Stop Waiting For Ron Paul To Endorse Bob Barr Or Chuck Baldwin
June 24th, 2008 8:45 am | by Marc Gallagher | Published in Activism, Bob Barr, Constitution, Election, Federal Reserve, Foreign Policy, Individual Responsibility, Libertarianism, Liberty, Maven Commentary, Neo-con, Obama, Politics, Ron Paul, campaign for liberty, john mccain | 4 Comments
Much has been made amongst the Ron Paul faithful about who Ron Paul will end up endorsing for President. The only thing they all seem to agree on is that it won’t be John McCain. It seems that the sentiments are evenly split between Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin. The truth is it doesn’t really matter who wins his endorsement. Anyone who has followed Ron Paul knows what issues represent true liberty. They don’t need Ron Paul’s expressed approval to know which candidates support liberty and which do not.
For those that don’t already know here is a refresher. If your last name is Obama or McCain you are anti-liberty and don’t understand the Constitution even though you will swear to defend and uphold it when you take office. If your last name is Barr or Baldwin you are pro-liberty and you understand that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. That is really all you need to know. Ron Paul has De-facto endorsed both Barr and Baldwin. It is unlikely Paul will officially endorse either candidate.
Why is it unlikely that he endorse one or both of them officially? The answer is simple. He’s a sitting Republican Congressman. If he were to publicly and officially endorse someone from another party he could be committing political suicide. He could lose his committee memberships. He could lose his seniority. It is important for Paul to walk this political line in order to help return the Republican Party back to its “Old Right” principles. He could not do so if he loses his status as a senior Congressman. He would be jeopardizing his ability to directly question the Federal Reserve Chairman about monetary policy. That is something he seems to relish so much, as do his supporters.
The only other evidence that can be given to support the argument that he will not endorse a non-Republican candidate is that he has played politics with his endorsements over the past year. He refused to endorse against any incumbent Republicans even when the challenge came from a liberty minded Ron Paul Republican. To this day he still has not endorsed against any incumbent neo-conservative Republican. The only motivation for doing this has to be maintaining his Congressional status on committees and other relationships. This runs at odds with his rhetoric of castigating the party for its neo-con ways. He won’t put his endorsements where his mouth is.
So stop waiting for Ron Paul to endorse Bob Barr or Chuck Baldwin. Pick one to endorse yourself then go out and campaign for your choice. When you do so you know you are campaigning for liberty whether Ron Paul gives his endorsement seal of approval or not.
We support Bob Barr over Chuck Baldwin, but supporting either is a victory for liberty. Writing in Ron Paul is a victory for your own conscience but it won’t help liberty win. However, supporting Barr, Baldwin, or writing in Ron Paul is infinitely better for liberty than voting for Obamccain.
Liberty Maven







June 24th, 2008 at 10:51 am (#)
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June 24th, 2008 at 12:21 pm (#)
I expect that when Barr’s and Baldwin’s numbers are counted at the end of the day, the TV analysts will be referring to them as the Ron Paul vote anyway.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:51 pm (#)
Good column. Libertarians & Constitutionalists should be able to figure out how to vote regardless of endorsements.
It is also true that Ron Paul would be punished by the Republican Caucus if he endorses Bob Barr, Chuck Baldwin or both. But his seat in Congress is important because of what he does as an individual Congressman, not because there is any hope of turning the Republican Party into a party of limited government.
The movement that Ron Paul has generated crosses party lines, and that is the hope for liberty - a trans-partisan movement for peace and limited government.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:32 pm (#)
Good post. I’ll likely be voting for Barr.
“The only motivation for doing this has to be maintaining his Congressional status on committees and other relationships. This runs at odds with his rhetoric of castigating the party for its neo-con ways. He won’t put his endorsements where his mouth is.”
With good reason. With so many true liberty minded representatives in Congress, his committee appointments, including ranking member of the Domestic Monetary subcommittee are too important.
Also, refusal to endorse non-republican candidates may actually influence like minded individuals to run as Goldwater Republicans, instead of jumping a third party ticket. As much as I’d like to see three or more viable political parties in this country, taking back the Republican party for traditional conservative principles truly is a more attainable goal than electing LP or CP candidates. Not that it can’t be done, mind you. Even the greens have managed to get candidates into Congress, but running under a household political name has obvious benefits.