Libertarian Rising
PARTY SUES TO PUT BARR ON THE BALLOT
By Mande Wilkes
FITSNews - July 1, 2008 - The Libertarian Party has filed court actions in Ohio and Tennessee in a last-ditch effort for the party’s presidential nominee, Bob Barr, to make it onto the November ballot.
Both states have particularly strict preconditions for appearing on their ballots. An Ohio law, for example, mandates that candidates have to come up with a list of 20,000 supporter signatures. Of course, this law only applies to candidates outside of the two major political parties - those candidates for whom the requirement is especially onerous.
This certainly seems unconstitutional on its face, so bravo to the Libertarian Party for stepping up. The laws are obviously enacted in the face of the fear that a third-party candidate could yield undue influence over an election.
‘Undue influence’ is our way of saying it, not theirs - they wouldn’t be that straightforward - but make no mistake, that is the concern. There’s been a lot of buzz lately about the possibility for Barr to take votes from Republican John McCain, leading to a Democratic win. Not that Barack Obama needs any help, but whatever.
Barr is uniquely aligned as a third-party candidate, riding the wave created by libertarian-leaning Ron Paul. The way some people are talking, you’d think it’s downright unpatriotic to run for office on a third-party ticket.
Seriously, people are having a hissy fit about Barr’s potential to skew the election. Which is regrettable, because in this era of two entrenched political parties, we should rely on third-party candidates to shake things up. It’s good that Republicans are afraid.
In fact, Democrats should also have a spoiler to worry about. Viable third-party candidates are good for politics and for politicians; the complacency in the two major parties leads to a whole bunch of nothing getting done. Operating in a kind of political price-fixing monopoly, both parties’ complacency leads neither to be productive. There’s simply no incentive for a party to do its best when the only threat to that party is equally ineffective.
The irony is that the Libertarian Party, merely by filing suit to overturn laws such as those in Ohio and Tennessee, is already living up to its party platform. Bob Barr et. al are keeping McCain and Obama on their toes and on their games, simply by applying Libertarian economic principles to politics. A little competition is just what the presidential market needs.
Comments
By Bob Barr is great, but... on July 1st, 2008 at 11:16 am
He supports open borders. …which makes Chuck Baldwin interesting. But forget that craziness. It’s more important to elect Flat Top Bob. McCain would probably be better than Obama (less chance that my children won’t be murdered in the streets), but even libertarian turnout doesn’t make McCain feel the kind of hurt that low turnout would. Don’t for prez.
By Jim Peterson on July 1st, 2008 at 11:30 am
I have always voted Republican, but then I got stabbed in the back when Sam Brownback and John McCain pushed through the IMBRA law that forces Americans to be background checked before they are allowed to communicate with foreigners online (their constituents at the National Organization for Women - yes the Republicans consider feminists to be their constituents now - say that men who date foreign women might beat their wives later on in marriage, so its best to background check them before they are even allowed to say hello to women).
Without third party candidates to vote for, anyone’s political party can stab them in the back and leave them with ZERO options. Thankfully, Bob Barr is running for President.
By say anything on July 1st, 2008 at 12:04 pm
will- were you not until recently on mccain pay roll? you turn on all your formers.
By we need more parties to choose from on July 1st, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Hell yes support more parties on the ballot - the two party system is broken and is bankrupting our country.
do not vote for the two parties this election - vote 3rd party or write in
and support our country
By AJ on July 1st, 2008 at 1:29 pm
“less chance that your children won’t be murdered in the street”? Are you retarded? How close-minded and cynical and obviously obtuse can you be?
I hope you never have children, since they will be raised under the same racist principles that you were.
By b on July 1st, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I had no idea Obama was Pro-murdering children in streets. That changes everything. I’m voting for McCain.
By Alister on July 1st, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Bob Barr candidacy = Barak Obama presidency.
Anyone who doesn’t know this, and any “conservative” who votes for Bob Barr, is incredibly stupid and will have the blood of the unborn on their hands. Shame on anyone who supports Bob Barr and therefore supports a Barak Obama win.
By Fan of Silence Dogood on July 1st, 2008 at 5:09 pm
The suggestion that these sorts of ballot access requirements are facially unconstitutional is just plain wrong as a legal matter.
By joe on July 1st, 2008 at 6:52 pm
John McCain candidacy = Barak Obama presidency.
By RepublicanGoneAmuck on July 1st, 2008 at 8:56 pm
I’m with Joe.
What were we thinking? Why not Mitt Romney?
We confound even ourselves, that’s why.
By Alister on July 2nd, 2008 at 12:38 am
Why are we still griping about our bad choice for nominee? Nobody likes McCain, but he’s better than Obama, so lets shut up and keep Obama out of the White House. If a McCain candidacy truly does equal an Obama presidency, it will be b/c of people like Joe. But it doesn’t have to be like that. Wake up people. It’s childish to say you aren’t going to vote for McCain b/c you think the GOP should have nominated Romney. Duh. But that didn’t happen. Let’s move on. Obama would be a terrible president and we need to keep that from happening.
By rick on July 2nd, 2008 at 7:57 am
Be true to yourselves. Voting for a bad choice, just because it’s less onerous than the alternative does nothing to break the hold both major parties have on the process. Neither candidate is good for America or those that yearn to be free. Voting for the lessor evil is still voting for evil.
By Bob Barr is great, but... on July 2nd, 2008 at 10:20 am
To AJ & b at #s 6 & 7, and others: Stop trying to figure out who to vote for for president. Just don’t vote. Find something else… not necessarily a third party for prez, b/c they won’t win. Find a real deal old school Southern Democrat. The SC Dems have been virtually dead for a long time. The new Democrat is the Old Democrat. Shed the scales from your eyes and quit hoping that McCain or the GOP can save you. All of those guys are leftist northeastern operatives in disguise.
By Hillacrat in Denial on July 2nd, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Alister — what are you, in 8th grade?
Surely you realize that it takes mature, seasoned voters to say,
“We aren’t voting for McCain because we aren’t going to.”
By Alex on July 3rd, 2008 at 5:22 pm
> Bob Barr candidacy = Barak Obama presidency.
Wrong. It’s more like this:
“Abusing your activists = They stay home and you lose”
Voting for either McCain or Obama is a betrayal of loyalty to the Constitution. I’m glad that Obama is going to win, and that my party will be broken and completely powerless next January. The best and only way to remove the diseased, warlike, xenophobic, racist tissue from the GOP is by depriving it of nutrients, one vote at a time. The party overtly and aggressively denied me representation in the caucuses in order to show some sort of “unity” for a candidate who carried only 21% of the precincts in my state. I will not be taken for granted. I will not only vote for this candidate, but I will also not campaign for him. I won’t go door to door in the rain, because if I don’t respect myself, how can I expect they will?
Stay Home for President 2008
By Robert on July 10th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I am new to the LP, though not yet a member. I am here because, as a disgruntled Republican, I feel betrayed and let down by my party. I feel that my party is caving to the left on many issues including environmentalism, global warming, oil drilling in the United States and on radical feminism. Neither McCain nor Obama supported oil drilling in Alaska or off our shores, for example. Both seemed to believe that a silver bullet energy solution like hydrogen fueled cars would come like knight in shining armor and save us from the clutches of foreign oil dependency, $8/gallon gas prices and 0.1°F higher average global temperatures in the year 2108. Both seemed to think the furry little animals are more important than our economy, our livlihoods and our children’s future.
Now McCain is slowly changing his position on domestic oil drilling, but will it last? Will he deliver on his promises? Or is he just reading the tea leaves?
The last two Republican congresses spent more money than even the liberal Democrat congresses of the 1980s, despite that they promised fiscal responsibility. I thought the Republican party stood for less government and less government spending.
But what really gets me is that both parties sponsored one of the scariest laws I’ve seen in a long time. This law, called IMBRA, requires anyone wishing to correspond with a foreigner through a personals ad column to provide a criminal and family and background report and obtain signed permission before being allowed to say “hi”. Is this happening in the United States of America? Under this law, an immigration official can categorically deny your right to marry someone who lives outside the U.S. just because they don’t approve of how you met!
This law was actually introduced and shot down in 2003 because Congress didn’t buy it then! They felt that it was too controversial and denied an individual his/her Constitutional right of free speech, free association, and infringed on individual privacy rights. Why did it pass this time? Because it was renamed and sneaked into the VAWA law during the midnight hour before Christmas break in 2005.
I want a leader who will stand for individual rights and freedoms, and get government out of our personal, private affairs. Instead, government needs to focus on defending our freedoms, securing our borders and solving the energy crisis.
Get rid of laws like IMBRA and focus on what’s really important to America!
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