Apparently, some Republicans have been privately trying to convince Bob Barr not to run for President as a Libertarian:
Former Rep. Bob Barr says a number of Republicans have been trying to persuade him not to run for president on the Libertarian Party ticket, but none has given him a convincing reason.
The former Republican congressman from Georgia formed an exploratory committee last month and told The Washington Times he has since been subjected to the behind-the-scenes pressure from Republicans not to run.
Mr. Barr says even people who have tried to dissuade him understand why he thinks it important to raise issues from what he calls a “genuinely conservative” perspective and to offer alternatives to the positions of the two major-party candidates.
“In the month since we formed our exploratory committee, not a single Republican who has spoken with me to try and convince me not to seek the Libertarian nomination has disagreed with my reasons for considering a run,” Mr. Barr told The Times today in an e-mail exchange before leaving London on a flight to Atlanta.
Most Republicans who asked him not to run “also said they understand why I’d run and why John McCain is not conservative and will not seriously tackle the growth in government power and spending,” he said. “Some said they would vote for me if I ran, but for the sake of the Republican Party, they would prefer I didn’t.”
(…)
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told The Times today that “Bob Barr will make it marginally easier for Barack Obama to become president. That outcome threatens every libertarian value Barr professes to champion.”
And if that happens, it won’t be Barr’s fault. It will be because the Republican Party has, under the leadership of men like George W. Bush and Dennis Hastert, become a shadow of it’s former self. Even lip service to the ideals of limited government doesn’t exist anymore. And if it take a loss in the 2008 elections for the GOP to finally figure out how completely screwed up it became over the past decade, then that alone would be a good thing.
May 11th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Well, even if that is the case, I feel it is an intrinsic good to vote for someone I agree with, rather than take a utilitarian position based upon means to ends. And yes, I think the GOP losing would be a good thing anyways. It (hopefully) will force them to do what they failed to do after the losses in 2006: reassess their platform.
May 11th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
I guess the potential of an Obama or Hillary presidency means you’d have to find something to look forward to. Simply knowing what either of the two of them may bring is enough to motivate me to vote for McCain.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:23 am
[…] forums@www.07020.com (Mike) wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptIs The GOP Afraid Of Bob Barr ? Apparently, some Republicans have been privately trying to convince Bob Barr not to run for President as a Libertarian: Former Rep. Bob Barr says a number of Republicans have been trying to persuade him not to run for president on the Libertarian Party ticket, but none has given him a convincing rea… Read the full post from Below The Beltway Tags: Politics, 2008 Election, Bob Barr via Blogdigger blog search for politics. […]
May 12th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
The Repubs better be scared of Bob Barr, cuz Bob’s going to be kicking a*s and taking names. He’ll get Ron Paul supporters, disgrutled Repubs and Demos. It makes sense for him to run, IMO.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
oops, I meant “disgruntled”.