COLUMBUS, Ohio | Mark Noble is just the kind of voter who longshot Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr is looking for — a young convert from the Ron Paul movement.
With Paul out of the race, many of the Texas congressman's supporters are searching for a new candidate who shares their beliefs that the Republican Party has gone far astray from its limited-government foundations.
Noble and other Paul supporters have turned to Barr, the former GOP congressman from Georgia who received the Libertarian nomination in May.
This intellectual appeal for disaffected Republicans could eat into support for John McCain and help Democrat Barack Obama, given the tens of thousands of voters in key swing states such as Ohio who voted for Paul in the Republican primary.
Libertarians bristle at the accusation they could be McCain's Ralph Nader, a reference to the Green Party candidate who some Democrats blame for siphoning enough votes away from Democrat Al Gore in Florida in 2000 to put President Bush in the White House.
"Just because the major parties have chosen real stinkers as candidates, that doesn't mean I should vote for the lesser of two evils," said Noble, 23, a Columbus software developer who also serves as the Franklin County chairman for the Libertarian Party of Ohio.
The McCain campaign has avoided a direct response to the possibility that Barr, boosted by Paul supporters, will play a spoiler in November.
"John McCain's plans to reform Washington and end wasteful government spending align more with the views of voters than Barack Obama's plans for higher taxes and massive government spending," said spokesman Paul Lindsay.
The Obama campaign said it wouldn't make a difference.
"Barack Obama will do well this fall no matter who is on the ballot because he will end the failed Bush-McCain economic policies and bring real change to Washington," said spokesman Isaac Baker.
Paul received about 5 percent of the Republican primary vote in Ohio, 3 percent in Florida, nearly 16 percent in Pennsylvania and 4.5 percent in Virginia — all states expected to play a major role in November electoral math.
In 2004, President Bush won a second term by beating John Kerry 51 percent to 49 percent in Ohio.
Barr is on the ballot in 31 states so far but not Ohio. The Libertarian Party has sued the state, arguing that its requirements for a party to qualify for the ballot are unconstitutionally strict. In case they are unsuccessful, Barr supporters are gathering the roughly 5,000 signatures that are necessary to place him on the ballot as an independent.
The Barr campaign says it is active on the Internet trying to reach Paul supporters.
"On November 4 there will be no other candidate who represents their viewpoint on the ballot," said campaign manager Russell Verney. "With the right outreach to that constituency we will find a very warm reception and support."
The campaign is counting on the persuasive power of voters like Noble and Luke McKellar of Beavercreek, another Paul-turned-Barr supporter who says he will be reaching out to potential voters on the Internet and in his community.
"This will give them someone else who agrees more with Ron Paul's view than the two major political parties," said McKellar, an engineer who, like Noble, refuses to vote "for the lesser of two evils."
Barr, however, has not always been the model Libertarian and has not had the same track record as Paul — who also isn't purely Libertarian. He disavowed past views and votes during his time as Republican congressman before receiving the backing of the Libertarian Party, making some voters skeptical.
Paul didn't support the USA Patriot Act, while Barr did. Paul voted against the Iraq war resolution, while Barr did not. Barr also was a supporter of the war-on-drugs.
Barr now has changed his stance on each of those issues.
"Even at our Franklin County meetings there are misgivings," Noble said. "Bob Barr has a track record that isn't necessarily what most people think of as libertarian."
Still, Noble believes Barr's conversion on several issues was genuine. And others on the Internet at sites like Facebook.com tout Barr as the candidate who can finish what Paul started.
"The two, in my opinion, are essentially the same candidate," said Robert Fite, a student at Augustana College in Illinois who has signed up with the Barr campaign as an Internet activist to try to convert other Paul supporters.
Fite created a Facebook page titled "Bob BarrRon Paul" that got a thumbs-up from Barr's Facebook page. Another Web site provides a side-by-side comparison of the two candidates' views on Iraq and foreign policy, government spending, the Second Amendment and civil liberties.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Libertarians Held to a Higher Standard?
FTA: "Barr, however, has not always been the model Libertarian and has not had the same track record as Paul — who also isn't purely Libertarian."
What is a "pure" Libertarian? Someone who acts out of blind allegiance to a political party? That doesn't seem like a good idea.
Or is the purity/impurity debate limited to discussion of Libertarian candidates because there is an ethos supporting libertarianism which is lacking when it comes to other American political parties? I don't know, I'm new to politics. But I just recently realized that "just because you don't take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you."
I think it is a trap to speak in terms of "purity" when it comes to people in politics. Most politicians are far from pure in any sense of the term. Our focus should be on what they intend to do with the power of government once they have control.
I think that most people are libertarian by nature but just don't know it because the Libertarian Party has been characterized as extremist. Since most people including myself have an aversion to extremism they never bother to check it out for themselves. The D's and R's sure aren't going to explain it for you in an objective manner.
No doubt about it, libertarian thought is a threat to the private financial interests that support both major parties. Libertarian philosophy is based on self-ownership and governance by consent. Those principles are almost unanimously accepted by Americans, but we are being trained by Madison Avenue to believe that freedom just doesn't work and that we need big government to keep us safe from ourselves.
The Republicans are offering you 100 years of war and the Democrats are offering you 100 years of taxes. It is time for a real change.
Vote Lance Weber for Missouri House.