I’m thinking McCain’s Perot. Perot ran not just on the issues but personally motivated to take Bush Sr. down. I think Barr thinks it’s time for the Bush Jr Republicans to end.

i dubt he’ll take many votes away from mccain that mccain wasnt gonna get anyway.

doubt*

I’d love to see two or three more viable political parties pop up. IMHO, it would be a very healthy thing for our country, long-term…

Bring it on.

No No No. He’s McCain’s Hillary Clinton.

Hillary is doing the EXACT SAME thing Nader did, only 100x worse.

New phrase for the English language:

‘To pull a Hillary’, verb, meaning to cluelessly pursue something even after it’s clear to all that the effort is futile.

“McCain’s Ralph Nader?”

or

Obama’s Hillary Clinton.

when i see his face all i can think of is his reaction to Borat’s cheese. priceless.

I was intrigued then I looked him up…I’m a Goldwater conservative, but I cannot in good conscience vote for a New-con thug. I was disappointed to see that a guy that so firmly believes in civil liberties still wants to outlaw abortion and continue the drug war. He was also key in the Clinton Impeachment. Just another Neo-Con thug…

I’m thinking that this could take some away from McCain when November comes around especially if he is going up against Obama. McCain still isn’t to popular with the Conservatives and they may find something better in Barr. The only problem Barr has is time. He needs time to get his message out there and time for people to find out what he is about. If he can do that and he appeals to voters, McCain might find that he just is not match for the likes of Obama.

What a joke — but he’ll probably carry the racists in Georgia.

I thought he was a deep right wing guy…. Did I miss the Memo???

He was very anti- Clinton back in the day…

What’s the real story with this guy?

Aaah, let the games begin… as if they hadn’t already. This oughta be fun to watch… the demise of McMundane’s political career, hopefully.

And his wife had an abortion???

He said some republicans had asked him not to run, so they must think he can damage McCain’s chances to some degree. McCain is already swimming upstream against the current so I’m sure he was not happy to hear about Barr. I, on the other hand, look forward to watching it play out.

Bob Barr may be a fine fellow, I like him much better as Libertarian Candidate. Not enough to vote for him, but more power to him.

Personally, I would like to see every single wingnut Republican run for President. They can each vote for themselves. The more the merrier.

Meanwhile, we need Nader to know the unvarnished truth.

As for Perot, he got 19 million votes. There would have been no President Clinton without Perot. Hillary who?

I don’t know if this is a good thing - I know a lot of “tough-guy” conservatives that are big on guns and immigration but not social conservatives, and these are guys who are seriously considering crossing over for Obama. They’ve realized that the GOP is a sinking ship, and they don’t necessarily like Obama’s policy positions but don’t see him as part of the whimping Democratic consultant class (like the much-reviled Clintons). They distrust Obama less than they hate McCain, who is a paramount villain among the tough-guy bloc for his immigration waffling and early anti-MMA stance (McCain is the Nevada Gaming Commission’s pocket, and came out against Ultimate Fighting before Ultimate Fighting went mainstream).

If Bob Barr was in their minds a feasible alternative to vote for, that’s lost crossover support for Obama. We’ll see.

Ayatohllah of Diet Cola @ 9:

I was intrigued then I looked him up…I’m a Goldwater conservative, but I cannot in good conscience vote for a New-con thug. I was disappointed to see that a guy that so firmly believes in civil liberties still wants to outlaw abortion and continue the drug war. He was also key in the Clinton Impeachment. Just another Neo-Con thug…

He is also the guy that got caught cheating on his wife while dating a future wife (thrice married). Of course, this is just being a Republican. And being GOP, he saw no conflict in going after Clinton for his adultry. I wonder if he will consider his personal life fair game?

Based on my knowledge of Bob Barr (I’m from Georgia and met him when he was a Reagan Republican prosecutor wearing a red-white-and-blue tie) and the things I’ve read, I think Bob Barr will be a disaster for McCain if only for this reason: He puts Georgia in play, big time. Barr, the former Congressman, has campaigned in two different districts. He served in Cobb county in the 1990s and then in the new millennium, he was shifted over into a Gwinnett County district, where, as a sitting representative, he ran and lost against the buttoned-down conservative incumbent, John Linder. So he’s got people from two different Republican districts who’ve voted for him already. Also, his column has run regularly in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, so he also has an audience. Georgia is a big state—which already has a tradition of electing blacks statewide Attorney General, state Supreme Court, and Labor Commissioner. Georgia could be a toss-up on election night, and don’t be surprised if he gets twice the votes a Libertarian typically gets. (Call it the Borat bump.)

If Clinton turned out to be the Democratic nominee, I would vote for Rep. Barr. I consider myself a progressive libertarian, and I just do not trust Sen. Clinton with anything. I’m just happy that Obama is going to win and I don’t have to “throw my vote away”.

You can’t be a libertarian if you’re for prosecuting people for personal indescretions.

Alice (Rome didn’t fall in one day) @ 16:

Bob Barr may be a fine fellow, I like him much better as Libertarian Candidate. Not enough to vote for him, but more power to him.

snark/

This plus Ron Paul’s protest will be . . . fun. =)

I’m not going to vote for him, but I like the idea of pulling the troops out and restoring Constitutional freedoms and protections (especially since that is a notion that is conspicuously absent from any discussions being conducted by either, McCain, Obama or Clinton). Of course, if he’s really serious, the MSM will make mince-meat out of him, because shortening or ending the war is not favored by corporate Amerika, and any talk whatsoever about the Constitution has been declared off-limits and strictly verbötten by the same crew. He’s going to have a hard time overcoming his neocon credentials.

Indigowatcher @ 4:

I’d love to see two or three more viable political parties pop up. IMHO, it would be a very healthy thing for our country, long-term…

I couldn’t agree more!

According to the wiki link, Barr now regrets voting for the Patriot Act.

And then there’s this:

“Barr has been a vocal opponent of President George W. Bush’s claim of authorization to wiretap transnational phone calls without individual judicial license. He has said, “What’s wrong with it is several-fold. One, it’s bad policy for our government to be spying on American citizens through the National Security Agency. Secondly, it’s bad to be spying on Americans without court oversight. And thirdly, it’s bad to be spying on Americans apparently in violation of federal laws against doing it without court order.”

BTW, what you are looking at is just one of the faces (guises) of Republican re-branding.

Scy @ 23:

This plus Ron Paul’s protest will be . . . fun. =)

Ron Paul would be running as the libertarian if we weren’t stuck with the two-party-go-nowhere system.

I just can’t see how Barr’s candidacy can be seen as an asset for McCain in any way.  I mean, I can not see any circumstances where an Obama supporter would jump ship and support McCain or Barr over Clinton.  Nor can I imagine a Clinton supporter jumping shipping ship and backing McCain or Barr over Obama.  I just don’t see that as being likely.  I can see where McCain and Barr could split the right leaning independent or even far right voting block though.  To me, that is highly likely indeed.

I have a feeling some McCain voters are very interested in Barr. McCain was thrown at them and now they might feel they have a choice.

Working for a small progressive-leaning media company I once sat in on and then edited an interview and discussion with Bob Barr and Tom Hartman. The discussion focused a great deal on civil liberties and the mounting evidence (2004-5) that the BushCheney axis was seriously assaulting the citizens’ rights and privileges vis a vis privacy. I was genuinely shocked to hear make basically the same argument made by the left of center Hartman. In fact there was much he said that seemed quite reasonable and downright patriotic substantively, rather then jingoistically. Barr is anti-imperialist in the small-r republican vein, takes the same position as Paul on that score. I think with Barr we see how at the furthest reaches of the right one often runs into what is considered the furthest reaches of the left, namely a healthy reaction against government intrusiveness in the lives of The People - the “Don’t Tread on Me” credo - and also a principled stand against the American Republic’s metamorphisis into a blatent Imperium. Barr and Paul’s critique of “big, bloated governement” seems also timely, since this entire culture appears to be waking up to the fact that we’ve all grown accustomed to living beyond our means, and the establishment US government is the prime examplar of that. So, while I intend to support Obama for a variety of reasons, I also find much to appreciate in Barr and Paul’s rhetoric.

based on what he is vowing to do, I’d vote for him before I’d vote for Hillary.

I think Ron Paul realizes that he can do more to change the republican party from the inside, rather than the outside.

Planet B @ 32:

based on what he is vowing to do, I’d vote for him before I’d vote for Hillary.

Why do you believe him? Are you aware of his past political record?

I know nothing about this guy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Barr
I know this is from Wikipedia, but it does share some insight into this man.

I think a lot of true conservatives will love Barr. He offers them a true alternative to the fake conservative and fake liberal McCain. McCain is just a fake.

http://www.chbn.com/Clip.aspx?key=8BF2D6BFC8CACD0C

Jordan @ 17:

I don’t know if this is a good thing - I know a lot of “tough-guy” conservatives that are big on guns and immigration but not social conservatives, and these are guys who are seriously considering crossing over for Obama. They’ve realized that the GOP is a sinking ship, and they don’t necessarily like Obama’s policy positions but don’t see him as part of the whimping Democratic consultant class (like the much-reviled Clintons). They distrust Obama less than they hate McCain, who is a paramount villain among the tough-guy bloc for his immigration waffling and early anti-MMA stance (McCain is the Nevada Gaming Commission’s pocket, and came out against Ultimate Fighting before Ultimate Fighting went mainstream).

really? is the mixed-martial arts scene really that politically active? i’m not sure if i should be amazed by this or frightened.

that said, hats off to barr for running. won’t be voting for him, but anything he can do to steal votes from mcsame is fine by me. Obama ‘08!

If Bob Barr was in their minds a feasible alternative to vote for, that’s lost crossover support for Obama. We’ll see.

I agree with Josh Marshall on this. His appeal to social conservatives is not so hot. If he helps Obama, it’ll be in northern red states where Obama did fairly well and brought them into play. Dakotas, Montana, Colorado, maybe helping in Michigan if he runs well.
He has a bit of a flake reputation. He was one of the managers of the Clinton Impeachment, but I saw him on Bill Moyers once and he impressed me with his disdain for the Bush assault on the constitution and favored criminal charges and impeachment for the lot.

If Bob Barr was in their minds a feasible alternative to vote for, that’s lost crossover support for Obama. We’ll see.

Republicans hear about Obama’s plan to put the US under jurisdiction of UN courts and plans to take people’s kids away if they don’t have health insurance and they run as far away as they can from Obama.

In how many states will he be on the ballot?

Sure this guy is a nutcase beyond repair, but one of his proposals is to GET OUT OF IRAQ NOW !

That alone makes him a viable candidate.

tehghey @ 41:

If Bob Barr was in their minds a feasible alternative to vote for, that’s lost crossover support for Obama. We’ll see.

Republicans hear about Obama’s plan to put the US under jurisdiction of UN courts and plans to take people’s kids away if they don’t have health insurance and they run as far away as they can from Obama.

Huh? Elaborate with citations, please.

tehghey @ 41:

If Bob Barr was in their minds a feasible alternative to vote for, that’s lost crossover support for Obama. We’ll see.

Republicans hear about Obama’s plan to put the US under jurisdiction of UN courts and plans to take people’s kids away if they don’t have health insurance and they run as far away as they can from Obama.

Where might I find Obama’s positions as you stated above?

Bob Barr, the John Edwards of the Right

Based on his own platform, Barr will have to conduct a John Edwards campaign, running against pretty much his entire voting record during his Congressional career. On every issue Barr names, he voted in the manner in which he now criticizes.

Let’s count them up:

Iraq War: voted to authorize.

Eavesdropping and “suspending habeas corpus” (which hasn’t happened — and war detainees have never had it): Voted for the Patriot Act.

Runaway spending: voted for Medicare, Part D — which McCain opposed.

What will he use for a campaign slogan — “In hindsight, I was a lousy Congressman”? That didn’t work for John Edwards this year in a major-party primary, and it won’t convince people to vote Libertarian, either.

—Ed Morrissey

I don’t usually comment on such superficial matters as appearance, but with a face like Barr’s, one shouldn’t wear a mustache.

If you think this is going to hurt McCain, you people are nuts. McCain is a patriotic war hero and he will trounce Barack HUSSEIN Obama who can’t even wear the flag pin and say the pledge. Patriotic whites will not vote for the unpatriotic black and you know it.
srday@cox.net

Day @ 48:

If you think this is going to hurt McCain, you people are nuts. McCain is a patriotic war hero and he will trounce Barack HUSSEIN Obama who can’t even wear the flag pin and say the pledge. Patriotic whites will not vote for the unpatriotic black and you know it.
srday@cox.net

That’s nice. Since you seem to be convinced that you have future predicting powers, may I request the Powerball number for the rest of this week and all of next?

After that you can return to merely parroting talking points.

Thanks in advance.

Re-Select John McCain and let the Republicans AND DemocRATS finish the contract ON
America!!!!!

Day @ 48:

If you think this is going to hurt McCain, you people are nuts. McCain is a patriotic war hero and he will trounce Barack HUSSEIN Obama who can’t even wear the flag pin and say the pledge. Patriotic whites will not vote for the unpatriotic black and you know it.
srday@cox.net

wow!
words can’t explain how wrong you are.

I don’t know why people are making such a big deal about the election. There isn’t going to be an election. Democracy is dead.

So let’s see: all the Hillary supporters will vote McCain if Hill doesn̵