Barr Helps Obama Out In New Hampshire

Bob Barr, the recovering Republican turned libertarian (not great but better than the GOP) made news in the Granite State today by turning in the required amount of petition signatures to make the ballot. The required amount was 3,000, but Barr nearly doubled that with 5,000. New Hampshire, with its "Live Free or Die" motto has given itself plenty of choices for the Presidential election this coming November.

From Politicker NH:

New Hampshire voters are one step closer to having the option of picking from two Libertarian presidential candidates.

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr has collected 5,000 signatures in the Granite State and George Phillies has already qualified to appear on the November ballot. August 6 was the deadline for thirty-party candidates to hand in 3,000 to local election officials who will then verify the signatures.

"There are no sure things when dealing with the two party system, but we have over 5000 signatures submitted for confirmation," New Hampshire Libertarian Party Chairman Brendan Kelly said in an e-mail. "I have turned in 1000 in the Seacoast area and have been getting 90% confirmation. Hope this holds up for the rest of the state."

So in addition to McCain and Obama, Bob Barr and George Phillies will join Ralph Nader as the exceptions to the two-party system. New Hampshire is definitely known for it's independent streak, but it generally skews to the right as opposed to the left. Therefore we should see Phillies and especially Barr take more voters away from the Dems and Repubs than Nader can. With polls already favoring Obama over McCain with only their names on the questionnaire, this can only be good news for the Obama campaign in their quest to solidly win the Northeast.

Bongs For Bob Barr

The transformation of Bob Barr continues today on the social issues front. It seems that in nine years, Mr. Barr has gone from opposing medical marijuana at all costs to wholeheartedly endorsing the practice. Bob's very own amendment in 1998 prohibited all forms of medicinal use, but now times have changed.

From The Politico:

Bob Barr, who as a Georgia congressman authored a successful amendment that blocked D.C. from implementing a medical marijuana initiative, has switched sides and become a lobbyist for the Marijuana Policy Project.

But that doesn’t mean he has become a bong-ripping hippie. He isn’t pro-drug, he said, just against government intrusion.

“I, over the years, have taken a very strong stand on drug issues, but in light of the tremendous growth of government power since 9/11, it has forced me and other conservatives to go back and take a renewed look at how big and powerful we want the government to be in people’s lives,” Barr said.

Aaron Houston, the project’s government relations director, said Barr brings a “great deal of credibility, particularly among people on the Republican side of the aisle.”

“He certainly would not have been the first person I would have expected to sign off to us, but I’m very pleased that he has,” Houston said. “I’m very pleased that he has come around, and I hope he serves as an example to his former colleagues.”

I don't know if Mr. Barr has 'credibility,' he did go as far as appearing in Sacha Cohen's 'Borat' flick for some public exposure. His facial expression after drinking breast milk was priceless and perhaps his addition to MPP will add priceless material to their fight to allow marijuana to be used to treat those in need.

Republicans are one group where outreach is sorely needed. However the former Congressman has had quite the independent run after leaving Congress in 2003, so we'll have to see if his past credentials still hold up, especially with the wingnuts penchant for eating their own for straying from the party line.

Bob Barr Blasts Bush Again

The man who once wrought the most virulent malevolence towards Democrats in the 1990s has ditched his partisan garb to go after the Bush Adminstration in recent times. Now he is attacking them over the U.S. Attorney scandal and it isn't pretty if you are a Bush sycophant. He claims that the Justice Department is being used as a political football by the Adminstration and he is dead on here. Perhaps it is because he was a U.S. Attorney in the 1980s.

From Crooks and Liars:

BOB BARR: Well, it's probably some of both. But what's really unfortunate here, both from the White House standpoint, as well as from the more important standpoint of what's best for the country, is the integrity of the Department of Justice is being used as a political football by the administration to prove who's the toughest hombre in all this. It's very unfortunate. And I'm not really sure that the administration has chosen the best line in the sand to draw here, so to speak.

Congress clearly has a right to inquire into the running of the Department of Justice, to inquire into the integrity of the process of hiring and firing U.S. attorneys, notwithstanding the fact that that that is technically a prerogative of the president. And rather than fight this, the administration really ought to be going out of its way to do what prior administrations have done, such as the Bush I administration and Reagan administrations, and that is take whatever steps are necessary to assure the American people that the integrity of our justice system has not been compromised.

While the Bush Adminstration's priority is to have the biggest puffed-up chest we actually care about the dignity of our government. Loyalty to the Adminstration is #1 for George Bush's underlings. Yet out here beyond the gates of the White House we long for higher standards when it comes to our national leaders and those that mete out justice in the United States of America.