Bob Barr –A Spoiler?

Former Republican Congressman from Georgia, Bob Barr, announced his run for the presidency last week. He will be running as an Independent on the Libertarian Ticket. So what does this mean for the other candidates?

For John McCain this could be bad news. Bob Barr’s nomination could cost McCain the needed votes from disillusioned Republicans, who are fed up with the Bush Administration. As for the Ron Paul Revolution, this could be an opportunity for the Revolution to live on. Ron Paul will most likely not be the Republican nominee, but this could give him the opportunity to be Bob Barr’s running mate? After all, they both seem to be eye to eye on the issues and they are good friends. How I wish Ron Paul would consider that. He has said over and over again that he will not run on a third party ticket, maybe he meant just the presidency and not the vice presidency—a girl can dream, can’t she?

Bob Barr’s run for the presidency can mean victory for the Democrats. When Ralph Nader ran as an Independent back in 2000, he “spoiled” Al Gore’s chances to become president when Nader siphoned some needed votes for the Democrats, and now we may see a repeat of history, except this time for the Republicans. Why is the third party a spoiler? Why can’t the Independent Parties’ candidates just be viable for the presidency and not be used as a political pawn for the major parties?

Congressman Bob Barr has dispelled the notion of him as being a spoiler. He has said that, “The American voters deserve better than simply the lesser of two evils.” Bob Barr is right, Americans do deserve better. The question is do most Americans recognize this? Will Americans wake up to the fact that a vote for the Republicans or Democrats is SOS, which I call the same old stuff or more appropriately save our souls from the major parties' corrupt politics? Republicans and Democrats look the same to me because both parties cater to special interests and corporations. Also, they both love big government spending. No wonder they are either called Republicrats or Demopublicans.

Most people will vote for one of the major parties because they assume that one of them will win and they believe third parties are a lost cause, but what about doing the right thing? What about voting on principles rather than on whom you think will win? I didn’t know the election process is similar to betting on a sports team. Why can’t more Americans just root for the underdog?