Ballot access hypocrisy
October 9th, 2008 by Jason PyeRadley Balko points out the hypocrisy of ballot access laws:
When the Supreme Court of Texas gave the two major parties a pass for missing the filing deadline to appear on the presidential ballot, I doubted whether a third party candidate would have been given the same deference. In fact, the Texas Supreme Court didn’t even bother to issue an opinion on LP nominee Bob Barr’s claim. They just dismissed it out of hand.
As it turns out, the Libertarian Party missed the filing deadline in neighboring Louisiana because state offices were closed that week due to Hurricane Gustav. So the state gave the Barr campaign a break, right?
Well, see for yourself.
That’s right. The Supreme Court denied to hear our case and the appellate court ruling stands. Bob Barr will not be on the ballot in Louisiana.
By the way, make sure you browse around Radley’s blog, The Agitator, for some great reading.
October 9th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Well he may not be on the Louisiana ballot, but he is on the Georgia ballot, and I just cast my vote for him in the early voting process.
October 9th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Not sure if anyone has read or heard about this. Very disturbing. So much for listening for terrorist with FISA.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5987804&page=1
Help us Bob!
October 9th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I like to liken this to guns laws. The original intent of the 2nd amendment was to allow citizens to protect themselves from illegal government activity and, should the situation arise, overthrow a government with too much power. The founding fathers must not have had the foresight to see the need to protect the citizens’ right to overthrown their government by democratic means.
October 9th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Is there nothing the people can do about this? Whats wrong with these courts? Why are they so unpatriotic? This is definitely very disturbing.
http://www.BobBarrforums.com
October 9th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
If you think that’s disgusting, The link following will make you sick. The US Constitution is being ignored by the courts and omitting or dismissing evidence about Obama that disqualifies him for President. http://www.newswithviews.com/Ryter/jon252.htm
October 9th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
**** the government!
October 9th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
It’s no wonder that the Supreme Court wont hear the Louisiana case. The justices were appointed by either a Democrat or Republican, and based of their supposed views.
October 9th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
If you live in Louisiana and would have voted for Mr. Barr, please note that Ron Paul will be on the ballot there. A vote for either Mr. Barr or Dr. Paul is a vote for freedom and against the two-party stranglehold.
I might suggest that Mr. Barr openly endorse Dr. Paul in Louisiana. It might help to smoothe things over with disgruntled Paul supporters and help all concerned save a little face. We all have the same goal, after all: Liberty!
(Fortunately, Mr. Barr will be on my state’s ballot, so I don’t have this problem.)
October 9th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
I found a great video clip on the current market from an OLD Black and White Movie that you all most likely know!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJJN9qwhkkE
Please post this everywhere you can and include BARR!!
October 9th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
MichaelSavage.com: The Savage Nation Party? ???
October 10th, 2008 at 6:37 am
This pretty much proves our court system doesn’t work for the people. Thanks Republicans and Democrats!
I hope Bob Barr can come in as a write-in candidate there. I will not vote Republican or Democrat. I write in every candidate if necessary.
October 10th, 2008 at 6:38 am
Hey HQ,
This morning I was listening to Brian Thomas and he said that he had sent an open invitation to Bob Barr to have an hour on his show, but had not received a response. You guys need to get your sh*t together! How could you let this one slip through the cracks? I don’t want to be rude about this, but we only have three weeks left and this campaign needs a serious kick in the rear end!
Brian Thomas is a hard core Libertarian morning talk show host on 55KRC here in Cincinnati. His show is listened to by millions of people every weekday morning. He is very respected and well liked by the local communities.
Bob is going to be in Cincinnati on the 22nd. Bob needs to be on Brian Thomas’ show that morning! Do you want to get the word out about Bob’s UC appearance that day? Do you want UC’s Great Hall to be packed…standing room only? Do you want to get a historic vote percentage in the key battleground state of Ohio?
Bob appearing on Brian Thomas’ show is IMPERATIVE!!!!!
HQ please contact Brian Thomas at brianthomas@55krc.com right away and get this set up!
October 10th, 2008 at 7:00 am
How come you guys weren’t there on Oct 8 when the offices were opened back up. That is freaking terrible, you should have had someone camped out there. You knew how they were going to treat you if didn’t get the paperwork to them right when they opened.
October 10th, 2008 at 7:03 am
I meant Sep 8 not Oct 8.
October 10th, 2008 at 7:14 am
That is sarcasm right Matt? Because the campaign missed the deadline because there was a friggin Hurricane blowing through! And the SOS had posted a notice that they would be closed. The whole case against Bob in LA has no merit and it’s completely absurd for the Supreme Court to not even hear the case. This is a presidential election, isn’t there some kind of precedent that would demand that they hear such an important case without the giving them the option of refusing to hear it? Our government is so corrupt, we might as well be living in China.
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Sign the Petition to Open the Debates to Third Party Candidates:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/presidential_debates/
Download one of my Bob Barr Flyers and hang them everywhere you can!
BobBarrFlyer.pdf
NotAboveTheLaw.pdf
SpendingAnalyses.pdf
Contact the CPD at (202) 872-1020, ask them to include Bob Barr in the debates.
Visit http://www.lpgeorgia.com/opendebates.php to automatically send an email to over 90 people involved in the debates and ask for Bob Barr to be included.
Go to Zogby Interactive and register for their online polls, when you get polled tell them you will vote for Bob Barr.
Come Join MyLibertySpace: The Social Network For Libertarians.
October 10th, 2008 at 8:01 am
Randy, not sure if HQ reads the posts or not, try the ‘contact us link from the home page or even the media one as well. Just an idea.
As far as the government is corrupt… yep. I heard that they’re trying to sell the constitution on ebay since we apparently don’t need it anymore.
October 10th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Shane Cory reads the Blog posts. Anyway, I always follow up anything directed at HQ with an email via the Contact Us page.
October 10th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I am so frustrated. As a Louisiana voter, is there anything I can do? Can one ask for a write-in vote or something?
October 10th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Awesome… I had figured that you would do something like that, but I had just gotten off work and that was the first thing through my mind and wanted to toss an idea.
Friend of mine at work added an idea for the post cards this morning, don’t know why we didnt think of it. But print out a bunch of them with everything but the return address and have them available as we talk to people so that they can put their name/address on them as we talk about Bob. Ive just been printing out the whole thing about 5/day to carry to work and mail when I get off.
October 10th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
When the government on any level has more power than the people it supposedly protects from these kinds of atrocities, it’s time for revolt. They must go. Maybe, one day, enough Americans will band together and end this non-sense. I know I am not the die hard blogger many of you are, but I think some of you know where I stand…… Right beside Bob.
October 11th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
urarama, rihgt on! The thought of trying to heal some of the hurt from BOTH sides may go towards a consenses that Bob Barr is the only practical solution for 3rd party candidates
October 12th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
I’m still pissed off about the Texas Ballot thing… now the LA ballot case just added fuel to the fire. I’m not sure if the following email did anything but put me even higher on any watch lists… but this is the latest one that I sent to the Texas SOS office today.
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Madam Secretary,
The Louisiana Secretary of State rejected Libertarian candidate Bob Barr for missing the deadline, even though their offices were closed because Hurricane Gustav had their offices closed that week. Yet, you allow Senators McCain and Obama to freely ignore the Texas deadline with no comment?There was no Hurricane, Natural or any other Disaster that prevented McCain or Obama to meet the deadline. Their respective Conventions were not even schedule until AFTER the Texas deadline and you still allow them to be on the Texas Ballot. What you are endorsing is an electoral process that unfairly supports political parties instead of upholding the Law. According to YOUR web site, you stated:
“As the chief elections officer of Texas, I will protect the integrity of elections as part of our democratic process – a process that Texans value and respect – and work proactively to keep Texas at the forefront of the global economy.”
What you should have said to keep from misleading Texans, is that you “will uphold all applicable laws to any party that is not Republican nor Democrat to continue the Two-Party stranglehold on US Citizens”
October 13th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
I was reading another thread and LJ had commented that his wife wasn’t going to vote for Bob because she didn’t think he was serious about winning. Her conclusion based on having seen no tv commercials, flyers, or having co-workers or others she talked to know about him.
I feel that this relates to the government’s actions above (courts, SOS,…). It comes down to credibility and where we find the truth. For LJ’s wife her “truth” looks like it is all internal assumptions, rather than researching and developing an “external truth”. This may be what is happening in all of these court cases…the judges dismiss them because they “seem” (literally) incredible. HOW could Obama and McCain (two well known Senators and running for the highest office in the land) miss something so basic as a deadline whereas Bob Barr got it? Or, WHY if it was important to get on the ballot in La did Barr miss the deadline and Obama and McCain meet it (hurricane or not)?
Unfortunately, it really looks like these “judges” are really “prejudges”. They’ve formed their own opinion based on what they think is reality rather than objectively looking at the facts and actually ruling. This is maddening, scary and, in a certain way, humorous all at the same time. Is THIS what our government of checks and balances has become?
It seems like most people I talk to are not open to hearing different viewpoints. They have had their opinions made up by internal assumptions …right now, fueled by the media. It’s a popularity contest. Judges won’t be popular if they rightly banned Obama and McCain from the TX ballot. They wouldn’t be popular if they REASONED and JUDGED that a hurricane was an unusual circumstance but that it should not force the SOS to prevent a candidate from filing.
It comes down to very little real leadership in the country. Ruling by popularity rather than law. I fear we have become a nation of “American Idol” politicians…
I am voting for Barr because he has shown leadership–even when not popular but he upheld the law. We need more leaders across the board.
I could ramble on and on…. so I should stop.
October 28th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
I live in Louisiana, intended to vote for Barr, but now I can’t. I actually volunteered to help in the campaign, but was never given a thing to do by the Louisiana Chapter. I think the Louisiana Chapter only gave a half hearted effort to support Barr for President.
I would’ve gathered signatures, handed our pamphlets, knocked on doors, called talk radio, wrote letters to the editors, hounded election officials, even staged publicity stunts if directed to do so. I always mention to people, that there doesn’t have to be taxes, or laws that restrict behavior, and to vote Libertarian.
If we had more active, more radical, serious leadership in the Louisiana Chapter, the petitions would have been turned in early, and in numerous ways, and in a very public way that made the national news. I blame the failure on the half hearted effort, and the corrupt system.
American Patriots must stop watching from the sidelines, get out there, make some noise, get attention, and keep the heat on the status quo. The Squeeky Wheel get the grease.
I intend on making a sign, and sitting just outside the prescribed distance at my voting precinct. I’ll probably keep wandering inside the restricted area, just to create a distrurbance, and attract attention to this issue. I urge all Libertarians in Louisiana to find a way to be noticed by the brainwashed Republicans and Democrats voting on election day. Be visable, be loud, be angry, unlike our local party leadership.
If the Libertarian Leadership wants an angry enthusiastic person for an outrageous publicity stunt or just to annoy the hell out of the System, I’m your man. Call me, let’s shake up the system.