Bob Barr Announces Presidential Bid
by FOXNews.com
Monday, May 12, 2008
Former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr announced Monday that hes running for president as a Libertarian, a candidacy that could hurt John McCain.
I will be a candidate for the presidency of the United States, and it is precisely to give the American people a voice, to give them a meaningful choice so that they do not have to once again go into the polling booth on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, hold their nose and pull a lever or touch one of those magical touch-screens that seem to be so much in vogue now and vote for the lesser of two evils. America deserves better, Barr told reporters at his Washington, D.C., announcement.
Barr plans to run to the right of McCain and to position himself as the true conservative in the presidential race. His third-party candidacy would likely draw more disenchanted Republican voters than Democrats.
Anybody who stands at the foundation of their domestic agenda McCain-Feingold, to me, can not ever lay legitimate claim, at least with a straight face, to calling themselves or being labeled as a conservative, Barr said of McCains landmark campaign finance reform law, which the Arizona senator co-sponsored with liberal Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold.
Barr said McCains Web site and advisers dont have a great deal of substance about how to reduce the influence of Washington, pare down its size and return to smaller government, all top concerns of conservative voters.
He said the lack of that discussion among McCains resources reflects the basic premise of the senator that Washington is Washington, and Washington is fine, we just need to make some adjustments around the corners. We need to do much more than that.
The former Republican congressman said that having spent several weeks roaming the U.S. and abroad and talking to people from all walks of life, he has heard the same complaints.
They want a choice. They believe America has more to offer than what [the] current political situation is serving to us, Barr said.
He said protecting the defense and defending the United States is a first priority, and that would include not leaving open military bases abroad that serve no advantage. He added that overturning the status quo by bringing discretionary spending under control, limiting the size and scope of the federal government and reducing the deficit are also among his objectives.
The status quo has given us the litany of problems that were all very familiar with the debt, the deficit, the problems that we see in the economy, the trade imbalance and a whole host of problems, the occupation of Iraq. These are all children of the status quo, he said.
Barr first must win the Libertarian nomination at the partys national convention, which begins May 22. Party officials consider him a front-runner thanks to the national profile he developed in Congress from 1995 to 2003.
Barr said that he would reach out to supporters of Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who remains in the Republican race against McCain and who was the 1984 and 1988 Libertarian presidential candidate.
Well be reaching out to the support of all Americans who believe in smaller government, more individual liberty, more individual freedom, the true principles of federalism to devolve power from Washington back to the states, Barr said. If that fits, as I suspect it does, with the views of many if not all supporters of Congressman Ron Paul, then yes, well be reaching out to them.
Barr, 59, announced early last month that he was forming a presidential exploratory committee to investigate whether he should run. He argued that he did not want to sit on the sidelines while the country faces a grave moral crisis.
He may be most famous for serving as an impeachment manager against President Bill Clinton. He served as a U.S. attorney before entering Congress. He left the GOP in 2006 over what he called bloated spending and civil liberties intrusions by the Bush administration.
Since leaving office, he has maintained the political action committee he formed as a congressman. In the current two-year election cycle, he has raised more than $1.2 million, spending most of it on direct mail. His staff said the mailings are intended to spread his message of liberty.
Barr currently runs a lobbying and public affairs firm with offices in Atlanta and outside Washington. His clients have included the American Civil Liberties Union and the Marijuana Policy Project, a group pushing Congress to allow medical marijuana use and to cut spending for what it says are failed anti-drug media campaigns aimed at young people.
Barr also holds the 21st Century Liberties Chair for Freedom and Privacy at the American Conservative Union Foundation and is a board member of the National Rifle Association.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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