“Signs are emerging of a possible alliance this fall between Ron Paul, the libertarian-minded rebel Republican, and Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee,” the Boston Globe reported on June 14. (1) “Already Paul and Barr seem to be edging towards a pseudo-alliance,” echoed the Huffington Post on July 2. (2)

Those are just two examples of the ongoing main stream media buzz over a Paul – Barr alliance in the general election — speculation that began more than a month ago, but which shows no signs of dying out. If anything, coverage of the story increased in June, spreading to TV news as well as the press.

This latest round of speculation was touched off by remarks from Ron Paul to CNN on June 12 (the day Paul suspended his own presidential campaign), which contained some of his most pro-Barr comments to date. Asked by CNN's John Roberts, “what do you think of Bob Barr? Does he faithfully represent the values of the Libertarian Party?”, Paul responded by defending Barr against some Libertarians' criticism of his voting record in Congress:

I think so. It doesn't mean that you can look at his voting record like you look at mine and say there was never any infraction. That doesn't mean that he can't represent these values. He's saying the things he should be saying. He's joined the Libertarian Party and he presents these views and he talks our language. So I do really believe that he can have a very positive effect in this campaign and let the people know that limited government is a very, very important message and that people will have a chance [to hear it]. That gives everybody a choice in the matter. (3)

One day later, Barr tossed Paul his own verbal bouquet in a prepared statement:

“Congressman Ron Paul has fought tirelessly in both the Libertarian Party and the Republican Party to minimize government power and maximize individual liberty,” said Barr, a former six-term GOP congressman from Georgia. “I want to thank him for all that he has done for liberty in this nation, and encourage him to continue his fight through whatever avenues he sees fit.” (1)

That statement made the news even in Iran, where PressTV interpreted the last conjunct to mean that Barr was “suggesting a possible alliance with the Republican.” (4)

The following week, FOX News jumped on the story with its own one-two combination, interviewing Bob Barr on “Your World with Neil Cavuto” on June 18, and Ron Paul on the “Glenn Beck Show” on June 19.

Cavuto sounded almost like an excited schoolboy as he constantly interrupted to pepper Barr with questions: “What's the deal here?… Have you talked to them, Bob?… Have you talked to Ron Paul?… And what has he said? Will he back you?”

Barr was non-committal: “Ron Paul is a very good friend of mine, I of his. He supports very much what we're doing. I support very much what he is doing. But I cannot speak in terms of what he might do formally for our campaign.” He did though remind Cavuto and his viewers that, informally, Paul has “had some very kind things to say about Bob Barr and our campaign.” (5)

The next day, Paul confirmed on the Beck show that there had been no formal endorsement, and gave one reason why. Asked “Will you be backing the Libertarian candidate, Bob Barr?”, he replied: “I have not made that decision; as of now, no. I haven't endorsed anybody for the presidency…. There's a friend [Baldwin] running on the Constitution Party ticket, as well as Bob Barr on the Libertarian.” (6)

Paul's most detailed comments on the story came during a June 13 interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN's “Situation Room.” At that time, he declared flat-out: “I just will not be endorsing John McCain, nor do I intend to endorse Obama.” Blitzer followed that up by asking, “What do you think about Congressman Barr?” to which Paul answered:

I think he's running a very important race, and I'm encouraging him. I haven't endorsed him, but he's saying the kind of things I'd like to be heard and said, and I hope he does real well. But we also have Chuck Baldwin who runs on the Constitution Party [ticket]; his views are very close to mine, and he worked very hard on my campaign, so for me to pick one or the other is not easy. I hope they both get a lot of votes.

However, Paul left the door open to endorsing either Barr or Baldwin later: “I don't have immediate plans; maybe later in the year I might decide to.” (7)

Paul hinted at the same possibility on his Beck show appearance: “As of now, no, I haven't endorsed anybody for the Presidency. We're mainly working on a grand celebration of liberty, a rally, in Minneapolis on Sept. 2. But maybe after that I might think about it.” (6)

So there we have it: No endorsement before the Campaign for Liberty rally on Sept. 2, but perhaps one afterward. In the meantime, I expect Paul to have more and similar “kind words” for both Barr and Baldwin throughout the summer. I also fully expect to see both those candidates being given prime speaking slots at the Minneapolis rally.

Whether a Paul endorsement occurs later depends on a number of factors: not the least of which is how his supporters fare at the Republican national convention, also on Sept. 2. If McCain chooses one of Paul's “friends” as his running mate (possibly South Carolina governor Mark Sanford), he may still be able to forestall a Paul endorsement of one of his rivals.

But there seems little danger of that happening. The McCain camp has not only made no effort to accommodate the Ron Paul Republicans to date, but has gone out of its way to belittle them and shut them out. Any doubts on that score should be laid to rest by the McCain campaign's appointment of Michael Goldfarb as Deputy Communications Director in June. Goldfarb was previously editor of the virulently Paul-bashing Weekly Standard blog, where he wrote on the subject in March:

The Washington Times reports: “Ron Paul says the legions of newcomers his presidential campaign brought to the Republican Party are getting the cold shoulder from John McCain and from the party….”

[L]et me just say to Ron Paul supporters everywhere, and on behalf of the New Right (by which I assume Paul means the Jew Right), get lost.

There should be plenty of room for the Paulnuts in Obama's big tent. (8)

One hopes that Mr. Goldfarb has learned something in the past three months, and now realizes that those are not the only options, for either “Paulnuts” or American voters in general.

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Sources

(1) Foon Rhee, “Paul, Barr may be forging an alliance for fall election,” Boston Globe, Jun. 14, 2008. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/14/paul_barr_may_be_forging_an_alliance_for_fall_election/

(2) Sam Stein, “The Coming Barr-Paul Political Alliance?,” Huffington Post, July 2, 2008. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/02/the-coming-barr-paul-poli_n_110423.html

(3) “Ron Paul addresses the candidacy of Bob Barr on CNN.” You Tube, Jun. 12, 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVw8LaeQX9A

(4) “Barr to Paul: Continue your fight,” PressTV, Jun. 15, 2008. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=60039§ionid=3510203

(5) “Cavuto’s CEO Interview: Libertarian 2008 Candidate Bob Barr,” FOX News, Jun. 19, 2008. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,369062,00.html

(6) “Ron Paul : Campaign for Liberty: Glenn Beck: 6.19.2008: Part 1,” You Tube, Jun. 19, 2008. http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=TUCbtCrlyps

(7) “Ron Paul: 'I don't plan to endorse John McCain',” You Tube, Jun. 16, 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oHIx3SX1yU

(8) Michael Goldfarb, “A Message to Ron Paul Supporters,” The Weekly Standard blog, Mar. 19, 2008. http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/03/a_message_to_ron_paul_supporte.asp

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