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A Candidate Runs to a G.O.P. Chorus of ‘Don’t’ (Bob Barr)
New York Times ^ | 6/27/08 | Julie Bossman

Posted on 06/28/2008 7:27:30 AM PDT by mngran2

He has been called a spoiler. A would-be Ralph Nader. A thorn in the side of Senator John McCain and the Republican establishment.

None of it bothers Bob Barr, the former Republican congressman from Georgia turned Libertarian Party candidate for president, who gleefully recounted what he says a group of Republicans told him at a recent meeting in Washington: Don’t run.

“ ‘Well, gee, you might take votes from Senator McCain,’ ” Mr. Barr said this week, mimicking one of the complainers, as he sat sipping Coca-Cola in his plush corner office, 12 stories above Atlanta. “They all said, ‘Look, we understand why you’re doing this. We agree with why you’re doing it. But please don’t do it.’ ”

But with the Libertarian nomination in hand, Mr. Barr hopes to follow in the footsteps of Ross Perot and Mr. Nader, whose third-party presidential bids wreaked general-election havoc.

For one, he is hoping to hitch his wagon to the enormous grass-roots movement behind Representative Ron Paul, the libertarian-minded Republican from Texas who recently abandoned his own presidential bid.

And with presidential elections increasingly boiling down to state-by-state battles for Electoral College votes, many political analysts think a Barr candidacy, no matter how marginal, could have some impact.

On the ballots in 30 states so far, Mr. Barr has the chance to be a spoiler for Mr. McCain, the presumed Republican nominee, in several states, among them Alaska, Colorado and Georgia. Mr. Barr’s campaign advisers also assert he has similar potential in other mountain states, New Hampshire, Ohio and other swing states.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008; aclu; barr; bobbarr; election; electionpresident; libertarianparty; lp; mccain; obama; professionalspoilers; sideshowbob; thirdparty
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1 posted on 06/28/2008 7:27:31 AM PDT by mngran2
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To: mngran2
So Bob Barr is a little tattle-tale. Isn't that special.
2 posted on 06/28/2008 7:29:15 AM PDT by avacado
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To: mngran2

Bob Barr should just go back to his job at the ACLU. He sold out the conservative movement long ago.


3 posted on 06/28/2008 7:30:30 AM PDT by big'ol_freeper ("Preach the Gospel always, and when necessary use words". ~ St. Francis of Assisi)
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To: mngran2

If Capt Queeg was so darned popular why is the GOP afraid of little ol’ Bob Barr? Might it be because they know they got stuck with Queeg?


4 posted on 06/28/2008 7:36:06 AM PDT by NCBraveheart (Too bad ignorance isn't painful)
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To: mngran2

It’s McCain’s job to get conservatives to the poll to vote for him. If he can’t, he needs to stay in the senate.


5 posted on 06/28/2008 7:37:47 AM PDT by Sybeck1 (I would rather be water-boarded than vote for John McCain......)
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To: big'ol_freeper
Bob Barr should just go back to his job at the ACLU. He sold out the conservative movement long ago.

Spot on. Had Barr not exposed his true colors by joining the ACLU, it is possible that could have caused problems for McCain. But, as it is, true Conservatives will not be buying his act.

But that won't stop the slimes from writing puff-pieces in an attempt to jump-start his campaign.

6 posted on 06/28/2008 7:38:27 AM PDT by rhinohunter (Welcome back to the GOP "glory" days of Gerald Ford and Bob Michel)
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To: mngran2
There's a very easy strategy to marginalize Bob Barr: McCain just needs to run as a conservative.

Oh, wait. He isn't a conservative. So much for that idea.

7 posted on 06/28/2008 7:38:31 AM PDT by NittanyLion
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To: big'ol_freeper
Well, gee, you might take votes from Senator McCain

I highly doubt that someone who would vote for Barr, a conservative, would have voted for McCain, a big government statist.

The election is truly about statism vs conservatism. The statists have already won since they have candidates in the two major parties. The best conservatives can hope for is that the Barr candidacy will reach new voters and disgruntled Republicans and we can work towards victories in the midterm elections and 2012.
8 posted on 06/28/2008 7:38:52 AM PDT by PastorTony
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To: NCBraveheart
why is the GOP afraid of little ol’ Bob Barr?

Same reason the Dems have been concerned about Nader these last couple elections -- he could make the difference in a battleground state if the vote count is close enough.

9 posted on 06/28/2008 7:39:32 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
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To: mngran2
Captain:
Bob Stole the Strawberries.

Now the fur will fly! ! ! ! ! !

10 posted on 06/28/2008 7:39:48 AM PDT by DeaconRed (GOP- You Left Me----- and Many More Just Like Me. You want us back? You know what to do.)
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To: mngran2

The twit doesn’t even deserve the ink he gets. Glenn Beck better get over himself fast. I don’t expect that to happen.


11 posted on 06/28/2008 7:42:54 AM PDT by Past Your Eyes (You knew the job was dangerous when you took it.)
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To: big'ol_freeper
He sold out the conservative movement long ago.

There is no "conservative movement."

12 posted on 06/28/2008 7:43:03 AM PDT by Types_with_Fist (I'm on FReep so often that when I read an article at another site I scroll down for the comments.)
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To: NittanyLion

Exactly!


13 posted on 06/28/2008 7:46:16 AM PDT by NCBraveheart (Too bad ignorance isn't painful)
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To: NCBraveheart
If Capt Queeg was so darned popular why is the GOP afraid of little ol’ Bob Barr? Might it be because they know they got stuck with Queeg?

BINGO, We have a winner! The tip off: ‘Look, we understand why you’re doing this. We agree with why you’re doing it. But please don’t do it.’
Translation: "Before you ran we had the conservatives by the gonads - where were they gonna go? Now you've given them a choice."

14 posted on 06/28/2008 7:46:24 AM PDT by Oatka (A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves." –Bertrand de Jouvenel)
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To: NCBraveheart
Might it be because they know they got stuck with Queeg?

GOP primary voters picked McCain, so I wouldn't say the GOP "got stuck" with McCain. They picked him. Conservatives "got stuck" with McCain because they keep sticking to the GOP.

15 posted on 06/28/2008 7:46:25 AM PDT by mngran2
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To: mngran2

Bob Barr is no conservative in the first place. He sealed that fate by getting in bed with the ACLU.


16 posted on 06/28/2008 7:46:39 AM PDT by DallasBiff
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To: PastorTony

You are right about McCain, but wrong about Barr. He is in bed with the ACLU, an organization that is anathema to anything conservative.


17 posted on 06/28/2008 7:46:43 AM PDT by big'ol_freeper ("Preach the Gospel always, and when necessary use words". ~ St. Francis of Assisi)
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To: mngran2
A Candidate Runs to a G.O.P. Chorus of ‘Don’t’ (Bob Barr)

I think that was actually a chorus of yawns. ;)

18 posted on 06/28/2008 7:48:58 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves ("One man's 'magic' is another man's engineering. 'Supernatural' is a null word." -- Robert Heinlein)
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To: mngran2

I had no choice when my primary finally got around. So I was stuck with the McCainiac.


19 posted on 06/28/2008 7:49:29 AM PDT by Sybeck1 (I would rather be water-boarded than vote for John McCain......)
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To: Sybeck1
I had no choice when my primary finally got around. So I was stuck with the McCainiac.

Same here! Don't blame me - I didn't vote for the piss-poorest candidate the GOP has ever had.

20 posted on 06/28/2008 7:54:55 AM PDT by alicewonders (I'm a conservative, and I'm hated by the GOP & the Dems - I must be doing something right!)
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