Liberty MavenPolitico Asks What About Bob Barr? GOP In Denial?
July 10th, 2008 1:15 am | by Marc Gallagher | Published in Activism, Bob Barr, Election, Libertarianism, Liberty, Maven Commentary, Media, Politics, Ron Paul | 1
The Politico published an article detailing their efforts to get a reaction, any reaction from various GOP leaders about their thoughts on the Bob Barr campaign. Their efforts were met with deflection and denial every step of the way. The article then suggests that if Barr were to gain some steam the Republicans may sue to try to block ballot access for Barr in battleground states. To me it seems they are just praying and hoping Bob Barr will just fade away. Also of note is the short video included with the article where the author, Ben Adler discusses Bob Barr tapping in to the Ron Paul support structure.
If Republicans are worried about the third-party presidential candidacy of former GOP Rep. Bob Barr and the possibility that he could win enough votes to affect the outcome in several states, they aren’t showing it.
At present there are no plans to follow the time-honored method of dealing with pesky third-party candidates by seeking to knock Barr off various state ballots. Indeed, when asked for comment about the Barr campaign, John McCain’s campaign flat out declined to offer one. Underscoring that indifferent approach, the Republican National Committee offered this response when asked about the former conservative congressman from Georgia.
“We’re confident that McCain’s record of putting the country before politics will appeal to voters of all walks of life,” said RNC spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson. “Right now, we’re focused on John McCain’s message.”
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July 10th, 2008 at 5:34 am (#)
One of the oldest political tricks in the book is to ignore an idea or a person with the idea that he or it will fade away.
Now if you are a really good writer or influencer, you might be able to do what Jonathan Swift did to an opponent of his, this same Swift who wrote Gulliver’s Travels. Swift wrote the man’s obituary, and it was beleived so much so that the poor man, still alive, couldn’t convince many that he wasn’t dead.
If the media writes of Barr’s political demise long enough, and the other major parties ignore him, never mention his name, it is quite likely that his campaign will not get rolling. And this isn’t too hard to do. In a recent interview with two LP representatives of the Barr campaign on a local LA tv show, the Lp reps were at pains to fend off the charcterization of Barr’s VP choice as a bookie, and also to expalin away his past Republican history. Barr’s name recognition, for what it is worth, comes at a price.
Right now it’s Bob Barr Who? just as it was Ron Paul Who? except that Paul had a lot more money and campaigned in a major political party. As libertarians are notoriously misers, it is unlikely that they will donate much to Barr, unlike Paul’s fundraising. Barring a miracle (no pun intended) of a deep pockets droppping in to fund Barr, it is unlikely that he will be a factor in drawing off Republican or Democrat voters.
One thing is certain–niether he nor Nader, or indeed, any other third party candidate, will be in any nationally televised debate.