Liberty Maven

In a phone discussion with Reason Magazine’s David Weigel Ron Paul confirmed what myself and many other Paul supporters think of writing in Paul’s name on the November ballot.

“I don’t think that’s very productive,” Paul said of a write-in campaign. “They could do it, of course, but in most of the states it won’t count. If they can change the rules in a primary and not count all the votes, imagine what they could do with write-in votes!”

What is most interesting, at least among the Ron Paul faithful who frequent Ron Paul Forums, is that in a forum poll asking “Who will you vote for?” with over 200 respondents about 34% said they’d be writing in Ron Paul (second place). The winner of the poll was Bob Barr with about 39%. In a distant third was Chuck Baldwin with 21%. Perhaps also of note is that Barack Obama received more votes (9) than John McCain (3). Ralph Nader was last with 2 votes.

Ron Paul’s penchant for bringing together a wide political spectrum of supporters is both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing when the candidate is Ron Paul. Once Ron Paul exits the race, his free thinking voters split apart. They can unite behind a message, but veer apart when deciding who should carry that message.

For now, it seems Bob Barr is winning most of the support, but not by a wide margin. If Ron Paul were to endorse Barr it could help a little with unity. For the purist, Bob Barr is still a neo-con, regardless of his present day rhetoric. It is these Ron Paul supporters who will either write in Ron Paul (no matter what Paul himself suggests) or support Chuck Baldwin. Bob Barr simply isn’t a viable option for them.

The Barr detractors seem enjoy pointing to his anti-libertarian voting record as evidence for not supporting him. Sure Barr has blemishes on his record which he has renounced repeatedly, but he also shines in other places.

Read more about the shiny side of Barr’s record below.

• “In the 107th Congress when Ron Paul stood up for our sovereignty against the United Nations (Roll Call votes 245 and 246), it was Bob Barr who supported him … just as Barr supported Paul in cutting corporate welfare by limiting funding for the Export-Import Bank.”

• “Barr is a co-sponsor of H. Res. 197, ‘Stop U.N. Gun Ban.’”

• “Barr supports H.R. 2615 ‘Stop National Medical ID and the Patient Privacy Protection Act.’”

• “Barr is a leading defender of civil liberties. He introduced legislation that forces the National Security Agency’s Project ECHELON to provide a full accounting to the Congress of their covert monitoring of millions of phone calls, faxes, and emails.”

• “He led the fight against National ID Card proposals and introduced legislation in 1998 to check the federal government’s abuse of wire-tapping laws — including the use of roving wiretaps — and also opposed governmental interception of cellular phone calls.”

• “He introduced legislation to mandate that the federal government issue ‘Privacy Impact Statements’ every time it issues a new rule or regulation.”

• “He was a chief sponsor of a law to limit abuses of the civil asset forfeiture statutes.”

• “He fought against OSHA regulations and to limit small business vulnerability to frivolous labor litigation.”

• “He is a board member of the National Rifle Association, and a staunch defender of the right of Americans to own and use firearms. He has introduced and sponsored legislation to block litigation against gun manufacturers for the acts of their customers and to limit any background checks and mandate they be conducted ‘instantly.’”

• “Barr has succinctly advocated the principle that while criminals must be punished to the full extent of the law, their civil liberties must be protected with even more vigor.”

• “He is a staunch defender of American sovereignty and opposes the executive branch’s overzealous use of our military abroad he even filed suit against President Clinton’s war in Kosovo without congressional approval.”

• “He is a fierce critic of the United Nations — and to a lesser degree NATO — and has consistently supported efforts to withdraw U.S. membership from the United Nations.”

• “He co-sponsored a committee amendment to withdraw the U.S. from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.”

• “Since his first day in Congress back in 1995, Barr has tirelessly fought to eliminate the Internal Revenue Code, supported the “flat tax” proposal, and consistently supported passage of a constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds supermajority of Congress to raise taxes.”

• “He was an early supporter of lowering the capital gains tax and recently he introduced legislation to provide tax credits for educators: public, private, and home school.”

• “More than any other member of the Georgia delegation, Congressman Barr has parted with the Republican majority to vote against bloated “pork barrel” spending.”

• “He has continually fought the unconstitutional [McCain/Feingold] ‘campaign finance reforms.’ Defending our fundamental rights, he has filed a lawsuit to prevent implementation of the recently passed legislation.”

(Source)

These are some of the reasons Liberty Maven is supporting Bob Barr for President. The added benefits are that he has name recognition, he has the potential for pulling in more disaffected conservatives than other candidates, and he is getting the requisite media attention for spreading the liberty message to the masses.