You’re the expert on such matters, and I expect your prediction is accurate.

I also think that it will be a good thing if Barr wins his ballot access suit in West Virgina. I like seeing ballot access barriers knocked down, and I’m not particular about who does the knocking.

Ballot access litigation, lobbying, etc. are important activities. As a matter of fact, I think they’re more important than Barr’s political aspirations, or than any one particular election result for the Libertarian Party, any other third party, or any independent candidate.

However …

Presumably, many, maybe even most, of Bob Barr’s contributors who weighed in prior to the West Virginia deadline wrote checks on the supposition that they were contributing to a presidential campaign, not a ballot access litigation project.

The ballot drive they were supporting did not fail due to a stated intention to blow the deadline and litigate. Quite the opposite. In the days leading up to the deadline, the campaign put out increasingly manic pleas calling for money, volunteers, etc. to meet that deadline. The drive failed due to incompetent management, not to lack of desire to meet the deadline or to stated desire to litigate the deadline.

Regardless of any good results that may come from the litigation, Barr’s contributors are reasonable to ask why their money was poorly spent the first time around in West Virginia, and whether this particular litigation really improves the campaign’s prospects (as opposed to the future prospects of other candidates, other parties, etc.).

Thing is, I was hearing those rumors before the elector designations were actually turned in — and I doubt that anyone who was thinking of blocking the BTP could have anticipated that it would field not only a full slate of 27 electors, but 19 alternates to replace any electors who might be successfully challenged as well.

I won’t say that the BTP ticket in Florida is challenge-proof, but I think we’re well prepared f0r such a fight.

If the rumors are true, and if the Barr campaign is involved, it will end up hurting Barr far more than it will help him. After blowing ballot access in West Virginia, Maine and possibly New Hampshire, he’s presumably under at least some supporter/contributor pressure to stop fucking around and start running for president while there’s still time.

Any other “kid’s table” debate only serves to make a candidate look small and will get zero press coverage and only third party folks already on board will watch it.

And Barr, outside of mostly Zogby run polls, usually trails Nader in most polls.