Barr loses Georgia Primary. Libertarian Party claims partial responsibility.

Libertarian Party ^ | 08/21/2002 | George Getz, Press Secretary

[EBUCK]

The ad wasn't aimed at the dazed and confused LPers. It was aimed at people who could go either way in the primary. Moderate pubbies to be exact. The ad was just to give a little emotional incentive not to vote for Barr and in doing so, weaken the unConstitutional WOD.BUCK

[My2Cents]

i would be a libertarian if they weren't so obsessed with drugs.

I was tempted in 1998 to register Libertarian. But I found they were more interested in legal access to drugs than to any coherent philosophy of governance. If libertarianism were truly based on principle rather than "libertine" positions on what people used to view as "sin," it might have a future.

[EBUCK]

Linder is a far better conservative candidate...period. You should be gratefull.

EBUCK

[strela]

So now the LP may get a WOD-der and a gun restrictor. A real stupid use of tight resources, to say the least.

Hey, don't discount the LP's fund-raising prowess so quickly. I hear they blanketed the coin return slots in every pay phone in Atlanta and found at least ten bucks in quarters therein. Rumor also has it that change under the seat cushions at airports paid for their last national convention.

[ThreeYearLurker]

Get real, Barr got his clocked cleaned, and the WOD made no difference.

By the way, U of O sucks!

[Phillip Augustus]

I agree that drug legalization itself is not a real priority. However, the War of Drugs, and subsequent erosion of our Constitutional Fourth Amendment, is a HELL of a priority in my view.

[Mo1]

Well I sure hope Linder can win this race .. otherwise the LP just screwed themselves

[EBUCK]

By the way, U of O sucks!

I know. Beaver Believer myself...

EBUCK

[PhiKapMom]

The Libertarian Party is targeting Henry Bonilla of TX and Tim Hutchison of AR? Are you guys nuts? You want to give South Texas to RATs for your own Agenda and help the RATs keep control of the Senate all because you want legalized drugs! I hope every Texas and Arkansas Republican Freeper sees that little gem at post #18!

Looks like the truth is coming out about the Libertarian Party -- your sole purpose is to legalize drugs since that seems to be the criteria for opposing a candidate. Disgusting if you ask me.

As for the claim you all defeated Barr, give me a break -- he was doomed from the start. He should have run in his old district even with redistricting -- he crossed over into a popular conservative's district to run -- stupid!

[BlackRazor]

Why did Barr do something so suicidially stupid. If he had not moved his residence he would have remained in the district containing a majority of voters who had voted him into office before. Why did he move and invite career incineration?"

This is pretty much hearsay on my part, so if this is inaccurate, feel free to correct me -- but from what I've been able to understand, even though only 17% of Barr's constituents were in the 7th District, they were the most Republican portion thereof.

While the 11th (?) district did contain about 70% of Barr's constituents, its pro-Barr tendencies had been watered down due to the removal of many of the Republicans.

So, yes, Barr could have run in a district with more of his own total constituents, but with significantly fewer Republican ones. Had he stayed in that district, he would have easily won the GOP primary, but probably would have had a tough fight in the general election.

I think his incumbency would have pushed him over the top, but we'll never know. Personally, I would rather he stayed put, as the party leaders advised him. At least we would have had a better chance not to lose a seat that way.

[EBUCK]

I think that Linder is far more palatable in the eyes of rats. Barr looked and acted like a plantation owner or something (just an observation)..

from Linders Website...

"John believes that individuals can make better decisions for their own families than the federal government. One of his most popular pieces of legislation is the FairTax. This revolutionary bill would abolish all federal income taxes, including payroll, self-employment, income, capital gains, corporate and death taxes, and replace them all with one simple, straightforward federal sales tax. The FairTax will give the American people control over their own lives again by allowing them to keep 100% of their paychecks, as well as shielding their personal information from government bureaucrats."

Sounds great to me!

EBUCK

[Dane]

Actually, for quite a few of us ending the WOsD is a side issue. It isn't that we want to smoke dope,

And the sky is green. Please, a LP cnadidate in Virginia called his campaign a "reeferrendum".

Libertarian Party=Drug culture.

[Moonman62]

..., and the Libertarian Party appears to have played a small role in making it happen.

"Small role" as in insignificant. The LP never fails to draw attention to its lack of clout.

[webstersII]

No one is claiming full responsibility. But I'm sure that the LP ads helped.

I'm not so sure. I saw the ad several times and it was very heart-wrenching to see this poor woman suffering so, but I can't believe it would change very many minds in this debate. People are so closed-minded on both sides of this issue that I don't think these appeals would have much affect.

[JDGreen123]

I agree with you. We get the talk shows of Neal Boortz and Lowell Ponte, two libertarian talk hosts. I cheer for them about 80% of the time and want to choke them 20% of the time. At least they seem to be more often in league with conservative ideas than with liberals. I imagine a liberal would cheer them 20% of the time and would want to choke them 80% of the time. If it were not for the "do whatever you want as long as you do not harm others" stance, I could support Libertarians. I argue that even if it is only yourself being harmed by your actions, society as a whole suffers also.

[Mo1]

Sounds great to me!

Sounding great and getting elected are two different things

Like I said .. better hope he can win otherwise the LP screwed themselves ..

All this because of drugs ... I wonder if giving the Rats back their power is worth it ???

[Reagan Man]

>>>what the heck is it with libertarians and drugs? i would be a libertarian if they weren't so obsessed with drugs. that, and their position on minimal national defense.

It's not just the issues of drug legalization and minimal national defense, that libertarians are obsessed with. The Libertarian Platform promotes the pro-choice agenda of abortion on demand, while favoring open borders, unlimited immigration, pro-prostitution and is adamantly opposed to America's criminal justice and law enforcement systems of control.

The truth is, most libertarians are opposed to any federal government that limits their desire to engage in immoral behavior. The Libertarian motto is, absolute and unrestricted liberty for all. Such behavior would only lead to chaos and anarchy. The American people are responsible, law abiding folks who respect the rights of others and support an orderly society. The American people don't believe in, the anything goes philosophy of libertarianism.

[strela]

The LP never fails to draw attention to its lack of clout.

Hey, when I was on the East Coast a few years ago, I couldn't find a restroom in time and had to urinate into the ocean. If I were a LP member, I could claim to have caused all those floods over in Germany and got myself some cheap publicity!

[BlackRazor]

"Actually, for quite a few of us ending the WOsD is a side issue."

Maybe that's true among the rank-and-filers. But as best as I can tell, the powers-that-be in the LP consider it the singular issue when determining what candidates to target.

[Roscoe]

67% + 33% + the Libertarian Difference = 100%!

Pretty much.