Bob Barr Becomes a Libertarian

A tiny note in the Wa Post today reported that former Republican US Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia declared himself a Libertarian, with a capital L, meaning that he is formally joining the Libertarian Party and will be its regional representative for the South.

A former Georgia congressman who helped spark President Clinton's impeachment has quit the Republican Party to become a Libertarian, saying he is disillusioned with the GOP on issues such as spending and privacy.

"It's something that's been bothering me for quite some time, the direction in which the party has been going more and more toward big government and disregard toward privacy and civil liberties," said Barr, 58, a lawyer and consultant living in Atlanta. "In terms of where the country needs to be going to get back to our constitutional roots ... I've come to the conclusion that the only way to do that is to work with a party that practices what it preaches, and that is the Libertarian Party."

Wow. He led the blow-job impeachment. And isn't this the same guy who was anti-abortion yet forced his second wife to have an abortion because he wanted to divorce her and marry a third wife, or was that Newt Gingrich?

Anyway, it is a welcome conversion as it is mostly Southern Republicans who have turned the GOP away from libertarian ideals and towards religion and big government, so we need to convert more of them. Former US Senator Dick Armey is blazing the conversion trail with his group FreedomWorks. I used to share office space with them and was thrilled to see Milton Friedman books and articles all around so I can vouch for them.