Bob Barr: The privacy candidate for president

Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr talks up privacy last week at a political conference in Las Vegas, saying there's little difference between Barack Obama and John McCain on the topic.

(Credit: Declan McCullagh/News.com)

LAS VEGAS--Bob Barr hopes his enthusiasm for electronic privacy will boost his Libertarian Party campaign for the White House. Call it a long-shot bid for the geek vote.

Absent Barack Obama and John McCain found in flagrante delicto with, say, Osama bin Laden and a 12-year old, Barr will not be the next president of the United States. But he is polling surprisingly well, with a Zogby poll last week putting him at 6 percent nationally, meaning he could siphon away enough limited-government votes from McCain to affect the November election.

Barr was a GOP member of Congress best known for leading the floor battle to impeach President Clinton. After losing his Georgia congressional seat in 2002, he became an ACLU consultant and privacy activist, and won the Libertarian presidential nod after a pitched floor battle in which some delegates angrily accused him of being more right-wing than right-thinking.

Speaking here at a political conference on Friday, Barr focused almost exclusively on privacy and eavesdropping--and argued that both major parties are far too surveillance-happy. "Both of them will continue down the same track," Barr said, noting that both McCain and Obama supported last week's bill to immunize telecommunications companies that illegally opened their networks to government snoops.

Congress' legislative rewrite of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is "not about surveilling al-Qaida," Barr said. "It's about surveilling U.S. citizens in America." He added, for good measure: "This administration is the most anti-privacy, the most anti-individual freedom, in our nation's history, certainly in my lifetime."

This is hardly a Bush-McCain species of Republican speaking. It underlines Barr's appeal: If you're a traditional conservative who disagrees with the big-government policies, the surveillance, the inflation, the deficit spending, and the wars of the Bush administration, vote for me. I was one of you, once.

It might work. More precisely, it might work well enough--think a Republican equivalent of Ralph Nader--to make a difference in states that would have tilted toward McCain otherwise. It's certainly a more attractive message than that of the Libertarians' 2004 candidate, a telemarketer-turned-programmer.

Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas Republican with a libertarian bent who made an unsuccessful bid for the 2008 presidency, represents one argument for the theory of a third candidate potentially hurting McCain. More than 10 percent of the Republican electorate, and far more in some states--like Idaho, where he won 24 percent of the primary vote--share his libertarian view. Plus there's the remarkable post-primary success of Paul's book (No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list and at or near the top of the lists on Amazon.com).

Barr would surely do anything, except perhaps shave his prominent mustache, if he could lure those tech-savvy, Internet-donating Paul-istas. But his arch-conservative voting record could be a hindrance.

Barr, a former CIA employee and federal prosecutor, voted for the Patriot Act; he voted for the Iraq War resolution; he voted for a 2002 warrantless surveillance bill called the Cyber Security Enhancement Act; he tried to restrict the practice of Wicca in the military; he wanted to ban a subset of computer-generated porn. On each of those votes, Paul went in the opposite direction.

For his part, Barr says he has become an honest-to-goodness convert to the cause of electronic privacy and limited government. He said a long time ago that he regrets voting for the Patriot Act; he wants an Iraq withdrawal "without undue delay"; the head of the Marijuana Policy Project formally nominated Barr at the Libertarian convention; Barr even endorsed a Libertarian presidential candidate in 2004. He founded a group called the American Freedom Agenda that opposes the White House's policies in the so-called war on terror, and his supporters note he embraced a wealth of privacy measures while in Congress (see our coverage from 2002).

"Electronic privacy has been his forte for a long time," said Brad Jansen, an ex-Paul staffer turned Barr enthusiast who runs a group advocating greater financial privacy. "It was his signature issue with the ACLU, and is topical now with the FISA ruling last week. He certainly differentiates himself from both McCain and now Obama on the issue."

It's true that under the we-absolutely-must-recapture-the-White-House theory, many Democrats will vote for Obama, no matter that he flip-flopped on retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies. (He voted for an unsuccessful amendment stripping it out, but then for the entire bill with it included.) But some progressive bloggers are finding that decision impossible to forgive.

McCain's position on wiretapping and retroactive immunity has been mostly, but not entirely, consistent--see our tech voters' guide from January. That makes the Arizona senator a more stationary target for Barr. "Sen. McCain has made very, very clear that he basically embraces the notion of unfettered executive power," Barr said.

Barr also likes to swipe at the Real ID Act, a law creating a federalized identity card that's effectively on hold until December 31. "It was passed by the Congress not as a national ID, which it is in every way except a name," he said. "It is a national ID for the first time in our nation's history...If certain people were elected president, it would not go into effect."

During the Libertarian Party's presidential debate in Denver, the candidates were asked what they'd do about Real ID and the Patriot Act. Barr's reply was captured on video by C-SPAN: "Fear has become the driving force behind all public policy in our country...(For the Patriot Act), I'd drive a stake through its heart, shoot it, burn it, cut off its head, burn it again, and scatter its ashes to the four corners of the world."

The Zogby poll released last week puts Obama at 44 percent, McCain at 38 percent, and Barr at 6 percent--a combination that hands Obama a handsome electoral college majority.

"Bob Barr could really hurt McCain's chances," pollster John Zogby said. "McCain can't afford the level of slippage to Barr we found among conservatives in this polling...Bob Barr has some juice among conservatives and is hurting him in several states."

On one hand, Barr's breadth of support doesn't seem to be an aberration: a Rasmussen poll released May 18 also gives him 6 percent of the nationwide vote, including 7 percent of Republicans and 5 percent of Democrats. On the other hand, support for third parties tends to wane as the November election nears, as pollster Mark Blumenthal points out on NationalJournal.com.

For now, Barr seems enthusiastic about positioning himself as the candidate who most supports digital privacy.

"The best way to control the populace is to take away their privacy," he said. "The digital age, and what will come after that, makes it much, much easier for the government to abuse those powers and erode the Fourth Amendment."

[joetesta70]

Bob Barr is a s**mbag and a self-hating hypocrite. He's obviously part black yet he denies it, and he delivered the keynote address at the 1998 convention of the Council for Conservative Citizens, a white nationalist group, but later told a reporter that he actually had "no idea" what the organization stood for.

Bob Barr holds an abysmal 7% lifetime rating from the ACLU, based on his performance in Congress between 1995 and 2003

More here http://civilliberty.about.com/od/libertarianpolitics/p/bob_barr.htm

[joetesta70]

Oh and Mr. "part black but denies it" (what are you ashamed of, Bob???) also led the Clinton Lewinsky witchhunt - couldn't stay out of someone else's bedroom. People like that are usually the ones that are most deviant. I wouldn't be surprised if someone found him in a highway restroom.

[CruiseCarter]

A Declaration of Withdrawal from the Republican Party

My reasons for leaving the Party that I?ve felt at home in since I became politically aware are numerous. I will start with quoting countless conservatives who feel as I do - I didn?t so much leave the Republican Party, it was the Party that left me. The elected Republican officials failed to implement a conservative agenda, despite having the Presidency and both houses of congress. No Child Left Behind, Prescription Drug Entitlements; they even tried to force Amnesty for illegal aliens upon us. They have given us a government that would make even LBJ blush. Our businesses and land have more regulatory red tape to deal with than ever.

Where is the Republican Party that stood for limited government, personal responsibility, a strong national defense, and against being the world?s policeman? As recently as the 90?s Republicans railed against a foreign policy of ?making the world safe for democracy?, (which is historically the Democrats foreign policy, ala Woodrow Wilson) when Bill Clinton was President and he took us to war in Bosnia and Kosovo, without U.N. approval I might add. Which reminds me, the United Nations is something the GOP used to believe we needed to get out of, not an institution to be defended when a rogue nation violates U.N. resolutions.

I am also reminded of former Senator Robert Taft, who was known in his day as Mr. Republican, when he said ?I do not believe any policy which has behind it the threat of military force is justified as part of the basic foreign policy of the United States except to defend the liberty of our own people? and my favorite President - Thomas Jefferson, who said ?peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, and entangling alliances with none.?

From its inception, the Republican Party advocated a humble foreign policy in line with our founding fathers recommendations, now, with John McCain as the leader and voice of the GOP, we are told to get behind his idea for a ?League of Democracies? which sounds terrifyingly similar to Wilson and his Progressive Democrats ?League of Nations? almost 100 years ago.

We are also being told by McCain that we will have to Cap and Trade our liberty and our pursuit of happiness in the fight against global warming, essentially that if we don?t give government more money and power, utopia will never be reached.

Some have told me that I should support him because he will appoint conservative judges, but I ask these questions - 1. Who?s definition of conservative are we talking about? And 2. Why would I trust the man on this issue when he is one of the ?Gang of 14? who was blocking President Bush?s conservative lower federal court and Circuit Courts of Appeal judicial nominees? His long-standing, but little-noticed association with left-wing donors such as George Soros and Teresa Heinz Kerry is receiving new attention and definitely troubles me. I would also remind you of his historical propensity to appease those even more liberal than himself. His version of ?reaching across the aisle? looks more like a group hug when he crafts legislation like the McCain / Kennedy and McCain / Feingold bills. McCain / Feingold happens to be the reason McCain should not get the NRA?s endorsement, the NRA spent years fighting this trampling of our 1st amendment rights. McCain has not been the solid 2nd amendment supporter he would like you to believe he is - he cosponsored legislation which could require registration of attendees at gun shows and even ban such shows. Add to this the barely passing ?C? grade from the NRA in his last senate run in 04?, the ?F? grade the Gun Owners of America gives him today and reflect on the work he did in 2000 with Americans for Gun Safety, an anti-gun group with a deceiving name, and you get a very different picture than the one he wants us to see.

The differences between McCain and Obama are minimal, when you consider that both believe big government can save you from yourself, and that we can save other nations from themselves as well. Given McCain?s track record of conciliatory dealings with Democrats, I fear what this man would do with a Democratic House and Senate. I will not play along with the game of lesser of two evils, as I believe that is part of what has plunged this nation into the mess we find ourselves today.

Once upon a time the Republican Party stood against special interests, corruption and abuse of power. Today their candidates campaign is ? of the lobbyist, by the lobbyist, for the lobbyist.? A man who admits Washington?s corruption has tainted him. Google Keating 5 and read all about it.

The Republican Party today would be unrecognizable to my favorite Republicans of yesterday, such as Barry Goldwater, who said ? A government that is big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take it all away.? President Eisenhower, who warned us of the Military Industrial Complex, and one whose party membership is a surprise to many today but shouldn?t be, Martin Luther King Jr. ?Violence is a poor chisel for carving out peaceful tomorrows.? The party is just as unrecognizable to myself and others of my generation.

I had to draw a line in the sand, and the Republican Party wasted no time in crossing it, when they and the President pushed for ?economic stimulus checks.? The only problem is this, the money isn?t money that we have, its money we are borrowing, and our excessive borrowing becomes a tax on future generations, as we wont be paying it off any time soon. Want to try to sell this as economically conservative? Excessive borrowing and spending has the added affect of devaluing our currency, so it acts as a hidden tax on us today. As I heard one of the presidential candidates say in regards to these stimulus checks, ? Whose economy are we stimulating here? Ours or Chinas? We are borrowing more money from China so everyone can go buy more stuff made in China.? I get it, others in the GOP get it, so why doesn?t the party leadership?

I can?t take anymore disrespect for conservative values, and unless the Republican Party wakes up and gets it?s head on straight real soon, I will be taking my vote, my time, energy, money, and passion from the GOP and taking it to the Libertarian Party to send a message to the Republican leadership that I will not be taken for granted. I believe that it is solid conservatism that wins the day and elections - limited government, individual responsibility, and a strong national DEFENSE (secure the borders!), not conciliation and surrender to Democrats to the point that our differences become blurry.

The Libertarian Party seems to be a perfect temporary home, the GOP has its work cut out if its sincere about winning me back, even President Reagan said ?Libertarianism is the very heart and soul of conservatism.? I will be doing everything I can to sway like minded conservatives to join me in this exodus and vote for Bob Barr for President and Wayne Root for Vice President on the Libertarian ticket. Both of them were recently Republicans, and are among those countless conservatives I?ve heard myself say ? It wasn?t that I left the Republican Party, it was the Party that left me.?

Thanks and God Bless, from Zak Carter

[Kwasiowusu]

Bob Barr? What is that? How many voters even know of this guy? FACT: Far more American voters know about Ralph Nader than even know Bob Barr exists. This post is yet another attempt by the liberal Obama backing CNET to screw things up for the Republicans by promoting any nonentity who comes along..so far as CNET and the rest of the liberal MSM think that that nonentity will take votes away from the Republican candidate. Not gonna work. Bob Barr is irrelevant. BTW, why don't we see these sickening shill pieces for Ralp Nader on here in the run up to the elections as well then?

[jamalystic]

I think only CNEY should be worried about Bob Barr because they are the ones erroneousl believing thta this guy is a factor. If Bob Barr is serious about internet privacy, he should have join the likes of EFF in their struggle. Putting Bob's name as a headline is a very cheap shot by liberal driven tech media like CNET: Politicos Abuse Social Networking(http://tinyurl.com/6c43cd)

[michaelo1966]

Pro-privacy!!!??? This is the guy that impeached Clinton for lying about getting a *******, and saw nothing wrong with forcing a guy to answer questions about that in the first place?? Great privacy advocate libertarians.

[rdupuy11]

I know who Bob Barr is, and support him fully, and will vote for him.

The idea he is taking votes from McCain is an absurdity. They aren't McCains votes to lose.

My vote is my vote, and I will not vote for McCain. Bob Barr is not dropping out, but I'll give you a hypothetical, if Bob Barr would not in this race, I would have to choose between to very bad candidates, of the two I think Obama is probably a better choice.

You aren't conservative if you vote for McCain, McCain, and, by the way, George Bush before him, are not conservative, they are simply populists. as the election goes on, we'll see more votes from Obama that are populist style votes as well. They read the polls, they vote for things that sound right...they want to do good, but they are not driven by any particular philosophy.

[Dr_Zinj]

I knew Bob Barr existed, but he's nearly invisible. Ron Paul would have made a better candidate. Barr is too recent a convert to the Libertarian party to get my vote as his switch seems more a matter of convenience than of conviction.

[Pete Bardo]

I have always voted Libertarian for President. Now what do I do? No republicrats, no libergreenians for me. This year I think I'll vote for Nobody--http://nobodyforpresident.org/

[MSSlayer]

The best thing about Barr is that he is hurting McSame in deep red states giving Obama a legitimate chance at some of those states.

[TogetherinParis]

We must protect our freedom first. I'm a Democrat (yep, that's a capital D), but I am not going to vote for another selectee. Obama didn't win the primary election, but he's browbeaten the superdelegates to put him in anyway after he personally decided that real Democratic voters in two big important swing states were less important than his pip-squeak republican caucus-goers. If Democrats refuse to count all the votes equally, to whom can we appeal?
Poor McCain's 5th from the bottom of the Naval Academy is on a par with Bush's Harvard MBA. We need a smarter candidate, not a dumber one. Too bad Hillary Clinton quit.

[Seaspray0]

Isn't anyone interested in knowing if Barr uses windows, linux, or osx? What's wrong with you people!

[Arbalest05]

"Once upon a time the Republican Party stood against special interests, corruption and abuse of power."

Yes. Then Lincoln was assassinated and the GOP fell into the hands of wealthy and powerful who bent the party to the will of large corporations that they controlled. It didn't happen overnight, but it has certainly reached a new high during the current administration under the "conservative" President Bush.

The biggest problem that Bob Barr will face is that he was, and may still essentially be, a loyal Bushie. Barr will always be known for his roll in launching of the impeachment of President Clinton and acting as the lead "house manager" (essentially the prosecutor) of the proceedings in the Senate. Corruption and Abuse of power was printed on his business card. He failed to remove the President from office and then eventually lost his seat in Congress.

I'm not saying that Barr could not have changed his stripes and become a believer in civil rights and liberties, but as Saul changed his name to Paul after a chat with the Big Guy on the road to Damascus, Barr should change his name so that we can at least think he is a different man.

[shanklinmike]

Videos very few people get to see!
watch?v=V-4kCD4nbrw
watch?v=SzTozC3PCF4
watch?v=kKPkqs-ZgPQ
watch?v=Im0Wqj3BSvU#

Very important you read! Don't just vote, vote with a cause.....otherwise, stay at home and enjoy the day. It would be better than voting for Obama or McCain, these two war, loss of liberties, high tax candidates! Instead vote for libertarian Bob Barr and give liberty a chance! Barr will be on all 50 state ballots and write-in votes are thrown away!

[jdfromhou]

Based on Mr. Barr's record during the few years since he left congress, there is every reason to think that his transition to Libertarian is real. He did not use his contacts in
Washington to go for big lobyist bucks.

Plus .. He is the first person from a smaller party I have ever seen who really seems up to the
task of being president.

The nation and the world needs him to make as big a splash as possible.

Win or not, Spoiler of not, I am proud to support him

jdfromhou

[NoMoreBlatherDotCom]

[NoMoreBlatherDotCom]

Bob Barr might be good on some things, but on at least one topic he's just a shallow copy of McCain or BHO:

http://lonewacko.com/blog/archives/007832.html

Based on his attempts to fool people regarding that topic, no one should take him seriously.

[humanssssss]

America's future is in a crisis. We have two candidates that are visible to the American public one is communist Obama and the other is war-monger McCain. There's Barr who recently came in the spotlight. His voting records are McSame. If I get to choose who I'm voting for. I'm writing Ron Paul in.

[TimeTraveler2000]

This man voted for the Patriot Act, the occupation of Iraq, and the warrantless spying, and for religious freedom of members of the armed forces, and the cyber security enhancement act.

What is going on with those big L libertarians? This man is so far from representing the ideals America was found upon, that I find him to be as scary as McCain or Guilliani.

If Barr was to make it to the presidents seat, what would he do to American liberties (those that are left) when the next event happens that requires decisive action? I don't know. But I don't think apologies will cut it for his past 'mistakes'.

[adams2006]

Thank you, { Candidate Barr?s Chief Supporter in Orange County, , Florida }for Answering and For asking me the Questions that you Took the Liberty to Answer for the Candidate;
which I respectfully ask you to Forward to the Candidate instead:

After all; I am ACTUALLY On your Side of the issues that you Raise;
as well as his!
======================================================


Now, PLEASE allow me to ANSWER the Questions of { Candidate Barr?s Chief Supporter in Orange County, , Florida };

{ Candidate Barr?s Chief Supporter in Orange County, , Florida }; Will you Please Also Forward these exchanges to the Candidate: MR. Barr?
Thanks

Unfortunately these questions are Not the Candidate's Questions that remain to be asked:

In a message dated 07/21/2008 8:11:29 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [e-mail] writes:


[http:// Mr. |http:// Mr. ] Tim [ Adams] : Answers of Mr. Adams below:
1. ) " For starters, who made laws that make or made it almost impossible for the average American to run for office?

There are no such Laws and if you think for one minute that;
I did or do believe there were, or are such laws: You are Incorrect, Sir!
2. ) You ask; { Candidate Barr?s Chief Supporter in Orange County, , Florida }; "
Who is making laws to make it harder for "We the People" to petition our government and get issues on the ballot?

Answer from Mr. Adams: The State Legislatures of Georgia and Florida Are; for two States, Sir!!!!
3. ) Who passed laws to require election filing fees?
Mr Adams Agrees with the answer that you provided below; and Adds that there were others also involved in those schemes in addition to the G. O. P. and also the Dixie Crats!
" The Democrats and Republicans. " Was yuor Answer.
4. ) { Candidate Barr?s Chief Supporter in Orange County, , Florida }Asks: Are those laws Constitutional?
{ Candidate Barr?s Chief Supporter in Orange County, , Florida }Says: "I don't believe they are. "

Response: Mr Adams agrees that the laws are unconstitutional, but has no knowledge of a Supreme Court Ruling to sustantiate those beliefs at this time in history.

Mr. Adams adds: Maybe that WHY a Candidate such as yours should consider becoming a part of the solution, since our favorite candidate in America is even Considering a Cross Party Lines Running Mate; Perhaps your Candidate would be a great candidate for Supreme Court justice or al least a Justice Department High Ranking Voting rights Advocate attorney;
To: { Candidate Barr?s Chief Supporter in Orange County, , Florida }; Can you understand the logic in that proposal?

5. ) { Candidate Barr?s Chief Supporter in Orange County, , Florida }: "They may have been passed by a majority of the members of the two parties, but, are they really in the best interest of "the equal protection" as provided by the Constitution" [ ? ].

Adams Response: No!

Here is the Part that Mr Adams Really Likes in { Candidate Barr?s Chief Supporter in Orange County, , Florida }'s Comments:

{ Candidate Barr?s Chief Supporter in Orange County, , Florida }Says: [ Commissioner ] "Fernandez, was bribed with 6 gyms by the Orlando Magic,
in exchange for [ Her Vote to provide ] $400 million tax dollars. [ From Orange County Citizens and taxpayers ]

6. ) { Candidate Barr?s Chief Supporter in Orange County, , Florida }:
" The citizens voted "NO" on four differant occasions against a "Rail System".
Only to have the Commissioners vote to spend more money on consultants to continue studying a commuter rail,
compliments [ to ] [Commissioner ] Theresa Jacobs and the Commissioners and [ Mayor of vice ] Crotty.

The mandate of the people was totally ignored by the Commissioners.
From Tim Adams: We Agree totally.

Mr. Klein: "Buddy Dyer and Crotty, have denied the people their rights to vote on important projects that effect their tax obligations."
Mr Adams Agree with you 100% on this !!!
also:

" The Venues and the Commuter Rail. "
" The fact that a lot of the deliberations on these issues were not publicized so that "We the People"
could be in attendance."

" Who and when were the stations decided on? "
" How many public meetings were there? "
"Were they handled with fairness to all residents, or were the anti-rail people put at the back of the list of comments?"

" Tickets for the events given to the Commissioners, that is a Bribe."

Mr Adams Agrees!!!

" If the Magic or any production company are giving tickets to the elected that is a form of bribery."
Mr Adams Agrees with Mr. Klein!!

"All tickets should be given to a clearing committee that is voluntary and will keep records of who gets the tickets,
such as Raffles for Charity, and our wounded warriors in the Military, Police, and Firemen."


"The politicians should never be given any tickets to any event."
" They are servants of the people."

Agreed!

====================================================================================================================================
" The biggest law suit would be the one against the two illegal monopolies of the Democrats and Republicans."
" They have been working hard to change the "sovereign govenment of America" by denying competition at the Ballot box."
" Congressman Kanjorski,(Jankorski) got an "Earmark" of $10 million dollars for his family to go into business."
" He tried to get a farmer to be the front man with a project and the farmer saw thr[ ough ] the Congressman and would have nothing to do with his scam.




" Fox News did an expose on this about 4 weeks ago.
GREAT !!"

" The business filed for bankruptcy after 4 years. That is fraud, grand theft, etc and that is in violation of the Constitution."

Mr. Klein : " Back to local elected: Where does it say in the Constitution that "We the People" are to bail-out corporations, give corporate welfare, and put families in business?"

" I can't find it, because our Founding Fathers developed the founding documents with total Honesty as from God's word."
" That is what is keeping America the great country we are. God's word and the 86% of the people who believe in God."
" So do we have a case, I do believe we do and the major one is the one against the two illegal monopolies."
"Chief Supporter of Candidate Barr in Ornage County, Florida"