Bob Barr

At their convention over the weekend, the Libertarian Party nominated former Republican congressman Bob Barr to be its standard bearer in the 2008 presidential race. Barr is probably best known for his role in the Clinton impeachment, but in recent years has become a vocal critic of the Bush Administration from the right about the president’s war policies and the accumulation of power in the executive branch. Barr, who once voted in favor of the Patriot Act, now says that the government has accumulated too much power and restricted too many rights in the wake of 9/11, and wants to roll some things back. Barr is polling 6-7 percent in some national polls, which might put some states, like Barr’s home state of Georgia, in play.
I have to admit, when I read stuff like this on Barr’s web site, I get filled with hope:

The United States was created for the purpose of securing the liberties of its people. The colonists fled oppressive old world governments. The nation’s founders drafted the Constitution to sharply limit the federal government’s powers. The horrors perpetrated by the many collectivist tyrannies of the 20th Century demonstrate that the danger of government, any government, violating individual liberty is greater today than when America was founded.

Unfortunately, in recent years government at all levels has shown growing disrespect for the Constitution, particularly the Fourth Amendment that protects citizens from unlawful searches and seizures. The sustained government attack on the sanctity of the rights of the individual, including their right to be secure in their privacy and property, has created a moral and Constitutional crisis. America’s elected officials at all levels must renew their respect for the law and work to protect the rights of individuals.

The place to start is restoring the writ of Habeas Corpus, which protects against unlawful detention, and thus stands at the core of individual liberty. Article 1 of the Constitution provides that this right shall not be suspended without clear and necessary cause, such as during an invasion. In passing the Military Commissions Act of 2006, Congress, pushed by President George W. Bush, effectively ended this protection within America. The Constitutional protections of Habeas Corpus should not be sacrificed so easily.