Free Republic

Libertarians on Drug Liberalization by: Emily Kanyi, July 30, 2009 President Barack Obama’s new drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, picked up the mantle on the drug war scene by expressing a desire to shift from the descriptive language often used to refer to the drug problem. During an interview with the Wall Street Journal on May 14, Kerlikowske described the terminology “war on drugs” as unhelpful. “Regardless of how you try to explain to people ‘it’s a war on drugs’ or a ‘war on a product,’ people see a war as war on them. We’re not at war with the people...

The secret government “Terrorist Watch List,” reportedly already swelled to more than 1.1 million names, will have an addendum, if gun control advocates in Congress have their way. This new addendum — also to be cloaked in secrecy — would empower the U.S. Attorney General to deny a person the ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights to purchase a firearm. While it is not surprising that some members of Congress are again using fear of terrorism to implement a gun-control agenda, the openly unconstitutional legislative language proponents are employing is troubling. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) is leading the effort...

Did you hear the one about how the Federal Reserve controls the world? In fact, the Federal Reserve chairman is merely a puppet. They are always controlled by a super secret group of power players. No one, of course, knows exactly who they are because no one knows exactly who actually owns the Federal Reserve. In fact, the president is also merely a puppet. It is this super secret group of power players that ultimately puppeteer the world. It's all part of their goals to create a one world government and ultimately control that government. Furthermore, this is no new...

Former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr said Saturday it’s hard to “overestimate the damage” that’s been inflicted on the Republican Party — not only with this week's defection of Sen. Arlen Specter, but also the “lack of any coherent philosophy, vision or leadership.” “The Republican Party is in very deep trouble right now,” Barr said in an interview with CNN. Barr, who was once a loyal soldier in the GOP, joined the Libertarian Party in 2006 and was the party’s presidential candidate in 2008. The ex-Republican said he doesn’t feel like he relates to Specter's reasons for switching to the Democratic...

Tim Neal of Miller County was shocked recently when he heard a radio program about a strategic report compiled by state and federal law enforcement agencies to combat terrorism. Titled “The Modern Militia Movement,” the report is dated Feb. 20 and designed to help police identify militia members or domestic terrorists. Red flags outlined in the document include political bumper stickers such as those for U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, talk of conspiracy theories such as the plan for a mega-highway from Canada to Mexico and possession of subversive literature. But when Neal read the report, he couldn’t help but think...

The case of the 33-year-old California woman still living with her parents, and who just gave birth to eight —- count ‘em, eight —- babies, has captured the attention of the country, if not the world. As the details of this unusual medical event become known, more and more Americans are expressing surprise if not shock at the manner in which the woman became soooo pregnant, and of her background. They shouldn’t be. The strange case of Nadya Suleman is but the latest example of a society in which the unusual is glorified; the most extreme behavior rewarded; and the...

Press Release For Immediate Release Friday, January 23, 2009 Barr hails Obama orders on Guantanamo, torture, tribunals Says steps start process to restore rule of law in America Former Republican Congressman and Libertarian Presidential Candidate, Bob Barr, today issued a statement praising executive orders signed yesterday by President Obama ordering the closure of the military detention center at Guantanamo, restoring the practice of treating detainees according to legal norms, firmly stopping the practice of waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques," and doing away with the military tribunals that denied fundamental due process to detainees since their creation shortly after...

Press Release For Immediate Release Friday, January 14, 2009 Barr Supports Closure of Guantanamo Prison Endorses Obama Proposal Former Congressman Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party's 2008 nominee for president, issued a statement Wednesday morning applauding President-elect Obama’s reported plan to close the controversial military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where many suspected terrorists have been held, often without hearings, since shortly after 9/11. “If there are detainees there as to whom the government has evidence they pose a serious danger to the United States, then house them at the Super Max federal prison in Florence, Colorado and prosecute them....

The author of the federal Defense of Marriage Act now thinks it’s time for his law to get the boot – but for political reasons, not in support of gays. In 1996, as a freshman member of the House of Representatives, I wrote the Defense of Marriage Act, better known by its shorthand acronym, DOMA, than its legal title. The law has been a flash-point for those arguing for or against same-sex marriage ever since President Clinton signed it into law. Even President-elect Barack Obama has grappled with its language, meaning and impact. I can sympathize with the incoming commander...

If Barr's votes had gone to Palin and her running mate they would have won North Carolina and Indiana. North Carolina: Obama 49.9%, Palin 49.5%, Barr 0.6$ Indiana Obama 49.9%, Palin 49%, Barr 1.1% This would have been more important in a closer election, but it caught my interest when I looked the figures up.

Barr brags over Tuesday showing Email|Link|Comments (19) Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor November 5, 2008 07:05 PM Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr is crowing after his showing in Tuesday's election, where he won enough votes -- not in his home state of Georgia, but in North Carolina -- to hold the balance of power. In North Carolina, which remains too close to call, Democrat Barack Obama has a 12,000-vote lead over Republican John McCain, and Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia, has 25,181 votes, or 1 percent. In Georgia, McCain won with 52 percent of the...

Looking at the tallies, all those Bob Barr supporters, knowing full well he didn't have a chance in hell of winning anything, cost McCain IN and VA. Thanks a lot!

“I will not allow my economic and social future to be dictated by the votes of the stupid and the foolish!”-NewJerseyJoe, 11/4/08 Ron Paul and Bob Barr supporters -- trust me, I understand your frustration. The candidate is not perfect. But consider 4 years of having to fight a flawed president -- compared with 4 years of a communist president who has stated on various occasions that he wants to take away your ambition/initiative, rule your personal economy and budgets, make you "be fair," stifle your right to publicly state your ideas, and take away your right to protect yourself.......

I have been a lifetime Libertarian Party activist, for over 25 years. I've served in numerous capacities, including on the Libertarian National Committee, as a Libertarian State Rep. candidate, and as Ron Paul's Personal Travel Aide in his 1988 Libertarian Presidential campaign. I've also served as Ron Paul's Congressional Campaign Coordinator and as his Senior Congressional Aide for 7 years, 1997-2004. This election year, I've been supporting Libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr. As a matter of fact, I'm the very guy who recruited his running mate Wayne Root into the race. Since the Spring, I've been the Party's lead petitioner...

In Tuesday's presidential election, I know who I "should" vote for. I disagree with the Libertarian Party platform's endorsement of the current congressional abdication of responsibility to control immigration. (Don't we have the same right to control access to our welfare programs as we have to block some stranger from breaking down our door and sleeping on our couch?) I further disagree with this year's choice of standard-bearer Bob Barr -- who has violated the Libertarian platform (both the real one and the current, "airbrushed" version) by putting people in prison for exercising their constitutional right to traffic in "controlled"...

I’m not kidding. We have victory within our grasp. And all you have to do to assure a Republican victory is show up to vote. This election is too important to sit out and let others carry the load. America’s future as a free country is at stake. Now I know that many of you don’t like John McCain. I was one too who said I would never vote for McCain, but it is what it is and we have no other viable choice. The horrors of electing Barack Obama are unthinkable to any rational thinking American. This election comes...

Former Georgia Congressman, and Libertarian candidate for president, Bob Barr made a stunning prediction this week: Barack Obama will beat John McCain in the deep red state that Barr once represented. That idea is very hard for some Republicans to take seriously. After all, George W. Bush took Georgia by a margin of 16.7% in '04. But Obama has been steadily chipping away at McCain's lead. Witness the latest trend line from Pollster: (Chart at link)

Sunday, October 26, 2008 Cincinnati — The campaign plane touches down and John McCain emerges to the booming chorus of “Eye of the Tiger” and the raucous cheers of 3,000 supporters. TV cameras record every “Joe the Plumber”-referencing moment by the Republican presidential nominee, whose airport rally will dominate local newscasts. At the same time, Bob Barr is making his own campaign appearance a few miles away. The Libertarian nominee for president from Cobb County is clearly outmanned — about 200 people have shown up for his speech at the University of Cincinnati student center. And outspent — his campaign...

Watch tonight (Thursday, October 23) at 9pm ET Check your local listings for the channel. Chuck Baldwin will have an opportunity to share his views in a debate scheduled for Thursday, October 23, at 9:00 PM ET in Washington DC. Baldwin, along with other third party candidates will show voters they don’t have to settle for the socialist policies of Obama or McCain. Chuck will detail his vision for a return to Constitutional government in a 90 minute forum. This was the press release on the debate: WASHINGTON, DC- Rep. Ron Paul’s (R-TX) choice for President is among those invited...

Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr says Republicans are so afraid that he will spoil things for Sen. John McCain that the Republican presidential nominee is shadowing him, scheduling appearances in battleground states to match Mr. Barr's own campaign events. Keith Smiley/The Washington Times THREE'S A CROWD: Bob Barr says he wants to show Americans that they have another choice. "I suppose it's a compliment," Mr. Barr told editors and reporters at The Washington Times. "It confirms that the states where we are spending our time are really the critical ones, in which the gaps between Senators McCain and [Barack] Obama...

Bob Barr Implodes: Two weeks ago the Libertarian nominee pulled out of a press conference Ron Paul had called with the four leading third-party candidates (Barr, Baldwin, Nader, McKinney) to highlight their common ground. Barr decided to hold a press conference of his own down the hall. He also sent Paul a snide note — transmitted to Barr's e-mail list as well — suggesting that Paul ought to replace the hapless Wayne Allyn Root as Barr's running mate. This ploy could hardly have been more ham-handed: If Barr wanted to appear generous, he should have offered Paul, obviously by far...

Bob Barr has finally sensed his opening. With Senator McCain calling for Friday's debate to be postponed, the former Georgia congressman and Libertarian Party nominee says he is eager to fill in as a replacement. "Given Senator McCain's political stunt to avoid the debate, I ask that Friday's debate moves forward without him, as I am more than willing to step in to participate," Mr. Barr said in a statement this morning...

Yesterday, Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr announced that he was filing a lawsuit against the Texas Secretary of State, proclaiming that since John McCain and Barack Obama had both missed the candidacy filing deadline under Texas law 192.031, both were ineligible and both should be knocked off of the ballot. Obviously, in a state with 34 electoral votes (and a state where John McCain leads by 21 points), this is big news. However, there are some inconsistencies in Barr’s case that should be hammered out.

Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr’s campaign filed suit Tuesday seeking to remove Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama from the ballot in Texas, alleging that the two major candidates missed the deadline for officially filing to be on the ballot. The lawsuit by the former Republican congressman from Georgia claims that neither McCain nor Obama met the requirement of Texas law that all candidates provide “written certification” of their nomination “before 5 p.m. on the 70th day before election day,” because neither had been formally nominated by their respective parties in time. The suit was filed in the Texas...

Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr’s campaign filed suit Tuesday seeking to remove Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama from the ballot in Texas, alleging that the two major candidates missed the deadline for officially filing to be on the ballot. The lawsuit by the former Republican congressman from Georgia claims that neither McCain nor Obama met the requirement of Texas law that all candidates provide “written certification” of their nomination “before 5 p.m. on the 70th day before election day” because neither had been formally nominated by their respective parties in time. That would have been Aug. 25. Obama...

Bob Barr asks Ron Paul to be his running mate. Paul has not responded yet. Will he accept?

Jesse Ventura stated at Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty rally in St. Paul, Minnesota, that he would run for president in 2012 if he determined that the grassroots made significant political advances in the interim. It is doubtful he would run for the Libertarian party nod, given that his name alone is bigger than the entire Libertarian party. Ventura could run as an Independent, getting onto all 50 state ballots and possibly winning. This is something that I will be following personally. It looks like the grassroots is already starting to generate momentum for a run in 2012.

Congressman Ron Paul will make a major announcement next week in Washington D.C. at the National Press Club. Both Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin are expected at the news conference. Barr is the Libertarian presidential nominee and Baldwin is the presidential nominee of the Constitution Party. Speculation is that that Baldwin and Barr are stepping aside so that Paul can become the nominee of both the Constitution and Libertarian Parties The Montana Constitution Party has removed Chuck Baldwin from the ballot and is putting the ticket of Ron Paul for President and Michael Peroutka on the ballot for Vice-President. UPDATE:...

America is a nation of immigrants, but the process of assimilation has broken down. Although immigration provides economic benefits, it also affects America´s cultural and national identity. Immigration reform must begin with securing the border. Our primary obligation is to protect American citizens. The United States has been enriched by immigrants from around the world. Free immigration remains an attractive ideal, but is impossible with the expensive and expansive nanny state that we´ve created. What long made immigration work so well was America´s famed melting pot—and the absence of any welfare state. People who came to America wanted to become...

That should be the headline in newspapers around the world this morning. A couple of weeks ago I took off my Vice Presidential hat to act as political commentator and pundit to critique Barack Obama's V.P. choice of Joe Biden. I called it a terrible choice, a bland choice, and strategically, a failure. As a matter of fact, strategically, BOTH parties blew it. If Obama picks Hillary (and her 18 million primary votes) he has a good chance of sitting in the White House. But Joe who? From Dela-where? The guy known for plagiarizing his speeches? After watching last night's...

We reported on Bob Barr being the only candidate to submit his paperwork on time to be on the Texas ballot last Wednesday. Then we reported on the Texas Secretary of State "finding" the Democratic and Republican paperwork "upon further checking." We also covered the Barr camps response to this "upon-further-checking-discovery." Now we can mention a few legal precedents that might get the Democrats and Republicans on the ballot, in spite of the technical legal requirements. According to Ballot Access News: "Although that it seems undisputed that both the Republican and Democratic Parties missed the August 26 Texas deadline for...

At a Republican convention that appears full of Sarah Palin fans, at least one prominent conservative doubts out loud that the Alaska governor is qualified to be John McCain ’s running mate. But that lonely skeptic is not a Republican anymore. Former Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia, who accepted the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination in May, is in St. Paul making the rounds with the media and chatting with old friends like former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas and former House Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts of Oklahoma. Barr, 59, is perhaps best known for his role in...

While Zogby has McCain up by two today in a post-Palin bounce, there is one ominous line and statistic in the article: "Still, storm clouds remain on the horizon for the Republicans, a four-way horserace contest between McCain, Obama, Libertarian Bob Barr and liberal independent Ralph Nader shows....." ********** BARR: TOTAL: 5% DEMS: 2% GOPers: 4% INDIES: 11%

Enter Sarah Palin, a lifetime member of the NRA and now the Republican nominee for Vice President. She is well known in conservative circles for her staunch support of gun rights. Certainly selecting her is reassuring to the NRA. While I'm not suggesting that the NRA's endorsement of a Presidential candidate was the only factor in McCain picking Palin, the mere possibility that they might have endorsed Barr very well could be a much bigger factor than the mainstream media and the Republican Party will ever admit. Could it be that he's courting the NRA to make sure that they...

My Republican and conservative friends are now actively promoting Bob Barr, which is odd because yesterday they maintained Barr was Satan’s older brother. ... Palin does not by herself create a threat to the bicorporal Obama/Biden. There are plenty of policy difference whereby party loyalists and inclined independents would swim toward one candidate or the other regardless of the Palin factor. She may not even shift many of the authentically undecided’s or even a single Hillary harlot. But she does keep that disgruntled 8% from defecting the McCain camp while Joe Biden does nothing to secure disaffected Democrats. ...

This amusing story comes from Ballot Access News: Section 192.031 of the Texas election code says that political parties must certify their presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the November ballot no later than 70 days before the general election. It says, “A political party is entitled to have the names of its nominees for president and vice-president placed on the ballot if before 5 p.m. of the 70th day before presidential election day, the party’s state chair signs and delivers to the secretary of state a written certification of the name’s of the party’s nominees for president and vice-president.” This...

Remember the hot immigration debate? The topic won't be headlining either presidential convention this year — and the border security issue barely drew a crowd Monday to a daylong anti-illegal immigration rally in Denver aimed at keeping immigration before politicians this fall. A rally by the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps featuring Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr drew just a few dozen people...

ATLANTA – Bob Barr, a former Georgia congressman and the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president, responds to concerns that he’ll siphon votes from Republican John McCain. “The fact of the matter is the Republican Party has problems that go far deeper than Bob Barr,” he said. Barr is fundraising in Georgia over the weekend. “Our goal is to impede the chances to be president for both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama,” Barr added. Barr is one of two former Georgia congressional representatives running on third party tickets. Cynthia McKinney is the Green Party’s presidential nominee.

MASSIVE Anti-Illegal Immigration Rally at the Democrat Convention! August 25th! We've got some BIG NEWS for you -- the all-star lineup of speakers at the Rally Against Illegal Immigration just got even BETTER! We've just confirmed that Ambassador Alan Keyes, Congressman Bob Barr, and Reverend Chuck Baldwin -- all of them running for U.S. President -- PLUS anti-amnesty hero Rep. Tom Tancredo, will ALL be speaking at the day-long rally, right near the Democratic National Convention! You DO NOT want to miss this event!!!

A majority of voters say Libertarian Bob Barr, a potential spoiler for Republican John McCain's presidential hopes, should be included in the three presidential debates scheduled in the fall between Barack Obama and Mr. McCain, a recent Zogby poll says.... The online poll of 3,339 likely voters found that 55 percent of voters nationwide - including 50 percent of Republicans and 69 percent of independents and 52 percent of Democrats - want Mr. Barr, a Republican turned Libertarian, to participate in presidential debates... Mr. Barr is sensitive to allegations that he is playing the same spoiler role for Republicans that...

“The Saakashvili government in Georgia made a foolish mistake by initiating hostilities in its breakaway province of South Ossetia,� says Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr in a press release entitled No Foreign Aid for Georgian War. “American taxpayers should not have to pay for that mistake. After all, they already are paying $10 billion a month for the administration’s mistaken invasion and occupation of Iraq. They cannot afford to pay the price for other people’s wars as well.� In response to the press release, Liberty Maven says: It is comforting to know that Barr is quick to point out...

History will be made September 9 in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, as two Libertarian candidates square off in the first Libertarian Congressional primary in the party’s history. Ben Olson III and Kevin Barrett are vying to become the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin’s candidate in this Congressional race. The winner will face Democrat incumbent Congressman Ron Kind and Republican challenger Paul Stark in November. Olson, from Wisconsin Dells, works as a builder, sawyer and bartender. He is running on the limited government and personal responsibility platform endorsed by the national Libertarian Party. Barrett, from Lone Rock, is a leader in the...

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.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts announced today it is suing the Secretary of State's office for refusing to put Libertarian Bob Barr on the presidential ballot in November.

A new program by the U.S. Department of Justice targeting Muslim men of Arab descent for surveillance is unconstitutional, civil rights groups say. The new terrorist profile, set to be unveiled as early as this week, is meant to keep tabs on such men who frequently travel abroad and maintain extensive international contacts, the Detroit News reported Monday. Under the measure, the men may be subject not only to stops at the U.S.-Canadian border, but also to wider investigations that could include electronic surveillance and detentions, whether or not they are suspected of wrongdoing, the newspaper said. What is dangerous...

In 1992, I was a conservative, Republican college student fighting for George H. W. Bush's re-election. I could not understand how he was losing after being so popular during the Iraq war. Sure, he had gone back on the whole "Read my lips" thing, but hey, what politican didn't break his word once in a while. Then, I spoke to my grandfather, a seaman in the navy during World War II and a blue collar Republican his whole life. He told me he was voting for Perot. I was shocked and dismayed. I tried everything I could think of to...

Homeland Security: Forced to defend its growing terrorist watch list, the FBI let slip a chilling fact that should silence ACLU grumblers: America is teeming with 20,000 terrorists.After 9/11, federal authorities estimated that as many as 5,000 terrorists were living in the U.S. The new figure is jarring not only because it's four times as large but because it's based on real persons, not estimates. It's not something headquarters wanted to publicize. Officials had downplayed the threat so as not to spook the public. The spin had been that Britain has the homegrown problem, not us. But that was before...

Bob Barr, the U.S. presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party, said the Bush administration's diplomatic engagement with Iran is "long overdue." Iran appears to be years away from possessing nuclear weapons, giving time for diplomacy to work, Barr said in a release. He said that war with Iran would be a disaster. "American troops in Iraq would be at risk. U.S. citizens would be targeted for terrorist acts," he said. "Tehran could retaliate against Israel. Oil shipments would be disrupted, causing energy prices to soar even higher. Allied states in the Persian Gulf would be vulnerable to attack. Chances for...

My reasons for leaving the Party that I’ve felt at home in since I became politically aware are numerous. I will start with quoting countless conservatives who feel as I do - I didn’t so much leave the Republican Party, it was the Party that left me. The elected Republican officials failed to implement a conservative agenda, despite having the Presidency and both houses of congress. No Child Left Behind, Prescription Drug Entitlements; they even tried to force Amnesty for illegal aliens upon us. They have given us a government that would make even LBJ blush. Our businesses and land...

In fact, as much as he despised Clinton, Barr thinks President Bush is worse. "What George W. Bush has done to the fabric of our constitutional government, to separation of powers, to a government of limited powers is absolutely unforgivable," he said. That prospect is greatest in Barr's home state of Georgia. Obama is already running ads targeting an untapped pool of African Americans and younger voters. State polls suggest Barr's single-digit following pulls mostly from McCain. "If Barr can win 5 or 6 points of the total vote -- it's an if but it's conceivable -- then Obama could...