This sounds like a very bad move by Bob Barr (or perhaps his advisors according to Bruce). This was a reasonably good opportunity to have minor parties unite to try and break the two-party duopoly imposed on the nation by the Dems, GOP, and the mainstream media.
I'll wait and see if there's a good reason, but I might withdraw my support for Barr if there's not. I accept Barr and other LP imperfections in exchange for the chance to grow the base and libertarian influence. Missing a big opportunity like this sounds very bad. From: Dan Cicconi Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 12:01 PM To: Associates Subject: [Libertarian] Bob Barr No Shows Ron Paul Hey everybody I'm not sure whats going on here but this does not look good, I was going to enter in a parade this weekend on behalf of Barr but I think I'm going to pull out. I can't make this kind of effort for someone that is not making an effort himself to truly take Liberty serious, I think he was afraid he would offend his GOP buddies. I'm pissed, and not sure what to do. Barr says he shows 'leadership' in dissing Ron Paul September 10th, 2008 ยท 2 Comments Bob Barr invited Ron Paul to be his vice-presidential candidate, replacing pro-Afghanistan surger Wayne Allyn Root, and when Paul said no, Barr decided to ditch the press event he originally agreed to attend. His campaign is spinning this as "leadership to unify the liberty movement." Unwilling to appear on stage with fellow third-party aspirants Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, and Chuck Baldwin, Barr backed out of Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty event at the last minute, leaving the LP's Austin Peterson in the lurch. He then staged his own solo press conference, where he was largely denounced by supporters of Paul, including Adam Kokesh, an Iraq War veteran whom Russ Verney attempted to silence. Barr was asked whether he was a GOP agent attempting to destroy the LP. He denied it. Bob Barr Destroys Libertarian Party in 1-Day Bob Barr's Campaign to Ron Paul's Revolution: "Go F**K Yourself!" NationBuilder, CO >From Don Rasmussen, Events Coordinator for the Campaign for Liberty: I just sat in stunned silence as Bob Barr blatantly lied to the national press corp (or the half dozen members that bothered to show up). He stated that he had not committed to attend this press conference. This is patently false. He was fully committed to attend until 30 minutes before when Russ Varney called Jesse Benton and said that Barr was out. This man has not one ounce of integrity in his body. Adam Kokesh stood up during the press conference, denounced Barr and withdrew his support. Several others in the room quickly followed. Great job Adam! I asked Barr Communications Director Shane Corey after the event why they pulled this stunt and was told to go f*** myself. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
