Today, after six rounds of voting, former congressman (R-GA) Bob Barr won the Libertarian presidential nomination after defeating 1983 Libertarian presidential nominee Mary Ruwart 54 – 46%.
Barr was certainly the most well known candidate, having lead the house effort to impeach President Clinton and written such pieces of legislation as the Defense of Marriage Act. Barr’s conservative past was a point of suspicion for such party activists as Christine Smith who, in a rousing speech on the convention floor, suggested that a “neocon” shouldn’t be chosen as the nominee and that doing so would mean the party had lost its principles. Barr’s major opponent Ruwart used his stances on such issues as the war on drugs in an attempt to position him as someone who doesn’t hold true Libertarian values. However, in the end, Barr’s national status and alignment with Wayne Allyn Root sealed his victory.
Today also marked Mike Gravel’s last in American politics, as he announced he was going to focus entirely on his books and lectures.
We’ll have more coverage of the 2008 Libertarian Convention on tonight’s show at 10pm EST.
