Don’t vote Obama/McCain. Vote former Congressman Bob Barr
Do you remember all the fuss made about Ralph Nader during the last election? Did you know that he hadn’t even make it onto the ballot in all 50 states?!?! 34 isn’t even close, and it’s no wonder people think the two party spiral can’t be broken when someone as gung ho and well known as Nader can’t even make the ballots. ( Read more about ballot access laws )
This year, the landscape is already different. So many people are voting for their candidate because he’s NOT the other one. That the 50 ballot hurdle has already been conquered.
On Aug 1, former Congressman Bob Barr turned in one thousand pages of signatures to the government of the state of West Virginia, to get state #50. (And yes they are still counting and verifying, but even more signatures have been collected since then, making it a pretty sure bet that WV has been won.) That means that he has already collected over 867,134 signatures from backers across the country.
So, now, people like me, who don’t think Obama has the experience required to be a strong independant president or that don’t believe McCain represents the core republican principals he’s asking to represent, now have a real choice.
If you are one of the people that count the cost of a third party vote, as we all should, consider this: what is the cost of continuing in this two party quagmire. If you vote for EITHER Democrat or Republican, you are voting against fixing the ingrown Federal system. How many times have you heard people say “There’s no difference between them. They’re all crooks.” Well, then maybe it is time for those people to do something about it. The two parties are already working to eliminate our choice. For example the debate rules have been changed so that for a candidate to be included in even the first debates, they must have enough ballot access to win and be at 15% or higher in the current polls. So your vote, if nothing else, is buying access.
Here is what I am suggesting. Reserve judgement. Find out what Bob Barr represents. Find out if there are any positions at all of his that you disagree with. This is a good place start: http://www.bobbarr2008.com/issues/ And when asked in polls and surveys, mark that you are considering Bob Barr. It doesn’t mark that as your choice in November. It only says, “I am think this person is a valid candidate and I want to hear what he has to say and I want to be informed of what he has to offer.”
Those are my words on the subject. I recommend you stop hear and go to his site to find out more. http://www.bobbarr2008.com/about/
But if now is all the time you have, here is a 1 paragraph quote from his staff:
“Bob Barr spent eight years in Congress as a Representative from Georgia. His intellect and leadership skills were quickly recognized. He rose to prominence as a result of his courageous commitment to principle. Bob Barr was and is a strong defender of your civil rights. He will fight to protect our privacy against “big brother” and he’ll defend our right to keep and use firearms. Bob will cut government spending, and taxes. And, he’ll balance our budget. Bob’s plan to tackle our national energy crisis includes embracing new technologies and conservation – but also, more domestic production and refining. ” http://www.bobbarr2008.com
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You have to remember, Barr is more conservative than McCain is, and still represents a lot of the Republican values that have hurt this country so much. He served as a Republican congressman in Georgia, and supported bills by the Republican party that hurt this country (he has since flip-flopped on those votes, and even on a bill he wrote).
Barr is no better than McCain. Actually, they are probably two of the most conservative Republicans I know.
Micheal you obviously do not know alot Republicans is McCain is one of the most conservative you know.
I do not care about flip flops if they change to my views and communicate why, which Barr has done. Most go the politically correct way and change their mind and will not admit they held that old opinion, like McCain.
The bill he wrote, the marriage bill, clearly let the states decide the definition of marriage. It defined it al the Federal level. Only that part he would repeal.
I am supporting Bob Barr 100% because the Libertarian view is best of both worlds. Fiscally conservative and socially liberal, but they will not push their social views on the rest of the country.
I know a lot about the Republican party TJ. And by the way, thank you for not disputing my claim that Barr is one of the most conservative Republicans out there. Glad to see someone else notices it too.
Read the following article, it makes a lot of sense of why Bob Barr is just as bad as John McCain is.
http://www.nolanchart.com/article4325.html
He’s no Ron Paul, and he certaily falls short of the libertarian ideal, but he’s a hell of a lot better than Obama and McCain, neither of which I could stoop to vote for. It’s incredible that he’ll be on the ballot in 50 states! That’s a big, big accomplishment.
Well one wonders if we’re going to try to “grassroots” something like a 3rd party, why we shouldn’t invest our energy in something like actually holding current officials accountable. People are currently not even interested enough to invest time in learning about 2 candidates, much less a third. While there are obvious problems with two parties gaining control and then creating barriers to competition, I think that any form of “change” is going to have to originate from a change in the electorate. We get the officials we deserve, since we don’t invest any time in energy in learning about them or expecting anything from them. You can add more options to the ballot, but people will still vote straight-ticket and not even really be able to tell you why. Ultimately politics can’t get any better until we (the electorate) take more time to make it so.
I can agree with you completely Protoscopic on the topic of holding the current officials accountable and on the educations of the electorate. I think that supporting and, even more so, electing Bob Barr would help to achieve BOTH of those goals. What sends a better messages to the current officials than refusing them office? If the education of the general public only comes to the spoon fed through the mass media, then give them what they want. Bob Barr’s poll numbers are rising as of last Friday’s results. Amazing in the light of the conventions occuring. Plus rather than being shut out of the media till after September, Barr is now getting MORE coverage rather than less.
I just got this information in a note from the Barr campaign office:
– Tomorrow night (8/26), Bob Barr will appear for his second time on the Colbert Report.
– On both Wednesday and Friday mornings, Bob will be appearing on CNN.
– And on Thursday, Glenn Beck will be taping another full hour with our candidate!