by Jared Stroup

Created on: September 12, 2008   Last Updated: September 13, 2008

Barr: Libertarian Turncoat Who Lost My Support

It didn't last very long; a few short weeks of mild-mannered desperation, struggling to elevate a weary head like a coat hanger vertebrae. A momentary lapse of critical thinking ability, and suddenly there was, yet again, the possibility of hope in this pertinent election year. Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate for President, seemed to recall every constitutional requirement that should be thrust into the canals of a would-be President's platform. He seemed capable of screwing in the loose bolts protruding out the tarp of America's pool of problems. Equipped with thick-rimmed glasses, a moustache, and a uniquely refined dialect, Barr seemed to be the candidate for the fringe who had the potential to spill over into the mainstream. He may have a checkered past, but he seemed to be over it. He seemed to be heading in the right direction. He seemed able to fill the void of hopelessness desperately draining the cynics of America. Unfortunately, the key word here is "seemed"; and in Bob Barr's case, he wasn't what he seemed.

After an unsuccessful run for the Democratic nominee, Dennis Kucinich threw in the towel in hopes of ensuring his congressional seat. That ended the run of the only candidate truly representing the Democratic platform; leaving a litany of image-obsessed lip service candidates on the presupposed "left" side. Soon after, the "right" side lost their only constitutional-abiding, actual Republican candidate Ron Paul. Although Paul had more dedication from an intense cluster of grassroots supporters, he failed to garner enough votes to surpass Republican hack and Neo-Con extraordinaire John McCain. So who was left? The major two parties had been detained by establishment candidates with nothing new to offer, and the American people, as usual, were left with something resembling a choice of beheadings: one candidate using a rusty-old guillotine (McCain's position), whereas the other would use a shiny-new katana (Obama's position). The only remaining party of potential prominence is the Libertarian party; which resides bitterly in the third-party political corner, about as renowned as a pile of paint chips to the freshly painted familiar canvas of opposite-wing politics.

Being a Libertarian is frustrating enough as it is; insistence to constitutional adherence and limited government is more difficult to explain than it ought to be to the typical political onlooker, but it does little to subdue this difficulty

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