In this week’s “radio address” (slightly late due to maintenance at the Gcast site) Steve Kubby discusses former Congressman Bob Barr’s decision to join the Libertarian Party (and the Marijuana Policy Project):
I’m sure that Congressman Barr’s ideas about what it means to be a libertarian are very different from mine … and that’s okay. We come from different backgrounds. Our views have been formed from very different life experiences. There are almost certainly things we still disagree on, and there probably always will be.
BUT! We don’t have to agree on everything. Stick two libertarians in a room, give them something to argue about, and they’ll come out of that room with THREE different opinions.
At the end of the day, Bob Barr and I agree that government is too big, too expensive, too powerful, too intrusive.
At the end of the day, Bob Barr and I agree that something needs to be done to reduce the size, power and scope of government.
And since we agree on those two things, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t work together to make America a better, freer nation.
Welcome to the Party, Congressman Barr.
Less
aynrkey
bostonteapartygoer
Kenn Jacobine
mattdharris
Mike Seebeck
Miche
paulie
Jim Davidson
ponggod
Stuart Richards
Todd Andrew Barnett
Hopefully gcast code was ok, this computer I’m on at UNCA does not play it.
It works well on my fairly old version of mozilla firefox (windows xp).
I’d never heard him speak before. Now that I have, I like him more.
I’m surprised that this blog has not commented on the burgeoning trade war with China over glossy paper.
This is really interesting. I haven’t seen this publicized anywhere; a big name like Barr switching parties would seem to have gotten a little more traction.
Umm, Bob Barr joined the LNC months ago. The sound and fury over his less than 100/100 score on a Nolan chart played out months ago. Is there a reason Kubby’s commenting on it now?
Probably due to Barr signing up with MPP. Also, we just started the weekly podcasts a few weeks ago, so we haven’t had a chance to talk about many issues yet.
I’ve suggested health care as one we should address soon, and eminent domain.
Good deal! It’s a good thing that people in a party can work together despite differences. Hopefully more people around the country can start to do this too!
There has been one consistent issue for the LP that, for better or worse, defines the party in the minds of most, and that is its opposition to the drug war. It was not out of line for LPers to be highly skeptical that one of the leading proponents of the Drug War – someone who had specifically been targetted by the LP – had joined the party. That would be like Roy Moore joining the ACLU. If Barr agreed wtih the LP platform on 100% of issues EXCEPT drugs, it would not be good enough. There are some things that you cannot compromise on, in terms of party identity, and this is one. I think the only other thing would be the general idea that government should spend and tax less would be the only uncompromising position.
UA: “[...]defines the party in the minds of most [...]”
Izzat so? Huh. The few I ever get an acknowledging nod of recognition tie it to ‘tax protest’ and “gun crazies” (in reverse order). ‘Potheads’ just hasn’t ever yet come up.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I think if you polled 1000 registered voters at random, they would most closely associate legalized drugs with the LP. This may be a problem, even.
I’ll admit that I was skeptical when Bob Barr joined the Libertarian Party. I certainly shed no tears when he was booted out of congress; in fact, I still remember myself smiling as I remember the ads that the LP ran against him in 2002.
But Barr seems to have come around in manner that I never would have predicted. Upon leaving congress, he didn’t waste much time in criticizing president Bush and his former Republican colleagues. He debated Representative Dana Rohrabacher on CNN with regards to the PATRIOT Act and made Rohrabacher look like a complete government-worshipping idiot, and he’s been on more recently to criticize the Justice Department. He also spoke at the press conference for the , where he (along with conservatives Bruce Fein, Richard Viguerie, and David Keene) lamented the loss of our civil liberties during the last several years.
But his joining the MPP is pretty big. It would be like Senator Barbara Boxer suddenly renoucing her support for gun control and then joining the NRA or Gunowners of America.
Ouch! I completely butchered my last comment. Hopefully this one appears more ledgible:
I’ll admit that I was skeptical when Bob Barr joined the Libertarian Party. I certainly shed no tears when he was booted out of congress; in fact, I still remember myself smiling as I watched the ads that the LP ran against him in 2002.
But Barr seems to have come around in manner that I never would have predicted. Upon leaving congress, he didn’t waste much time in criticizing president Bush and his former Republican colleagues. He debated Representative Dana Rohrabacher on CNN with regards to the PATRIOT Act and made Rohrabacher look like a complete government-worshipping idiot, and he’s been on more recently to criticize the Justice Department. He also spoke at the press conference for the American Freedom Agenda, where he (along with conservatives Bruce Fein, Richard Viguerie, and David Keene) lamented the loss of our civil liberties during the last several years.
But his joining the MPP is pretty big. It would be like Senator Barbara Boxer suddenly renoucing her support for gun control and then joining the NRA or Gunowners of America.
I think we’re seeing a lot of politicians beginning to move toward personal liberties even when they aren’t popular; look at Bill Richardson, who just signed the bill for medical Marijuana.
Mr. X,
As Paulie mentions, Kubby does one podcast per week, and only started a few weeks ago.
Furthermore, we should not mistake the internal discussions of tiny, insular groups within minor political parties for “sound and fury.”
The matter of Barr’s affiliation with the LP, appointment to the LNC, etc., has really so far only attracted much attention within the LP, and for that matter within our small, insular part of the LP. It’s still newsworthy and it’s still worthy of discussion by more of the party, by more of the movement, and by more of the public.
Welcoming Bob Barr to the LP was a way for Steve to accomplish a few things he wanted to accomplish. Within and without the party, it allowed him to make it clear that while he himself is a libertarian of the “radical” or “purist” variety, he doesn’t want to shrink the tent and indeed welcomes those who are more broadly considered “libertarians” into that tent. Outside the party, it was just one more tiny push for the positive PR the party hopes to gain from Barr’s affiliation/appointment. The timeframe seemed right for a tiny push of that sort in coincidence/concert with larger pushes such as the MPP announcement.
I think that Ian has this one right. In the 80s and 90s, the LP was best known for its position on the war on drugs. Thanks to our considerable advancements toward victory on that issue, that identification has become somewhat passe.
Ending the war on drugs is fast becoming the “conventional wisdom.” People are forgetting that it was the Libertarians who came out for it first, and they’re forgetting how crazy they thought the Libertarians were for doing so.
All the more reason for the LP to put its anti-drug-war leaders out front as, say, presidential nominees, to remind people of just which party is on their side, even before they realize it.
If you want an interesting trade war, contemplate the reported possible trade war with Antigua. Now, this may seem unlikely, especially since their grievance is over the internet poker ban, but their proposed retaliation is ending intellectual property ownership of computer software in Antigua.
Yeah, Antigua is really comparable with… China.
The internet poker ban is a travesty, but it pales in comparison to the broader protectionism and immigration restrictionism advocated by the Phillies campaign. See today’s WSJ editorial for more info.