The chattering class is still in a dither over the Ron Paul Phenomenon. And still conducting meaningless, inane and biased surveys to get a sense of the mood of the common man so they can continue to propagate self-generated opinion.So, where did the Paul phenomenon come from? How did a GOP back-bencher in Congress raise $35 million, including more than $4 million on a single day? How did he draw enough support to plan a counter-convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul while his party will be formally nominating John McCain as its standard-bearer?
The armchair analysts need to be inquiring more about the Revolution Phenomenon. Pegging "the Revolution" to Ron Paul (R) at this stage minimizes a national libertarian movement that is coalescing to a degree that is unprecedented.
Independents are in play this year. They complain about the two dominant parties being one and the same. Therefore, the only way to vote for "change" is to vote third party -- and in massive numbers.
Libertarian Party Presidential candidate Bob Barr (L) must earn the Revolution constituency. It will not be handed to him and even the fire-breathing, independent-minded "Revolutionaries" will stubbornly withhold support without strong signs of a conversion to the Revolution agenda. Not unlike Barr's recent conversion to a more libertarian political viewpoint from his erstwhile neo-con formulations.
Barr now needs to complete his conversion and develop the next phase by fully adopting the Paul platform; a platform grounded in consistent libertarian political philosophy. Barr must demonstrate that he apprehends an underlying and coherent intellectual basis for liberty-oriented public policy.
As a libertarian, the paramount issue for the proper role of government should be the protection of natural individual rights and that the entire range of governmental action should be circumscribed by that precept. A government is properly instituted in the capacity of a surrogate for an agent, where sovereign individuals loan their power to a government, by their consent, for the performance of certain constitutional functions; chief among them, the protection of individuals against predation.
Man is born free -- and free he should remain. Free to use his mind as he sees fit. The institution of government is subordinate to the sovereignty of the individual. Ron Paul understands this; as do his intellectual mentors, primarily Ludwig von Mises, Ayn Rand, Murray Rothbard, Frederic Bastiat, and George Reisman.
We had the stirring Paul campaign. And now we have the manifesto. The groundswell of passion, thought and activism that have emerged will be harnessed or squandered.Barr stands to upset the election in perhaps a great number of states. States where the two dominant, rules-making parties struggle for power unopposed. A voting bloc that can signal a retreat from statism is what is needed. I think this should be the near-term goal: Maximize Election Upset.
The odd politician will put their finger to the wind, as it were, and consult that wind to guides their views and actions. I propose that we change the wind.
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Marc Gallagher sums up some positives about the Bob Barr record:
- In the 107th Congress when Ron Paul stood up for our sovereignty against the United Nations (Roll Call votes 245 and 246), it was Bob Barr who supported him … just as Barr supported Paul in cutting corporate welfare by limiting funding for the Export-Import Bank.
- Barr is a co-sponsor of H. Res. 197, ‘Stop U.N. Gun Ban.’
- Barr supports H.R. 2615 ‘Stop National Medical ID and the Patient Privacy Protection Act.’
- Barr is a leading defender of civil liberties. He introduced legislation that forces the National Security Agency’s Project ECHELON to provide a full accounting to the Congress of their covert monitoring of millions of phone calls, faxes, and emails.
- He led the fight against National ID Card proposals and introduced legislation in 1998 to check the federal government’s abuse of wire-tapping laws — including the use of roving wiretaps — and also opposed governmental interception of cellular phone calls.
- He introduced legislation to mandate that the federal government issue ‘Privacy Impact Statements’ every time it issues a new rule or regulation.
- He was a chief sponsor of a law to limit abuses of the civil asset forfeiture statutes.
- He fought against OSHA regulations and to limit small business vulnerability to frivolous labor litigation.
- He is a board member of the National Rifle Association, and a staunch defender of the right of Americans to own and use firearms. He has introduced and sponsored legislation to block litigation against gun manufacturers for the acts of their customers and to limit any background checks and mandate they be conducted ‘instantly.’
- Barr has succinctly advocated the principle that while criminals must be punished to the full extent of the law, their civil liberties must be protected with even more vigor.
- He is a staunch defender of American sovereignty and opposes the executive branch’s overzealous use of our military abroad he even filed suit against President Clinton’s war in Kosovo without congressional approval.
- He is a fierce critic of the United Nations — and to a lesser degree NATO — and has consistently supported efforts to withdraw U.S. membership from the United Nations.
- He co-sponsored a committee amendment to withdraw the U.S. from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
- Since his first day in Congress back in 1995, Barr has tirelessly fought to eliminate the Internal Revenue Code, supported the “flat tax” proposal, and consistently supported passage of a constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds supermajority of Congress to raise taxes.
- He was an early supporter of lowering the capital gains tax and recently he introduced legislation to provide tax credits for educators: public, private, and home school.
- More than any other member of the Georgia delegation, Congressman Barr has parted with the Republican majority to vote against bloated “pork barrel” spending.
- He has continually fought the unconstitutional [McCain/Feingold] ‘campaign finance reforms.’ Defending our fundamental rights, he has filed a lawsuit to prevent implementation of the recently passed legislation.
FURTHER READING
The Barr Factor
by Justin Raimondo | Antiwar.com | April 7, 2008
Antiwar libertarian Republican continues the Ron Paul Revolution.
Some Ron Paul Supporters See No Liberty In Bob Barr. Why Are They Wrong?
by Marc Gallagher | Liberty Maven | June 23rd, 2008
Ever since Bob Barr became the Libertarian Presidential nominee he has been met with venomous criticism from those that can’t let bygones be bygones. There is no such thing as “forgiveness” apparently.
Libertarians: A (Not So) Lunatic Fringe
By NATHAN THORNBURGH | Time Magazine | Jul 10, 2008
VIDEO
Libertarian Candidate Barr Interview
By Eric Pianin | washingtonpost.com | June 18, 2008
Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party presidential nominee, offered a scathing critique of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) today and predicted he would garner substantial conservative Republican support in a handful of battleground states critical to McCain in his campaign against Democratic Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.).
The Message of Freedom and Liberty
by Bob Barr
Liberty for America campaign feature video from Bob Barr & Wayne Allyn Root.
"A Real Choice" by Martin Avila, owner of Terra Eclipse, editor of the United Liberty blog and designer of the Ron Paul and Bob Barr official campaign web sites.
Bob Barr Interview | Fox News Sunday| 06/29/2008.
