McCain and Republican Party Try to Block Barr From Ballot

Bob Hubbard

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Press Releases › McCain and Republican Party Try to Block Barr From Ballot

August 25, 2008 6:32 pm EST
Atlanta, GA - Bob Barr's presidential campaign has recently learned of an action by the McCain campaign and the Pennsylvania Republican Party to have Barr removed from the state's ballot, this despite McCain's promise in the 2000 election that he would, "never consider, ever consider, allowing a supporter of [his] to challenge [his opponent]'s right to be on the ballot in all 50 states.''

In 2000, McCain told reporters, ''Let's not have the kind of Stalinist politics that the state of New York, the Republican Party, has been practicing."
"This move by the McCain campaign completely contradicts everything John McCain stood for in 2000 when his competitors were trying to keep him off the ballot," says Barr. "McCain has become a part of the same corrupted machine he spoke vehemently against only eight years ago."

"This is America, where people have a right to run for office and a right to compete for the chance to lead the people of this nation," Barr continues. "I look forward to the chance to compete fairly against Senator McCain for votes in Pennsylvania and every other state."

In a recent email to supporters, Barr's campaign manager, Russell Verney, stated that McCain's attempt to block Barr from the ballot is one "you might expect of a dictator in North Korea, Libya, China, or Iran." Verney, who also was the campaign manager for Ross Perot, called the plot "a blatantly hypocritical move."

"This move is certainly one of the more brazen attempts to lock me out of the political process," explains Barr. "But it is simply just one more example of how the political establishment desperately clings to their own power instead of empowering the people. The political establishment serves only themselves and not the people of this nation. It is time candidates for the most powerful position in the world compete based on ideas and not dirty politics."

"I challenge Senator McCain to forcefully and publicly instruct his agents to drop the lawsuit," says Barr.

Bob Barr represented the 7th District of Georgia in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003, where he served as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, as Vice-Chairman of the Government Reform Committee, and as a member of the Committee on Financial Services. Prior to his congressional career, Barr was appointed by President Reagan to serve as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, and also served as an official with the CIA. Since leaving Congress, Barr has been practicing law and has teamed up with groups ranging from the American Civil Liberties Union to the American Conservative Union to actively advocate every American citizens’ right to privacy and other civil liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. Along with this, Bob is committed to helping elect leaders who will strive for smaller government, lower taxes and abundant individual freedom.
 
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Bob Hubbard

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I'd like to know what the grounds are that the GOP is using here.
Ah, found a news story;
http://www.wmtw.com/politics/17258065/detail.html

Cumberland County GOP chairman Victor Stabile, an attorney who filed suit to remove Barr, said he’s fine with third-party candidates, but is crying foul because Libertarians listed Rochelle Etzel of Clarion County as their prospective presidential candidate when gathering petition signatures to put a nominee on the ballot.

But Pennsylvania Libertarian Party Chair Mik Robertson decries the allegations based on the timeline of the Libertarian nomination process. Robertson said the state party decided to nominate Etzel in February, at which time the party started gathering the 25,000 signatures necessary to put a candidate on the ballot. Barr announced his intention to run for president in mid-May, and the Libertarian national convention wasn't held until the weekend of May 26.

Interesting....
What's more, Robertson said the ballot access laws in Pennsylvania are "heavily, heavily stacked" against third-party candidates.

"They require us to have a candidate in May," Robertson said. "And (Democrats and Republicans) don’t have a candidate yet.”
 

Grenadier

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It would be the same thing that the Democratic Party did in 2004, where they had Ralph Nader removed from the ballots in many states.

I wonder what the response will be from the Democratic Party this time around?
 
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Bob Hubbard

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Probably nothing, as both parties primarily ignore the thirds, lest they risk an actual issue or fact being brought into the campaign. They learned the hard way with Perot.
 

crushing

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It sounds very similar to the type of law/technicality as your thread about Texas not having Democratic or Republican party on the ballot.

Which way do you want it and remain consistent? No Barr on the ballot in Pennsylvania with no Obama and McCain in Texas, or include them all in both states?
 
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The situations are completely different.
In the case of Texas, the allegation is that legally mandated deadlines were missed.
In Pennsylvania, it's a claim of voter fraud.

Honestly, in both cases the law should be followed, however the outcome.
 

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