Barr Condemns Government Plans for Domestic Troop Deployment

Former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party's 2008 presidential nominee, says government plans to deploy 20,000 uniformed soldiers inside the United States "ignores all the tragic lessons we have learned from using the U.S. military in domestic crises."

"The government's plan to deploy initially 20,000 uniformed military personnel inside the United States goes against everything we have learned about using soldiers as police officers. Not only do these plans appear to be a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act—which forbids the use of the military in law enforcement on non-federal property—but it also opens up the American public to dangerous Constitutional violations."

Barr says his concerns are greatly heightened by the conclusion reached by the current Bush Administration in a classified 2001 Department of Justice memo. The memo stated that the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures, does not apply to the U.S. military when it engages in “domestic” operations.

"When the military operates in the United States, as the federal government now intends it to do, it does so without respect or deference to the Constitution," says Barr. "The federal government plans to render every American citizen defenseless against government abuse during any crisis situation—be it a flood, hurricane, or other natural disaster—where U.S. military personnel will be used to supplement local law enforcement."

"I fought against this type of gross expansion of government authority while I was in Congress," says Barr. "I called for a full investigation of the Waco Siege when it became clear that government used excessive force in their raid, which cost the lives of many innocent Americans. The 'culture of militarism' in the federal government turned Waco into an American tragedy. Should this trend of militarism be allowed to continue, it will only be a matter of time before we have another avoidable tragedy on our hands."

Libertarian Party National Chairman William Redpath released a similar statement on Tuesday of this week, saying the government's plans represented "evidence of a disturbing trend of militarism in today's society."

Third Party Candidates Debate Today

A third party debate will address economic issues Thursday, October 30th at 4:30 PM at the City Club of Cleveland, 850- Euclid Ave, Cleveland.

The forum, organized by the City Club will effectively break the media blackout on viable third party candidates running in the presidential race. Third party candidates in the debate include Independent Ralph Nader, the Green Party’s Cynthia McKinney and the Libertarian Party’s Bob Barr.

C-Span will be there and should air it tonight. (Probably the only media that will be there)

Presidential Candidate Giving Away a Firearm

The donor who makes the highest contribution to the Barr Presidential campaign online before 12:00 midnight EDT October 29 will receives this fine example of American technology and craftsmanship, an autographed 12 gauge Mossberg Model 590A pump shotgun.

Barr says that, "Unlike many politicians who claim to be pro-gun, Bob Barr walks the walk. Yes, he exercises his right to own and carry firearms, just like me and millions of other law-abiding Americans. And when he does, it's a .45 Glock that he has holstered."

Barr loses ballot status in Conn. due to bureaucratic failures

A U.S. Federal District Judge yesterday allowed the state of Connecticut to keep Libertarian Presidential Nominee Bob Barr off the November ballot despite Barr meeting the legislative requirements for ballot access.

The Libertarian Party of Connecticut properly submitted over 12,000 signatures to meet the 7,500-signature requirement of the state.

The state miscounted the number of petitions submitted by the Libertarian Party of Connecticut and improperly struck hundreds, if not thousands of voter signatures denying Bob Barr access to the ballot. The administrative mistakes of the state bureaucracy were quickly uncovered.

Judge Janet Hall, based her decision on the inability of the state to quickly reprogram electronic voting machines and reprint machine-readable ballots before the election.

"We are outraged by the decision of Judge Hall. To allow a candidate for the highest national office to be unlawfully excluded from an election because it would inconvenience state workers or interfere with bureaucratic procedures goes beyond the pale," stated Russ Verney, campaign manager for Bob Barr.

Verney continued, "It takes a few days to print good, old paper ballots which served us well for over 100 years. Throw the machines in the river and allow democracy and justice to take precedent over technology. If the state of Connecticut maintains a level of incompetence so great that they cannot print ballots before the election, I encourage them to look to private industry and call Kinkos."

Libertarian Party Presidential Nominee Bob Barr's name will appear before 95% of Americans when the vote on Election Day – more than any other third-party or independent candidate.

Can't Beat 'em Join 'em

Through the miracle of modern technology, voters will finally have a chance to compare Bob Barr with Barack Obama and John McCain.

Starting this evening at 9 p.m., live and concurrent with the broadcast of the closed debate between the Republican and Democratic nominees, you will be able to see where Barr differs with his opponents. Using digital video recording technology, Barr's responses to the moderator's questions will be spliced in in real time for viewing at the campaign's Web site at www.bobbarr2008.com/counterdebate. Bob will be broadcasting from Newport News, Virginia on the campus of Christopher Newport University before a live audience.

Bob Barr's Election Updates

Libertarian candidate Bob Barr will be in Charleston on Tuesday, September 30th. You are invited to a Fundraising Dinner with Bob at the Sunfire Grill in West Ashley at 7:00. With a minimum contribution of $30, you will receive dinner, a sign for your yard, and a bumper sticker. Dinner is a choice of a 10 oz Ribeye over mashed potatoes topped with a red wine demi or Pan fried stuffed chicken over mashed potatoes topped with a mushroom cream sauce. You can prepay by credit card, but contributions will also be accepted at the door. Seating is limited. Please make reservations early. Contact wwoolsey@comcast.net or call (843) 795-5062.
Barr will speak at 10:00 to Citadel cadets, to the Charleston Rotary Club at 12:30, and at the College of Charleston at 2:30.

Also, a study released today by the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) listed Bob Barr as the most fiscally responsible candidate running for president, noting a Barr presidency would cut federal spending by a whopping $200.9 billion.
The study found that Sen. John McCain would raise federal spending by nearly $100 billion, compared Sen. Barack Obama's plans that would raise spending by almost $300 billion.

The figures are compiled based on campaign statements up to September 19, and do not include bailouts proposals supported by Senators McCain and Obama.

"Both the McCain and Obama campaigns have tried to keep pace with the political issues of the day -- largely by responding with proposals for new programs and regulations that could reach deeper and deeper into taxpayers' pockets," NTUF Senior Policy Analyst Demian Brady said. "On the other side of the spectrum, Bob Barr's Libertarian philosophy is strongly reflected in a platform that is built upon cutting programs and slashing spending."

The study finds that the bulk of Barr's spending cuts comes from withdrawing troops from Iraq ($92.4 billion in annual savings) and eliminating the Department of Education ($92.4 billion in annual savings).

Statement from Independent Candidates

Statement from Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader and Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr on McCain's Call to Delay Debates:

The fact that a candidate can call for changing the date of the debate only two days before it is scheduled indicates how easy it would be for the candidates to also call for the inclusion of the leading third party and independent candidates, which would bring fresh ideas to the table on how our country can truly tackle this heavy challenge.