In a press release issued today, the Bob Barr campaign has announced that it will file for a preliminary injunction against Orange County, California’s Saddleback Church, presided over by Pastor Rick Warren:
“It is our opinion that the Saddleback Church forum failed to publish any pre-established, objective criteria for inviting candidates to the event,” says Russell Verney, Barr’s campaign manager. “Because of Saddleback’s apparent failure to comply with campaign finance laws, the exclusion of Bob Barr appears to be an illegal, corporate, in-kind contribution to Senators Obama and McCain.”
Federal election laws stipulate that an event such as the one Saddleback Church is hosting must provide pre-established and objective criteria for inviting candidates. A failure to do so can be considered an illegal campaign contribution.
“It is to our understanding that Pastor Warren simply contacted Senators McCain and Obama to invite them to participate in this forum,” says Verney. “We feel that the addition of Congressman Bob Barr to this event will expand the debate on issues and benefit those who watch and learn from the forum. The dialogue between the three main candidates in this election will educate and inform voters more so than a forum that restricts the discussion to the frequently heard talking points of Senators Obama and McCain.”
A campaign update written by Campaign Manager Russ Verney provides background on the campaign’s efforts to be included in the forum, and how the decision to file suit was made:
The only people getting into the event are Obama, McCain and those who reportedly paid $500 to $2,000 to the church to sit in the audience.
Yesterday, I reported to former Congressman Barr that we’ve exhausted every avenue. I told him, “We’ve had calls placed to Pastor Warren from very powerful leaders from the left and the right, we sent in our personal request, and placed numerous phone calls that have not been returned. You are not going to be included.
“Our only option left is to threaten to file an temporary injunction as our attorneys believe they are in violation of the law.â€
Bob responded by saying, “No, don’t threaten to do that . . . Just do it.â€
Verney explains filing a lawsuit under the McCain-Feingold campaign finance legislation thusly: “While we’re no fans of that legislation, we don’t write the rules, we’re just forced to play by them. In this case, we’re using McCain/Feingold to our advantage.”
15 responses so far ↓
1 Trent Hill // Aug 15, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Barr SHOULD’VE taken this opportunity to announce his opposition to such rediculous laws.
2 G.E. // Aug 15, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Totally unlibertarian.
If I would have stayed with Barr after Jesse Helms, after his flip flop on global warming and praise for Al Gore, and after his refusal to participate in debates with other third-party candidates, then THIS would have done it.
Bob Barr is a disgrace to the LP, to libertarianism, and anyone who can still support his candidacy after this… I’ll hold my tongue.
3 Fred Church Ortiz // Aug 15, 2008 at 6:59 pm
I feel kind of dizzy, and may be bleeding internally.
4 G.E. // Aug 15, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Let me boil down this story to its essence:
Bob Barr wants to use the government’s guns to force his way into a private debate.
Disgrace!
5 Trent Hill // Aug 15, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I wont. This is downright shameful.
6 G.E. // Aug 15, 2008 at 7:09 pm
I can’t wait to see Barr’s usual cast of cronies come through and defend this overt act of statist thuggery. Come on, sunshinebatman, svf, Gene Trosper, etc. Tell me how this is really the libertarian thing to do; to sue a CHURCH over not getting an invite. I can’t believe Barr would go this low.
7 Fred Church Ortiz // Aug 15, 2008 at 7:41 pm
AJC post/thread:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/08/15/barr_goes_to_court_to_demand_e.html
LFV post/thread:
http://lastfreevoice.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/bob-barr-to-sue-church-while-lying-about-polling-at-6-quick-whats-wrong-with-that-picture/
8 G.E. // Aug 15, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Go to the AJC thread and look at the horrible statist “libertarians” make their case for taking away the church’s tax-exempt status if they don’t comply with Barr’s threats.
Bob Barr is like an NAACP conman huckster. He’s a white Al Sharpton shaking down this church with the government’s guns at his side.
9 NewFederalist // Aug 15, 2008 at 10:09 pm
G.E.- I didn’t know you disliked THE REVEREND Al Sharpton so much!
10 Jared // Aug 15, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Barr uses his anti libertarian legalize nonsense once again. It’s nauseating.
11 Chris Cole // Aug 15, 2008 at 10:12 pm
After I heard in 2006 that Barr had joined the party and instantly been catapulted to a seat on the LNC, I shook my head in shame. But I hoped that he would at least have gotten an education on what the non-intervention principle means in the political realm. This news demonstrates that he clearly hasn’t. It is beyond me how any Libertarian, much less the most-visible Libertarian of all, can sue a private organization under the pestilential “campaign finance” laws. I spend so much time advocating for the free-speech and associational rights of even the most-contemptible groups, e.g., the KKK, and then he undermines it all with this sh*t.
12 G.E. // Aug 15, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Okay, how statist will Barr go before the end of this election?
I’m guessing he comes out for some sort of national healthcare or guaranteed income or both.
Maybe he’ll flip-flop on the socialist border wall at one of these upcoming Xenophobe rallies he’s attending with Baldwin and Keyes.
Everytime he does something completely unforgivable, he ups the ante and does something even worse the next week.
THANK YOU, DeFraud Caucus!
13 darolew // Aug 16, 2008 at 12:39 am
My guess is that the Barr campaign is feeling pretty desperate at this point, and thus doesn’t really give a damn about principle.
14 Fred Church Ortiz // Aug 16, 2008 at 12:54 am
I agree with you darolew. Besides casting aside principle, another sign of desperation is rash decisions. Exactly what kind of reaction is this supposed to elicit? If he’s courting Evangelicals, how does suing a church help? If he’s courting anti-McCain conservatives, how does invoking McCain-Feingold help? WHO was this supposed to appeal to?
15 wordleman // Aug 16, 2008 at 1:31 am
Of the 5000+ seats that were available, less than 250 seats were sold. That is, 95% were given FREE to Saddleback Volunteers. I was one of the fortunate ones to be given a FREE ticket. The mere 250 seats that were sold were mainly to outsiders, and done so for the sole purpose of helping to defray the enormous costs in making this forum available to a national audience.
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