Even after Bonus-Gate, these PA jerks still do NOT understand how democracy is to work

Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr Latest Target of Ballot Access Denial Efforts in Pennsylvania

Harrisburg Event Scheduled to Spotlight Republican Hypocrisy

Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania
3915 Union Deposit Road #223
Harrisburg, PA 17109
www.lppa.org
For Immediate Release: September 2, 2008
Contact: Jim Gordon (Event Organizer) at 717-652-2643 / 717-608-7366 (cell) or
Doug Leard (Media Relations) at Media-Relations@lppa.org or
Michael Robertson (Chair) at 1-800-R-RIGHTS / chair@lppa.org

Harrisburg, PA – The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania learned recently of an event planned by independent and third party activists for Friday, September 4th. It's a “Thank You” event at the Harrisburg law office of Cumberland County Republican Chairman Victor Stabile for his lawsuit contending that presidential candidate Bob Barr should be disqualified from the November ballot. This, on the heels of the Bonusgate revelations, is seen by many as the Republican Party attempting to rival the Democratic Party at limiting political choice in Pennsylvania.

Event organizer Jim Gordon offered, “We invite independent and third-party voters, candidates and supporters to demonstrate how ‘thankful’ we are that Mr. Stabile spotlighted the unconstitutional, undemocratic and unfair ballot access laws imposed on anyone not a Republican or Democrat in Pennsylvania.”

The event will happen Friday, September 5th (the same date as the Stabile vs. Barr hearing) from 7:00 to 8:00 AM at the Law Office of Dilworth Paxson LLP, 112 Market Street, Harrisburg (Graystone Bank Building). At 8:00 AM, the group will march to the state capitol. (For more information contact organizers at 717-652-2643 or 717-608-7366/cell.)

Victor Stabile of the Pennsylvania Republican Party filed the suit to have Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr removed from the Pennsylvania’s ballot. This year, LP candidates for statewide office collected 51,345 ballot access signatures. Instead of challenging those signatures, the Republican suit probes a technicality to deny Barr ballot access in Pennsylvania.

Their objection relates to the substitution of Barr as the LP Presidential nominee and it highlights the inequality of Pennsylvania's election laws. Under the Pennsylvania Election Code, the Libertarian Party is not a recognized political party, but it appears that the objector wants the Libertarian Party to be further penalized for not being a recognized political party. If so, this objection could be a thinly veiled attempt to remove a political rival from the ballot, thus subverting the electoral process.

Media Relations Chair, Doug Leard, indicated that “in addition to highlighting Pennsylvania’s draconian ballot access laws, this lawsuit demonstrates the hypocrisy at the top of the Republican ticket.” In the 2000 election, John McCain promised that he would “never consider, ever consider, allowing a supporter of [his] to challenge [his opponent’s] right to be on the ballot in all 50 states.”

LP Presidential candidate, Bob Barr, represented the 7th District of Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003, serving 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. He now practices law with the Law Offices of Edwin Marger and runs a consulting firm, Liberty Strategies LLC, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with offices in the Washington, D.C. area. Barr works tirelessly to help preserve our fundamental right to privacy and our other civil liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.

The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in Pennsylvania and the United States. More than 200,000 people across the country are registered Libertarians, and Libertarians serve in hundreds of elected offices. Please visit www.LP.org or www.LPPA.org for more information.