Here's Your Candidate: Bob Barr

"Here's your candidate...Mr. Libertarian."

http://www.lp.org/media/article_589.shtml

- Rich

Yep. The "Libertarian Party" has nominated former Congressman Bob Barr as its candidate for president for the 2008 election. Rich put the link in his email to me. Go there if you like. I'll even link it here: [clicky]. You know what to expect there: statue of liberty, welcome mat, words like "trust," "freedom," and "transparency." You know the stuff:

"Libertarians believe the answer to America's political problems is the same commitment to freedom that earned America its greatness: a free-market economy and the abundance and prosperity it brings; a dedication to civil liberties and personal freedom that marks this country above all others; and a foreign policy of non-intervention, peace, and free trade as prescribed by America's founders."

And yes, you zung me Rich. Got me good. Ouch, that stings! You put me in the position of defending my stance as a "libertarian progressive" and that of this "party" "nominating" Bob Barr, right?

Robert Laurence "Bob" Barr, Jr. (or, citing physical evidence, Jeremiah Wright's twin: go here, do it: [clicky]), as you remember, was one of the house managers during Bubba Clinton's impeachment. We considered him a very bad guy during those days. Well certainly was a very ugly attach dog during the impeachment. But, what, Bubba was right? Bubba messed up good. But, impeachment? No. It was just bad all around.

But at ugly as Bob Barr was, look at his record subsequently. No, I'm not going to vote for him. And with any luck he'll do for "No Change" McCain what Ralph Nader did for Albert Gore. But, Bobby Larry has been active in two very important projects subsequent to his impeachment work:

1) In March 2007, Barr reversed his stance on medical marijuana and begin lobbying on behalf of MPP, the Marijuana Policy Project. Incredibly, this new partnership saw Barr working to repeal his very own "Barr Amendment" -- the amendment that overturned a voter-approved medical marijuana initiative in Washington, D.C., and prohibits consideration of similar initiatives. Huh?!

2) He is one of the four founders of the American Freedom Agenda, which is described as "a coalition established to restore checks and balances and civil liberties protections under assault by the executive branch." The American Freedom Agenda has established a 10-point Freedom Pledge for presidential candidates to confirm their commitment to civil liberties. He is also a member of the Constitution Project's bipartisan Liberty and Security Committee. Huh?!

[Yep. That's Bob Barr. Plus, he was on Borat! and gave Sacha Baron Cohen cheese made from his wife's breast milk.]

Do I trust him? Nope. Will I vote for him? Nope. But is he a bad guy? Dunno.

Now let's get this straight, people. Just because I have professed some libertarian ideals and read Reason magazine doesn't make me a Libertarian. I'm not joining any damn political party. Not Democrat, not Republican, not "Green," not Libertarian. In fact, doesn't that make me the ultimate libertarian? By not joining a party, I am the ultimate independent, politically.

OK, now that the zings have been zung, let's take a look at something much more interesting: Who the hell is Wayne Allyn Root, Bobby Larry's running mate? He's a sports handicapper! Ha! What better person to succeed Dick Cheney. Root to win!