will BOB BARR (R-Ga) vote for Kerry OR against Bush?

[nostamj]

Congressman Bob Barr, R-Ga., who says he's no longer sure who he'll vote for on Nov. 2, is the latest to rip Bush from the right:

"When Bush became president Jan. 20, 2001, he inherited an enviable fiscal situation. Congress, then controlled by his own party, had -- through discipline and tough votes -- whittled down decades of deficit spending under presidents of both parties, so that annual deficits of hundreds of billions of dollars had been transformed to a series of real and projected surpluses. The heavy lifting had been done. All Bush had to do was resist the urge to spend, and he had to exert some pressure on Congress to resist its natural impulses to do the same. Had he done that, he might have gone down in history as the most fiscally conservative president in modern times."

When criticized for his fiscal record, Bush often has cited the costs of the war in Iraq and the global war on terrorism -- "I'll spend what it takes to win" -- but Barr doesn't buy it.

"What we got were record levels of new spending, including nearly double-digit increases in nondefense discretionary spending. We now have deficits exceeding those that the first Republican-controlled Congress in 40 years faced when it convened in January 1995. The oft-repeated mantra that 'the terrorists made us spend more' rings hollow, especially to those who actually understand that increases in nondefense discretionary spending are not the inevitable result of fighting terrorists. It also irritates many conservatives, whether or not they support the war in Iraq, that so much of defense spending is being poured into the black hole of Iraq's internal security, while the security of our own borders goes wanting."

<snip>

In a tight race down to the wire, he says, "those dissatisfied conservative voters will become increasingly important, but it's going to be impossible for the president to pull them back in with hollow, last-minute promises."

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room//index.html

[WI_DEM]

1. I doubt he will vote for Kerry or Bush but some right wing third

party candidate

[On the Road]

2. What a Great Negative Endorsement

Bob Barr has a lot of fans on the right. Maybe some of them will be emboldened to follow his lead.

[i_c_a_White_Ghost]

3. He's against bush for different reasons then we are

[nostamj]

4. is that a bad thing?

I don't think we have an illusions about a significant number of votes being AGAINST Bush* rather than FOR Kerry.

if conservatives want to vote AGAINST Bush* too, I'm OK with that!

[vi5]

5. If Chaffee is not voting for Kerry, there is no way Barr will...

Chaffee is liberal on most issues but still loyal to his party and says he will not vote for bush but right in another republican.

If he is thinking that way, and he is a reasonable, sane conservative, there is no way a total wingnut like Barr is going to vote for Kerry.

[LuminousX]

6. One less vote for Bush, that is all I care about

[nostamj]

7. one more repub for Kerry to quote

in tomorrow's debate too. he was pretty effective using them last time out... and this goldmine from Barr plays right into the 'domestic' issues format...