Libertarian hopeful gets support from Paul allies

Many who supported Ron Paul during the primary season say Bob Barr is the next best thing.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Mark Noble is just the kind of voter long shot 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 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, 32, 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 such as 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 a 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 such as 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.