Bob Barr Fails to Make Ballot in Maine

Ballot Access News ^

[mnehring]

On Friday, August 15, the Bob Barr campaign attempted to have the Secretary of State authorize local clerks accept late filings of signatures. Don Cookson of the Secretary of State’s office indicated that there is no provision to authorize such a late filing.

The signatures filed by the August 8 deadline amounted to 3,200, short of the 4,000 valid signatures required.

The Libertarian Party is expected to go to court to force the state to accept the late signatures.

[mnehring]

It hasn't been a good few days for Bob "ACLU" Barr. He also failed to make the ballot in Massachusetts.

[Always Right]

It is more important that he doesn’t make the ballot in some battleground states, although Barr may take a few votes from Obama too.

[keepitreal]

“The Libertarian Party is expected to go to court to force the state to accept the late signatures.”

Of course they will. Their inability to follow the rules is everybody else’s fault.

[mnehring]

Even if they accept late signatures, he was unable to even get the 4,000 required.

[Dr. Sivana]

I would be sympathetic if the bar were set unreasonably high, or if the deadline were unreasonably early. However, .003% of the population is NOT unreasonable, and August 8 is not too early.

If they can’t deal with Maine, how are they going to do places like Illinois, PA and NY, where they know how to make ballot access difficult.

[mnehring]

The problem is the Libertarians (party not principle) have long ago crossed from being Anti-Statist to just plain Anti-State.

[snowrip]

I am a fourth-generation native of Maine.

We need to drain the swamp in Washington, and that means both parties; however, Bob Barr is a poor choice for the bedrock of a new conservative movement.

[mysterio]

The two party monopoly has resulted in a McCain candidacy and most people deciding to vote for someone they can't stand because they also can't stand the other guy.

And yet you rejoice that a third party gets shut out of the process. Unreal.

[mnehring]

It is a pretty bad year when all the third party choices are kookier than our main choices. I still think change from within is the better solution.

[cripplecreek]

I’m still writing Duncan Hunter in.

[Redbob]

...(yawn)...

[mnehring]

The two party monopoly has resulted in a McCain candidacy and most people deciding to vote for someone they can't stand because they also can't stand the other guy. And yet you rejoice that a third party gets shut out of the process. Unreal.

No rejoicing, this is just a fact of life. There was no 'shut out'.. Barr failed to get enough supporters in the time required- a very small number. He had from until he announced until early this month to get only 4,000 signatures, he could not do it. That is Barr's own fault. This is no 'two party monopoly' shutting Barr out, this is Barr's own failure.

[bcsco]

And yet you rejoice that a third party gets shut out of the process. Unreal.

Bob Barr didn't come up with the necessary signatures in the time alloted. Oh, well, see ya next election year, Bob. Why should we feel sorry for a guy who can't get the job done on time?

[PhiKapMom]

Libertarian Party is suing to get on the ballot in Oklahoma as well. What a waste for taxpayers of OK.

I had little respect left for Barr when he went to the ACLU but now pulling this stunt of suing to get on the ballot when they couldn’t follow the rules shows his true nature IMHO.

Wouldn’t vote for him for dog catcher.

[mysterio]

I don’t feel sorry for Barr. I feel sorry that America has a two party monopoly and it has resulted in the candidates who are running.

[mnehring]

That is another State where Barr failed to get enough signatures so they are suing to try to get in. This really is a slap in the face of the Constitution which authorizes the States to set these standards. They want to use the courts to try to override standards put in place, state-by-state, by officials elected by the voters.

[keepitreal]

“Even if they accept late signatures, he was unable to even get the 4,000 required.”

Rules don’t matter. Sue, sue, sue. It’s unfair that he should have to get 4000 signatures. And then to require that they be submitted on time is just really unfair. And in America we now sue because things are unfair.

[Cboldt]

-- It is a pretty bad year when all the third party choices are kookier than our main choices. --

I'm trying to recall an election season where a third party choice wasn't kooky, compared with the GOP/DEM party annointees.

And even if a third party candidate isn't a kook, they can't win in a dumbed-down media-driven society that treats elections mostly as popularity contests.

Maine was also one of two states (the other was Utah) where Mr. Perot finished second in the three-way Presidential race, beating President George Bush by 316 votes, though Mr. Bush has a house in Kennebunkport.

Not Quite Campaigning, Perot Crusades in Maine - New York Times

Given the choices in federal government (more, slower vs. more, faster), I've made a conscious decision to reject what the GOP offers. I haven't voted for Snowe or Collins, and won't. If the GOP wants MY vote, it's going to have to earn it, and it falls short.

[mnehring]

We technically don't have a two party monopoly. We have many parties. The voters themselves have decided that the two main parties are the best to represent their values. Saying it is a monopoly is like saying that Starbucks has a monopoly on coffee shops because consumers choose them far more. There are over 270 people running for president right now. The public, however, has chosen two as the main contenders.

There is a difference between owning market share and a monopoly.

[keepitreal]

“That is another State where Barr failed to get enough signatures so they are suing to try to get in. This really is a slap in the face of the Constitution which authorizes the States to set these standards. They want to use the courts to try to override standards put in place, state-by-state, by officials elected by the voters.”

That's certainly a Libertarian position!/s

[jmaroneps37]

As I have pointed out, aclu boob barr will only hurt barack mcgovern because he will make the Archie Bunker rats who can’t “vote for a colored guy or a Republican” feel good. It is not a good thing that he misses the ballot anywhere.

[mnehring]

Shoot, compared to what we have now as options, good ole Ross Perot seems sane. I actually miss him. This year could have been ripe for a third party candidate, but no real power house stood up. We basically got the usual suspects (Baldwin, Keyes) or those jumping in because they where rejected in their original roles (Barr).

[MrLee]

Lonely up here in Maine ain’t it.... :-(

[Cicero]

We are vacationing in Maine. There are Obama signs all over people’s lawns. I have yet to see a single McCain sign or bumper sticker.

[mnehring]

I wonder what they all will do when Hilldog steals it next week.

Have you stocked up on popcorn?

[Cboldt]

-- Shoot, compared to what we have now as options, good ole Ross Perot seems sane. --

That's the truth. Bob Dole doesn't look bad either!

I'm really amazed at what the DEMs have fronted as candidates. This country isn't remotely conservative, when a person of Obama's or Clinton's (or Kerry's or Gore's) expressed belief system can get close to 50% of the popular vote. And out of those four, Obama is by far the strangest pick. I've wondered for many months who is propping him up.

[Cboldt]

-- Lonely up here in Maine ain’t it --

Sure is, if politics is a big part of the psyche. Funny thing is that the few conservatives up here (actually, there are quite a few, jut not close to a majority) are stalwart - at least those outside of the McKernan/Cohen GOP machine. Did you see that Cohen is in with a consortium that aims to buy the local newspapers?

[pepperhead]

Was the Libertarian party on the last presidential ballot in Maine? Maybe Bob Barr just isn't popular with the real Libertarians out there.

[mnehring]

I went through a phase in late high school and early college when I considered myself a big “L” Libertarian. After joining JBS and subscribing to “The New American”, I soon realized that the party and small “l” libertarian philosophy where miles apart. There wasn't anything Conservative about the Libertarian party- they where just a party of conspiracy and fear- not about the power of the individual over the State. They, as I mentioned earlier, crossed the line from being Anti-Statist to just being Anti-State.

[mysterio]

So the two party monopoly has not, in your opinion, enacted anti-competitive legislation to maintain their monopoly?

Please say that you think they have not done so.

[mnehring]

I don’t think so. Badnarik was one of the worst candidates the LP has ever fronted.

[mysterio]

Barr just isn't popular with the real Libertarians out there.

This is correct. Barr is a poor choice for libertarians, as he is not libertarian.

[mnehring]

All parties are only as powerful as the votes they get- period. All the legislation in the world can't change that. One of the big failures of third parties is they try to ‘pass the buck’, blaming their losses on legislative barriers versus their own failures. If you look at where third party candidates where successful, such as Ventura, they didn't run a whiner campaign talking about everyone that was against them, they went to the voters. If a candidate can't even get four thousand signatures over several months- he can't blame legislation- he only has himself to blame.

[mnehring]

..case in point. You know I'm not crazy about Ron Paul, but I believe if he ran third party, he would have zero problems getting the signatures he needed. There is no legislative barrier stopping a charismatic candidate with good organization.

[DesScorp]

Libertarians. ROFL.

[Cboldt]

-- One of the big failures of third parties is they try to ‘pass the buck’, blaming their losses on legislative barriers versus their own failures. --

The loser tends to blame others, or some factor that is claimed to be outside their control. I think it's human nature. Passing blame is standard fare for the big parties (e.g., GOP blames Perot voters for Clinton's win; DEMs blame Nader, etc.), and of course the same principle holds for third parties. I see a political party as wholly responsible for its ability to attract support and votes.

[Cboldt]

-- I have yet to see a single McCain sign or bumper sticker. --

Displays like that invite vandalism.

NRA stickers, OTOH ....

[pepperhead]

Yeah I like my car too much to put a political bumper sticker on it.

[cripplecreek]

Passing blame is standard fare for the big parties (e.g., GOP blames Perot voters for Clinton's win; DEMs blame Nader, etc.)

Doesn't say much for those who screech that any vote not for McCain is a vote for obama.

[pepperhead]

I still don’t know for sure if they were on the ballot but Badnarik got 1,965 votes in Maine. It is kind of funny since the party needs 4,000 signatures to get on the ballot this time.

[RetSignman]

Pity.

[A. Patriot]

That’s good that he didn’t make it onto the Maine ballot. Barr and his ACLU buddies are just trying to do a “Ross Perot” on the Republicans.

[MrLee]

“Did you see that Cohen is in with a consortium that aims to buy the local newspapers?”

Yeah. Couldn’t be any worse than the papers are now.

[ViLaLuz]

Bob Barr, ACLU. Nothing more needs saying.

[Norman Bates]

Significant.

[TitansAFC]

I would like to see some polling on the one district McCain really has a chance of winning in Maine.

That’s one EV on the line - which may make a difference.

[Night Conservative]

Passing blame is standard fare for the big parties (e.g., GOP blames Perot voters for Clinton's win; DEMs blame Nader, etc.)

You know, that is exactly right. Whining ain't anything confined to third parties....republicans an democrats whine about "spoiler third parties" all the time.

Barr will be on the ballot in 40+ states, so I doubt he is sweating big over Maine.

[Cboldt]

Check this story out, "Souter probes Maine ballot access issue"

Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter has asked the state of Maine and the state Democratic Party chairman to supply their views on the right of an independent candidate for U.S. Senate to have his name on the November election ballot. ... non-party candidate, Herbert J. Hoffman ... contended that he has submitted 4,038 valid signatures on nominating petitions.

It doesn't help Bob Barr, and the issue here is completely different from "late."

But it does seem a bit odd, that the deadline for submitting petitions for general election ballot access is BEFORE the conclusion of the conventions by the major parties.

Herb Hoffman is a radical leftie, FWIW. [ Link is to http://www.hoffmanforsenate.us/ ]