The Economist on Barr
This weeks issue of the economist has a write-up on the Libertarian candidate for president Bob Barr. They came to roughly the same conclusion I did regarding his ability to act as a spoiler for McCain.
The article also perfectly sums up the problems Barr has regarding his personal record, not that any of that matters as much during a third party presidential run. In this case, his spotty personal history and close ties to traditional conservative values increases his chances of greatly affecting McCain.
Just a funny note. The Libertarian party is pretty much nuts. As expected of a group that puts individualism above any sort of collectivist mindset, you get a bunch of disjointed single issue voters willing to vote for every conspiracy theory known to man. It's sad the party seems so crazy on the surface, since the CATO institute has the basic economic and social theory down without the frilly nuttery. Libertarians get the pot-smokers and government alien cover-up followers, while the republicans are stuck with AIPAC, the religious right, and hawks. Democrats don't really get to have any pet issues though. Lieberman, Harry Reid, Kucinich, and Hillary Clinton all share a (D) but not much else. The problem is that the Libertarian convention makes the Reps and Dems look sane. Maybe one day they'll stop appeasing the chaff (truthers) and just ignore the truly insane.
The article also perfectly sums up the problems Barr has regarding his personal record, not that any of that matters as much during a third party presidential run. In this case, his spotty personal history and close ties to traditional conservative values increases his chances of greatly affecting McCain.
Just a funny note. The Libertarian party is pretty much nuts. As expected of a group that puts individualism above any sort of collectivist mindset, you get a bunch of disjointed single issue voters willing to vote for every conspiracy theory known to man. It's sad the party seems so crazy on the surface, since the CATO institute has the basic economic and social theory down without the frilly nuttery. Libertarians get the pot-smokers and government alien cover-up followers, while the republicans are stuck with AIPAC, the religious right, and hawks. Democrats don't really get to have any pet issues though. Lieberman, Harry Reid, Kucinich, and Hillary Clinton all share a (D) but not much else. The problem is that the Libertarian convention makes the Reps and Dems look sane. Maybe one day they'll stop appeasing the chaff (truthers) and just ignore the truly insane.
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