Bob Barr Joins the Libertarian Party

If Ken Mehlman, Mel Martinez, and the various mental midgets running for president on the Republican side had any sense, they would be very worried about this development. Former Congressman Bob Barr has now officially left the Republican Party and joined the Libertarian Party. The only question to be asked is how many limited government conservatives are going to go with him.

From the Libertarian Party’s website.

On Tuesday evening, former Congressman Bob Barr, a Life Member of the Libertarian Party, was offered the position of Regional 4 Representative of the Libertarian National Committee.

The state chairs of Region 4, which is made up of Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama met via teleconference to discuss the matter after the recent resignation of Mark Bodenhausen for medical reasons.

The state leaders enthusiastically endorsed Barr as their representative to lead them into the 2008 presidential election season.

In addition to having served eight years in the House of Representatives, Barr serves as a Board Member of the National Rifle Association and is Chairman of Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances. He also is a member of The Constitution Project’s Initiative on Liberty and Security at Georgetown University. He advises a variety of public policy organizations, including the American Conservative Union and the American Civil Liberties Union. Barr is President and CEO of Liberty Strategies, an Atlanta-based consulting firm with offices in the Washington, DC area. He practices both civil and criminal law.

LNC Chair William Redpath stated, “Bob Barr’s willingness to serve as a leader of the Libertarian Party represents a significant and positive development for our organization. The Libertarian Party played a pivotal role in key races in 2006 and has emerged as a strong and principled political force.

Redpath continued, “The antiquated two-party system was dealt a blow today as we have welcomed a patriotic statesman into our ranks with the intent of using his vast experience and widespread respect to help recruit and elect Libertarian candidates of his caliber.

With someone like Bob Barr taking an active role in recruiting LP candidates and the failure of a limited government candidate to emerge in the Republican field will only mean that the Libertarian Party will do better than they did in 2006 and hurt mostly Republicans even more. More importantly for the LP, the GOP apparently still does not grasp this basic concept.

h/t: Redstate and Hammer of Truth.

I’m one of the original co-founders of The Liberty Papers all the way back in 2005. Since then, I wound up doing this blogging thing professionally. Now I’m running the site now. You can find my other work at The Hayride.com and Rare. You can also find me over at the R Street Institute.