Bob Barr presidential campaign, 2008
Encyclopedia
The Bob Barr presidential campaign of 2008 began when the former Republican
Congressman
of Georgia
announced his candidacy for the Libertarian Party
's presidential
nomination on May 12, 2008 after months of grassroots
draft efforts. Barr
's candidacy was criticized by Libertarians who opposed his efforts in Congress, which included a vote in favor of the USA PATRIOT Act
and authorization of the War in Iraq, but he was supported by others who accepted his regret for the votes. Barr won the party's nomination after six rounds of balloting at the 2008 Libertarian Party National Convention. Former contender Wayne Allyn Root
was named as his running mate. Reason magazine senior editor Radley Balko
called Barr "the first serious candidate the LP
has run since I've been eligible to vote."
In the general election, Barr hoped to portray himself as a conservative alternative to the Republican nominee John McCain
. He emphasized his opposition to the Republican Party for its positions on the War in Iraq and the USA PATRIOT Act, but stood as an advocate for border security and fiscal constraint
, demonstrated by his opposition to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
. The candidate never made headway in election polls, placing third or fourth when included. Barr's efforts to be invited to presidential debates with the two main candidates also fell short when he failed to meet the 15% polling threshold.
Barr campaigned throughout the nation. He litigated to gain ballot access in several states and to prevent McCain and the Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama
from appearing on the Texas
ballot for failing to meet the filing deadline. On election day, Barr appeared on the ballot in 44 states; he finished fourth in the general election, behind Ralph Nader
, receiving 523,686 votes, or 0.4% of the total.
. While in office, he was a strong proponent of the War on Drugs
, called for further investigations into the Waco Siege
, and authored the Defense of Marriage Act
. In 1998, he was a central figure in the Lewinsky scandal
investigation, being the first congressman to call for President Bill Clinton
's resignation after the allegations surfaced. Near the end of his time in Congress, Barr voted in favor of the USA PATRIOT Act
and the authorization for use of force against Iraq
. After his congressional district was redrawn in 2002, making reelection more difficult, Barr was ousted from the House. After leaving Congress, Barr became critical of the Bush administration, specifically for the administration's use of the USA PATRIOT Act, which Barr now believed to be unconstitutional. He also worked as a privacy consultant for the American Civil Liberties Union
. In 2004, he left the Republican Party and endorsed Libertarian Party nominee Michael Badnarik
for president, formally joining the party in 2006.
encouraging the former Congressman to begin a campaign. Barr talked about a widespread "dissatisfaction with the candidates for the two major parties" but complimented presidential candidate and Republican Congressman Ron Paul
for "advocat[ing] libertarian
and true conservative principles". Pollster John Zogby
commented that a possible Barr candidacy would be potentially upsetting for Republicans, and described his possible supporters as individuals who saw him "as a consistent libertarian who opposed the PATRIOT Act, budget deficits and gun control
." Later in the month, Barr stated that he was "looking very seriously at" a presidential run.
Barr launched an exploratory committee
and created a campaign website on April 5, 2008. Within two days, the committee reported that $25,000 had been contributed. Russ Verney
, who had served as an adviser to Ross Perot
in the 1992
and 1996
presidential elections, joined the campaign as a volunteer adviser and worked with Barr's consulting firm, Liberty Strategies LLC, to form a campaign team and build an organization. Verney became the campaign manager
after Barr officially announced his candidacy. A poll in late April by Barr's exploratory committee showed that Barr had the support of 7% of the electorate before he had officially declared his candidacy. Leading up to Barr's announcement, columnist George Will
wrote an article in Newsweek
chronicling the Libertarian Party and the potential candidate's run. Will stated that Barr could have an effect on the election similar to Ralph Nader
's in 2000
. He described the potential effect as a "condign punishment" for presumptive Republican Party nominee John McCain for his co-sponsorship of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, which Barr opposed.
." During his speech, Barr cited out of control government growth as the primary reason for his run. In response to the announcement, Republican consultant Christopher Barron countered the claim of George Will on the campaign's potential "spoiler effect
." Baron stated that Barr's run "is unlikely to hurt Sen. McCain in any significant way" but would aide the Republican Party "by siphoning off some of the enthusiasm among college voters and antiwar advocates for Obama
."
During an interview with Newsweek following his entrance into the race, Barr was asked why he had announced his candidacy only two weeks before the Libertarian Party convention. He remarked that he had not "seriously consider[ed] [running] until about five or six weeks" prior to his official announcement. When asked about the "spoiler effect", he stated that "the votes [Barr would receive] are not going to come from people that are committed to voting for McCain." Also during the interview, Barr articulated that his campaign would make use of the internet with methods similar to those employed by Ron Paul and Barack Obama to mobilize young voters. Barr attempted to tap into Ron Paul's resources and supporters to raise funds, and used the same company that Paul used, Terra Eclipse, to design his campaign website. Stephen P. Gordon
, who worked for Paul, was hired as the e-Campaign manager, and Doug Bandow
, who previously worked as an advisor for both Ron Paul and Ronald Reagan
, was hired as the Senior Policy Advisor.
Barr's campaign manager Russ Verney sent a fundraising memorandum on May 19 that included his projections for the campaign, and compared Barr favorably to Ross Perot. His predictions included participation in the nationally televised debates in October 2008 and a popular vote total of 19%. The manager commented that this was "no ordinary presidential campaign" and that Barr would do well because "America is swamped in Libertarian information." May 18, 2008 Rasmussen polling reports showed Barr at 6% nationally in a four-way race with Barack Obama, John McCain, Ralph Nader. He led Nader by 2%. A breakdown of Barr's support showed that 7% of Republicans, 5% of Democrats and 5% of unaffiliated voters supported his campaign. The report concluded that most Americans did not have enough information about Barr to form an opinion.
May 20 polls from the Insider Advantage-Majority Opinion Survey of 652 individuals showed that in his home state of Georgia, Barr would receive 8% of the popular vote, placing him in third place, and 27% behind Barack Obama for second.
Barr participated in the Libertarian Party presidential debate, an event sponsored by Reason Magazine, on May 20, 2008, at Dupont Circle
. Fellow contenders Mike Gravel
and Wayne Allyn Root
each appeared at the event. During the discussion, Barr remarked that "inside the heart of every American beats the heart of a libertarian", and said that the nation was on the verge of entering a "Libertarian era." He also stated that as president he would eliminate the Department of Education
, a mainstay of the party platform. Later in the debate, Barr's opponent, Root, criticized the Washington media for its portrayal of Barr as the "only candidate", an action he described as "absurd".
As the 2008 Libertarian National Convention
in Denver
approached, members of the Libertarian Party's Radical Caucus criticized Barr by distributing fliers that declared: the "Libertarian Party [is] not for sale." The criticism was in response to allegations that Barr's campaign was an attempt by conservatives to take over the party. Libertarian delegates disagreed with the media's portrayal of the race and said that Barr was "not a shoo-in" for the nomination. At the convention, Barr was attacked by fellow candidates Steve Kubby
and Mary Ruwart
for his PATRIOT Act vote in 2001. Barr responded, by saying that he regretted the vote and had spent the previous five years "working [to]...drive a stake through [the PATRIOT ACT's] heart, burn it, shoot it, [and] burn it again..." Barr was named the Libertarian Party's nominee after six rounds of balloting on May 25, 2008. Las Vegas
businessman, and fellow Libertarian primary opponent Wayne Allyn Root, was named as his running mate
.
David Boaz
commented that Barr had the best chance to be successful in the western states. Russ Verney confirmed that certain states would be targeted, and that a strategy would be drawn that would enable the campaign to raise $30 million. On May 28, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Barr had raised $163,000 in cash donations. Barr invited the Republican
and Democratic
Parties' presumptive presidential nominees, John McCain
and Barack Obama
respectively, to participate in weekly presidential debates. To participate in official presidential debates the Barr campaign had to surpass the 15% threshold put in place by the Commission on Presidential Debates
.
CNN
polling on June 7 placed Barr at 2% nationally.
to appear on both the Colbert Report and on Glenn Beck
's Headline News program for an hour long interview. The former appearance was part of the campaign's strategy to inform young voters and former Ron Paul supporters about the campaign. During the interview with Colbert
, Barr was asked why he "voted for the PATRIOT Act" if he was such a "big advocate of personal privacy." He responded by saying that the Bush Administration
"went back on everything they told us [in Congress] they would do with the PATRIOT Act." In early June, the campaign dealt with the issue of racism
when a white supremacist
group posted a Barr endorsement on Stormfront.org, urging whites to vote for the "best man" rather than the "liberal" John McCain. The Barr campaign repudiated this endorsement. Campaign manager Russ Verney stated, "We do not want and will not accept the support of haters. Tell the haters I said don't let the door hit you in the backside on the way out." He emphasized that "anyone with love in their heart for our country and for every resident of our country regardless of race, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation is welcome with open arms."
It was determined in a study by the Independent Political Report that Bob Barr led all other third party candidates in media reports from an evaluation of Google News
. Although the campaign garnered $300,000 in donations by June 28, Barr had yet to hold a campaign fundraiser or film television advertisements.
On June 30, Barr appeared on Fox News Sunday
with Chris Wallace
. He described his qualms with the presumptive Republican nominee, and said "John McCain is symptomatic of what's wrong with the Republican Party in these first years of the 21st century. They talk one thing but do something different." When asked if he agreed that McCain would be a better choice than Barack Obama, he responded that it was "a mixed bag" and that "Senator Obama clearly is much better [on] civil liberties and privacy issues" but that he "would favor a more expansive federal spending policy." Barr opined that "neither of these candidates is talking about the deep cuts in government spending and returning power to the people." He identified the Republican Party's position on FISA legislation as his biggest aversion to the party. When confronted with opinion polls that showed the candidate with 3% in the presidential race, Barr explained that the numbers would increase in the following weeks, announcing that his campaign would be launched "full-time" on July 4.
arch. Democratic Congressman John Lewis spoke alongside Barr at the dedication.
The next week, Barr appeared on Fox News, where he criticized the United States Treasury Department's plan
to help Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. His opposition was based on the government's use of taxpayer money to credit the enterprises, explaining that "the taxpayers of this country are being put at further risk." But Barr did state that "doing nothing would not be advisable" and that the government "has to do something." He explained that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must be restructered. Barr was criticized by some Libertarians for these remarks. Boston Tea Party
presidential nominee Charles Jay
stated that he disagreed with Barr, and that there should be no bailout for the lenders. He remarked that the government should instead "bail out of the mortgage business and let free markets flow." Jay then labeled Barr a "Dixiecrat
."
Barr was invited by former Vice President Al Gore
to attend a We Campaign event to raise awareness for global warming
. He met with Gore privately before attending the July 17 event. Barr remarked that "global warming is a reality", and affirmed his belief that the government should "remain firmly committed to free market solutions and innovations to address this issue; not tax-driven policies." He praised Gore for his efforts and said he was "pleased that Mr. Gore agrees that the public debate of this issue should include me." He criticized fellow candidates John McCain and Barack Obama for not attending the event and said that their absence showed "their unwillingness to address this important issue." He called on his fellow candidates to appear at other We Campaign events to debate solutions to the problem of climate change
.
During a visit to Austin
for a fundraiser, Barr made a surprise appearance at the July 19 Netroots Nation convention. The candidate remarked at the meeting of progressive
blog
gers that "there are a lot of libertarians here, [and] a lot of [Barr] supporters." His presence was acknowledged by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
, who observed that "Bob Barr — even Bob Barr — opposed" the domestic spying bill that she was discussing. On July 23, CNN polling placed Barr at 3% in a four-way race, while Zogby placed Barr at 6%. He polled at 8% in Georgia
, Colorado
, Iowa
, and Minnesota
, and at 9% in Oklahoma
, New Mexico
, and Nevada
. Surveys in New Hampshire
put Barr at 10%.
In August, Barr spoke at the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
' protest during the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Approximately a dozen individuals were in attendance at the event. Former Republican candidates Tom Tancredo
and Alan Keyes
also attended the event, which organizers called a success. Barr presented a "common sense" approach to the issue by promising to put an end to birthright citizenship and public education for illegal immigrants, while supporting an increase in green cards. Claremont McKenna College
professor John Pitney argued that the candidate was sending mixed messages since "the Libertarian Party essentially supports open borders," and was unlikely to gain the support of anti-immigration activists. A Zogby poll released on August 15, 2008 indicated that most Republicans
and Democrats
wanted Barr included in the presidential debates. The poll also indicated that nearly 70% of independent voters
would have liked to see him included.
noted that the "grass-roots enthusiasm for [Barr's] candidacy seems to have faded a bit in the wake of individualist Governor Sarah Palin
joining the Republican ticket."
It was announced at a press conference on September 10, 2008 that former Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul
would give his open endorsement to Constitution Party
nominee Chuck Baldwin
, Green Party
nominee Cynthia McKinney
, independent
Ralph Nader
, and Barr, in opposition to the Republican
and Democratic
Parties' nominees. Barr chose not to attend the event, and his name was not included in the final statement released by the other candidates. Paul had previously made favorable comments about Barr's campaign, leaving the candidate to feel that he alone should have received the endorsement. Later that day, it was revealed that Barr had earlier offered the Libertarian vice-presidential nomination to Paul, via a letter. The letter stated that Barr's current running mate, Wayne Allyn Root, would willingly step down should Paul accept the offer. A spokesman for the Paul campaign called Barr's offer "terribly interesting", but added that Paul had no intentions of running on a third party ticket. Ron Paul dropped his endorsement of Barr on September 22, citing the candidate's criticism of his earlier endorsements. Paul opted to instead support Chuck Baldwin's candidacy. Barr received $252,383 of donations in September, which was slightly more than the $224,350 the campaign raised in August.
On the dawn of the final month of campaigning, Barr appeared on National Public Radio, and discussed his political positions, including those on health care, a topic that had rarely been discussed by Barr over the course of his campaign. Barr gave his shortest response to the issue, saying that "everybody ought to be able to get health care, but that's up to them..." and went on to say that "the government could be...reducing and removing the onerous regulations that actually prevent people from being able to afford health care." Close to the end of the campaign, Barr's polling numbers remained stagnant. An Associated Press-GfK poll from late October placed the candidate at 1% nationally, the same figure he had stood at three weeks previously.
Barr achieved ballot access
in 45 states according to the Libertarian Party website. He was denied access in Oklahoma
after failing to reach the minimum threshold of petition signatures. In July, the campaign filed a lawsuit against the state to try to get the candidate on the ballot despite not meeting the guidelines. Barr also filed lawsuits in Massachusetts
, West Virginia
and Maine
to appear on the ballot under similar circumstances. Barr's plea in West Virginia failed on September 7 after U.S. District Court Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. dismissed the lawsuit. The judge proclaimed that "it was their (the campaign's) lack of reasonable diligence that ultimately thwarted their effort to gain ballot access here" in West Virginia.
Lawsuits were filed against Barr by GOP members in Pennsylvania
to prevent the candidate from appearing on the state's ballot on charges that the Libertarian Party tricked individuals into signing the state's ballot access petition. Commonwealth Court Judge Johnny Butler dismissed these allegations on September 16, allowing Barr to remain on the state's ballot. The Barr campaign filed a lawsuit to prevent John McCain and Barack Obama from appearing on the ballot in Texas, charging that the candidates' parties did not reach the state's August 26 deadline to report their nominations to the Secretary of State. Texas Secretary of State Esperanza Andrade
reported that all the correct paperwork was filed, though neither the Democratic nor Republican parties formally nominated their candidates (at their respective conventions) until after the deadline.
On September 23, 2008, the Texas Supreme Court
rejected Barr's request without giving a reason.
On September 26, 2008, the Louisiana Supreme Court
reversed an earlier decision to keep Barr and Root on the ballot, and ordered that they both be removed due to missing the state's deadline, which passed while state offices were closed due to Hurricane Gustav
. The Barr-Root campaign announced that it planned to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court refused to hear the case, and Barr's name was absent from the state's ballot on election day.
Libertarian nominee Michael Badnarik
. 67,582 of his votes were won in California, the nation's most populous state, but Barr won his largest percentage in his home state of Georgia with 0.73%. Reason Magazines Brian Doherty
commented that Barr's showing did not meet earlier expectations. He wrote that Barr did not win a significant percentage of the population because he was "not Libertarian enough," distanced himself too far from Ron Paul, and lacked adequate "communication and coordination." The Raleigh News and Observer wrote that Barr had a spoiler effect on McCain in the swing state of North Carolina, winning 25,722 votes, which was greater than Obama's 14,192 vote margin of victory.
to resolve disputes upon request. He currently writes a regular column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
titled "The Barr Code", and is a contributor for CNN
. In his column, he discusses privacy issues and often criticizes the Obama administration, disapproving of the effect of its spending on the federal budget. He has become involved in the Tea Party movement
, and remains a member of the Libertarian Party. He currently supports former running mate Wayne Allyn Root
's bid to be chairman of the Party. Root is also considered a potential 2012 presidential candidate.
Barr reflected on the campaign in an interview with Reason shortly after the election. He explained that his campaign's inability to gain access to donor lists hindered the campaign's fundraising capacity. In April 2009, he commented that his exclusion from the presidential debates prevented his campaign from gaining significant traction. Barr has stated that he will not run for public office in the future.
In May 2010, the Barr campaign was sued by libertarian pundit Jim Bovard, who was hired to ghostwrite
a book about the campaign. Bovard claims he was never paid the $47,000 he was to receive for his efforts. Campaign manager Russ Verney stated that the campaign hoped to raise enough money to pay Bovard, and asked for donations.
Documentaries, topic pages and databases
Biographical
Business
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Congressman
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
announced his candidacy for the Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
's presidential
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
nomination on May 12, 2008 after months of grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
draft efforts. Barr
Bob Barr
Robert Laurence "Bob" Barr, Jr. is a former federal prosecutorand a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003. Barr attained national prominence as one of the leaders of the impeachment of...
's candidacy was criticized by Libertarians who opposed his efforts in Congress, which included a vote in favor of the USA PATRIOT Act
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
and authorization of the War in Iraq, but he was supported by others who accepted his regret for the votes. Barr won the party's nomination after six rounds of balloting at the 2008 Libertarian Party National Convention. Former contender Wayne Allyn Root
Wayne Allyn Root
Wayne Allyn Root is an American politician, entrepreneur, television and radio personality, author and political commentator. He was the 2008 Libertarian Party vice-presidential nominee. In June 2009 Richard Winger wrote he was the front runner for the 2012 Libertarian Presidential nomination...
was named as his running mate. Reason magazine senior editor Radley Balko
Radley Balko
Radley Balko is an American libertarian journalist, blogger, and speaker.- Education :Balko earned a B.A. in journalism and political science in 1997 from Indiana University.- Employment and publications :...
called Barr "the first serious candidate the LP
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
has run since I've been eligible to vote."
In the general election, Barr hoped to portray himself as a conservative alternative to the Republican nominee John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
. He emphasized his opposition to the Republican Party for its positions on the War in Iraq and the USA PATRIOT Act, but stood as an advocate for border security and fiscal constraint
Fiscal conservatism
Fiscal conservatism is a political term used to describe a fiscal policy that advocates avoiding deficit spending. Fiscal conservatives often consider reduction of overall government spending and national debt as well as ensuring balanced budget of paramount importance...
, demonstrated by his opposition to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Division A of , commonly referred to as a bailout of the U.S. financial system, is a law enacted in response to the subprime mortgage crisis...
. The candidate never made headway in election polls, placing third or fourth when included. Barr's efforts to be invited to presidential debates with the two main candidates also fell short when he failed to meet the 15% polling threshold.
Barr campaigned throughout the nation. He litigated to gain ballot access in several states and to prevent McCain and the Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
from appearing on the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
ballot for failing to meet the filing deadline. On election day, Barr appeared on the ballot in 44 states; he finished fourth in the general election, behind Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
, receiving 523,686 votes, or 0.4% of the total.
Background
Bob Barr was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1994 as part of the Republican RevolutionRepublican Revolution
The Republican Revolution or Revolution of '94 is what the media dubbed Republican Party success in the 1994 U.S. midterm elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of Representatives, and a pickup of eight seats in the Senate...
. While in office, he was a strong proponent of the War on Drugs
War on Drugs
The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
, called for further investigations into the Waco Siege
Waco Siege
The Waco siege began on February 28, 1993, and ended violently 50 days later on April 19. The siege began when the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel, a property located east-northeast of Waco,...
, and authored the Defense of Marriage Act
Defense of Marriage Act
The Defense of Marriage Act is a United States federal law whereby the federal government defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. Under the law, no U.S. state may be required to recognize as a marriage a same-sex relationship considered a marriage in another state...
. In 1998, he was a central figure in the Lewinsky scandal
Lewinsky scandal
The Lewinsky scandal was a political sex scandal emerging in 1998 from a sexual relationship between United States President Bill Clinton and a 25-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The news of this extra-marital affair and the resulting investigation eventually led to the impeachment of...
investigation, being the first congressman to call for President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's resignation after the allegations surfaced. Near the end of his time in Congress, Barr voted in favor of the USA PATRIOT Act
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
and the authorization for use of force against Iraq
Iraq Resolution
The Iraq Resolution or the Iraq War Resolution is a joint resolution passed by the United States Congress in October 2002 as Public Law No: 107-243, authorizing military action against Iraq.-Contents:The resolution cited many factors to justify the use of military force against...
. After his congressional district was redrawn in 2002, making reelection more difficult, Barr was ousted from the House. After leaving Congress, Barr became critical of the Bush administration, specifically for the administration's use of the USA PATRIOT Act, which Barr now believed to be unconstitutional. He also worked as a privacy consultant for the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
. In 2004, he left the Republican Party and endorsed Libertarian Party nominee Michael Badnarik
Michael Badnarik
Michael J. Badnarik is an American software engineer, political figure, and former radio talk show host. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2004 elections, and placed fourth in the race, behind independent candidate Ralph Nader...
for president, formally joining the party in 2006.
Early stages
On March 19, 2008, Barr confirmed his interest in running for president. This coincided with the media acknowledging a movement on FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
encouraging the former Congressman to begin a campaign. Barr talked about a widespread "dissatisfaction with the candidates for the two major parties" but complimented presidential candidate and Republican Congressman Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
for "advocat[ing] libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
and true conservative principles". Pollster John Zogby
John Zogby
John Zogby is an American political pollster and first senior fellow at The Catholic University of America's Life Cycle Institute. He is the founder, president and CEO of Zogby International, a polling firm known for both phone polling and interactive, Internet-based polling.-Early years:Zogby...
commented that a possible Barr candidacy would be potentially upsetting for Republicans, and described his possible supporters as individuals who saw him "as a consistent libertarian who opposed the PATRIOT Act, budget deficits and gun control
Gun law in the United States
Gun law in the United States is defined by a number of state and federal statutes. In the United States of America, the protection against infringement of the right to keep and bear arms is addressed in the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution...
." Later in the month, Barr stated that he was "looking very seriously at" a presidential run.
Barr launched an exploratory committee
Exploratory Committee
In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to United States Presidential hopefuls, prior to the primaries.Exploratory...
and created a campaign website on April 5, 2008. Within two days, the committee reported that $25,000 had been contributed. Russ Verney
Russ Verney
Russell J. Verney is a political advisor who served as chairman of the Reform Party of the United States from 1995 to 1999. He worked on the presidential campaigns of Ross Perot and Bob Barr.-1990s:...
, who had served as an adviser to Ross Perot
Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot is a U.S. businessman best known for running for President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962, sold the company to General Motors in 1984, and founded Perot Systems in 1988...
in the 1992
United States presidential election, 1992
The United States presidential election of 1992 had three major candidates: Incumbent Republican President George Bush; Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and independent Texas businessman Ross Perot....
and 1996
United States presidential election, 1996
The United States presidential election of 1996 was a contest between the Democratic national ticket of President Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee and the Republican national ticket of former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas for President and former Housing Secretary Jack...
presidential elections, joined the campaign as a volunteer adviser and worked with Barr's consulting firm, Liberty Strategies LLC, to form a campaign team and build an organization. Verney became the campaign manager
Campaign manager
A campaign manager is a paid or volunteer individual, whose role is to coordinate the campaign's operations such as fundraising, advertising, polling, getting out the vote , and other activities supporting the effort, directly.Apart from the candidate, they are often a campaign's most visible leader...
after Barr officially announced his candidacy. A poll in late April by Barr's exploratory committee showed that Barr had the support of 7% of the electorate before he had officially declared his candidacy. Leading up to Barr's announcement, columnist George Will
George Will
George Frederick Will is an American newspaper columnist, journalist, and author. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winner best known for his conservative commentary on politics...
wrote an article in Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
chronicling the Libertarian Party and the potential candidate's run. Will stated that Barr could have an effect on the election similar to Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
's in 2000
Ralph Nader presidential campaign, 2000
Ralph Nader ran in the 2000 United States presidential election as the nominee of the Green Party. He was also nominated by the Vermont Progressive Party and the United Citizens Party of South Carolina...
. He described the potential effect as a "condign punishment" for presumptive Republican Party nominee John McCain for his co-sponsorship of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, which Barr opposed.
Libertarian Party nomination campaign
Barr publicly announced his candidacy on May 12, 2008. He commented that his run would give the American people a "meaningful choice" to vote for in November, preventing them from having to "hold their nose and pull a lever... for the lesser of two evilsLesser of two evils principle
The lesser evil or lesser of two evils principle is the idea in politics and political science that of two bad choices, one isn't as bad as the other, and should be chosen over the one that is a greater threat....
." During his speech, Barr cited out of control government growth as the primary reason for his run. In response to the announcement, Republican consultant Christopher Barron countered the claim of George Will on the campaign's potential "spoiler effect
Spoiler effect
The spoiler effect describes the effect a minor party candidate with little chance of winning has in a close election, when that candidate's presence in the election draws votes from a major candidate similar to them, thereby causing a candidate dissimilar to them to win the election...
." Baron stated that Barr's run "is unlikely to hurt Sen. McCain in any significant way" but would aide the Republican Party "by siphoning off some of the enthusiasm among college voters and antiwar advocates for Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
."
Stephen P. Gordon
Stephen P. "Steve" Gordon is a libertarian political consultant with the firm Forward Focus Media and a political activist. He currently writes at The Next Right and The Liberty Papers and serves as the Media Director for the Alabama chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus.Gordon accepted the...
, who worked for Paul, was hired as the e-Campaign manager, and Doug Bandow
Doug Bandow
Douglas Bandow is a former columnist with Copley News Service and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. He resigned from Cato in 2005 due a scandal involving payments for columns from lobbyist Jack Abramoff and wrote about it in the Los Angeles Times. As of March 2009, Bandow is again working at...
, who previously worked as an advisor for both Ron Paul and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, was hired as the Senior Policy Advisor.
May 20 polls from the Insider Advantage-Majority Opinion Survey of 652 individuals showed that in his home state of Georgia, Barr would receive 8% of the popular vote, placing him in third place, and 27% behind Barack Obama for second.
Barr participated in the Libertarian Party presidential debate, an event sponsored by Reason Magazine, on May 20, 2008, at Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood, and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The traffic circle is located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue NW, Connecticut Avenue NW, New Hampshire Avenue NW, P Street NW, and 19th Street NW...
. Fellow contenders Mike Gravel
Mike Gravel
Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel is a former Democratic United States Senator from Alaska, who served two terms from 1969 to 1981, and a former candidate in the 2008 presidential election....
and Wayne Allyn Root
Wayne Allyn Root
Wayne Allyn Root is an American politician, entrepreneur, television and radio personality, author and political commentator. He was the 2008 Libertarian Party vice-presidential nominee. In June 2009 Richard Winger wrote he was the front runner for the 2012 Libertarian Presidential nomination...
each appeared at the event. During the discussion, Barr remarked that "inside the heart of every American beats the heart of a libertarian", and said that the nation was on the verge of entering a "Libertarian era." He also stated that as president he would eliminate the Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
, a mainstay of the party platform. Later in the debate, Barr's opponent, Root, criticized the Washington media for its portrayal of Barr as the "only candidate", an action he described as "absurd".
Libertarian Party presidential nomination
2008 Libertarian National Convention
The 2008 Libertarian National Convention was held from May 22 to May 26, 2008 at the Sheraton Hotel in Denver, Colorado...
in Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
approached, members of the Libertarian Party's Radical Caucus criticized Barr by distributing fliers that declared: the "Libertarian Party [is] not for sale." The criticism was in response to allegations that Barr's campaign was an attempt by conservatives to take over the party. Libertarian delegates disagreed with the media's portrayal of the race and said that Barr was "not a shoo-in" for the nomination. At the convention, Barr was attacked by fellow candidates Steve Kubby
Steve Kubby
Steven "Steve" Wynn Kubby is a Libertarian Party activist who played a key role in the drafting and passage of California Proposition 215. The proposition was a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana which was approved by voters in 1996. Kubby himself is well-known as a cancer patient who...
and Mary Ruwart
Mary Ruwart
Mary J. Ruwart, Ph. D. is a research scientist and libertarian speaker, writer, and activist. She was a leading candidate for the 2008 Libertarian Party presidential nomination and is the author of the award-winning international bestseller "Healing Our World."-Biography:Born in Detroit, Ruwart...
for his PATRIOT Act vote in 2001. Barr responded, by saying that he regretted the vote and had spent the previous five years "working [to]...drive a stake through [the PATRIOT ACT's] heart, burn it, shoot it, [and] burn it again..." Barr was named the Libertarian Party's nominee after six rounds of balloting on May 25, 2008. Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
businessman, and fellow Libertarian primary opponent Wayne Allyn Root, was named as his running mate
Running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...
.
General election campaign
As the nominee of the Libertarian Party, Barr promised to "travel the width and breadth of this great land" to vie for the presidency. Executive Vice President of the Cato InstituteCato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
David Boaz
David Boaz
David Boaz is the executive vice president of the Cato Institute, an American libertarian think tank. He played a key role in the Institute's development and the American libertarian movement....
commented that Barr had the best chance to be successful in the western states. Russ Verney confirmed that certain states would be targeted, and that a strategy would be drawn that would enable the campaign to raise $30 million. On May 28, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Barr had raised $163,000 in cash donations. Barr invited the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Parties' presumptive presidential nominees, John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
respectively, to participate in weekly presidential debates. To participate in official presidential debates the Barr campaign had to surpass the 15% threshold put in place by the Commission on Presidential Debates
Commission on Presidential Debates
The Commission on Presidential Debates began in 1987 by the Democratic and Republican parties to establish the way that presidential election debates are run between candidates for President of the United States...
.
CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
polling on June 7 placed Barr at 2% nationally.
Campaign exposure
Barr received some media exposure a few days after his nomination by visiting New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to appear on both the Colbert Report and on Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck
Glenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks...
's Headline News program for an hour long interview. The former appearance was part of the campaign's strategy to inform young voters and former Ron Paul supporters about the campaign. During the interview with Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
, Barr was asked why he "voted for the PATRIOT Act" if he was such a "big advocate of personal privacy." He responded by saying that the Bush Administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
"went back on everything they told us [in Congress] they would do with the PATRIOT Act." In early June, the campaign dealt with the issue of racism
Racism in the United States
Racism in the United States has been a major issue since the colonial era and the slave era. Legally sanctioned racism imposed a heavy burden on Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latin Americans...
when a white supremacist
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
group posted a Barr endorsement on Stormfront.org, urging whites to vote for the "best man" rather than the "liberal" John McCain. The Barr campaign repudiated this endorsement. Campaign manager Russ Verney stated, "We do not want and will not accept the support of haters. Tell the haters I said don't let the door hit you in the backside on the way out." He emphasized that "anyone with love in their heart for our country and for every resident of our country regardless of race, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation is welcome with open arms."
It was determined in a study by the Independent Political Report that Bob Barr led all other third party candidates in media reports from an evaluation of Google News
Google News
Google News is a free news aggregator provided by Google Inc, selecting recent items from thousands of publications by an automatic aggregation algorithm....
. Although the campaign garnered $300,000 in donations by June 28, Barr had yet to hold a campaign fundraiser or film television advertisements.
On June 30, Barr appeared on Fox News Sunday
Fox News Sunday
Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace is a public affairs program on the Fox network, hosted by Chris Wallace and airing on Sunday mornings. The show began on April 28, 1996, which predated the launch of Fox News Channel, and usually talks about items similar to Sunday morning talk shows...
with Chris Wallace
Chris Wallace (journalist)
Christopher "Chris" Wallace is an American journalist, currently the host of the Fox Network program, Fox News Sunday. Wallace has won three Emmy Awards, the Dupont-Columbia Silver Baton Award, and a Peabody Award. Wallace has been with Fox News since 2003...
. He described his qualms with the presumptive Republican nominee, and said "John McCain is symptomatic of what's wrong with the Republican Party in these first years of the 21st century. They talk one thing but do something different." When asked if he agreed that McCain would be a better choice than Barack Obama, he responded that it was "a mixed bag" and that "Senator Obama clearly is much better [on] civil liberties and privacy issues" but that he "would favor a more expansive federal spending policy." Barr opined that "neither of these candidates is talking about the deep cuts in government spending and returning power to the people." He identified the Republican Party's position on FISA legislation as his biggest aversion to the party. When confronted with opinion polls that showed the candidate with 3% in the presidential race, Barr explained that the numbers would increase in the following weeks, announcing that his campaign would be launched "full-time" on July 4.
Full-time escalation
Barr launched his "full-time" campaign at Atlanta's Fourth of July parade, where the city celebrated the opening of the Millennium GateMillennium Gate
The Millennium Gate is a triumphal arch and Georgia history museum located in Atlanta, on 17th Street in the Atlantic Station district of Midtown. Based on the Arch of Titus, the monument celebrates peaceful accomplishment, with special attention paid to Georgia's history and people...
arch. Democratic Congressman John Lewis spoke alongside Barr at the dedication.
The next week, Barr appeared on Fox News, where he criticized the United States Treasury Department's plan
Federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
The federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refers to the placing into conservatorship of government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by the U.S. Treasury in September 2008. It was one financial event among many in the ongoing subprime mortgage crisis.On September 6, 2008,...
to help Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. His opposition was based on the government's use of taxpayer money to credit the enterprises, explaining that "the taxpayers of this country are being put at further risk." But Barr did state that "doing nothing would not be advisable" and that the government "has to do something." He explained that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must be restructered. Barr was criticized by some Libertarians for these remarks. Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party (political party)
The Boston Tea Party is a U.S. political party named after the Boston Tea Party of 1773. Its ideology is libertarian.A group of former Libertarian Party members founded the party in 2006...
presidential nominee Charles Jay
Charles Jay
Charles Jay was the Presidential nominee of the United States Boston Tea Party in the 2008 United States presidential election. He was the presidential nominee of the Personal Choice Party in the 2004 election, achieving ballot status in Utah, and received 946 votes in the general election, coming...
stated that he disagreed with Barr, and that there should be no bailout for the lenders. He remarked that the government should instead "bail out of the mortgage business and let free markets flow." Jay then labeled Barr a "Dixiecrat
Dixiecrat
The States' Rights Democratic Party was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States in 1948...
."
Barr was invited by former Vice President Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
to attend a We Campaign event to raise awareness for global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
. He met with Gore privately before attending the July 17 event. Barr remarked that "global warming is a reality", and affirmed his belief that the government should "remain firmly committed to free market solutions and innovations to address this issue; not tax-driven policies." He praised Gore for his efforts and said he was "pleased that Mr. Gore agrees that the public debate of this issue should include me." He criticized fellow candidates John McCain and Barack Obama for not attending the event and said that their absence showed "their unwillingness to address this important issue." He called on his fellow candidates to appear at other We Campaign events to debate solutions to the problem of climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
.
During a visit to Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
for a fundraiser, Barr made a surprise appearance at the July 19 Netroots Nation convention. The candidate remarked at the meeting of progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
gers that "there are a lot of libertarians here, [and] a lot of [Barr] supporters." His presence was acknowledged by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
, who observed that "Bob Barr — even Bob Barr — opposed" the domestic spying bill that she was discussing. On July 23, CNN polling placed Barr at 3% in a four-way race, while Zogby placed Barr at 6%. He polled at 8% in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, and at 9% in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. Surveys in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
put Barr at 10%.
In August, Barr spoke at the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is a volunteer group headed by Chris Simcox and dedicated to preventing illegal crossings of the United States border. Arguing that the government is insufficiently concerned with securing the U.S. border, they have organized several state chapters, with the...
' protest during the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Approximately a dozen individuals were in attendance at the event. Former Republican candidates Tom Tancredo
Tom Tancredo
Thomas Gerard "Tom" Tancredo is an American politician from Colorado, who represented the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009, as a Republican...
and Alan Keyes
Alan Keyes
Alan Lee Keyes is an American conservative political activist, author, former diplomat, and perennial candidate for public office. A doctoral graduate of Harvard University, Keyes began his diplomatic career in the U.S...
also attended the event, which organizers called a success. Barr presented a "common sense" approach to the issue by promising to put an end to birthright citizenship and public education for illegal immigrants, while supporting an increase in green cards. Claremont McKenna College
Claremont McKenna College
Claremont McKenna College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college and a member of the Claremont Colleges located in Claremont, California. The campus is located east of Downtown Los Angeles...
professor John Pitney argued that the candidate was sending mixed messages since "the Libertarian Party essentially supports open borders," and was unlikely to gain the support of anti-immigration activists. A Zogby poll released on August 15, 2008 indicated that most Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
wanted Barr included in the presidential debates. The poll also indicated that nearly 70% of independent voters
Independent (voter)
An independent voter, those who register as an unaffiliated voter in the United States, is a voter of a democratic country who does not align him- or herself with a political party...
would have liked to see him included.
Final stages
As September began, commentator Greg Pierce of The Washington TimesThe Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
noted that the "grass-roots enthusiasm for [Barr's] candidacy seems to have faded a bit in the wake of individualist Governor Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
joining the Republican ticket."
|
It was announced at a press conference on September 10, 2008 that former Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
would give his open endorsement to Constitution Party
Constitution Party (United States)
The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative political party in the United States. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party by Howard Philips in 1991. Phillips was the party's candidate in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 presidential elections...
nominee Chuck Baldwin
Chuck Baldwin
Charles Obadiah "Chuck" Baldwin is an American politician and founder-pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. He was the presidential nominee of the Constitution Party for the 2008 U.S. presidential election and had previously been its nominee for U.S. vice president in 2004...
, Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
nominee Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...
, independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
, and Barr, in opposition to the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Parties' nominees. Barr chose not to attend the event, and his name was not included in the final statement released by the other candidates. Paul had previously made favorable comments about Barr's campaign, leaving the candidate to feel that he alone should have received the endorsement. Later that day, it was revealed that Barr had earlier offered the Libertarian vice-presidential nomination to Paul, via a letter. The letter stated that Barr's current running mate, Wayne Allyn Root, would willingly step down should Paul accept the offer. A spokesman for the Paul campaign called Barr's offer "terribly interesting", but added that Paul had no intentions of running on a third party ticket. Ron Paul dropped his endorsement of Barr on September 22, citing the candidate's criticism of his earlier endorsements. Paul opted to instead support Chuck Baldwin's candidacy. Barr received $252,383 of donations in September, which was slightly more than the $224,350 the campaign raised in August.
On the dawn of the final month of campaigning, Barr appeared on National Public Radio, and discussed his political positions, including those on health care, a topic that had rarely been discussed by Barr over the course of his campaign. Barr gave his shortest response to the issue, saying that "everybody ought to be able to get health care, but that's up to them..." and went on to say that "the government could be...reducing and removing the onerous regulations that actually prevent people from being able to afford health care." Close to the end of the campaign, Barr's polling numbers remained stagnant. An Associated Press-GfK poll from late October placed the candidate at 1% nationally, the same figure he had stood at three weeks previously.
Ballot access
Ballot access
Ballot access rules, called nomination rules outside the United States, regulate the conditions under which a candidate or political party is either entitled to stand for election or to appear on voters' ballots...
in 45 states according to the Libertarian Party website. He was denied access in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
after failing to reach the minimum threshold of petition signatures. In July, the campaign filed a lawsuit against the state to try to get the candidate on the ballot despite not meeting the guidelines. Barr also filed lawsuits in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
and Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
to appear on the ballot under similar circumstances. Barr's plea in West Virginia failed on September 7 after U.S. District Court Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. dismissed the lawsuit. The judge proclaimed that "it was their (the campaign's) lack of reasonable diligence that ultimately thwarted their effort to gain ballot access here" in West Virginia.
Lawsuits were filed against Barr by GOP members in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
to prevent the candidate from appearing on the state's ballot on charges that the Libertarian Party tricked individuals into signing the state's ballot access petition. Commonwealth Court Judge Johnny Butler dismissed these allegations on September 16, allowing Barr to remain on the state's ballot. The Barr campaign filed a lawsuit to prevent John McCain and Barack Obama from appearing on the ballot in Texas, charging that the candidates' parties did not reach the state's August 26 deadline to report their nominations to the Secretary of State. Texas Secretary of State Esperanza Andrade
Esperanza Andrade
Esperanza "Hope" Andrade is the Secretary of State of Texas.Andrade, an entrepreneur and leader in the San Antonio business community for more than three decades, serves as Texas' chief elections officer, chief international protocol officer, and Border Commerce Coordinator for Texas Governor Rick...
reported that all the correct paperwork was filed, though neither the Democratic nor Republican parties formally nominated their candidates (at their respective conventions) until after the deadline.
On September 23, 2008, the Texas Supreme Court
Texas Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Texas is the court of last resort for non-criminal matters in the state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, is the court of last resort for criminal matters.The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices...
rejected Barr's request without giving a reason.
On September 26, 2008, the Louisiana Supreme Court
Louisiana Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans....
reversed an earlier decision to keep Barr and Root on the ballot, and ordered that they both be removed due to missing the state's deadline, which passed while state offices were closed due to Hurricane Gustav
Hurricane Gustav
The name Gustav has been used for five tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean:* 1984's Tropical Storm Gustav - Spent most of its existence as a tropical depression hovering over Bermuda, no major damage was reported....
. The Barr-Root campaign announced that it planned to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court refused to hear the case, and Barr's name was absent from the state's ballot on election day.
Results
Barr's campaign ended after receiving 523,686 (0.40%) of the popular vote on Election Day. He finished in fourth place, winning a higher percentage than the 2004United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
Libertarian nominee Michael Badnarik
Michael Badnarik
Michael J. Badnarik is an American software engineer, political figure, and former radio talk show host. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2004 elections, and placed fourth in the race, behind independent candidate Ralph Nader...
. 67,582 of his votes were won in California, the nation's most populous state, but Barr won his largest percentage in his home state of Georgia with 0.73%. Reason Magazines Brian Doherty
Brian Doherty (journalist)
Brian Doherty is an American journalist. He is a Senior Editor at Reason magazine. He is the author of This Is Burning Man: The Rise of a New American Underground , Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement and Gun Control on Trial: Inside the...
commented that Barr's showing did not meet earlier expectations. He wrote that Barr did not win a significant percentage of the population because he was "not Libertarian enough," distanced himself too far from Ron Paul, and lacked adequate "communication and coordination." The Raleigh News and Observer wrote that Barr had a spoiler effect on McCain in the swing state of North Carolina, winning 25,722 votes, which was greater than Obama's 14,192 vote margin of victory.
Aftermath
Following the campaign, Barr was certified as a mediatorMediation
Mediation, as used in law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution , a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties. A third party, the mediator, assists the parties to negotiate their own settlement...
to resolve disputes upon request. He currently writes a regular column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the only major daily newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and its suburbs. The AJC, as it is called, is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the result of the merger between The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta...
titled "The Barr Code", and is a contributor for CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
. In his column, he discusses privacy issues and often criticizes the Obama administration, disapproving of the effect of its spending on the federal budget. He has become involved in the Tea Party movement
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
, and remains a member of the Libertarian Party. He currently supports former running mate Wayne Allyn Root
Wayne Allyn Root
Wayne Allyn Root is an American politician, entrepreneur, television and radio personality, author and political commentator. He was the 2008 Libertarian Party vice-presidential nominee. In June 2009 Richard Winger wrote he was the front runner for the 2012 Libertarian Presidential nomination...
's bid to be chairman of the Party. Root is also considered a potential 2012 presidential candidate.
Barr reflected on the campaign in an interview with Reason shortly after the election. He explained that his campaign's inability to gain access to donor lists hindered the campaign's fundraising capacity. In April 2009, he commented that his exclusion from the presidential debates prevented his campaign from gaining significant traction. Barr has stated that he will not run for public office in the future.
In May 2010, the Barr campaign was sued by libertarian pundit Jim Bovard, who was hired to ghostwrite
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
a book about the campaign. Bovard claims he was never paid the $47,000 he was to receive for his efforts. Campaign manager Russ Verney stated that the campaign hoped to raise enough money to pay Bovard, and asked for donations.
See also
- Comparison of United States presidential candidates, 2008Comparison of United States presidential candidates, 2008This article compares the presidential candidates in the United States' 2008 presidential election. It does not cover previous elections. Because of ballot access restrictions in the United States, not all candidates appeared on the ballots in all states....
- Electoral history of Bob BarrElectoral history of Bob BarrElectoral history of Bob Barr, Republican Representative from Georgia and Libertarian Party presidential nominee in 2008 election-Senate and House races :Republican primary for the United States Senate from Georgia, 1992:...
- List of candidates in the United States presidential election, 2008
- Political positions of Bob BarrPolitical positions of Bob BarrFormer United States Congressman Bob Barr was the nominee for President of the United States of the Libertarian Party in the 2008 presidential election.-Taxation:...
- United States third party and independent presidential candidates, 2008
External links
OfficialDocumentaries, topic pages and databases
- Candidate profile at Project Vote SmartProject Vote SmartProject Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States...
- Issue positions and quotes at OnTheIssues.org
- Campaign contributions of The Bob Barr Leadership Fund from the FEC
- Presidential campaign FEC disclosure report
Biographical
Business