Post by Gomez on Jul 2, 2008 15:17:07 GMT -5
Jul 2, 2008 9:51:52 GMT -5 @slbenn said:
Impressive Article. I have to admit he is sounding better! sbennJuly 1, 2008
Bob Barr, Unplugged
Posted by TOM BEVAN
Wil Hylton at GQ interviews the libertarian candidate for president, and he has some pretty harsh words about his former party:
BARR: I came to the conclusion that the Republican Party had changed, from two perspectives. One, the Republican Party cares nothing about real substance anymore. I couldn't tell you the last time, when I was a member of the Republican caucus on the Hill, that there was a discussion about the substance of government. It was all about getting elected and reelected. It was all about process. The Republican Party is no longer a party of any substance. It is simply a political machine, a mechanism for election. That's all it is. And secondly, the Republican Party has bought into the notion that when the president decides what he wants to do, nobody can interfere. The courts can't interfere, and the Congress can't interfere.
GQ: Do you feel a sense of responsibility for your time as a Republican? It seems like this campaign is a kind of personal correction.
BARR: It doesn't have anything to do with me. It has to do with the direction that the country is going.
GQ: Except that, in many cases, you promoted the policies you're running against - DOMA, the Barr Amendment, the PATRIOT Act.
BARR: I think that's given me a pretty strong and pretty credible perspective on some of these issues. But the problem is not just a handful of issues. It's not just George W. Bush. It's not just the Republican Party. It's the institution of government as we've allowed it to develop. And I've come to the conclusion that the only way to change that is through a third party. [snip]
GQ: And you don't perceive the GOP as the party of individual rights anymore?
BARR: Well, it's not just what I perceive. The Republican Party in 2008 is clearly not a party of individual liberty.
GQ: When did that happen?
BARR: I remember the precise moment. I was elected to Congress in 1994 with the Republican Revolution, and four years later we were in one of the House Republican caucuses, just before the '98 election, and the leadership came in and said very clearly, "We've got an election coming up. Anybody here who has a problem in their district, sit down with Representative Kasich or Armey and tell them what you need to have in this year's budget to win your election." And they might as well have had a sign flashing in the background that said "business as usual." We were no longer serious about reining in government. And now McCain goes out and talks about doing away with earmarks, and the public applauds. But in one year, you could simply freeze spending and save ten times as much. They want to give the appearance of tackling the issue, but not really. It's part of the same shell game they use cycle after cycle
Now I remember who Bob Barr is. Here are some interesting facts about Mr. Barr:
He has been married 3 times.
He displayed some very lewd public behaviour with a female by licking whipped cream from blah blah blah.
He was/is for legalizing marijuana (pun intneded) pot.
Are you certain that Bob Barr is sounding better and better?