Bob Barr Announces Bid for President
Former GOP Congressman Bob Barr, who represented Georgia from 1995 to 2003, announced Monday that he will seek the Libertarian Party nomination for president. The party will hold its national convention May 22.
Barr, who was a key player in the impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton, has distanced himself from the Republican Party in recent years, saying they are too "big government," and that decisions such as the legalization of drugs should be left up to the states.
"Of course, many of the positions that I took in the Congress and that I take now are based on the principle of federalism, which is certainly a libertarian position. It used to be a position reflective of the Republican Party but obviously is not longer a part of the Republican platform," Barr told the Village Voice in an interview on May 9. "With regard to drug usage similarly, these are issues in my view that ought to be left up to the states, based on the principles of federalism."
Barr hasn't put forward a detailed health care plan yet, but has said he attributes spiraling costs to government regulation and bureaucracy and that the current health reform proposals from both parties involve too much government interaction. He says that the only way to solve this problem is by placing decision-making back into the hands of physicians.
He said during a press conference Monday that voters "want a choice" and that the govenrnment has "run amok fiscally."
We'll post more information about Barr's plans for health care as we get them. If you need more information on the other candidates, check out our candidate comparison chart.
Rebecca Noelle Bates
Guest Blogger, WebMD
Barr, who was a key player in the impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton, has distanced himself from the Republican Party in recent years, saying they are too "big government," and that decisions such as the legalization of drugs should be left up to the states.
"Of course, many of the positions that I took in the Congress and that I take now are based on the principle of federalism, which is certainly a libertarian position. It used to be a position reflective of the Republican Party but obviously is not longer a part of the Republican platform," Barr told the Village Voice in an interview on May 9. "With regard to drug usage similarly, these are issues in my view that ought to be left up to the states, based on the principles of federalism."
Barr hasn't put forward a detailed health care plan yet, but has said he attributes spiraling costs to government regulation and bureaucracy and that the current health reform proposals from both parties involve too much government interaction. He says that the only way to solve this problem is by placing decision-making back into the hands of physicians.
He said during a press conference Monday that voters "want a choice" and that the govenrnment has "run amok fiscally."
We'll post more information about Barr's plans for health care as we get them. If you need more information on the other candidates, check out our candidate comparison chart.
Rebecca Noelle Bates
Guest Blogger, WebMD
Election Home
Compare Candidates
0 Comments:
Post a Comment