UPDATE: Chuck Baldwin’s Communications Director posted a comment clarifying his position on a few of the issues. This has modified Baldwin’s overall score. Read the comments for more details.
It is now Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin’s turn to be spun through the Paul-O-Meter. So far we have rated Barack Obama, John McCain, and Bob Barr. Will Chuck Baldwin beat Bob Barr’s current high score of 88? Read on to find out.
It is now Libertarian candidate Bob Barr’s turn to be spun through the Paul-O-Meter. We rate the candidates on 20 criteria to see how closely they match up with Ron Paul on the issues. Thus far we have rated Barack Obama and John McCain. Read all about the Paul-O-Meter here.
In the next installment of our Ron Paul Paul-O-Meter effort to rate the Presidential candidates we hold John McCain to the Ron Paul liberty fire. Previously, we rated Barack Obama. For details about the Paul-O-Meter see the description.
Today we begin rating the Presidential candidates with our rating for Barack Obama. The Paul-O-Meter will give us a total score on 20 criteria. The closer a candidate gets to 100 points the more that candidate is like Ron Paul. For each criteria we will give the score and a short justification for that score. Read the results for Barack Obama below.
Who needs a Ron Paul endorsement when you have the Paul-O-Meter?
Everyone knows the perfection of Ron Paul. He is already a living legend. All future candidates are damaged goods simply because they are not Ron Paul. There is only one Ron Paul. So to see how other candidates measure up to his perfection we are introducing the “Paul-O-Meter”.
The Paul-O-Meter ranks candidates on a scale from 0 to 100 depending on how closely they are in agreement with Ron Paul on chosen criteria. Since no candidate can possibly equal Ron Paul, the highest score on the Paul-O-Meter attainable for candidates other than Ron Paul is 99. To simplify the ranking, each candidate will be graded from 1 to 5 on each of the 20 criteria. The 20 criteria are listed below, along with a short description for each.
NEW: Now you can submit your own ratings using our new Paul-O-Meter web polling service. Check it out here.
Bob Barr was interviewed by Alan Colmes on his radio show on June 19th. Alan went through the laundry list of Barr’s changed positions forcing him to answer to each one. This is a must listen interview for anyone on the fence about Barr’s positions on his transformation. He is asked about the Patriot Act, the Iraq war authorization, the Defense Of Marriage Act, Supreme Court Justice appointees, and more. Listen/watch below.
We here at Liberty Maven are excited to have the opportunity to interview a true patriot candidate who some have called “Ron Paul Jr.”. His name is William “B.J.” Lawson and upon reading his answers to our first segment’s questions it is obvious the Constitution forms the backbone of his beliefs and his campaign to represent North Carolina’s 4th District in Congress.
If you haven’t heard of B.J. Lawson until now and you are a lover of liberty you are in for a treat. If we could cast a spell on every single person in the country to donate and help out with Lawson’s campaign we’d do it. In that vein please enjoy the first interview segment below and then head over to LawsonLibertyFund.com and pledge $5 or $300 to help out with his Ron Paul style money bomb on June 29th.
LM: What was your motivation for running for Congress? You are facing an incumbent Democrat David Price in an overly Democratic district; however back in 1994 a Republican unseated Price thanks to the “Contract With America” effort at that time. Does that previous defeat of Price give you hope for victory over him this time around?
Lawson: My motivation running for Congress is to advance a Constitutional federal government, and to question the “politics as usual” that is bankrupting our country and eviscerating our freedoms. Today’s political process is simply broken: we have legislators who don’t read bills before they vote, we have Congress delegating rule making to unelected bureaucrats and lobbyists, we have legislators piling special favors into legislation that is deemed likely to pass, and few even question if proposed legislation is the Constitutional role of the federal government. These are symptoms of a political process that no longer represents the people.
While Price was defeated once with the 1994 Republican landslide, this year’s environment is much different. The Republican party is adrift, and lacks a clear platform after the past eight years. Furthermore, our district is a strongly Democratic. However, the vast majority of voters know we need change — and David Price, as a 22 year incumbent, personifies the status quo.
It’s not so much his 1994 defeat that gives me hope for victory, but more what he’s done since his 1996 re-entry into Congress: not much. Rep. Price is an Establishment candidate whose voting record reflects the party line, and shows little leadership or concern for the critical questions facing our nation: out of control inflation, unsustainable government spending and entitlements, declining civil liberties, and failed interventionism abroad.
The voters are demanding change, and this year they have a choice for principled leadership advocating a Constitutional federal government.
Ever since Bob Barr became the Libertarian Presidential nominee he has been met with venomous criticism from those that can’t let bygones be bygones. There is no such thing as “forgiveness” apparently. Their distrust of Barr blinds and binds them. They are not just letting a golden opportunity for liberty pass them by, but are openly recruiting others to the anti-Barr cause. I feel sorry for their children should they ever make a mistake, own up to the mistake, and denounce it. For as long as they live they will be punished for that mistake no matter what measures they attempt to make up for that mistake.
I support Bob Barr because I believe in human liberty. It seems to me that if one truly believes in liberty then they should also believe in personal redemption. How can one believe in individual liberty but not accept Bob Barr’s own denouncement of his anti-liberty votes? Many of the Ron Paul faithful complained at the seemingly conspiratorial media attacks against Paul during his campaign. Now some of those very same Ron Paul supporters are attacking Barr in a similar fashion. The attacks on Bob Barr have now reached the trite stage. So trite, in fact, that they can be made into a list. Below is the countdown with the lowdown.
Here is Bob Barr being interviewed on MobLogic.tv. He discusses his transformation on the Patriot Act, War on Drugs, etc.. and talks about his liberty mustache. He also discusses foreign policy, and when pressed says he prefers Bill Clinton over George W. Bush.
An article by drug policy reform activist Scott Morgan over at StopTheDrugWar.org holds the Barr transformation as a sign of hope. Hope not just for changing positions on the drug war, but hope for changing even the most stubborn minds.
What all of this serves to illustrate is that no one is immune to the truth. There is no heart so hard, no skull so swollen as to be rendered impermeable to the principles of peace, justice, and compassion. Our opponents don’t have invisible forcefields around their brains. They are vulnerable to the truth every moment of every day that they walk the earth.
With that in mind, we would be wise to welcome and embrace those who break free, for whatever reason, from the icy death grip of prohibitionist political posturing. We must set a precedent of acceptance so that others might soon follow Mr. Barr across the threshold.
Liberty Maven
UPDATE: Chuck Baldwin’s Communications Director posted a comment clarifying his position on a few of the issues. This has modified Baldwin’s overall score. Read the comments for more details.
