Bob Barr Comments on Huckabee’s Version of Reagan’s Vision

In a widely quoted online interview posted yesterday on the Huffington Post, former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR), a former Republican presidential primary contender, blamed the recent Republican losses in special elections on what he termed a “new brand of libertarianism, which is social liberalism and economic conservatism, but it's a heartless, callous, soulless type of economic conservatism.”

“Perhaps Governor Huckabee is forgetting that it is compassionate conservatism that led to our record budget deficits and explosion in the size of government. His vision of more of the same will lead his party deeper into the quagmire,” warned Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president, “I am reminded of then-Governor Ronald Reagan saying ‘I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism’ and that ‘The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.’ The problem we face isn’t too much libertarianism, but not enough of it.”

“I am saddened to hear Governor Huckabee proclaim that only government, big government, massive-spending government, can solve our problems as a nation and help the Republican party gain power again. Government is not the answer to every problem. Massive government spending and taxing, intrusive regulations, and expanding entitlements make it harder for people to provide for themselves and their families. Big government doesn't mean just more bureaucrats in Washington, it means corporate welfare, centralized education, violations of civil liberties, and families made more dependent on government by government crowding out private alternatives. Even where government is providing benefits to individuals, they are expensive, inefficient, impersonal and bureaucratic.

Barr continued, “Indeed, this is why I am running for President: to provide an alternative to the big spending, big government advocates representing the Republican and Democratic parties. My goal is to roll back the size of government and allow Americans as individuals, families, associations, and communities to step forward as they have throughout U.S. history.”

Barr represented the 7th District of Georgia in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003, where he served as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, as Vice-Chairman of the Government Reform Committee, and as a member of the Committee on Financial Services. Prior to his congressional career, Barr was appointed by President Reagan to serve as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, and also served as an official with the CIA.

Since leaving Congress, Barr has been practicing law and has teamed up with groups ranging from the American Civil Liberties Union to the American Conservative Union to actively advocate every American citizens’ right to privacy and other civil liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. Along with this, Bob is committed to helping elect leaders who will strive for smaller government, lower taxes and abundant individual freedom.