allegations that Barr’s campaign is an attempt by conservatives to take over the party. Libertarian delegates disagreed with the media’s reporting on the race, stating that Barr is “not a shoo-in” for the nomination. At the convention Barr was attacked by fellow candidates Steve Kubby and Mary Ruwart for his vote in support of the PATRIOT Act in 2001 following the September 11 attacks. Barr responded by stating that he regretted that vote and has spent the past five years “working to take the USA PATRIOT Act, drive a stake through its heart, burn it, shoot it, [and] burn it again…” Barr was named the Libertarian Party’s nominee after six rounds of balloting on May 25, 2008. Las Vegas businessman Wayne Allyn Root was named his running mate.
General election campaign
On June 4, 2008, as the nominee of the Libertarian Party, Barr invited the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, John McCain, and the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Barack Obama to weekly presidential debates through an official press release. To participate in official presidential debates the Barr campaign must surpass the 15% threshold put in place by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Media coverage
Barr received some media exposure a few days following his nomination by visiting New York City to appear on the Colbert Report and for an hour long interview on Glenn Beck’s Headline News program. The former appearance was part of the campaign’s strategy aimed at young voters and former Ron Paul supporters to inform them about his campaign. Young people make up a large portion of the show’s viewing audience. During the interview with Colbert, Barr was asked if since he was a “big advocate of personal privacy” why he “voted for the PATRIOT Act.” He responded by stating that the Bush Administration “went back on everything they told us they would do with the PATRIOT Act.”
It was determined in a study by the Independent Political Report that Bob Barr led all other third party candidates in media reports from an evaluation of Google News. The coverage was attributed by IndyTruth to the campaign’s use of daily press releases described as “provocative.” Highlighted in the evaluation were reports from Barr that called for the need to remove troops from South Korea and commentary on other presidential candidates. The report stated that the press releases “trigger[ed] widespread chatter in the blogosphere” that was a catalyst for the campaign.
On June 30 Barr appeared on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. He described his qualms with John McCain stating that “what’s wrong with John McCain is symptomatic of what’s wrong with the Republican Party in these first years of the 21st century. They talk one thing but do something different.” When asked if he agreed that John McCain would be a better choice than Barack Obama he responded that it was “a mixed bag” and that “Senator Obama clearly is much better” on “civil liberties and privacy issues” but that he “would favor a more expansive federal spending policy.” Barr opined that “neither of these candidates is talking about the deep cuts in government spending and returning power to the people.” Barr identified the Republican Party’s position on FISA legislation as his biggest aversion to the party. When confronted with opinion polls that showed Barr with 3% in the presidential race Barr, explained that the numbers would increase in the following weeks announcing that on July 4 his campaign would be launched “full-time.”
During an interview with Fox News on July 14, Barr criticized the Treasury Department’s plan to help Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. His opposition was formed because of the government’s use of taxpayer money to credit the enterprises, explaining that “the taxpayers of this country are being put at further risk” because “this is all taxpayer dollars that we’re talking about here.” But Barr did state that “doing nothing would not be advisable” and that the government “has to do something.” He explained that there “has to be a very firm commitment to restructure Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” Barr was criticized by some Libertarians for his remarks. Boston Tea Party presidential nominee Charles Jay stated that he disagreed with Barr and that there should be no bailout for the lenders but that the government should instead “bail out of the mortgage business and let free markets flow.” Jay described Barr as a “dixiecrat.”
Campaign activities
Barr was invited by former Vice President Al Gore to attend a “We Campaign” event to raise awareness for global warming. Barr met with Gore privately and attended the event on July 17, further stating that “global warming is a reality.” He affirmed his belief that the government should “remain firmly committed to free market solutions and innovations to address this issue; not tax-driven policies.” He praised Gore stating that he was “pleased that Mr. Gore agrees that the public debate of this issue should include me.” He criticized his fellow candidates John McCain and Barack Obama for not attending the event stating that their absence showed “their unwillingness to address this important issue.” He called on his fellow candidates to appear at other “we campaign” events to debate solutions to the problem.
During a visit to Austin, Texas for a fundraiser, Barr made a surprise appearance at the Netroots Nation convention on July 19. The candidate remarked at the meeting of progressive bloggers that “there are a lot of libertarians here, [and] a lot of supporters” of his campaign. Barr’s presence at the conference was acknowledged by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi who observed that “Bob Barr – even Bob Barr – opposed” the domestic spying bill she was discussing.
GOP lawsuit in Pennsylvania
In August of 2008, McCain supporters in the Pennsylvania GOP filed a lawsuit to remove Barr from the ballot in Pennsylvania. The suit alleges that Libertarians waited too long to substitute Barr’s name for the stand-in candidate whose name had appeared on petitions. Barr denies the validity of the accusation and has called the lawsuit the actions of a “dictator.” He points out that in 2000, when New York GOP supporters of George W. Bush tried to remove McCain from the New York primary ballot, McCain spoke forcefully against trying to remove another candidate from the ballot, saying “I would never consider, ever consider, allowing a supporter of mine to challenge Governor Bush’s right to be on the ballot in all 50 states.”
Polling
May 18, 2008 Rasmussen polling reports showed that in a four-way race between Barack Obama, John McCain, Ralph Nader and Bob Barr, Barr would finish in third place with 6% of the vote leading Nader by 2%. A breakdown of Barr’s support showed that he would receive 7% support of Republicans, 5% of Democrats and 5% of unaffiliated voters. The report also showed that most Americans don’t have enough information about Barr to form an opinion about him. May 20 polls from the InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Survey of 652 individuals showed that in his home state of Georgia, Barr would receive 8% of the popular vote, placing him in third place, and 27% behind Barack Obama for second. Zogby polling showed on May 21 that Barr captured 3% nationally in a four-way race. CNN polling on June 7 placed Barr at 2%.
In July 2008 CNN polling placed Barr at 3% in a four-way race but Zogby polling placed Barr at 6% nationally. He polled at 8% in four states including Georgia, Colorado, Iowa and Minnesota. He polled at 9% in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Nevada and surveys in New Hampshire put Barr in double-figures at 10%.
A Zogby poll released on August 15th, 2008 indicated that most Republicans and Democrats want Barr included in the presidential debates. The poll also indicated that nearly 70% of independent voters would like to see him included.
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