Yeah, I can see the LP getting four, maybe five percent!

Heady times, man, heady times.

...but the very thought of bringing all those Paul supporters over to our side is enough to set a Libertarian's heart a flutter!

... or give Obama the presidency.

Barr has had all of the wind in his sails taken away by McCain choosing Sarah as his running mate.

Some Republicans who were supporting Barr as a protest against the RINO McCain are now firmly in McCains camp because of Sarah.

Paul is, so far as I can tell, playing a wiser and longer game. He's recognised I think that what is needed is a broad libertarian-ish popular movement and he's setting about creating it. The run for the presidential nomination was an excellent springboard. In my estimation as a foreigner admittedly the Libertarian Party doesn't have much of a role in that. At the moment anyway.

What Paul is trying to do is what the Left have been so successful at; create a large pool of highly motivated activists, with a common purpose and achievable goals that will galvanise them as individuals. It's not about winning a presidency, it's about shifting the political dialogue. No individual act; no individual rally or campaign will do much on its own, but with a critical mass of activists headway is slowly made, just as lefties going on demos don't achieve much with each demonstration but each adds a little to the goal.

Liberty has lost to the socialist steamroller because it has had no political organisation at the "grassroots" level. He's giving his supporters things to do. That's an extremely practical strategy.

He has no use for a failed bid as VP for the LP. Right now, he looks like a success, who achieved far more than anyone would have expected with the presidential nomination run. The last thing he needs is something that will make him look like a loser.

He turned down the top spot - why on earth would he accept Veep?

At any rate, a fair chunk of his support will likely go to Chuck Baldwin and the fever swamp religious-nationalist crazies in the Constitution Party.

If he runs for any national office, he forfeits his house seat. And what would the House of Representatives be without our own Dr. No?

If he runs for any national office, he forfeits his house seat. And what would the House of Representatives be without our own Dr. No?

not true in Texas. The LBJ Law says that you can run for two offices at the same time, and if elected to both, must resign one (usually the lower office)

LBJ pulled that so he could run both with Kennedy as VP and for Texas Senator in 1960. Lloyd Bentsen did the same in 1988.

I was under the impression a large number of his supporters had "interesting" AKA crazy views on things like 9/11?

Not the sort of people you'd want to be associated with in other words?

In other news, Mrs Gwendolyn Snodgrass, president of the Lake Geneva Ladies Garden Club, offered the post of Harvest Festival Chair to Mrs Evelyn Crabtree.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to appear facetious - no, that's a lie, I really do - but seriously discussing the exact makeup of the Libertarian Party ticket is like complaining that the first-seat cornet in the Titanic's second-class dance band is out of tune. Sorry to be so pragmatic.

llater,

llamas

If you hang out in the garden, you are going to hear the gossip, like it or not...

Um, the LP has already selected its VP candidate, at the Convention. Barr can't change that, however much he might like to. The Convention would have to be re-convened to change the nominee, and that isn't happening.

Not that Paul would take the job anyway. He has repeatedly declined to accept any LP nomination, including the VP, and whatever else you may think of him he is a man of his word; if he says "no" I believe he means "no."

This isn't helping Barr, anyway. I already know of some Libertarians, skeptical about him in the first place, who are so angry at his perceived snub of Paul at a recent Paul-organized event and this public courting of Paul as VP that they are actively campaigning against him. The Palin nomination gives them cover to hold their noses and vote for McCain (although some will undoubtedly vote for the Constitution Party candidate, whoever that it). Al has it right.

I'm still in his camp, but the bloom is definitely off the Barr rose.

Following on what Al said above, and pretending that Dr. Paul did take that running mate spot, we would be comforted to know that he is running unopposed in his district and Congress would have the good doctor up their ass for two more years.

Probably not as a Republican, however.

Ha ... I met up with some fellow Ron Paul supporters here in Cape Town. Suffice to say small government wasn't on the agenda, in fact they seemed rather disapproving when I tried to explain the concept. When David Icke's (lizards rule the world) name was mentioned, I finished my beer, promised to call and skedaddled.

To associate the LP with Ron Paul now, in any way, is to invite in to the LP the 9/11 Truthers, the Lew Rockwell neo-confederate crowd, "race realists". scum like Steve Sailor and the vile filth at VDARE.

I'm glad I don't vote and I'm glad I am not in any way associated with the pitiable joke that the Libertarian Party has become.