Richard Tafoya
May 5th, 2008, 12:49 AM
Philly Inquirer:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/news_breaking/20080502_Is_this_man_John_McCains_worst_nightmare_.html
Bob Barr, former GOP congressman from Georgia, is an all-but-announced presidential candidate - as a Libertarian. The possibility of a run by Barr has sent shudders through the mainstream of the Republican party.
Barr, who will probably not declare his intentions for several days, has already been labeled a "spoiler."
In an interview with the Inquirer, Barr dismissed those accusations as whining.
"The notion that Republicans see a third-party candidate as spoiling their chances simply illustrates the arrogance of the two-party system," Barr said. [The full text of the interview is below.]
Republicans may have good cause to worry. A run by Barr could be to John McCain "what Ralph Nader was to Al Gore - ruinous," wrote George Will in Newsweek. Some party experts believe Barr could siphon off essential conservative votes from Sen. John McCain, about whom many rightward voters have been less than enthusiastic.
Right-talking radio hosts - Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, and Ann Coulter - have expressed reservations about McCain or have been downright dismissive.
The American Spectator editorialized last month that "conservatives see the choice of McCain or the Democrats as analogous to picking between being punched in the stomach or kneed in the groin."
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/news_breaking/20080502_Is_this_man_John_McCains_worst_nightmare_.html
Bob Barr, former GOP congressman from Georgia, is an all-but-announced presidential candidate - as a Libertarian. The possibility of a run by Barr has sent shudders through the mainstream of the Republican party.
Barr, who will probably not declare his intentions for several days, has already been labeled a "spoiler."
In an interview with the Inquirer, Barr dismissed those accusations as whining.
"The notion that Republicans see a third-party candidate as spoiling their chances simply illustrates the arrogance of the two-party system," Barr said. [The full text of the interview is below.]
Republicans may have good cause to worry. A run by Barr could be to John McCain "what Ralph Nader was to Al Gore - ruinous," wrote George Will in Newsweek. Some party experts believe Barr could siphon off essential conservative votes from Sen. John McCain, about whom many rightward voters have been less than enthusiastic.
Right-talking radio hosts - Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, and Ann Coulter - have expressed reservations about McCain or have been downright dismissive.
The American Spectator editorialized last month that "conservatives see the choice of McCain or the Democrats as analogous to picking between being punched in the stomach or kneed in the groin."