A new blog entry has been written by Robert Kraus, Acting Executive Director of the Libertarian Party. Kraus responds to what he says are the concerns of many LP members over presidential candidate Bob Barr‘s non-attendance at the Paul/Baldwin/McKinney/Nader press conference earlier today, criticizing Ron Paul’s staff and supporters close to it for “games” over the past year, as well as today.
Independent Political Report
Covering third parties and independent candidates since 2008
You’ve got to be kidding.
Consider what facts? This looks like another whiny entry on a blog. Oh… it is another whiny entry on a blog.
It would seem so, huh, Trent? A blog about dissing other blogs about criticizing Paul for playing games is news?
A blog about dissing other blogs about criticizing Paul for playing games is news?
An official response from a party staffer on an issue they’re apparently taking flak for and delivered through the party media is news.
The fact that it’s a blog telling you not to rely on blogs is just irony.
Look at this way. The fact that they made that blog entry signals that they’re taking alot of hell for this.
The fact is you don’t see Ron Paul or his staff bashing Barr, running around pointing fingers, and fueling division in this movement. Instead, you see the LP and the Barr staff all making accusations against Paul and his staff, while they make mistake after mistake, are guilty of endless infighting and shady unethical behavior, and their candidate is not showing up to big public events.
The LP blog can’t be commented upon by the “little people” either! Some blog.
Ron Paul just endorsed three candidates, two of whom are extreme leftists, not Ron Paul libertarians.
Bob Barr is presenting himself as the one true libertarian in this race.
I think this is a fair point.
However, this blog has used the event to bludgeon Bob Barr all day long — he was even accused of supporting child pornography.
Barr was nowhere accused of support child pornography on this blog.
Indy, one of RP’s C4L flacks actually did post a pretty scathing attack on Barr today. It’s on IPR somewhere.
I’m no libertarian, but I have enough libertarian friends and colleages that I can say that Bob Barr is no libertarian.
True libertarians aren’t hawks in the drug war.
True libertarians don’t hem and haw when asked about bailing out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae with our tax dollars.
True libertarians don’t vote for preemptive and illegal war.
True libertarians don’t vote for the PATRIOT Act.
True libertarians don’t try to ban the practice of a minority religion in the military.
True libertarians don’t choose a neocon like Root to be their VP.
I’m a friggin’ leftist and even I can tell you that Barr is no libertarian.
This is totally disgusting. Barr is dead to me unless he issues a public apology to Ron Paul for what his no show stunt at the Press Conference and his staffers have done!
Ah, but to be in Montana or Louisiana. Then the choice for President would be so simple. Alas, I’m 99% sure I’m forced to choose between Baldwin and Nader now.
What state you from, Sivarticus?
Go for Baldwin–it will encourage the CP to pick more pro-liberty constitutionalists in the future,and be a sort of reward for rejecting Alan Keyes.
Indy, one of RP’s C4L flacks actually did post a pretty scathing attack on Barr today. It’s on IPR somewhere.
Right here. I’d point out though that Don Rassmussen made his comments to UnitedLiberty and RonPaulForums; nothing about the Barr episode on the C4L site as of yet.
Ron Paul just endorsed three candidates, two of whom are extreme leftists, not Ron Paul libertarians.
Gee, if only there was another guy up there to round things off.
Bob Barr is presenting himself as the one true libertarian in this race.
I think this is a fair point.
Barr is presenting himself as the one true libertarian following a long pattern of ignoring libertarians until they get pissed off at him.
However, this blog has used the event to bludgeon Bob Barr all day long — he was even accused of supporting child pornography.
Barr took a position that child porn entered as evidence in a trial must be available for public inspection. It’s tough to resolve the question of open trials and victim’s privacy, and Barr’s handling of the matter leaves him open to criticism – it would if he had taken the opposite view as well. Given that the IPR post concerned Barr’s status on a case involving child molestation – news picked up by AJC today despite occuring a couple months ago – the reference was relevant.
They hate us! They really hate us!
A blog post said that Barr “has advocated the distribution of pornography, according to some.” Yea, nice.
See for yourself:
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2008/09/bob-barr-postpones-his-defense-of-alleged-child-molester/
Mike Gillis: I believe you misrepresent Bob Barr. But my point was that Ron Paul has just gone into ‘anybody but McCain and Obama’ mode. I voted for him because of his libertarian principles, which he is now obscuring.
Yes yankee, and I refered you to the link where someone said exactly what we said someone said. I got it from that post.
Update from an average citizen who doesn’t analyze third party politics to the extreme (i.e….us):
I was talking to someone who helped us with Citizens for Health Reform, and she said that the general thought is that Barr has a big ego. That’s the general thought with libertarian-minded people that have better things to do than pay extreme attention.
I disagree that Dr. Paul is “obscuring” his libertarian principles. He is seeking unity with other progressives on common issues. This is exactly what we as independents and progressives need to be doing. Instead, most of us are egotistical and do the opposite.
Please tell me how I misrepresented Barr. I made factual remarks about his record and remarks.
What’s with the Top-down control bullshit of the LP lately? Might as well join the fucking GOP.
yankeefox – What I reported in regards to Bob Barr’s support for the legal distribution of child pornography IS TRUE.
This is the LP’s idea of “damage control”?
WOW.
I could think up better damage control than this, even for something as bad as this. I’m beginning to question the sanity of these gentlemen.
By the way, GE. Nader’s youtube page just put up video of the whole press conference in 2 videos.
That channel is “votenader”.
Nothing but excuses. Bad excuses.
How stupid is Barr and his staffers? They obviously didn’t pass the third grade. I can’t believe they would make this colossal mistake. This is disgraceful.
There is a movement brewing to censure Barr/Root for the illegality of extending the offer to Ron Paul, and another, more radical movement afoot, to remove Barr/Root from the ticket.
Also: Interesting the junta says not to rely on blogs for news, and yet sent us this release to report.
Why doesn’t the LP just say what they really mean: Read the Barr pravda (TPW) only to get a sterilized version of events, and STAY AWAY from IPR.
Traffic update:
IPR: 17,026 page views today
TPW: 7,553
I don’t know about Barr, but with over 8,000 unique visits, this has been a great day for IPR!
Yes, when we we get our check from Viguerie?
Mike Gillis: Bob Barr has changed his position on the issues you highlight. On the drug war, for example, he is far from being a “hawk†– he is one of its biggest critics and has joined the Marijuana Policy Project. Same goes for the Patriot Act -he was originally a skeptic, who voted for it (and, in so doing, was responsible for having the sunset clause inserted). He later became one of its most high profile opponents – He toured the country debating the author of the Patriot Act.
yankeefox – the problem I had with Barr when he was running for the nomination was that when he had the opportunity to make a real difference, when he was voting on these issues, he took the popular stance and the non-libertarian stance. Once he’s out of office, however, he suddenly sees the light! I had a problem with that, and still do.
“There is a movement brewing to censure Barr/Root for the illegality of extending the offer to Ron Paul, and another, more radical movement afoot, to remove Barr/Root from the ticket.”
Who do I need to email, call, write, etc and so on to help make this happen?
Btw, I emailed the Ohio LP earlier today. I asked if I could make the conversation public, but understandably, that was denied. I was told if anyone had any questions regarding “The Collosal Fuck Up of ’08” to direct them to http://www.lpo.org, http://www.lp.org, and http://www.thirdpartywatch.com
Changing of any ticket can’t happen anymore! Ballot access laws won’t allow it in places like Texas, where we already saw this controversy with the major parties (except they just ignored the laws), and in New England with George Phillies.
No ticket is better than a bad ticket.
Ross – They can still be kicked off. And in some states, I assume, they can still be changed. Every state has different laws.
Barr/Root have damaged the LP’s brand with the biggest Freedom Movement of the past 150 years — the only way that brand can be salvaged is if they are condemned by the LP, cast out, and castigated in the harshest possible terms.
Tim – You asked me to email you, but I can’t find that post now.
Regardless, you can put let members of the LNC know how you feel. All it takes is one to make the motion and another to second it.
GE
The email was regarding the conversation with a LPO offical, as I figured they’d let me post it. Guess not.
timmsanders at gmail dot com
Oh, Tim… You were told to direct people to TPW!??!?
IT’S OFFICIAL: TPW IS AN OFFICIAL PROPAGANDA ARM OF THE LP/BARR CAMPAIGN!
Woah there lol, I think it was a personal suggestion from the fellow I spoke to. The exact quote is “Third Party watch is excellent source also.”
G.E., look at the silver lining of this fiasco: the reformist junta that took over the LP in 2006 wil come crashing down after the election.
I wish I could be fully confident of that, Hugh. They’re still in the seats of power and they can do things to suppress turnout, etc.
Two people on the LNC need to step up to the plate and force a vote on whether or not to remove Barr/Root.
This is the last straw for one now-former Barr supporter.
A return to the days of running obscure radical LP activists every four years and getting the same 400,000 votes over and over again doesn’t sound very appealing, either, though. And Barr won the nomination primarily because that was pretty much the only other thing available.
The fundamental idea of the LP being a vehicle for a broader libertarian coalition is sound, and is in fact the only way the LP can ever be more than a radical fringe niche party that gets .5% in a good year. It just turns out that Barr isn’t interested in coalition building, he just wants everyone to follow him.
And I say all that as an Ethics of Liberty-thumping anarcho-capitalist.
“However, this blog has used the event to bludgeon Bob Barr all day long — he was even accused of supporting child pornography.”
I don’t know if it would be fair to say that he “supports child pornography.” However, it is a matter of public record, published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as an op-ed column written by Barr himself, that he has called for the distribution of child pornography on demand by the government of Georgia.
Somehow, radicals can see that our economy today is not capitalist, but rather corporatist, yet it doesn’t occur to them that in the LP, this is not true reform in the first place.
Let Barr crawl back under the Republican rock he came from.
http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2008/tle471-20080608-02.html