Disappointment

The Libertarian Party held their convention over this Memorial Day weekend. After six rounds of voting they nominated a candidate for President. It's too bad they didn't nominate a Libertarian.

Bob Barr: A Life Of Accomplishments
1. While in Congress, he was a member of the Speaker's Task Force for a Drug-Free America.This task force was established in 1998 by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich to "design a World War II-style victory plan to save America's children from illegal drugs."
2. Barr advocated complete federal prohibition of medical marijuana. In 1998, he successfully blocked implementation of Initiative 59 -- the "Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1998" -- which would have legalized medical marijuana in the District of Columbia.
3. He authored and sponsored the Defense of Marriage Act, a law enacted in 1996 which states that only marriages that are between a man and a woman can be federally recognized, and individual states may choose not to recognize a same-sex marriage performed in another state.
4. In Congress, he controversially proposed that the Pentagon ban the practice of Wicca in the military.
5. In 2002 he voted for the Iraq War Resolution.
6. He voted for the Patriot Act.

To his credit:
Since he left Congress in 2003 he's spoken against the Bush administration, and has stated that he regrets voting for the Patriot Act. He's spoken in favor of removing troops from Iraq. He is a supporter of the Fair Tax and repealing the 16th Amendment which gives the U.S. Congress the power to levy an income tax without apportionment. And he joined the Libertarian Party in 2006.

But does that make him a Libertarian? No. It makes him a disillusioned Republican, angered by the way the federal government ballooned under the Bush Administration. Disillusioned Republicans and Libertarians are like apples and oranges. A few years of speaking out against all his previous positions does not absolve him of all his political "sins," nor does it make him a Libertarian.

His criticism of Bush earned Barr labels such as maverick, Jekyll-and-Hyde and libertarian. I've got a label for you: BS.

Go Home, Bob Barr.