Liberty Maven

Recently Bob Barr has been seen cozying up to left leaning bloggers and everyone’s favorite environmentalist, nobel prize winner Al Gore. He has released statements and been quoted in articles saying things that have upset the Libertarian apple cart. The radical and purist among us seem to have implanted Barr with an ultra sensitive warning device that triggers anytime potential non-libertarian words leave his mouth. Requesting anyone labeled “radical” to relax is like asking a starving man to “eat that cracker slowly”, but in this case calm is what is required.

First, Bob Barr issued a press release “clarifying” his stance on federal government bailing out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The release was entitled, “Privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, End Government Subsidies.” That certainly sounds rather libertarian, but some found decidedly non-libertarian rhetoric within the article.

In the short-term, government has little choice but to provide an explicit but limited loan guarantee, thereby capping the public’s liability, now widely assumed to be without limit.  At the same time, Congress must restrict the number and size of loans by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and set more substantial capital requirements, while authorizing greater Federal Reserve oversight of their operations.  The organizations must begin downsizing their portfolios, reducing their risks, and reestablishing their financial credibility.

Reading this paragraph out of context like this makes even a moderate libertarian squirm. However when placed in context between the previous and following paragraph it becomes less offensive to the liberty minded.

These problems are almost entirely the fault of the federal government.  Congress created programs to artificially inflate the housing market, established Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be exempt from normal scrutiny, oversight, and competition, and expanded their activities in response to the sub-prime lending meltdown.  Government must get out of the mortgage business, but must do so in a way that least harms taxpayers and the economy. (previous paragraph)

However, the ultimate objective must be full privatization—with both organizations turned into private companies, responsible for their loan portfolios, and without access to government guarantees or other forms of support.  Government should not be in the business of creating multi-billion dollar enterprises to manipulate markets for the benefit of one group or another—in this case, in order to shave the interest rates for selected home buyers by a quarter or half percent. (following paragraph)

The radicals among us who already distrust Barr will focus on the first paragraph out of context to try to demonstrate Barr is not a “true” libertarian. Doing that is a disservice to Barr and Libertarians everywhere. It is obvious Barr is taking a radical idea and framing it in a more moderate way. He’s been doing this all along. It is a large reason why he was chosen as the Libertarian nominee. In the end he supports full privatization, but believes getting there gracefully is the best method. I see nothing wrong with this.

Next, Barr met with Al Gore and released a statement that could be taken as a flip-flop on his global warming position. A few weeks ago in a Glenn Beck interview Barr said that “global warming is a myth”. After meeting with Gore Barr released a statement that said “global warming is a reality.” Did Gore put something in Barr’s cocktail? Hardly. Only Barr knows the truth, but on the Beck show Barr could have meant “Man made global warming is a myth” while now he means it generally. He makes it clear in his entire statement that he is against solutions that call for new taxes and specifically mentions being against the McCain supported version of “Cap and Trade”.

I see this as Barr pandering to the left. He is trying to win votes from Obama supporters who are fed up with Obama on things like backtracking on FISA and getting troops out of Iraq. This is a good thing. He is actively campaigning to get more votes. Maximizing vote totals and thereby national poll totals is the winning strategy to get into the debates. Right now there is nothing more important to the Barr campaign and the overall campaign for liberty than gaining a place on the stage next to the establishment candidates.

Barr’s effort at winning more votes from the left was underscored by his surprise appearance at the liberal/progressive blogger’s Netroots Nation conference last week. He is showing that he is not satisfied with just the core libertarian voters. He is doing his best to spread the liberty message to voters of all demographics. Soon we’ll be able to determine if his efforts prove successful or not.

Even if you don’t like Barr you should still see the value in having him participate in the debates. If he somehow is able to participate, the Libertarian party will reach new heights of legitimacy, fund raising, and purpose. It also could pave the way for a truly viable liberty-minded candidate in 2012. And that is a wonderful thing for the party, for freedom, and for America.