That all sounds reasonable enough. Barr has three bars -- er, I
mean hurdles -- to clear in an effort to become a third-party
candidate of even a Nader 2000-like level of seriousness. First, he
has to actually get the nomination of the Libertarian Party, which
is filled with eccentrics and people who are going to have
legitimate gripes with Barr's congressional voting record. Second,
he has to keep Ron Paul supporters mobilized despite being more
moderate, more conventional, and less philosophically oriented than
Paul. Third, he has to win over the conservatives who are most
disgusted with John McCain without turning off the first two groups
of voters.
That last part is not necessarily easy to do, since the most
anti-McCain conservatives include hardline immigration
restrictionists, people who think McCain is wimpy on issues like
torture and Guantanamo Bay, and think McCain is too dovish
on foreign policy. Some, though not all, of their grievances are
exactly the opposite of what Libertarians and Ron Paul Republicans
dislike about McCain. Of course, Barr might be able to appeal to
the third group based on biography and reputation more than issues.
Dave Weigel has more.
topics:
Foreign Policy, John McCain, Immigration
