Interesting news yesterday coming out of the Libertarian Party (LP). Former Republican Congressman Bob Barr has bolted the GOP and joined the LP as a regional representative of the National Committee of the LP. Although Barr was once a leader among congressional Republicans in Congress, pushing for, among other things, the impeachment of Bill Clinton, he appears to have moved in a much more Libertarian direction since leaving Congress. Barr is involved in BOTH the National Rifle Association AND the American Civil Liberties Union. That on its face seems quite transpartisan, a vital premise here at the Free Liberal.

At a time when the GOP is going through a major soul-searching, it's refreshing that someone of Barr's caliber has moved to the nation's largest third party. Perhaps the GOP has so hopelessly lost its way, could Barr's bolting be the beginning of something bigger?

Time will tell. Ideally, the next major figure to bolt would be a Democrat. Historically, Libertarians take positions that are both "left" and "right." So, a D figure like Barr moving to the LP would signal that the LP could be home for the politically disenfranchised. Liberty is ultimately neither left nor right, but Libertarians tend to sound like extreme right-wingers with a few left-sounding issues. Barr may add to this perception, in some ways. However, the LP does seem to be casting off its old dogmatic, way-outside-the-mainstream millstone in recent years. Some want to make the LP into a real third party, not unlike the GOP itself did in the 19th century.

-Robert Capozzi