The more I think
about it, Bob Barr's apparent decision
to enter the presidential race may be the worst news John McCain
has gotten all year. McCain basically needed one million things to
go right for him to be able to capture the Republican nomination --
and a million things went right. With the Democratic race dragging
on, it seemed like that luck was continuing into the general
election. But one of the major things McCain needed to go right for
him in the general election was for no viable third party
conservative challenger to emerge. However, Barr might be that
challenger.
If Barr enters the
race and captures the Libertarian Party nomination, he will bring a
98 lifetime ACU rating to the
table; he has served as a National Rifle Association board member;
he sponsored the Defense of Marriage Act; Numbers USA
notes that he, "usually supports less immigration, less
population growth, less foreign labor" and has been a strong
opponent of chain migration; and as far as I can tell, he has a
solid
pro-life voting record.
A lot of his
potential appeal to conservatives in a general election will depend
on how many of his conservative positions he'll have to run away
from to become the Libertarian nominee. Clearly, his strongest
appeal to Libertarians will be his opposition to the PATRIOT ACT,
and he'll likely have to take a strong anti-war stance.
Even if he does,
however, there are still very active and vocal conservatives out
there who will simply never be able to stomach voting for McCain.
The number may dwindle as the prospect of an Obama administration
starts looking like a realistic possibility, but there will always
be a certain percentage of McCain haters. If Barr is able to avoid
some of the more inflammatory rhetoric employed by Ron Paul in the
primaries, he'll be a tempting protest vote for disgruntled
conservatives. He may not win a huge number of votes, but even if
he's able to capture a few percent in swing states, especially out
West, Barr could be a real headache for McCain.
By way of full
disclosure, Barr has served as a contributing editor to
The
American Spectator.
topics:
John McCain, Abortion, Immigration
