Will Bob Barr Be McCain's Very Own Ralph Nader in 2008?

Posted by Howie Klein, Down With Tyranny! at 2:07 PM on April 4, 2008.

How badly will another cranky old right-winger in the presidential race hurt McCain? Looks like we're about to find out. Far right extremist, Georgia ex-Congressman Bob Barr, has been muttering darkly of late about how the Insider GOP Establishment has abandoned conservative principles. He happens to think McCain has morphed into George Bush and agrees that a McCain presidency would basically just be a third term for Bush. He's been talking openly about running for president as an independent and this weekend he is expected to announce his candidacy at the Heartland Libertarian Conference in Kansas City, where he is scheduled to speak.

"There's been a tremendous expressed to me both directly and indirectly on the Internet. I take that support very seriously, and I think it also reflects a great deal of dissatisfaction with the current candidates and the current two-party system. So it is something, to be honest with you, that I'm looking very seriously at... Ron Paul tapped into a great deal of that dissatisfaction and that awareness. Unfortunately, working through the Republican party structure, it became impossible for him to really move forward with his movement. But we have to have ....a rallying point out there to harness that energy, that freedom in this election cycle.

"What we've fallen into in recent years-- not just since 9/11, but particularly since 9/11-- is this notion that, in order to protect ourselves, we have to preemptively go into and-- in the case of Iraq-- occupy another sovereign nation. Simply saying, 'Gee, it's better to fight over in this other nation and destroy another nation, so we're not potentially attacked here, is the height of arrogance."

Today's Moonie Times speculates that a Barr bid could hurt McCain's already slim chances to slip into the White House. He would probably negate whatever benefit McCain would get from Nader's run, although progressives overwhelmingly blame Nader for all the damage Bush has caused and are unlikely to vote for him in any significant way. He's unlikely to break even 1% of the vote anywhere. Barr, an NRA board member and a hero to rabid Clinton-haters, would probably attract far more voters among Republicans than Nader would among Democrats. Most Democrats are happy with either Obama, the likely winner, or Clinton. Many Republicans, especially the dominant conservative wing, are still mistrustful of McCain.

Republican campaign pros said a Barr bid could range from causing them some damage all the way to being the equivalent of Ross Perot's 1992 presidential bid, which many Republicans think split their party's voters, unseating then-President Bush and electing Democrat Bill Clinton.

Gun rights fanatics don't like McCain and there are plenty of Republicans who have been schooled by extremists like Limbaugh to hate McCain for his "support" for campaign finance reform. The Moonies interviewed Michigan's crackpot Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis, who said Barr would do well in fascist-leaning states like Texas but it wouldn't matter because McCain would win by a big enough margin there to triumph anyway. Anuzis apparently hasn't been watching the demographic shifts in certain parts of the country. In any case, he acknowledges that where Barr would kill McCain's chances are in the swing states, GOP strategists are counting on-- Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Howie Klein is the creator of the blog Down With Tyranny!