September 11, 2008
The first time I ever voted in a Presidential election was when I decided to vote for the Libertarian candidate, Roger MacBride. I agreed with the principles of the Libertarian Party. They had good writers, putting their message together in a way that could gain the enthusiasm of those not electrified by “Oatmeal Man” Gerald Ford, or by the tranquil Jimmy Carter. Although they have not managed to get many charismatic candidates to act as their standard-bearers, the Libertarians finally have one this year. Bob Barr served in Congress as the Representative for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District from 1995 to 2003. In Congress, he served as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, as Vice-Chairman of the Government Reform Committee, as a member of the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Veteran’s Affairs. Although he was a harshly partisan antagonist of Bill Clinton during the impeachment promotion, he subsequently took on a relaxed, charming demeanor, winning over the usually “cold room” for conservatives on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. In 2004, he left the Republican Party to join the Libertarian Party.
Bob Barr is now running for President, as the candidate of the Libertarian Party. In 1988, Ron Paul was the Libertarian Party’s Presidential candidate. You may remember Ron Paul from the 2008 Republican primaries, occasionally beating Rudy Giuliani and the other “also-rans” of this past spring.
On September 10, Barr’s campaign manager, Bob Varney, issued a press release, disclosing that Bob Barr has invited GOP Congressman Ron Paul to be his running mate in the upcoming Presidential election. The press release disclosed that:
In a letter sent to Paul, Barr called Paul one of the “few American patriots” who exist in today’s society, and asked him to “seriously consider this final offer as an opportunity to show true, lasting leadership beyond party politics”.
Wayne Allyn Root, who has been Barr’s running mate in this election, was quoted in the press release as expressing support for the selection of Ron Paul as Barr’s new running mate:
Understanding Dr. Ron Paul’s reputation and name recognition in the freedom movement, I am willing to step aside as Libertarian vice presidential candidate if he would be willing to take my place. I will pledge to work day and night, just as I have as the vice presidential nominee, to support Dr. Paul. I believe this is a wonderful opportunity for the Libertarian and freedom movements. I encourage Dr. Paul to accept Congressman Barr’s offer.
Many might consider this entire idea as the daydream of some “fringe” political group. Nevertheless, you may want to look down the road (as the Libertarians obviously are) to a scenario wherein Sarah Palin, for whatever reason, alienates the centrist Republicans and independents, who may have otherwise voted for McCain. These people might then vote for Bob Barr. Add to the mix, those not currently enthusiastic about a McCain Presidency, who just can’t get motivated to vote for Barack Obama (for whatever reason). With Ron Paul on his ticket, Barr has the possibility of winning enough electoral votes to prevent McCain or Obama from winning a majority of Electors as a result of the general election, in the event that “wild card” Palin turns out to be a disaster. If that happens and no single candidate has a majority of Electors in the Electoral College, the Twelfth Amendment requires that the Presidential election shall be decided in the House of Representatives. Since Bob Barr and Ron Paul both served in the House, unlike Barack Obama, there is a chance that Barr could win the Presidency. The mere fact that the Democrats have a majority in the House is of no consequence. The Twelfth Amendment requires that each State shall vote in the House as a single delegation, with each State having only one vote. That vote would be determined by the majority of a State’s Representatives voting for a particular candidate. He who has 26 States, wins. (The Vice-President is elected by the Senate, making a McCain/Paul administration possible.) With Sarah Palin as McCain’s running mate, a Barr/Paul Libertarian ticket could get some breathing room. If there is enough breath to carry that ticket out of the Electoral College, we could be in for some wild times.
Will It Work?
September 29, 2008
This is the question on everyone’s mind as they ponder the new “bailout bill”, officially known as the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. It is available for everyone to read on the Internet (all 110 pages of it), but most people are looking for answers to the most important questions: Will it pass and will it work?
Just after midnight on Monday morning, David Rogers, of Politico.com, reported that the bill (which goes to the House floor on Monday and the Senate floor on Wednesday) was still facing resistance from both the right and the left, despite the support voiced by both Presidential candidates. Republican Congressman Chris Shays of Connecticut was quoted in the article as saying that: “For this to pass, a lot of people are going to have to change their minds”. The following passage provided more light on the view of this bill from those House Republicans providing resistance to the measure:
Jackie Kucinich reported for TheHill.com that earlier in the day, Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana had sent out a letter to his fellow Republicans in opposition to this bill:
The opposition to the bill from the Democratic side was discussed in another Politico.com article: this one by Ryan Grimm. Grimm’s article discussed an “intense” Democratic Caucus meeting. He quoted Minnesota Congressman James Oberstar as describing resistance to the bill coming from across the complete spectrum of Democratic opinion, from liberal to conservative. California Congressman Brad Sherman had met with Republican Darrell Issa before the meeting. Sherman’s contribution to the Caucus discussion was described this way by Ryan Grimm:
The House vote on the bill is scheduled to take place after a four-hour debate, beginning at 8 a.m. on Monday.
Whether or not this bill will ultimately “work” is another question. Paul Krugman, Economics Professor at Princeton University, wrote in the Sunday New York Times:
Steve Lohr’s report from the Sunday New York Times, discussed the outlook for this plan, as voiced by Robert E. Hall, an economist and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, a conservative research group at Stanford. Lohr observed:
Lohr’s article then focused on the opinion of Nouriel Roubini, an economist at the Stern School of Business at New York University:
A more unpleasant perspective appeared in an editorial published in the September 25 edition of The Economist:
Whatever your definition of “success” might be for this plan, the experts agree that things aren’t going to return to “normal” for a long time, if ever.