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Brunner also said she can’t find grounds to appeal a ruling by Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. of the U.S. District Court in Columbus that Barr and other Libertarian candidates should appear on the Nov. 4 ballot under their party’s label because Ohio’s ballot-access rules for third parties are unconstitutional.

Sargus had put his ruling on hold to give Brunner time to appeal. Besides Barr, the ruling applies to Mark Noble, a candidate in the hotly contested 15th District congressional race, and Margaret A. Leech of Clermont County in the state Senate’s 14th District.

Political experts say the ruling is important because some voters might be more inclined to vote for a candidate based on the party label, especially if they don’t know much about the candidate and don’t like the other options.

The decision was a victory for the campaign and Libertarian candidates in Ohio. The decision by Judge Edmund Sargus can be viewed here.

We hope for a repeat of this success with our ballot access lawsuit in Oklahoma.

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Squeezing his thumb and forefinger together in the back of a Manchester bar last night, Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr told a crowd of 80 that when it counts, there’s that much difference between the Republicans and Democrats.

Americans, he argued, are looking for something new.

“The definition of throwing your vote away is to go into that voting booth and vote for one of two parties that will not change the direction this country’s going in,” Barr told a crowd of about 80 at Murphy’s Taproom. “And that’s the Republicans or Democrats.”
[…]
Republicans and Democrats have spent too much time fretting about the difference between a $3.1 trillion budget and a $3.12 trillion budget, he said. On Jan. 20, 2009, he said, a President Barr would skip the niceties of inaugural balls and call Congress in to tell them that he’ll cap spending at the size of the prior year’s budget and form a commission to look at the constitutionality and worth of various federal departments.
One target for Barr: the Department of Education, which he said is unconstitutional and wasteful. “My goal would be to get away from public schools in the first place,” he told one questioner.

If you’d like to help petition for Bob in New Hampshire, please contact the campaign and we will get you in touch with our coordinators.

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When I asked what he thought of the idea that a Barr vote would shock the GOP into reforming itself (in a more libertarian direction, one assumes), Boehner flashed a get-real kind of smile. “A vote for Bob Barr—you might as well vote for Barack Obama. If you want to throw your vote away, that’s fine. But that’s what it would be.”

Russ Verney, Bob Barr 2008 Campaign Manager, shared with me his reaction to Boehner’s remarks:
“The Republican Party is all out of hope and is filling up on fear. Rep. Boehner wants people to vote for Senator McCain out of fear. That’s a poor strategy. It’s unfortunate that he doesn’t believe his candidate is worthy of the voluntary support of the voters. I can understand his dilemma.

But under no condition should the voters cast their vote for someone out of fear.”

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Barr is running as a Libertarian because he thinks the Republican Party — which he once served with such enthusiasm that his house and offices overflow with elephant decor — has run off the rails.

In fact, as much as he despised Clinton, Barr thinks President Bush is worse. “What George W. Bush has done to the fabric of our constitutional government, to separation of powers, to a government of limited powers is absolutely unforgivable,” he said.
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“My philosophy is much smaller government, much greater personal freedom and start dramatically reducing the size of the federal government,” Barr said.
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“Immediately upon assuming office, I would sit down with our military leaders and I would direct, not ask, but direct that they begin an immediate and significant drawdown in Iraq,” he asserted, deftly shifting talk of Bob Barr as spoiler to Bob Barr as president.

Unlike candidates who play verbal games of Twister to avoid the dreaded flip-flop, Barr freely admits that he has disavowed his long conservative resume in favor of the Libertarian philosophy of less government.

The articles takes a look at Bob’s lighter side as well, for example his favorite coffee from Starbucks, and how he shows his patriotism in other ways than wearing an American flag lapel pin.

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Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr, whose campaign manager once guided Ross Perot’s reach for the White House, sported leather boots Sunday as he sought votes in Houston.
[...]
Barr, the Georgian who served as a Republican with Libertarian Party inspiration Ron Paul in Congress, said his third-party appeal stems from the idea that “choosing between the party of big government and the party of really big government … is not serving the country well.”

With either major party in control, Barr asserted in an interview before a speaking engagement Sunday night, “nothing is going to change of any substance.”

Bob is in New Hampshire tomorrow and back in Texas on Wednesday and Thursday. Check the events page for more information.

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Since neither status quo candidate can sway me with their message of change or their bucking of the establishment, I was strongly considering sitting out what could ultimately prove to be the most important election of leadership in the last 150 years. Having followed the Libertarian Party since I was fourteen, I decided to wait until the LP announced their candidate, so that I could use a vote to further the battle for ballot access to allow for more choice in elections. When Bob Barr announced the formation of his exploratory interest in seeking the Libertarian nomination, I was intrigued but also concerned. I liked that he rode into Congress on the wave of the Contract with America, since it did have many good ideas. My concerns were no different that most liberty-minded individuals, as the memory of a privacy-invading, anti-choice, bigoted Republican representing my party was pushing the limits of my tolerance. Unlike most Americans, Libertarians included, I took the time to research Bob Barr’s time after losing a Congressional bid to the ever-popular John Linder. I found that he had studied and promoted some very important issues to me: privacy, security, and medical marijuana. He also worked against what the Defense of Marriage Act (which he authored) and the Patriot Act (which he voted for) had become. As with many people, he found he was now a square peg that no longer fit into one of the two circular holes. Neither status quo party fit him. I remember when I was in high school, and I tried to figure out if I was a Democrat or a Republican, because I held beliefs that “belonged to both.” I sought out a different ideology, so I relate with Bob’s so-called “transformation” to Libertarianism. He found a home that I had discovered already, and I see that he is someone that who most closely matches my political philosophy. This was the first time that the Libertarian Party had a candidate with national name recognition, and that excites me. He and I both believe in limiting the size of government, reducing the control government has over our lives, the power of the Bill of Rights, and the sanctity of the individual. I believe with his leadership and guidance, America can move toward the intended result of the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War, the end of tyranny.

It is obvious that our country is moving in the wrong direction, and I think that Bob’s campaign is the only choice that actually aims to right the ship.

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Q: Do you believe in a foreign policy that avoids military entanglements?

A: Absolutely. The lesson I learned from Iraq is it’s a disaster when you run around the world spending a trillion dollars stuffing democracy down throats of people who don’t want it. I don’t think we should be doing that. I don’t think we can afford to do that. … I was a fan of Afghanistan, going in originally. I think we’re probably in Afghanistan now too long. The job is to go, depose your enemy and leave, not to stay occupied.

Q: What is the ticket’s feeling on the issue of taxes? Would you and Barr be in favor of something like a “fair tax” that replaces the income tax with a bolstered sales tax?

A: When it comes to the tax, Bob Barr and I have a very simple answer. You’ve got to dramatically cut the size and scope of government (and) cut budgets before you worry about cutting taxes. Once government is dramatically cut, then we can have a national debate on what the best form of tax cut is. We want to give dramatic tax cuts to the American people and the American taxpayers. But whether it’s a fair tax or a flat tax, that’s up for debate. Why rush into a decision on that?

Q: It seems the Libertarian Party in years past did not support incrementally enacting its agenda.

A: And that’s why they got 300,000 votes, and now we have a chance to get 10 million votes, 20 million votes. … Again, we’re an underdog, but there’s an outside shot at winning this election. We’re at 6 percent in the latest Zogby poll, which is 6 or 7 million votes. And we just got started. It’s the most high-profile ticket ever. And Bob Barr and I believe in incremental change. That’s what we believe in. And we are the face and voice of the LP.

Many thanks to Thomas Everetts for sending in a link to the interview.

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Ohio must include the Libertarian Party’s nominees on its ballot in November, a court has ruled, complicating Senator John McCain’s effort to win conservative votes in a hotly contested state rich in electoral votes.

The Libertarian candidate, Bob Barr, formerly a Republican congressman from Georgia, will lead his party’s ticket, which includes the vice-presidential candidate, Wayne Allyn Root, and candidates for governor and several Congressional seats.

“Ballot restrictions are all designed to prevent competition for the Democrats and Republicans,” said Russell Verney, Mr. Barr’s campaign manager, who said inclusion on the ballot with a party banner should help attract more votes than if Mr. Barr were on the ballot as an independent candidate.

The court order, issued Thursday, directs the Ohio secretary of state, Jennifer L. Brunner, to disregard her office’s current guidelines for ballot inclusion, which require eligible parties to gather valid signatures equal to one-half of 1 percent of the total vote in 2006 or to have garnered at least 5 percent of the last election’s votes. The Libertarians submitted 6,545 signatures in March, far below the approximately 20,000 needed. Ms. Brunner’s office has not decided whether to appeal the ruling.

We are working towards getting Bob and Wayne on the ballot in Oklahoma and petitioning efforts continue in West Virginia, however, we need your help to keep up the momentum.

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