Baldwin, Barr, or None of the Above

I took a couple weeks off of blogging because of a statement made by another contributor to this blog (Sam) which seemed to question whether or not I was a real Christian. I wrote a brief response to this, and I still don't know quite how to further respond to this except to say that I hope that he will take back this statement. But even if he doesn't, I have decided to resume contributing to this blog. I appreciate very much the response of the other contributor (GregJaye) to what was said. In my last post, I had discussed the original statement which you two found so objectionable about McCain being even worse than Nader and McKinney (as if it really mattered). I ended with a statement that I would discuss the merits and drawbacks of supporting either Chuck Baldwin or Bob Barr.

As far as Chuck Baldwin is concerned, I am reluctant to endorse him because he did not follow through with a promise made about bringing up the issue of the Nevada Independent Party disaffiliation at a National Committee Meeting of the Constitution Party. Even though he eventually voted yes on it, it was done reluctantly and he chose a running mate (Darrell Castle) who voted no on the NIP disaffiliation. This shows that when push comes to shove, he gives in to political pressures. The glorification of the Confederacy doesn’t help either. But if he would just say that he was wrong to break his promise, admit that his choice of a running mate was bad, and say that his disgust for Abraham Lincoln’s overbearing tactics clouded his judgment about a nation with a racist Constitution, I could vote for him. Voting for someone who would live up to Baldwin's ideology if elected would be a no-brainer for me.

I have heard that Bob Barr paid for an abortion, but also that he denies this accusation (made by Larry Flint of all people). (If anyone reading this can shed more light on this issue, please comment). I saw a survey sheet in which Barr indicated that he believed that abortion should be legal in cases of rape and incest. This was dated eight years ago. I have also heard (from the Free-Choicers) that Barr is cozy with neoconfederates. I would be willing to vote for him if he were to repent of paying for the abortion (if he really did it) and renounce the position he took in 2000. He has changed a lot of his positions since 2000 (e.g. the Patriot Act, the war), but he makes no mention of the abortion issue on his website--so I assume that this issue is not that important to him. (But click here and scroll to the bottom.) His running mate, Wayne Allyn Root, is also less than appealing, but I don’t know if he was Barr’s choice or if he was chosen according to the Libertarian Party rules. (The top fund-raiser is the one who gets the nomination in the LP. Root came in second, I think.)