Al Barger for US Senate

There are those who talk about politics – as most of us do here – and then there are those who demonstrate a level of commitment far beyond rhetoric, take the leap and actually participate in the bruising scrum that is the American political system.

Our own Al Barger is the Libertarian candidate for the U.S. Senate from the great state of Indiana. Al and I disagree on a fair number of issues, including vital ones like the standing of Elvis Costello in popular music history, the advisability of a strong national government, and the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, but I also know Al to be a man of intelligence, integrity, openness and curiosity, and humor.

Final Barger for Senate TV ads
In the end, I managed to squeeze my modest budget to get ads on a dozen networks

Brookville Democrat profile
“It’s pretty unlikely that I could actually beat Evan Bayh and be the next senator. Jesus of Nazareth couldn’t cause Evan Bayh to lose unless He called down 10,000 angels.”

Download a Barger for Senate brochure
I think that blue copies of this flyer would particularly rock. You could tell people that I’ve been preaching agin the government till I’m blue in the face.

Free the airwaves
Supposedly, “the people” own the airwaves of America. In practice, this arbitrary commie nonsense actually means that the GOVERNMENT…

Al’s Campaign Notebook: Statehouse I-69 “Boondoggle” protest rally, October 22
Shave the animals!

Al’s Campaign Notebook: Abdul in the Morning on WXNT, October 22
I had a good old time chatting with Abdul in the Morning on Indianapolis talk radio WXNT.

Indianapolis Star 2004 candidate endorsements
They acknowledged me and addressed my top issue. Then we let the voters take it from there.

Jim DeMint recognizes a separation of powers
I’m just happy for the rare sight of a candidate recognizing that there are problems and issues in the land which are not the province of the US Congress.

Barger Gets Hat Tip From Indy Star
Fellow Blogcritic Al Barger’s US Senate campaign was not endorsed, but was given approving words by a paper’s Editorial Board.

Literal stump speeches in WV
Rand save a sentimental schmuck from the holler such as me, but I just LOVE stuff like this little story….

Indianapolis Star endorses Bayh
Republican Marvin Scott and Libertarian Al Barger, while waging respectable campaigns, have not made the case for unseating him.

Leland Franklin WHBU interview
In theory, this was a call-in show, but between my Very Important Insights, we only actually got to one call

A joint news release from Indiana US Senate candidates Al Barger and Marvin Scott
“Al Barger and I have released our schedules so we can decide a date beneficial to all candidates,” said Marvin Scott.

Al’s addendum to Barger-Scott press release
If Evan’s afraid to have a simple debate with a poli sci professor from Butler and a blogger from the holler, then how’s he going to stand up to Iranian mullahs or Kim Jung Il?

Al Doing It Right
You don’t have to agree with a single one of his policy positions to see that he is doing it right, fighting the good fight – in fact, living out a key element of the American Dream

WFIE-Ben Jackey, Evansville October 12
I appeared live on the midday newscast with reporter Ben Jackey from 11:45 am till noon. Turned out to be a call-in show

“The Candidate Show” on Indianapolis Comcast cable
Comcast cable has a special public service election special called “The Candidate Show” which offered time for a direct appeal…

A great day for Afghanistan
After all the laborious and bloody birth pangs of war, this is like watching baby take his first steps.

Al premieres Social Security tv ad
Download the ad. Read the script, and the follow-up

The U.S. Senate race: Where they stand
Three candidates vying to represent Indiana in the U.S. Senate answer questions posed by The Star Editorial Board on important issues before Congress.
CARTOON AL The illustration from the print edition of this story on the front of the Focus section, 10-3-2004

Barger for Senate LIVE on WDSO
Heads up! I’ll be taking my campaign to the airwaves of Chesterton, Indiana on local station WDSO.

Al’s Campaign Notebook: Brookville Meet the Candidate’s night, 9-30-2004
Franklin County Democrat women get extra points for their restraint in not rising to my bait as I teased them about ‘Teresa Heinz’ butler’s cookie recipe.’

Laurel’s Barger runs for Senate
“I turned 18 just in time to vote in 1980,” he said. “Before I had met another Libertarian, I was getting Ed Clark (Libertarian candidate for president) literature in the mail and taking it door-to-door in Laurel. It just immediately made sense.”

What is a “libertarian?”
One basic core principle of libertarian thought is that groups don’t have rights.

Al’s Campaign Notebook: Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce HobNob, September 23
The Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce HobNob is THE meet and greet event of the Indiana electoral season.

Rescue American Jobs survey – Revise and extend
I knew it wouldn’t likely win me any points with this group when I answered, for example, “I’m 100% in favor of outsourcing.” That up-in-your-grill response felt good, though.

End of the assault weapons ban
Senator Bayh probably really thinks in his heart that this ban was a good thing, but Bush absolutely knows better. He’s simply whoring for “moderate” votes.

The Democrat National Committee is absolutely right
It tickled me to have a good reason to give a column a title like this. It doesn’t happen every day.

Al’s Campaign Notebook: Libertarian Party cookout, Bloomington, 9-12-2004
All in all, we had lots of good food, met a few new voters and got to compare notes midway through the campaign.

Al’s Campaign Notebook: New Palestine Lions Club Fair, September 11
I spent the afternoon of September 11 campaigning amongst the Palestinians.

Debate Challenge to Senator Evan Bayh
Now, I know that Senator Bayh is a busy man, a big important senator. However, he has no responsibility more pressing than coming home to face his opponents and explain to our constituents why he should be given another term in this critical position.

Al’s Campaign Notebook: “It’s Politics!” on WKWH, 8-16-2004
This local Democrat was reasonable and balanced as a human being. He exhibited no signs of foaming at the mouth in rabid hatred of the president. In short, he seemed like the nice, friendly Hoosier he no doubt is.

Copyright law as corporate welfare
Copyrights are restrictions on everyone else’s freedom in thousands of ways in the name of ONE person or company. Information wants to be free. It’s natural that it flows and mingles and gets put back and forward in different forms.

“Social Security,” the ultimate ripoff pyramid scheme
By rights, every damned member of Congress -Republican and Democrat- should be doing a perp walk in front of the cameras on their way to penitentiaries for the financial fraud of Social Security – let alone anything else they’re doing.

Dumbest campaign ad this year
I’m sure President Kerry would appoint a commission, draft some reports and recommendations, and pass a new Medical Paperwork Reduction Act. Then doctors and insurance companies can each add on a new office worker to ensure compliance with the MPRA.

Al’s Campaign Notebook: Ready for Correction in Northeast Indy, August 8
It’s always nice when people write me notes telling me how right I am. But heck, I already knew that. I don’t learn anything that way. Show me something where I’m wrong, or I’ve missed an important fact or consideration. You might actually learn me something.

Campaigning begins at home
Getting back to basics is generally a good idea, and explaining the federal government to ten year olds makes a good opportunity to do just that. So I tried to give them a basic five minute version of what the US government is supposed to be.

Just say no to an Indy light rail boondoggle
They’re supposedly looking at spending $850 million to build something that might reduce traffic congestion on I-69 by maybe as much as 2%. That 2% is probably optimistic, and of course to get to the real price your best guess would be to drop another zero in there.

Al’s Campaign Notebook: Clark County fair, July 30
As I explained it to one young working woman, that money she paid out in FICA taxes even just now in June is all gone. What did they do with it? It doesn’t matter. They may as well have spent it on crack, and smoked it up, cause the money’s just as gone as if they had.

Hey, there are guns in my alphabet soup!
We’ve got a whole vat of alphabet soup, the FEC, FCC, BATF, IRS, SEC and who even KNOWS how many others? How many of them get to carry firearms, and enforce unilaterally whatever edicts they like? Who is even to be held responsible?

Al’s campaign notebook: Hamilton County Fair, July 24
I was, as Chuck Berry would say, “campaign shoutin’ like a Southern diplomat” all night.

Why do they hate us?
An obvious key question in this is why do they hate us? The answers to this question are important in formulating our responses. Can we soothe their anger? Is there some way to make nice? Do we just have to lay waste to some people and blast them into submission?

My strange love for John Ashcroft
You could consider it a mitigating factor that he merely seized the building, rather than burning it down with the congregants inside. I suppose that constitutes an improvement over the previous AG.

Al’s campaign notebook: Tippecanoe County fair, July 23
Not wanting to get beat up by a woman in public, I held my tongue about the president.

Please count my vote
They simply did not INTEND to count my vote – unless I voted for one of those few and highly unappealing names the state already had picked out for me.

My hawkish libertarian apostasy
It is more important to me to make the best interpretation based on observed facts on the ground in a particular situation rather than having the Correct Libertarian Response.

I survived Bloomington
I eventually figured out that there was a tornado sighting on the south side of Bloomington during this time, and one poor soul got killed in it somewhere around Columbus. Further, when I got there, I was driving around the block looking for parking – only to encounter a big ol’ tree uprooted and laying across the street.

Senate Suicide Sob Sisters
Thus is the ugly, sickly sweet indulgence of pity cast as more valuable than the life work of hundreds, or thousands of people.

Nader needs help in Indiana
I urge all Indiana voters to immediately contact Nader’s people, and arrange to sign his ballot access petition.

Moore reasons to abolish the FEC
All three branches of the federal government have colluded in the rape of the First Amendment that is McCain-Feingold’s BiCRA. Here comes the fruit of their labor

Come on in, the water’s fine
You want to rant yourself blue in the face about how Dubya is the devil, and the government doesn’t steal near enough of our money in taxes? People in general and Al Barger in particular will take you much more seriously if you’ve got the SACK to put your name on the ballot when you say it.

President Reagan – A spiritual leader passes
From the top, Reagan masterfully projected his vision that America is good and strong and moral- the shining city on the hill. Introspection and self-doubt are important things- in moderation- but you can’t live on that stuff.

Al Barger – Candidate for the U.S. Senate From the Great State of Indiana
Though some might characterize Al’s campaign – under the banner of a “third” party against a hugely popular incumbent – as quixotic or as a form of performance art, he sees his highest duty as educating and informing the public as to the American Constitution and how far the political establishment of the nation has deviated from its most fundamental document.