Libertarian update

In my excitement yesterday about Mike Gravel switching to the Libertarian Party and immediately announcing his candidacy (again) for president, I missed a little something.

I kind of assume that Ron Paul will seek the Libertarian nomination when he finally realizes that he won't get the GOP nomination. Most of us already knew this, but he did do well in North Dakota and Montana. Around this area (northcentral Pa.) there are still more signs for Ron Paul than any other candidate.

Now, it turns out that former Georgia Senator Bob Barr has been pondering a Libertarian run as well. Here's a his Wikipedia entry.

On the plus side, Barr seems to be a strong supporter of civil rights and fought for sunset provisions in the Patriot Act and is against domestic spying. He has also done an about face and now questions the wisdom of "War on Drugs."

On the other hand, he called for impeaching President Clinton even before the name "Monica" and her blue dress were headlines for months. He also has some pretty antiquated views on abortion. However, Larry Flynt (the hero of the First Amendment) dug up the fact that he made an exception to his pro-life stance when it was his wife who wanted to have an abortion. I guess only the rabble have to worry about the loss of the right to choose.

Here's what his more rabid "enemies" have to say about him. According to the Religious Freedom Coalition of the Southeast, Barr has been married three times and was once seen licking whipped cream off the chests of two women (while he was married, of course). But according to to this paragon of fidelity and religiosity, it is simply not okay to be gay. So sorry.

Anyway, a nomination fight among Gravel, Paul, and Barr will make for an interesting distraction from the Obama/Clinton/McCain sameness. Their convention is May 22-26 in Denver. Bets on how much the MSM covers this thing?

Personally, I don't agree with all of the Libertarian views, but the ideals of smaller government, lower taxes, and more freedom are appealing.

Chris