Politirazzi

Libertarian Pary presidential candidate Bob Barr

By Jeff Akston

Barack Obama is going to be the next president of the United States. Further, I think it will be tough for McCain too make Tuesday night even remotely interesting. Both 538.com and electoral-vote.com predict Obama getting over 350 electoral votes. Even intrade.com, which has been more bullish on McCain this entire election, has Obama with over 360 electoral votes.

It's going to be a very early night. We'll know by 9 p.m. since the polls in Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia all close at 9 EST. My unscientific research (i.e. my memory) has found that polls typically overstate Democratic votes, so I think the electoral vote will end up somewhere around 338 for Obama and 200 for McCain (with Obama winning swing states Florida, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia and McCain winning Indiana and North Carolina.

I will be voting for Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Barr. He's not run a very passionate campaign. He doesn't support many of the core Libertarian principles, and he doesn't make a very convincing case for those which he supposedly does support. The reason I'm voting for him, however, is to increase the Libertarian vote total and its profile.

To those who say I'm “wasting” my vote, so are you. Anyone in New York is “wasting” their vote since they aren't impacting the outcome. Obama is going to win 70-80 percent of the vote in New York. It's pointless to vote.

Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney

By Lynne Serpe

The question of the day seems to be: Is race a factor in the presidential race?

Yes, of course it is. It would be naive to think otherwise. The candidates themselves are making their mad dash through so-called swing states in a bid for the Electoral College votes in those states. The Electoral College itself is a vestige of slavery, based on the idea that slaves were to be counted as three-fifths of a person despite not being allowed to vote.

Meanwhile, as reporters voyage to rural Virginia, here in New York City I spoke with a longtime Green Party activist who is planning to vote for Barack Obama. Not because he agrees with Obama on most issues, but because he wants to be able to tell his “children and grandchildren” that he voted for the first black president of the United States.

And I understand that pull; I occasionally feel it myself. The election of Barack Obama truly would be historic. But, for me, that is not reason enough to vote for someone. Instead I will vote for Cynthia McKinney. A former six-term congresswoman with years more experience than Barack Obama, McKinney is running on the Green Party ticket with vice presidential candidate Rosa Clemente.

Obama has had his chance to speak to voters on the debate platform; other presidential candidates should as well. (AP)

By Lynne

Recent commentary on CNN claimed that Obama and McCain are not so far apart. The entire piece is worth a read, but here is an excerpt:

Capital punishment: Like Bush, Obama supports capital punishment. He spoke out in opposition to the recent Supreme Court decision that denied the death penalty for child rapists. And in his 2006 memoir, Obama said, "I believe there are some crimes — mass murder, the rape and murder of a child — so heinous that the community is justified in expressing the full measure of its outrage by meting out the ultimate punishment."

Energy: In signing the $12.3 billion Energy Policy Act of 2005, Bush said it "promotes dependable, affordable, and environmentally sound production and distribution of energy for America's future." Obama voted for the energy plan and called it a "first step toward decreasing America's dependence on foreign oil."

Faith-based initiatives/fatherhood: Bush is well known for his commitment to the faith-based community — with initiatives for the poor and on fatherhood — and he expanded the ability to allow faith-based providers a seat at the funding table. Obama, who has railed against Bush's efforts, has still found a way to embrace them, saying he would "expand" faith-based initiatives. He used his Father's Day speech to echo the president's Fatherhood Initiative.

Offshore drilling: Bush has consistently pushed for drilling offshore, while Obama, who until recently opposed it, now says he's for it. In Nashville, Tennessee, he told an audience: "We're going to have to explore new ways to get more oil, and that includes offshore drilling."

FISA: Of the Senate bill passage that rewrote intelligence laws to grant immunity to telecommunications companies that participated in the Bush administration's wiretapping program, Bush said: "This vital intelligence bill will allow our national security professionals to quickly and effectively monitor the plans of terrorists outside the United States, while respecting the liberties of the American people."

Obama, who supported it, after opposing FISA last year, said: "Given the grave threats that we face, our national security agencies must have the capability to gather intelligence and track down terrorists before they strike, while respecting the rule of law and the privacy and civil liberties of the American people."

Almost identical, huh?

And yet many of my friends wonder why I am not excited about an Obama presidency, and why the Green Party will get my vote this election. It’s very simple: I believe in multi-party democracy where diverse viewpoints can be heard (open the debates!) and represented at the legislative table.

By Lynne

Just a few months ago, John McCain challenged Barack Obama to an entire series of town-hall-style debates.

Now, he wants to delay the first debate at the University of Mississippi.

Fine. There are several qualified candidates -- Cynthia McKinney and Bob Barr have more experience in Congress than Obama -- who are ready to take the national stage and provide tens of millions of Americans with different solutions and different visions for our country.

The Green party’s Cynthia McKinney, Libertarian Bob Barr, Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution party and independent candidate Ralph Nader are more than willing to debate.

A recent Zogby poll showed the majority of Americans want to hear from third party candidates, such as Bob Barr, with the percentage jumping to 69 percent among independent voters.

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Will Ron Paul accept an invitation to join the Libertarian ticket?

In an open letter today, Libertarian party presidential nominee Bob Barr asked Ron Paul to be his running mate. Yes, the same GOP candidate who has legions of followers (Dan's a fan) and who won 35 delegates in the primaries.

Barr wrote today:

"While you declined my offer to seek the Libertarian presidential nomination many months ago, I ask that you seriously consider this final offer as an opportunity to show true, lasting leadership beyond party politics."

Wonder what effect that ticket would have on the two major parties.

— Emily

By Lynne

Last week, the Green Party made history by nominating the first all-women-of-color presidential ticket. Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (who served six terms in Congress) chose Rosa Clemente as her running mate.

Rosa Clemente, 36, is a Puerto Rican of African descent. Cynthia McKinney is African-American.

Rosa was born in the South Bronx and is a graduate of the University at Albany-SUNY and Cornell University. A community organizer, hip-hop activist and independent journalist, Rosa was a lead organizer for the first National Hip-Hop Political Convention in 2004. She stated:

“I don't see the Green Party as an alternative. I see it as an imperative.”

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(AP)

By Jeff

Bob Barr isn’t going to be president; we know that for sure. He knows he’s not going to be president, and his ardent supporters know he isn’t going to be president. Third-party candidates don’t run to get elected, they run to gain visibility for their message, hoping that some of their core issues will gain traction and force the general election candidates to take a favorable stance.

Barr is certainly the highest-profile candidate to start a third-party run in my lifetime (nobody knew who Ross Perot was before he started). But the concern about Barr is how genuine are his beliefs. Barr was a Democrat in the '60s until being exposed to Ayn Rand. Then was a Republican until 2004, and has been a Libertarian since.

Now changing political parties isn’t a huge red flag since the move from Democrat to Republican in many cases really isn’t a very big difference; Reagan did it. Jim Webb did it. But Bob Barr sure seems to be changing his mind a lot, and we’ve learned from John Kerry, flip-flopping can paralyze the effectiveness of a candidate’s message.

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By Lynne

McCain might not have to do anything to grab disgruntled Hillary supporters away from Obama ... not as long as Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney is in the race.

The Nation posted an opinion piece this week by John Nichols in which two students, former Clinton supporters who are now backing McCain, wrote:

For those of you who just can't stomach McCain, we suggest you look into Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party candidate. She is an African American woman from Georgia and is a former member of the House.

We think the endorsement will make more impact if it goes to John McCain, but we see Cynthia McKinney as a viable alternative and someone more qualified than Senator Obama to be President having served for longer in Congress.

In fact, McKinney served six terms in Congress and two terms in the Georgia Legislature. She’s poised to become the Green Party's first female presidential nominee.

Students aren't the only ones noticing. Comedian Roseanne Barr posted several endorsements of McKinney on her blog this week. Since Roseanne "will vote for a woman instead of a man," she is urging support for "cynthia mckinney of the green party. the green party is the future of america ..."

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Breaking

(Getty)

Maverick-longshot-but-nonetheless-impassioned Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has announced he will end his campaign tonight.

Now's a good time to check out Paul's awesome CGI-laced campaign ad, written on by our Dan.
— Emily

By Dan

Cheers of "Barr/Root" went up from the crowd (which sounded like the Hebrew derivation of Barack Obama's name, "Baruch" meaning "Blessed") after the results from the 5th ballot were posted to the floor at this year's Libertarian Party convention in Denver, Colo., when third-place finisher Waybe Allyn Root asked his supporters to throw their support behind a Barr/Root ticket in 2008.*

On the sixth ballot, the Libertarian party chose its presidential nominee. Bob Barr will be at the top of the ticket, after running neck and neck with Mary Ruwart through the first five ballots. During Bob Barr's acceptance speech, he gave a shout out to his campaign staff including the Marijuana Policy Project's executive director, Rob Kampia, who stood on the stage behind Barr, and shook his hand as he walked off the stage. Proving once again that libertarian party politics makes the strangest bedfellows.

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By Meg

This one’s for you, Jeff and Adrian.

It’s official: Former Congressman Bob Barr is running for president — as a Libertarian! Curious what the two of you think about this. I personally don’t know much about the guy except that he hates former President Clinton and loves marijuana.

Sounds like every philosophy professor I had in college ...

Recently my very talented and very handsome (his own description) colleague, Ryan Chatelain, wrote about the wide-ranging third-party candidates vying for the White House. One of those candidates is Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey, a vampire who wants to punish dangerous criminals by impaling them with an 8-foot stake.
— Emily

By Matt

It was reported over the weekend that Bob Barr, the former congressman from Georgia, has formed an exploratory committee and may be entering the presidential campaign as the Libertarian Party’s candidate. While I understand the frustrations that led Barr to leave the Republican Party and that are apparently motivating him to seek the Libertarian Party’s nomination, I wonder whether his entrée into the race could do more harm than good to the values Libertarians like him espouse.

There is no chance Barr can win the general election. He may intend his candidacy to “Send a Message” or to raise issues he and other Libertarians consider important , but neither Barr nor anyone else can seriously believe that his campaign can or will do much else.

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