Quote:The Barr Campaign is Over
Bob Barr's campaign for President fell off a cliff yesterday. It's time for those who love liberty to redirect their resources elsewhere.
by David F. Nolan

As of yesterday afternoon, Bob Barr's Presidential campaign is effectively over. There were signs of serious trouble even before yesterday, but his "no-show" at Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty news conference -- followed by an insulting suggestion that Ron should join Barr on the LP ticket in the VP slot -- demonstrated just how out-of-touch the Barr campaign is, and how poor Barr's vote total is likely to be.

In earlier articles here on nolanchart.com I tried to give Barr every benefit of the doubt. I observed that in theory he should be one of the Libertarian Party's stronger Presidential candidates. I opined that while his pronouncements on the campaign trail were hardly hard-core libertarian, they were mostly to-the-point and well stated. I did not support him for the nomination, but I was more or less comfortable supporting him once he became the LP nominee.

There has been evidence all along that the Barr '08 campaign has been mismanaged. Ballot access drives were begun late, and conducted erratically. As of today, it appears that Barr's name will be on the ballot in 46 or 47 states. (Harry Browne appeared on 50 ballots in 1996 and 49 in 2000. Michael Badnarik made it onto 48 in 2004.) Barr has failed to achieve ballot status in West Virginia, due entirely to Shane Cory's ineptitude, and there are lawsuits pending in five states (LA, MA, ME, OK and PA) to determine whether Barr will be on the ballot.

Fundraising has also been a flop. As I write this, the fundraising "meter" on the Barr '08 website shows the total raised by the campaign at $881,500 -- about $700,000 since the Denver nominating convention. That works out to about $6,400 a day or $200,000/month. In the days leading up to the nomination, Barr's people were throwing around numbers like $20 million. The reality is likely to be barely more than $1 million.

But all that would be beside the point if Bob Barr were campaigning proudly as a Libertarian and taking advantage of every opportunity to reach out to like-minded Americans.

Unfortunately, he's not. Following advice from his campaign manager, Russ Verney, Barr has avoided use of the "L" word wherever possible. There's a big empty space in the banner at the top of the Barr '08 website, where the word LIBERTARIAN could (and should) appear. It doesn't, despite several suggestions that this be remedied. Barr's campaign literature, signs and bumper stickers do not include the "L" word either. And a press release issued by the campaign earlier this week describes Barr as a "Former Congressman" with no mention of the Libertarian Party.

Clearly, Barr is not running as a Libertarian; he's running as an independent candidate: "Former Congressman Bob Barr." Which may be just as well, given the way he's been behaving.

http://www.nolanchart.com/article4805.html



Barr's national polling figures have started to slide as well.

Pathetic. I may just write in Ron Paul now.

GTS, face it, you and I are just looking at lesser of evils at this point.

Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:GTS, face it, you and I are just looking at lesser of evils at this point.

I hate to say I told you so...I left the LP because of this guy. He is an unprincipled ******* that has come in and ruined the LP.

Im sorry...I was going to vote for him to punish the GOP for putting a creationist on the ticket...but...now I have no choice but to either write in someone or just abstain...Voting for the lesser of 2 evils would be voting for evil....I just cant do that.

Does this make a difference really in any of the states? BTW, whereas the McCain-Palin ticket had generated a lot of momentum the last 10 days, Palin's interview with ABC tonight is likely to hurt that momentum. She had a couple of questionable soundbytes (including the one where she said they might have to go to war with Russia).

Fo Shizzle Wrote:

Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:GTS, face it, you and I are just looking at lesser of evils at this point.

I hate to say I told you so...I left the LP because of this guy. He is an unprincipled ******* that has come in and ruined the LP.

Im sorry...I was going to vote for him to punish the GOP for putting a creationist on the ticket...but...now I have no choice but to either write in someone or just abstain...Voting for the lesser of 2 evils would be voting for evil....I just cant do that.

You were right. I was planning on voting for him, but now I guess it's writing in Ron Paul.

Jugnaut Wrote:

Fo Shizzle Wrote:

Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:GTS, face it, you and I are just looking at lesser of evils at this point.

I hate to say I told you so...I left the LP because of this guy. He is an unprincipled ******* that has come in and ruined the LP.

Im sorry...I was going to vote for him to punish the GOP for putting a creationist on the ticket...but...now I have no choice but to either write in someone or just abstain...Voting for the lesser of 2 evils would be voting for evil....I just cant do that.

You were right. I was planning on voting for him, but now I guess it's writing in Ron Paul.

love Ron Paul!

I didn't like him much from the beginning. Now what do I do?

Fort Bend Owl Wrote:Does this make a difference really in any of the states? BTW, whereas the McCain-Palin ticket had generated a lot of momentum the last 10 days, Palin's interview with ABC tonight is likely to hurt that momentum. She had a couple of questionable soundbytes (including the one where she said they might have to go to war with Russia).

I saw the interview with Charlie...Shes pretty good. I have a feeling that she knew the questions. Her answers really sounded rehearsed.
She is a neocon on mission from god.

Fo Shizzle Wrote:I saw the interview with Charlie...Shes pretty good. I have a feeling that she knew the questions. Her answers really sounded rehearsed.

The only time a politician's answers don't sound rehearsed is when they've had a really good acting coach. Spontaneous answers are a thing of the past.

Fo Shizzle Wrote:She is a neocon on mission from god.

* sigh *

If only one of the members of the Mission From God ticket hadn't passed prematurely.

I knew Bob Barr was in trouble the minute I saw his appearance on Borat.

EastStang Wrote:I knew Bob Barr was in trouble the minute I saw his appearance on Borat.

Yea that was part of my original problem with him. That and his war on drugs and liberty.

georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:

Quote:The Barr Campaign is Over
Bob Barr's campaign for President fell off a cliff yesterday. It's time for those who love liberty to redirect their resources elsewhere.
by David F. Nolan

As of yesterday afternoon, Bob Barr's Presidential campaign is effectively over. There were signs of serious trouble even before yesterday, but his "no-show" at Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty news conference -- followed by an insulting suggestion that Ron should join Barr on the LP ticket in the VP slot -- demonstrated just how out-of-touch the Barr campaign is, and how poor Barr's vote total is likely to be.

Barr's national polling figures have started to slide as well.

Pathetic. I may just write in Ron Paul now.

I'm ticked at Bob Barr's no-show at Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty news conference. ...and he's showing "leadership in unifying the liberty movement"? You don't diss THE PAUL. Then he asks Ron to be his running mate.

Barr is visiting UCF on 9/24. I'll ask him WTF. He hasn't lost my vote, as his platform still most aligns with mine, but sometimes.....this guy.....whatever..... It's not like I've fallen in love with the other candidates. Although Palin is a VPILF.

I'll THINK about the write-in option.

What you have to remember is that Dr Paul has to register as a write in candidate for his votes to even count, and a lot of states don't even count write in votes anyway.

I bet more people nationwide will write in Jesus Christ than Ron Paul, I wonder if Obama will want Jesus write ins to count in his column?

I'm not a particularly big fan of Bob Barr, but I thought the idea behind the Campaign for Liberty was that it was bigger than any one person, even Ron Paul. Did Paul consult with Barr before scheduling his press conference? After all, Barr is the one still running for President. I've heard that takes up some time.

While I don't understand the invitation (particularly with respect to not being able to change the ballots in most states), I'm not sure why Paul should be insulted that he would be asked to be Barr's running mate. Biden & Palin don't seem to consider it an insult, and McCain was supposedly looking across the aisle for his running mate so it's not that crazy of an idea. I also find it rather ironic to criticize Barr for not boldly declaring his Libertarianism while celebrating Paul, a registered Republican.

Stories like these, along with him negotiating to get the RNC to allow his entorouge access to the floor during the convention, are starting to put Paul in the Jessie Ventura category.

As far as ballot access problems go, unless it's a form the actual candidate needs to fill out & submit, I fault the Libertarian Party in general, rather than the Barr campaign. If the party wants to be taken seriously, it needs to be able to organize things like ballot access drives independently of its candidate. The candidate & his team should have more important things to worry about than jumping through hoops just to appear on the ballot.

jh Wrote:I'm not a particularly big fan of Bob Barr, but I thought the idea behind the Campaign for Liberty was that it was bigger than any one person, even Ron Paul. Did Paul consult with Barr before scheduling his press conference? After all, Barr is the one still running for President. I've heard that takes up some time.

While I don't understand the invitation (particularly with respect to not being able to change the ballots in most states), I'm not sure why Paul should be insulted that he would be asked to be Barr's running mate. Biden & Palin don't seem to consider it an insult, and McCain was supposedly looking across the aisle for his running mate so it's not that crazy of an idea. I also find it rather ironic to criticize Barr for not boldly declaring his Libertarianism while celebrating Paul, a registered Republican.

Stories like these, along with him negotiating to get the RNC to allow his entorouge access to the floor during the convention, are starting to put Paul in the Jessie Ventura category.

As far as ballot access problems go, unless it's a form the actual candidate needs to fill out & submit, I fault the Libertarian Party in general, rather than the Barr campaign. If the party wants to be taken seriously, it needs to be able to organize things like ballot access drives independently of its candidate. The candidate & his team should have more important things to worry about than jumping through hoops just to appear on the ballot.

The LP decided this year that it would try to really put a candidate up the could draw some votes. In the past the LP has been pretty much a educational organization.
The LP has almost no experience in political elections other than just having a machine big enough to get on the state ballots. Beyond that...they are lost.

I was planning to vote for Bob Barr, but I don't think I can bring myself to hold my nose and cast the ballot. So now I'm planning to turn in a spoiled ballot. I would say home, but I don't want my disgust for the system to be confused with laziness.

EastStang Wrote:I bet more people nationwide will write in Jesus Christ than Ron Paul, I wonder if Obama will want Jesus write ins to count in his column?

stop listening to the propoganda and look at the issues please. Our country depends on it.

JxGx78 Wrote:I was planning to vote for Bob Barr, but I don't think I can bring myself to hold my nose and cast the ballot. So now I'm planning to turn in a spoiled ballot. I would say home, but I don't want my disgust for the system to be confused with laziness.

There is nothing wrong with abstaining from voting. I am with you. I refuse to cast a vote for evil. Im through with this rigged system of electing our "masters".
BTW...With the slate of Fascisocialist candidates to choose from....Staying home is NOT lazy...Its Patriotic!!!

Fort Bend Owl Wrote:Does this make a difference really in any of the states? BTW, whereas the McCain-Palin ticket had generated a lot of momentum the last 10 days, Palin's interview with ABC tonight is likely to hurt that momentum. She had a couple of questionable soundbytes (including the one where she said they might have to go to war with Russia).

It makes a difference in Georgia, where he was polling 8%. This essentially puts GA in McCains colunn. If McCain lost GA he lost the election.