The Houston Chronicle reports, “Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr, whose campaign manager once guided Ross Perot’s reach for the White House, sported leather boots Sunday as he sought votes in Houston. But, looking beyond the Texas trappings, Barr aimed his message at the nation. He said he hopes to win the support of independents, Republicans who like shrunken government and Democrats who prize civil liberties and privacy.”
The Chronicle adds, “As the candidate of a party that aims to file government to the nub, Barr said his presidential agenda would include getting the federal government out of the war on drugs, letting states decide what drug offenses should be prosecuted and whether marijuana possession should be allowed for medicinal purposes. Barr has switched his stance on the drug issue, among others, since serving as a firebrand GOP congressman best known for pursuing President Clinton’s removal from office because of his sexual relationship with a White House intern. ‘I’ve been there, I’ve done it,’ he said of federal lawmaking. ‘I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t.'”
Although, in principal, the federal government should not practice discrimination, I find it difficult to get aroused (no pun intended) about DADT. Can’t heterosexuals have the exclusive right to be baby murderers? Why do GLBT want in on that action?
“1) Do you support taxpayer support of Israel in the form of foreign
aid? NO
2) If Israel attacks Iran, will you support the commitment of American
money, troops, or weapons to aid Israel? NO
3) If you were in congress today, would your vote for HJ-362, which I
call the AIPAC IRAN WAR BILL? NO”
I must say, I’ve been happy with Barr stances in this regard. For a supposed neo-con, he’s been coming across as quite anti-war. (And if he supports intervening in Columbia, at least he isn’t talking about it.)
In response to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell-
http://youtube.com/watch?v=twzme6btHxg
Sorry for the low volume.
Of course I didn’t see any mention of DIFFICULT questions – like
1. Will you work to end “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and replace it with equal treatment for GBLT service people?
2. What will you do to ensure fair and equal treatment for minority religious beliefs held by service members (particularly Pagans)
3. Do you still want to intervene in Columbia (like you did less than a month prior to the nomination)
4. Will you be supporting the 2nd Amendment, or will you be endorsing more measures like Lautenburg?
5. EXACTLY which parts of DOMA are you going to repeal?
6. What are you going to do about global warming / cooling? (This week as opposed to last week?)
Etc…
What I saw were softball questions…
ART
This is an email from Y. Kelly:
I counted 100 people at Barr’s reception at the U of H tonight.
Initially, I thought the crowd was very cool and wary. Since I had made
an issue of Bob’s taking questions from the floor, I was delighted that
he spent about 45 minutes doing so. More importantly, my questions
about his “support of Israel” clearly indicated by the applause that the
local Libertarians do NOT want any aggression against Iran and Bob will
not support actions by Israel. For the record, here’s what I asked:
1) Do you support taxpayer support of Israel in the form of foreign
aid? NO
2) If Israel attacks Iran, will you support the commitment of American
money, troops, or weapons to aid Israel? NO
3) If you were in congress today, would your vote for HJ-362, which I
call the AIPAC IRAN WAR BILL? NO
All in all, I think Barr was able to warm the crowd up and gain some
converts. I do not know how this translated into fundraising.
Most importantly, IMHO Guy McLendon did an excellent job pulling this
together and making it a success.
Y
Bob Smither wrote:
On Sun, 2008-07-20 at 10:52 -0500, Y. Kelly wrote:
> Marie is correct. there is a widespread perception that since he won
> the nomination, he no longer takes spontaneous questions at events.
> Best he dispell that here in the Libertarian heart of Texas
Which he certainly did. He was very open to questions from the floor,
generous with his time, and I thought handled them quite well – even (I
think – Yvonne can you verify this?) putting our own Yvonne Kelly more
at ease with his quick and direct answers to her concerns about US
support of Israel.
All in all the event today was excellent – well done Guy!
Barr just may be a real libertarian! Time will tell. But this appearance gives me some hope!
PEACE
Steve