The International House of Bacon

I went to the Bob Barr campaign event last night at Murphy’s Taproom in Manchester. A good sized crowd, Ann came with. Some random, scattered shots:

1) I kind of get the Obama thing now. Not that he’s any better a candidate (he’s not), but I get the inspiration thing - it’s the first time I’ve ever been around a bunch of like-minded people, and hearing a person with the credentials and the recognition that Barr has talking actual sense? Really great to hear. The line that stuck with me from the night was when he said (paraphrasing) that everyone is libertarian about something, that it’s almost hardwired. It’s true, too - I can even think of everyone I know reading this who feels that way about something. And Barr’s been talking about more Big Tent libertarianism, with the NH chair noting that it’s probably more important to work on that 80% we agree on rather than the 20% we don’t. But yeah, back to the initial point - I get it, now. The difference is that Barr is advocating a clear philosophy, one that is truly individually empowering and represents something you simply don’t hear every day. Obama’s Rorshach-style candidacy where, even now, you know there are supporters who think Obama’s on the same page as them even when he’s not, means that you get a lot more of that inspiration simply from people seeing themselves in Obama in some way. That “blank screen” Obama talks about when referring to himself. So I get it - I walked into the event tonight probably leaning McCain, and walked out 99% sure Barr’s getting my vote in November.

2) I got to ask him a question. I didn’t do too badly - I do not speak well under pressure these days - but I asked him about the judiciary in the context of Heller and Boudemaine and how I’m pretty afraid of Obama choosing any judges, let alone three. I noted the polling from Monday, but his line was more about the rare poor points of Scalia and Thomas and McCain’s relative statism than any sort of answer in either direction as to protection of the judiciary for the next 20 years. I don’t know what answer I expected from him, but the one I got was the one I assumed I’d get, but didn’t want. A small disappointment in an otherwise great night.

3) On a more down note, a lot of the evening reminded me why I don’t think I can ever really join the Libertarian Party again. The very first question was a guy ranting about why Barr feels that the questioner should ever consent to be governed again, there was some ranting about medical marijuana, some very heated discussion about the federal reserve, and the last guy I encountered told Barr that he thought JFK was assassinated because he was too close to finding the truth about the federal reserve - something Barr responded to with a “well, I really must be leaving now”-type escape. No Truthers, thank god, but I was worried about it. The good thing was that Barr does handle the more fringy types very well - an adequate amount of respect, veering his answers back into a more sane place, and not mocking anyone, which is good.

I was really pleasantly surprised by the whole thing - he’s the real deal, I think, and that’s not going to be a bad thing for the Libertarian Party or those of us lucky enough to hear him. He’s probably the best spokesperson the Party could field, and if they could get any traction on getting him some actual significant publicity, it could be a very good thing for them - he speaks about incremental movements, he’s looking long term, and he actually seems to grasp why the ideology isn’t getting the mainstream respect it deserves while addressing that very issue with a simple kernel of truth - libertarianism is part of existence as individuals, and we all share some of it on at least some issue. Simple, yet true.

Pics or it didn’t happen, right?