I’ve been on the campaign’s email list since his nomination, and there has not been a single message sent out to that list in defense of his controversial positions on the issues. I have not seen any mailings to LP members on the subject. The most I have seen are some links to videos that the campaign has put out which seem intended to suggest that Barr has always stood on the libertarian side of these issues.

When Barrack Obama wants to lure Clinton voters or when John McCain wants to lure Romney and Huckabee voters, they do it directly by contacting those voters, by appealing directly to them. They don’t do it through a TV interview, and they certainly don’t do it only in defensive answer to tough questions asked by MSM journalists.

1. Pull our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, not because the “surge” has failed or hasn’t failed, but because we don’t belong there and never did. The presence of U.S. troops anywhere in the Middle East provokes Islamic terrorism and does nothing to ensure the free flow of oil. It shouldn’t matter to U.S. foreign policy whether governments there are democratic or not, are pro-West or not, observe human rights or not, as far as our military policy extends. They need to be stable governments commanding the respect and allegiance of those within their borders. That will ensure safe commerce. And if we aren’t seen to be using our guns and money to support or oppose these governments, their citizens will never have occasion to complain of us, whether they like their governments or not.

2. Stop baiting Russia over Georgia. The Russians have more good reason to have their troops there than we in the West have to be Kosovo and Bosnia. And we certainly don’t need Georgia or Ukraine in NATO to ensure American security. Precisely the opposite – such an annexation invites conflict. We also should discard plans to put missles in Poland. The propaganda that they are designed to protect us from Iranian missiles is a transparent lie and a direct provocation to Russia.

3. End our persecution of Iran. Their nuclear reprocessing program is well within their legal rights, and the temptation for them to develop nuclear arms is only enhanced by our threats. If our concern is over the threat Iran may pose to Israel or its Arab neighbors, our ability to help defuse any crisis will be enhanced if we are seen as a disinterested, impartial broker and not a co-belligerent of one side or another. We should make it clear that we will not send our troops to fight any more wars in southern and western Asia.

4. End the income tax, not only because it is a bane to the production and savings needed in our economy, but because it gives the government an excuse to spy upon us and pry into our lives, not to mention the maintenance of the military-industrial complex.

These are campaign positions that span the libertarian-paleoconservative divide among Barr’s potential supporters and hold appeal for many other American voters who not going to get these promises from either the Republicans or the Democrats.