United Liberty
Breaking News: Bob Barr Backs Out of Ron Paul’s Press Conference
Wed, 09/10/2008 - 12:08am | posted by Liberty Belle
Sources say that Libertarian Party Candidate Bob Barr did not make an appearance at Dr. Paul’s press conference as agreed and is instead having his own press conference, per a flyer being handed out by LP Communications Director Andrew Davis.
As much effort as Dr. Paul put into promoting this press conference, one has to wonder what effect this will have on his relationship with Barr and how Ron’s supporters will respond. If the reaction at Ron Paul Forums is any indication, missing this press conference was a mistake.
Update:
Reason’s Dave Weigel at Hit and Run is now reporting this-
Barr pulled out of the conference this morning, but the LP’s Austin Petersen hadn’t been told. He showed up with campaign literature and was kicked out of the hallway by Paul spokesman Jesse Benton. “He was extremely angry,” Petersen said. “I feel like the fall guy.”
IPR has this-
According to Don Rasmussen, who is involved with the CFL, “Barr committed to participate, but had his campaign manager call us minutes before it started to tell us that Bob thinks ‘it just isn’t worth it.’ I look forward to hearing him explain how breaking a promise to Congressman Paul constitutes a wise campaign strategy. ”
Update:
Weigel continues his report after Barr’s press conference with Barr’s reason for not appearing and reaction from the crowd gathered-
Yesterday Barr sent Paul a letter (which I have a copy of, and I’ll scan in a bit) asking Paul to run as Barr’s vice presidential nominee. Wayne Allyn Root agreed to step aside if Paul wanted the job. Paul turned this down.
“This is no reflection, certainly, on the tremendous and positive leadership that Ron Paul has provided to the liberty movement over the years.” He recognized, for example, the strength of that movement, which has to come from the outside, back in 1987 when he left the GOP. What Barr is offering voters is…bold, focused, specific leadership. That is not the amorphous kind that says “any of the above” or “none of the above.” “That’s not leadership. What is leadership is what I, and our campaign, and the LP are doing. Putting before the American people not a wish list, not a menu of things you can pick and choose, not a group of candidates, but a candidate for president, Bob Barr, who stands for very specific programs and policies and direction for this country.”
Iraq veteran and Ron Paul supporter, Adam Kokesh, starting sparring with Campaign Manager, Russ Verney-
The print press asked for more details on Barr’s offer to Paul and details on what Barr supported from the message of that earlier event. Kokesh raised his hand and started talking; Barr campaign chairman Russ Verney asked him to identify his media organization. “I’m an independent blogger,” Kokesh said. Verney and Kokesh talked over each other for about 30 seconds, Verney trying to move on, Kokesh explaining what had made him so angry. “Leadership is not just about knowing when to lead, but knowing when to follow,” Kokesh said. “You failed that test today and I retract my endorsement of you.”
Weigel shares the mood of the crowd and a statement from Deputy Campaign Manager and former LP Executive Director, Shane Cory-
There were more harsh questions (is Barr a Republican agent trying to destroy the LP?) but nothing quite that harsh. The conference emptied out and Barr’s staff kept on message: All respect to Ron Paul, but “support one of these nice candidates” is not a libertarian campaign. “Dr. Paul is allowing the Ron Paul Revolution to wither,” said Barr aide Shane Cory.
I’m no political expert, but I’m speculating that Barr’s press conference will prove to be a step the campaign will regret taking.
Update:
I spoke to Don Rasmussen personally just a moment ago and he confirms everything that’s been reported so far. He has never seen Dr. Paul so angry and is saddened by the possible repercussions of Barr’s actions on the freedom movement. Shane Cory did indeed tell Don to go f*ck himself when he asked Shane why he did this, though he admits that Shane also recited a list of perceived grievences, ie; lack of invitations to events, etc., that led to the decision to eschew Ron’s press conference and stage his own. Don also clarified that Barr did agree to attend the press conference and that Russ Verney’s claims otherwise are lies.
We will update on the Bob Barr press conference as more news comes in.
At the Campaign for Liberty Blog you can find copies of Ron’s prepared statement to the press and the policies agreed upon by Ron and his special guests.
“As much effort as Dr. Paul put into promoting this press conference, one has to wonder what effect this will have on his relationship with Barr and how Ron’s supporters will respond. If the reaction at Ron Paul Forums is any indication, missing this press conference was a mistake.”
— Ya think?
Former United Stated Senator from Alaska:
Maurice Robert “Mike” Gravel
Got history cred?
I just don’t know anymore this is very shocking and disheartening news, its a sad day.
Many LPers are upset about this as well.
The letter: http://www.bobbarr2008.com/files/paul.pdf
Why vote Baldwin:
We need a candidate that intends to honor his oath office to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. He may be sincere and talk about small government and civil liberties — these are good ideas, but he if he does not recognize the Constitution as his authority in office, he won’t right the ship and work to restore liberty to our land.
According to its preamble, the Constitution was designed in large part to “Secure the Blessings of Liberty.” Liberty is only secure when our governing representatives bear true faith and allegiance to the law of the land and the citizens hold them accountable to that duty. If the Constitution does not grant the president or Congress the power to give billions of dollars in foreign aid, then they aren’t supposed to do it — no matter how they might be able to justify it pragmatically. They weren’t given that power by “law”.
More than a century of ignoring the Constitution is what has caused our immense problems as a nation. When we followed it, America became the most prosperous nation in the history of the world! When we elect a president, we don’t tell them to do their best and fix our country’s problems using their own judgment and wisdom. We tell them to perform their duties in accordance with the “law” (the Constitution).
Some don’t want to vote for Baldwin because he’s too Christian — isn’t that voting based on personality? We are to consider FIRST who will honor their oath and follow the Constitution. All those other considerations come AFTER the principle has been satisfied. Otherwise, we are putting an executive officer in place and telling him that it’s okay if he doesn’t want to follow the law sometimes. Just because Baldwin is a Christian does not mean he will violate his oath of office to try to force it onto others. These are the sins of the the apostate religious right. It means that he will take his oath of office before God and his countrymen seriously because honesty is teaching of Jesus AND he believes in the principles embodied in that founding document.
Baldwin is pledging to follow the law all of the time — believing in those principles of liberty laid out by our Founding Fathers. But Barr only plans to follow it mostly. Barr may be a decent fellow with good intentions, but if he plans to violate his oath because he does not bear true faith and allegiance to the the Constitution — only a set of libertarian or small government ideals, then he would contribute to the growth of government and recession of liberty — just maybe in a smaller way or at a slower pace.
We’ve got to get past the celebrity and vote based on unchanging principle. Ron Paul united everyone in this movement because he believed in those principles AND followed his oath of office 100% of the time without fail. True Constitutionalists didn’t “fall in love” with the man, but rather his principles. America was unique because we made the “law” our ruler — not a person. Hence the term “Rule of Law” That is what we must embrace if we are to reclaim Liberty.
With respect, sensible planning requires us to move beyond the ‘hurt feelings’ and consider the course of action that gives us the best chance of breaking the two party(one party) monopoly.
Barrs offer of the Vice Presidency to Paul is the best ballot choice (except for Montana) I’ve seen so far.
Ideally Barr, Baldwin, Nader et al would offer America a ticket with Ron at the top, but something is better than nothing.
Great blogging!
But after reading of this back room shenanigans I have to wonder if perhaps you should rename your blog Untied Liberty.
B0B BARR- I’M SOOOOOOOOOOOOO SURE!!!
I was never really sold on Barr in the first place. Doesn’t exactly have the best track record and His action today just lost my vote.
Never trusted him from the get go. Barr is no libertarian, he’s an authoritarian. Pro-drug war, voted for the Patriot act, that idiotic “defense of marriage act”. The LPUS lost it’s way and sold out it’s core values years ago and this demonstrates the point fully.
Bob just cost himself a lot of votes today, the Ron Paul nation is not happy, nor should they be.
This was juvenile Washington tit-for-tat politics with Barr offering Paul a position publicly that was ostensibly turned down already privately.
It’s divisive grand-standing, and I applaud Adam Kokesh, a true leader and hero (what has Bob Barr ever done that was heroic?) for standing up to the Barr campaign and continuing, as he has done in the past, to speak truth to power.
Shame on Bob Barr and Shane Cory.
Bob Barr just cost himself two votes in Louisiana I can promise you that. I’m done with him!
If Bob Barr had a lick of sense, he’d let Wayne Root go away, and offer the VeeP spot to someone like Barry Hess. He spoke at the Libertarian convention just before presidential nominations and kicked butt. Hess is thought to be the biggest reason Barr was three votes behind Ruwart after five rounds of balloting. Hess has a great way of reviving the libertarian spirit in his audience and would be the smartest and most honest person in the race. Do a Google video search of him and find the C-Span version of the speech. I heard that they printed up his rough draft by mistake so what he delivered wasn’t even his best. I’m writing Hess in anyway.
I didn’t trust Barr prior to this..now I know I really don’t trust him. Thank you Barr for showing your hand.
Yep! Barr just doesn’t seem like a libertarian to me. I was thinking voting libertarian until they picked him. Gee, I’m glad I didn’t donate to him. Peace
It’s too bad he did this, but remember Nader has shown his open hands for 45 years now,without even a zit or blemish on his record.He could be the 21st centuries version of George Washington,or Abraham Lincoln.SUPPORT RON PAUL, VOTE RALPH NADER !!!
I don’t agree that Bob cost himself votes. One thing is clear, and I hope you will admit this, at least to this date and time, if you look at the numbers for Barr, for McKinney, and the other minor candidates…
Look at the donor lists, volunteers, look at the metrics. They aren’t doing well this year.
We are very close to the general. This is my 5th campaign. I know where an LP candidate should be at, even Green, or Constitution, where they should be at.
Ron Paul’s revolution has not translated into support that will make any difference in the general.
But you say, thats what today’s press conference was about.
Well, Ron Paul ran for president before…he knows this is QUITE late in the game.
Admit that.
Bob Barr also does represent the LP.
He does, I helped get him nominated. The LP has always been fractured, saying some don’t like Bob Barr, is like saying some democrats still support Hillary Clinton. Some republicans never got on board with McCain.
That simply isn’t news whatsoever. Look at how we treated Browne. Disgrace really.
In the constitution, that whole fight in California. In the green party, Nader vs. McKinney.
On and on…fracturing simply isn’t news, and anyone who thinks it is, is young.
I totally agree Bob should never have agreed to this conference, from day one.
But in the end his words are exactly right. You don’t build a movement around ‘all of the above’. It’s been tried in other countries….disaster every single time.
The only person this could have helped, is the perceived leader of the 3rd parties, Ron Paul.
And he is not the leader of third parties, he’s a successful leader of a movement inside the Republican party, in terms of support and name recognition, and his credentials as a congressman are SUPERB.
But, the 17,000 members of the LP joined together, selected people to go to the nominating convention, and we selected Bob Barr.
If you are like most Americans who do not agree with the choices for president:
Act Responsibly: Don’t Vote! http://www.lewrockwell.com/mcelroy/mcelroy37.html
“It is commonly said, If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain about the outcome. The opposite is true. By playing the game, voters agree to the rules. Only those who don’t play and withhold their consent have a right to complain about the outcome, especially since the winner will have his hand in the non-voter’s pocket. Voting is not an act of political freedom. It is an act of political conformity. Those who refuse to vote are not expressing silence. They are screaming in the politician’s ear: You do not represent me. This is not a process in which my voice matters. I do not believe you.” Wendy McElroy
Bob Barr had the opportunity to get the male vote after it became clear that both Obama and McCain were just going after the feminist vote (that idiots beieve equals the women’s vote).
But Barr felt that this 40% constituency was somehow not worth it because he would not want to offend “women”.
Since when is going after the male vote while condemning radical feminism a bad idea? It would get a third party candidate the presidency in the current environment where the other two parties are bending over backwards to placate radical feminists.
Biden is the most radical feminist legislature there is. Clinton comes in second. McCain is trying to pander to the Clintonites.
This leaves the field wide open for libertarians.
And what do I see? Infighting and platitudinous talk about the Constitution without mentioning laws like IMBRA and VAWA that, more than FISA and REALID, massively grab rights away.
Robert Barr is a fool listening to Shane Cory who is the real republican infiltrator doing his best to make sure Barr doesn’t take votes away from McCain. If Barr fires Cory and begs forgiveness, MAYBE he’ll get some respect back from libertarians and Ron Paul supporters. Otherwise he’s dug his own political grave and jumped right in it, with Shane Cory shoveling the dirt on top of him and laughing his ass off all the way. (OOPS! Will Share SUE me for my comments??)
I have to say that I’ve considered myself a libertarian since I became involved in politics, and I knew from the moment that Barr got the nomination that this guy was not a libertarian. One of the main benefits to the LP presidential run is that it gets libertarian ideas into the mainstream, but listen to Barr speak and compare it with Ron Paul or Harry Brown, or any past LP candidates. Barr doesn’t give straight clear answers that communicate libertarian ideas. I’m angry that this guy got the LP nomination, and I’m saddened because for the LP to be absent at this press conference really damages the idea of a vote 3rd party message. Barr just wanted an endorsement all to himself, but quite honestly I’m an LPer, and I think Paul or even Baldwin are more bona fide libertarians than Barr. He didn’t have my vote anyway, but I think he lost many other people’s and has done great damage to the LP. The LP HAS always been fractured, but the divisions were more academic. Barr is splitting the party in a visceral way, and I think the party will loose members and enthusiasm. if it recovers it may take years.
Shane Cory is an idiot. He clearly doesn’t understand the purpose of the rEVOLution. It’s not about supporting any one particular party. It’s to get people to wake up and realize that liberty is more important than the pseudo security that big government provides.
Turning the two party system into a three party system isn’t going to do much good. We don’t want to grow a party. We want to grow an ideology.
Saying that the Ron Paul Revolution is going to wither because Dr. Paul won’t endorse a single party is just ridiculous. It’s insulting.
Thanks for the content!!!