Leftists for Barr

Jesse Walker | August 25, 2008

Radical columnist Alexander Cockburn expresses annoyance at Ralph Nader ("Nader seems to be dropping his bid to the level of knock-about") and embraces another presidential contender:

Face it, if you want to stay true to reason and conscience, the man to vote for is Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate.

Comments

Franklin Harris|8.25.08 @ 10:05PM|#

When a commie like Alexander Cockburn can endorse Barr, despite Barr's weaknesses on social issues, but some LPers go off to form their own Boston Tea Party, something's just wacky. I swear, the Boston Tea Party's is like the LP's version of the PUMAs.

Orange Line Special|8.25.08 @ 10:28PM|#

Someone tell me that the comrade is playing a game. Please! Because, I find it difficult to believe that the comrade hasn't figured out just how fake BB is.

SIV|8.25.08 @ 10:34PM|#

OT:

McCain Blogette doesn't have any pics up of the Daddy Yankee endorsement at Cindy's HS Alma Mater. Meghan is slacking off on the campaign.

|8.25.08 @ 10:36PM|#

Fake or not, Barr is on the Colbert Report tomorrow night. Wednesday and Friday mornings on CNN. On Thursday, Glenn Beck will be taping a full hour with Barr.

Rick Barton\'s award winning n|8.25.08 @ 10:51PM|#

Cockburn is far better than most Lefties. He actually does some cogent analysis. So it fits that he supports Bob Barr.

|8.26.08 @ 12:14AM|#

I can't tell if Barr is sincerely libertarian, but I'll vote for him anyway, as he at least has the decency to pretend to believe in small government.

|8.26.08 @ 2:07AM|#

PUMAs are bigots. Boston Tea Partiers left the bigots. Big difference.

|8.26.08 @ 2:26AM|#

Maybe I was the only one, but I got a momentary chill from the reference to the "great new book" by Harry Browne in Cockburn's blog. A posthumous publication? Of course it wasn't the (late) Libertarian Harry Browne who was the author of the cited book, but it definitely made me do a double-take. I wonder what Harry would have said about the Bob Barr candidacy.

dpsc|8.26.08 @ 3:47AM|#

Cockburn's been making a bid for independence from the doctrinaire left for a while. He's been particularly scathing on the subject of climate change, which is as close to a litmus test for lefties as there is these days.

Kudos to him for not immediately diving into the extreme right's camp, but...

Actually, Cockburn would make a good libertarian. He seems driven by principle and immune to common sense (not, by the way, an entirely bad thing in my opinion).

dpsc|8.26.08 @ 3:51AM|#

And I guess I have an entirely different definition of PUMA than most people here- to me it means slightly creepy old (that is, a bit younger than me and above) ladies who try to pick me up at nightspots rather than sitting home with their knitting. 'SBlood.. 'Sif...

|8.26.08 @ 5:13AM|#

dpsc
I think those are called 'cougars'

Same animal I suppose.

|8.26.08 @ 9:26AM|#

Heh heh, heh heh, Cock burn

Franklin Harris|8.26.08 @ 1:19PM|#

I wonder what Harry would have said about the Bob Barr candidacy.

That depends. The Harry Browne who was a two-time LP presidential nominee or the Harry Browne who said stay out of electoral politics?

|8.26.08 @ 4:37PM|#

dpsc
I think those are called 'cougars'

Same animal I suppose.

it is my understanding that pumas are older then cougars

Nick|8.27.08 @ 2:39AM|#

"he at least has the decency to pretend to believe in small government."

Except that he wants a war on illegal immigrants, which strikes me as a potentially more pointless, abusive and expansive program than the war on drugs.

dpsc|8.27.08 @ 3:50AM|#

val: "it is my understanding that pumas are older then cougars"

Thus scarier. Until you've been cornered by one you won't know what fear is. The jaws that bite, the snapping snatch...