He wants to be the Ralph Nader of 2008, but the fact that Bob Barr has already filled the position is not deterring him.
The Spoiler of 2000, who originally said he would run because he hates the Clintons, is now accusing Barack Obama of trying to "talk white." From anyone but today's loony Nader, that might be seen as racist, but it's hard to take umbrage at someone who has talked himself into the shadows of history but refuses to go quietly.
In what amounts to a political obituary, the Washington Post limns the pathetic figure Ralph Nader has become, noting that a biographer "searched for evidence of Nader's personal life and came up with nothing. Paul Krugman, the New York Times columnist, called Nader 'a rebel without a life.'"
Meanwhile, Bob Barr has taken up Ron Paul's mantle as the Libertarian scourge and is threatening to cause serious damage to the Republicans, perhaps doing to McCain in Georgia this year what Nader did back then to Al Gore in Florida.
Barr, a former House member who disappeared without trace, was in the spotlight briefly as the relentless Inspector Javert of the Clinton impeachment, who later filed a $30 million lawsuit against the former President, James Carville and Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt for causing him "emotional distress" in retaliation.
But this year he is hounding Republicans by getting on the ballot in 30 states, with petition drives under way in 20 others. In close races, he could bring McCain down.
This year, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have shown that almost anyone can run for president. Nader and Barr are proving you don't even have to be certifiably sane to do it.
It was not fair not to mention that Barr has changed his ways and regrets those actions you mentioned. I would never vote for someone who now truly thought that a man should not be allowed to do his gorgeous 22 year old intern.
ReplyDeleteBut Barr is into freedom and the Constitution now. You should be considering him. Nothing you just said was relevant to the present.
In fact, now that Larry Flynt is senile, Hustler is run by a guy named David Bruce...whose idea of freedom was exemplified in something he said to me a few months ago: "Why should the a$)§ who read my magazine care a less about their right to date a foreign woman online?" He was explaining why he refused to even print an article written by one of his own employees about an outrageous new law called IMBRA that stops dating websites from introducing American men to foreign women without strict background checks on the American men and interference in the timeline of people even chatting online.
Back to third parties: you seem to misunderstand their function in a free society: first of all we need an amendment so the USA becomes like almost ALL European democracies, that will make Congress 15% third party if 15% of the nation votes third party.
But barring that...one votes third party when NEITHER of the two choices is acceptable and the Supreme Court will probably be unchanged or not dreadfully changed.
McCain is simply unacceptable to most Republicans. The 4 more conservative justices on the SC seem to be ignoring libertarian principles and letting Anthony Kennedy be the measured one.
Ripe conditions for Republicans to show the RNC that they would rather have libertarians running the show.