Reason’s David Weigel reports that former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr is about to throw his hat in the ring for the White House:
When former Rep. Bob Barr arrives in Kansas City on Saturday for the Heartland Libertarian Conference, organizers expect him to launch an exploratory committee for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination. Barr is meeting with his political team on Friday to firm up plans. Right now, he’s expected to fly into the city at about noon Saturday and address the conference in the early afternoon.
The Barr launch is getting to be an open secret among conference-goers. Advocacy Ink, the firm that handles Barr’s public relations, is advertising the speech to local and national reporters. Mike Ferguson, the de jure organizer of the conference, is scrambling to deal with a crush of new media requests.
“It doesn’t take much to put two and two together,” said Ferguson. “You don’t do this unless you’re making the announcement.”
I missed it, mostly because I prefer to live in a universe where Sean Hannity is silent, but Bob Barr made an appearance on Hannity’s radio show yesterday and Robert Stacey McCain covered it:
Bob Barr on Sean Hannity’s radio show just now repeatedly emphasized that his prospective presidential run on the Libertarian Party ticket would “get a message out there” to a Republican Party that has “completely lost its philosophical moorings.”
UPDATE 4:30 p.m.: Liberals will surely howl about the resemblance between Barr’s language and George Wallace’s 1968 “Send ‘em a message” slogan, but a message of dissatisfaction with the GOP status quo will surely resonate with many in Hannity’s audience.
UPDATE 4:35: More from the Hannity interview: Barr said 2008 is a “very unusual year” and that “several things are coming together” to allow the Libertarian Party to have a “legitimate, positive impact” in November.
As to his own presidential hopes, Barr said he is “very, very seriously considering it,” that he will make “a final decision shortly,” and that he is getting “very strong support.”
UPDATE 4:45: “Sooner or later, we have to put principle ahead of expediency,” Barr said, responding to Hannity’s complaint that “splitting the vote” would help elect a Democrat. He said he is “tired of hearing all the whining” from Republicans.
“If [Republican John] McCain is not able to pull enough votes to win outright, then shame on him,” Barr said.
At the end of the interview, Hannity repeatedly played “gotcha,” asking Barr about Libertarian stances on abortion and drugs, and also asking Barr about his work with the ACLU on privacy issues.
Frankly, something tells me it will be harder for guys like Hannity to discount Barr than it was for them to discount Ron Paul.
H/T: Jason Pye
