OUR OPINION and a collection of facts…
With apologies to Winston Groom – and Forrest Gump – and while happily mixing our comparisons/metaphors, maybe life is like a box of chocolates. But this is not something most of us value in a potential member of Congress.
Weathervane Bob Barr: The Dustin Inman Society’s “least favorite” candidate for the GA 11th
Just a few of many reasons we have made Bob Barr our “least favorite” candidate for Georgia’s 11th congressional district
“LOCAL POLITICOS with long memories have been known to smirk that at one point or another, Smyrna-based congressional candidate Bob Barr “has been on every side of every issue.”
That’s also the impression shared by the conservative editors of National Review magazine, who posted a devastating account of Barr’s shifting political stances Monday on the influential National Review Online website.
Its headline says it all: “Weather vane Bob Barr.”
Write the editors, “The good news is that whatever you think about the major issues of the day, at some point in the past two decades, Bob Barr agreed with you. The bad news is he may set a record for the most pieces of legislation a congressman voted for and then later renounced.”
Barr represented Cobb in Congress from 1994-02 and is one of a crowded field of Republicans seeking to succeed Rep. Phil Gingrey, who is running instead for U.S. Senate. Other major candidates for Gingrey’s seat include state House Majority Whip Ed Lindsey, state Sen. Barry Loudermilk and businesswoman Tricia Pridemore.
As most local political-watchers are aware, Barr left the Republican fold to run as the Libertarian candidate for president in 2008…”
The above is from the Around Town column “Bashing Barr: “Candidate criticized as ‘weather vane’ by conservative voice” ” – Marietta Daily Journal, October 1, 2013. Bob Barr’s hometown newspaper. And mine.
Link to the National Review piece HERE.
ICYMI: Bob Barr was a paid lobbyist for the ACLU (Rome News Tribune 11-24-02 as well as 2005-2009 Lobbying disclosure forms)
Bob Barr and the defacto open borders agenda
One shining example of why the Dustin Inman Society has made former Libertarian Bob Barr our “least favorite” candidate for Georgia’s 11th congressional district?
It’s Bob Barr’s open borders position. In at least one 2008 meeting of the Cobb-based Madison Forum, I have personally had public confrontations with Barr – in a room full of shocked Georgians – regarding his dangerous Libertarian “ya’ll come…” position. Thanks to YouTube, you can watch two minutes of Bob Barr delivering this position elsewhere when he ran for office as a LibertarianHERE.. He is still at it. He repeated this position at a November, 2013 Canton (GA) Tea Party candidate panel (the Canton Tea Party descibes Barr as a “favorite candidate”) in an angry response to a simple question from yours truly. Then, knowing his room, he added a little somethng about visas and enforcement. We think this is progress!
You can see and hear my question to the candidates (all of the candidates present) and Barr’s michrophone-grabbing reply on YouTube HERE. starting at about 14:47.
And yes, we know he has put slight limits on his absurd free-flow-of-people agenda. Those being: Anyone may enter the USA so long as they come through a Port of Entry (!), are not a criminal/terrorist, or have a communicable disease. He sometimes throws in “or will be a burden on American taxpayers.” No numerical limit.We had hoped that potential Barr voters would noodle this out for themselves: Just a few little observations on this nationally-suicidal open borders agenda advanced by Bob Barr and others:
Currently, the birth-right citizenship clause of the 14th amendment to the U.S. constitution is allowing children born to illegal aliens to be regarded and treated as American citizens. With all of the privileges and rights involved in that status, arguably the most desired commodity in the world. That includes welfare and foodstamps for that benefit the entire illegal alien-headed family.
How many years of Barr’s legal open borders policy before we would see the results of the already disastrous “birthright tourism” industry produce an uncountable, world-wide number of what we now call “American citizens” with their hands out and their voter registration cards at the ready?
A world-wide 2012 Gallup poll shows that at least 640 million people would leave their home countries permanently. At least 150 million of these say they would go to the U.S. We already take in more than a million legal immigrants each year. How many people do we want? How many is reasonable and sustainable? Is Bob Barr’s open borders agenda going to somehow protect and relieve American workers? Including the legal immigrants who came looking for prosperity?
From the well-known “On The Issues – Every Political Leader on Every Issue” website
Bob Barr on the issues: Open borders to anyone who wants to cross, with screening HERE
Illegal immigration also showed their differences. Baldwin wants to shut the borders and crack down on illegal immigrants. Barr wants to open the borders to anyone who wants to cross, including workers, but screen travelers carefully to make sure they aren’t a terrorist threat.
Source: 2008 third-party presidential debate, in Cleveland Magazine Nov 2, 2008
Bob Barr has taken a post-American open borders position. Why? Would this policy somehow make you and your children better off?
Amnesty for illegal aliens
We hear that currently, Bob Barr says he is against legalization of illegal aliens. But…Like Marco Rubio and Chuck Schumer, a previous version of Bob Barr has boldly supported the concept of legalization of illegal aliens, with the idea that it would be a good way to find out who they are. I listened myself as (then Libertarian) Bob Barr offered up his amensty-again gem on the nationally syndicated Neal Boortz radio show in April of 2008. Apparently, so did Political Insider, Jim Galloway of the AJC. Galloway posted a blog then with a link to the audio of that exchange between Boortz and Barr. The AJC & WSB radio links are now dead, but you can see my resulting debate challenge and reference to it on the Dustin Inman Society blog and a press release.
“Dustin Inman Society president D.A. King today challenges possible Libertarian presidential candidate and former Republican Congressman Bob Barr to publicly debate and defend his – and the Libertarian Party’s – position on American borders and immigration policy.
During an April 8, 2008 interview on the nationally syndicated Neal Boortz radio show, ( listen here thanks to Mr. Jim Galloway and the AJC, Political Insider blog HERE ) Barr outlined his agenda of supporting a possible repeat of the failed 1986 legalization program for illegal aliens. It is a policy of the official and lawful — but apparently numerically unlimited — free flow of people into the U.S., and an unexplained and unlikely process by which, in Barr’s words, “we would know who is entering our country” with such legalization.
Robert Pastor of the Council on Foreign Relations cites polls showing us that at least 70% of the Mexican citizens who remain in Mexico would migrate to the U.S. if allowed. Considering the present convoluted interpretation of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution regarding birthright citizenship, Barr’s frightening lack of vision of the consequences of his utopian open borders agenda is dangerous,” said King. “The concept of American citizenship could easily be cheapened and expanded to the entire continent in one generation with such a policy.”
JOBS! JOBS! JOBS! Workplace verification and protecting the American worker in America: Bob Barr is anti-E-VERIFY
Now called “E-VERIFY”,
“The Basic Pilot program was established by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), P.L. 104-208, signed September 30, 1996, citation: 8 U.S.C. 1324a. The program started in California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas (1997) with Nebraska joining in 1999. Congress authorized the expansion of the pilot program to employers in all 50 states in 2003…”
HERE
*We note with absolutely no surprise that then-Republican Congressman Bob Barr voted for the bill described above.
Put more simply for the folks at the Canton Tea Party: Bob Barr voted to create E-VERIFY. Now he is against it’s use. And he mischaracterizes how it is used. E-VERIFY is only used after, not before, as Barr inaccurately submits, an employee is hired.
Most of us would answer “YES” to Barr’s question below: “Do we really want to force employers, by federal law, to get Uncle Sam’s permission before they can hire somebody?” the 11th District candidate asked.” Umm…yep.
From here we note that YES we want the feds to stop child labor, insure that hospitals do not hire un-trained surgeons, unlicensed or unfit airline pilots, untrained, ineligible drivers of interstate cross country heavy truck rigs, and certainly, with the agony American workers are enduring on unemployment, stagnant wages, we want the federal government to stop the hiring or employment of ineligible black-market illegal alien labor… Geez…
Currently anti-E-VERIFY crusader ( unless he has evolved, again, by now) Bob Barr at the May, 2013 Georgia Republican convention:
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Jim Galloway, Political Insider “Immigration and the blessings of an IRS scandal”
May 18, 2013
blog HERE
“To a person, the four GOP candidates for U.S. Senate — U.S. Reps. Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey and Jack Kingston, and former Secretary of State Karen Handel — said they would oppose the efforts at a bipartisan compromise on immigration reform by the so-called Gang of Eight. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is on his own.
“No new laws are necessary,” Broun said.
“These comprehensive immigration reform ideas … are not unlike what we heard in 2007. And you know how popular that was,” Gingrey said.
“We’re about to have déjà vu all over again. Only in Washington could the same failed policies be put forward as reform,” echoed Handel.
Kingston cited the recent Heritage Foundation report that puts the price of immigration reform at $6 trillion — a study that Rubio denounced as “deeply flawed.” The Savannah congressman also demanded an end to citizenship for children of foreigners born on U.S. soil. “We are one of the few nations left that still has that relic on the books,” he said.
Congressional candidates were of the same mind — with two exceptions.
Bob Barr of Marietta, seeking a return to Congress as a Republican after a failed 2008 Libertarian campaign for president, urged voters to be wary — especially of E-Verify, the federal employment database that Congress would expand to make sure prospective employees are legal U.S. residents.
“Do we really want to force employers, by federal law, to get Uncle Sam’s permission before they can hire somebody?” the 11th District candidate asked.”
Bonus: Barr has otherwise reasonable people – who vote – believing that workplace verification, a central tenant of any “immigration reform” would quickly lead to a national ID card and that apparently E-VERIFY is two steps away from Big Brother. We submit to Barr and his followers that we already have a defacto national ID system in the drivers license and SSN. One more time: Bob Barr 1.0 helped create E-VERIFY. Arrrughhhh!…
Along with the ACLU, Bob Barr has opposed state enforcement measures against illegal immigration, including Arizona’s and here in Georgia.
The AJC’s Political Insider column quoting Bob Barr on state and local enforcement of imigration laws and protecting jobs, benefits and services
“Here’s a passage from the Barr column in question:
Barr:
Politics aside, it is interesting to witness so many Republican legislators who profess allegiance to principles of federalism and more limited government police power, tripping over themselves to support legislation such as these immigration-based bills.
Greatly expanding the power of law state and local law enforcement to stop and detain people, premised on a power that resides with the federal, not state government to begin with, hardly fits traditional definitions of “conservative.” When it comes to immigration, consistency is often not a component of the debate.
And there’s this, also from the sheet:
A “Barr Code”column in the AJC in which he laments the atempts from state and local officials – both in Arizona and Georgia – to protect their own and then misrepresnts the language of the famous Arizona law, SB 1070:
“Latest anti-immigration laws reek of “Big Brother-ism”
“Fremont’s action follows by several weeks the enactment of a law in Arizona that in essence empowers police in that state to stop anyone, any time, any where to demand their citizenship papers. The Arizona law, already under constitutional challenge, is being hailed by many so-called “conservative” and Republican office holders and candidates across the country, as an appropriate way to address the problem of illegal immigrants in the country. At a recent candidates forum in Georgia, for example, each GOP gubernatorial candidate expressed support for the Peach State enacting a measure similar or identical to Arizona’s law, and which would also empower local police to stop individuals and demand to see citizenship papers.
Regardless of whether laws such as those enacted in Arizona or Fremont, Nebraska are stricken down as offensive to our Constitution, the fact that they apparently enjoy the support of a majority of Americans and of many public officials and candidates, is deeply troublesome.”
Former ACLU lobbyist Bob Barr described on Redstate:Time to Move Beyond Bob Barr in Georgia’s 11th
Erick Erickson
September 18th, 2013
Then there is Bob Barr’s behavior — which is just too much like so many in Congress these days. He’s been a vocal critic of Eric Holder and the Justice Department, including its Fast & Furious operation. But after losing his Presidential bid, Bob Barr supported Eric Holder’s nomination for Attorney General. Did he not know what Eric Holder would be like?
In the House, Bob Barr wasn’t great on entitlements the last time, including supporting the Medicare Part D expansion. He was also a protectionist in Congress, altering his position for the Libertarian nomination in 2008…
Bob Barr went out of his way to endorse and support the nomination of Eric Holder for Attornel General
Zpolitics and WSB TV
WSB-TV broke the story that Bob Barr wrote a letter endorsing Eric Holder as Attorney General back in 2009. The letter is posted below. It stated “Mr. Holder could not be timelier or more crucial.” Bob Barr doesn’t feel the same way and he has been calling for the resignation of the Attorney General as you can see in the video below. In a tight primary race in Georgia’s 11th congressional district, this could be trouble for the Barr campaign. He interviewed with WSB-TV to get ahead of this story.
Now he says that was a bad idea.
In our opinion,sending Bob Barr back to congress is a bad idea. For now, we say any current candidate for the U.S. House for GA 11 – just not Weathervane, open borders Bob Barr. Bob Barr is our least favorite candidate for congress to replace pro-enforcement Dr. Phil Gingrey.
