Bob Barr Conference Call Today

Several of us got the chance to talk to Bob Barr today on a conference call. I found the candidate to be highly engaging and ready to reach out to bloggers and the new media in any way that he can. Below are a few of the topics covered and the answers given.

Q. What does it mean to you to run as a 3rd party candidate?

Barr hopes to accomplish three things. He feels that the political climate is sour, people are sour on government and their choices in candidates and that the two party system is not serving them well. He recognizes that he’s a long shot, but still believes he can win in a three way race. Second, he would like to “open the electorates eyes” to the fact that they do not need to be “bound to the artificial constraints of a two party system“. And last, he would like the opportunity to discuss the issues in a more fundamentally constitutional way with the voters.

Q. How would you make substantive cuts in the size of the government?

Barr would lead by example, ordering an immediate 10% cut in the Executive office for personnel and spending. Further, he would ask Congress, (both parties) to start cutting costs or “they will be next“. Any bill that increases the national debt will be vetoed. No increases in appropriations for any office will be tolerated. He would immediately put a freeze on all federal spending. He would also eliminate the Dept. of Education, reduce the size and scope of the Dept. of Energy, and establish a commission similar to the Grace Commission under Ronald Reagan. This group would examine every department and agency to determine their constitutionally based identity and function and prioritize eliminating those that don’t meet muster.

Q. How do you get to 270 votes?

Barr plans to focus on a number of states and regions which are most likely to attract independent, libertarian voters. Mountain West states will be a key, along with areas of the Southeast, such as his home state of Georgia, etc.

Q. How would you deal with the situation between Israel and Iran?

Israel is and will remain a very strong ally, but we don’t need expanded hostilities in that region. Barr mentions his close ties with the CIA and states that Iran is not close to posing an immediate threat to anyone in the form of ICBMs or nukes. It’s a concern, and needs to be a factor in our national security policies, but we shouldn’t be looking toward any sort of hostilities.

That was most of it for today. We will try to get some more information from the Barr campaign as we go forward.

UPDATE: Ed Morrissey and James Joyner were also on the call and you can check out their impressions.