Posted on 11/06/2008 8:03:34 AM PST by Impy
Barr brags over Tuesday showing Email|Link|Comments (19) Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor November 5, 2008 07:05 PM
Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr is crowing after his showing in Tuesday's election, where he won enough votes -- not in his home state of Georgia, but in North Carolina -- to hold the balance of power.
In North Carolina, which remains too close to call, Democrat Barack Obama has a 12,000-vote lead over Republican John McCain, and Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia, has 25,181 votes, or 1 percent.
In Georgia, McCain won with 52 percent of the vote, while Barr won 28,622 votes, or about 1 percent.
And in Indiana, Barr prevented Obama from winning a clear majority. Obama had barely 50 percent, rounded up, while McCain had 49 percent, and Barr had 29,102 vote, or 1 percent.
UPDATE: Barr won about 489,000 votes nationally, compared to 657,000 for independent Ralph Nader, according to the latest tally by the Associated Press, counting 98 percent of precincts.
"This is just the beginning of the new Libertarian Party," Barr said in a statement issued this afternoon.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
.4% up from .32% for Badnarik in 2004. Less than Harry Browne's .5% in 1996.
What a clown.
I think you said you feared he could cost McCain Georgia.
He’s a maroon...
It looks like Barr might possibly have cost McCain NC, at least.
But he is a vainglorious fool.
Barr killed himself early on with his silly statements on the environment and other things. Given the passion of the Paul Campaign, if Barr had campaigned on an anti-tax, anti-government message he should have been able to easily hit that 1% market, probably 2%. This campaign was a colossal failure for the LP.
You can laugh all the way into the concentration camp.
I am sure the ACLU is very proud of him.
Neal Boortz is talking about running for the Libertarians next time. That should be interesting.
He is such an ass. I am sad to say I was once a fan of his.
Boortz is about as libertarian as Barr. Badnarik was the last real libertarian to run for President.
Don’t assume all of the Barr voters would have gone McCain instead.
You’d think the former congressman Barr would have been the strongest (besides Paul) nominee they could put up. Ditto with Jihad Cindy for the greens, she got .12% up from .10 by David Cobb last time.
The perennial NADER actually increased his vote from last time. .54 up from .38 this despite zero media attention say an SNL skit.
“Neal Boortz is talking about running for the Libertarians next time. That should be interesting.”
Hope he doesn’t do that to himself.
In Indiana, Obama got 1352356 votes.
McCain got 1329370 votes.
Barr got 28980 votes.
Barr cost McCain Indiana.
And Barr cost McCain the election.
If we could only love Bob Barr as much as he loves himself. He is a troublemaker that can’t really get his foot in the door.
Time to move on to issues that matter.
Don’t assume 100% of those votes would have gone MCain.
Some would not have voted, others Obama(yes these people wasted their vote in a close state they are dumb some would have definitely gone Obama.).
Ed Clark, the first Libertarian candidate in 1980 got slightly over 1% of the vote, still the high water mark.
I don’t know that 100% of Barr’s votes come from the Republicans. Many libertarian voters I know would never vote Republican. Some might also vote D, but they seem to be people who just have to be different. I have one friend who voted for Nader two elections ago, and Barr this time.
Does anyone have the final number of votes for Chuck Baldwin? A friend of mine thought he was the best thing since sliced bread and that the GOP was going to sit up and take notice when they saw how many votes he got.
Don’t beat yourself up over it. Politicians are like snakes, they look a little different each time they shed their skins.
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