Bob Barr in the Houston Chronicle

Posted by Doug Craig at 6/15/2008 12:15 AM
Categories: Bob Barr
Bob Barr in the Houston Chronicle www.chron.com

Libertarian candidate Barr says 2008 is 3rd-party year

By ANGELA K. BROWN
Associated Press

FORT WORTH, Texas — Americans are so fed up with the country's direction and worsening problems that this is the year they'll send a third-party candidate to the White House, Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr said Saturday.

Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia, said at the Libertarian Party of Texas convention that he is asking citizens: "Have you had enough? ... I think this year, in this cycle, in this election, the answer will be yes."

The luncheon crowd of about 125 gave Barr a standing ovation. In the parking lot, one pickup's bumper sticker read: "No more Republicrats. Choose freedom."

Barr said polls show that Americans "by a distressingly large margin" feel the nation is on the wrong track.

"They are desperate for change, desperate for something that will rekindle their hope. That's an opportunity that we have not had before," Barr told The Associated Press before the luncheon. "There's a yearning for a new way, a new choice, a real choice this year, and we intend to take advantage of that by pointing out they don't have to settle for the same old choice of big government and really big government."

Barr said Americans are cynical because they have seen government programs and spending grow and civil liberties decrease but haven't seen solutions — regardless of which party is in office.

The dissatisfaction, he said, "goes deeper than simply George W. Bush. ... Whether it's Republicans or Democrats in power, people see this widening gulf between what they say they're going to do and what they stand for, and what they actually do."

Barr told the crowd that the two major parties have an unholy alliance that he called a political cartel, and that they "fight like the dickens" over the reins of power.

"But when push comes to shove, if someone else, if some other political party dares to pay its entry fee and seeks to play on that playing field, they will circle the wagons like a brick wall and keep out anybody other than themselves," he said. "That is the nature of the cartel. ... We have to break it. We will break it."

Earlier, Barr said Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate, brings excitement to the presidential campaign although his eloquent speaking skills seem to overshadow his experience and substance. But he said neither Obama nor Sen. John McCain, the GOP candidate, have discussed cutting the size, scope, power and cost of the federal government. Barr also criticized his opponents' stances on other issues.

Barr, a former U.S. attorney, left the GOP in 2006 over what he called bloated spending and civil liberties intrusions by the Bush administration. Although some Republicans have worried that Barr may take votes away from McCain, Barr said he is in the race to win — not be a spoiler.

Barr has said that if elected, he would immediately freeze discretionary spending in Washington and would strictly enforce immigration laws. He also would begin withdrawing troops from Iraq and consider cutting spending at the departments of education, commerce and other federal agencies and overseas military bases.

To keep spreading his message, Barr needs to get on the national stage by being invited to the presidential debates.

His campaign manager, Russ Verney — who was billionaire Texan Ross Perot's campaign manager during his 1992 presidential bid as an independent — said Barr's chances of being in the debates are "excellent." But first, Barr has to get poll support of 15 percent or more of registered voters.

"Ross Perot was invited to the debates by George H.W. Bush, and I'm hopeful John McCain and Barack Obama will want an expanded debate," Verney said. "McCain knows he doesn't own any votes, so isn't it better to debate Bob Barr on the issues rather than whine about Bob Barr taking away votes he doesn't own?"


 

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