(2001–2003)
George W. Bush in 2002 Barr sought the
Republican Party nomination for
U.S. Senate in 1992, but lost the
primary election to
Paul Coverdell. The primary was very close, with Barr losing by fewer than 1,600 votes in a
runoff election. The election became known as the "
Republican Revolution" because it resulted in the first Republican House majority in 40 years – since the 1955 adjournment of the
83rd Congress. After a
Federal Election Commission audit of his 1994 and 1996 campaigns, Barr paid a $28,000 fine for illegal campaign payments. Barr was later re-elected three times, serving from 1995 to 2003. He later explained "I don't consider politicians who smile to be worth a heck of a lot... all things considered, it doesn't make a dime's worth of difference if the politicians in Washington smile or not, what matters is how much of your hard-earned dollars they take to spend in pure pork." Barr said in 2010, "I can see a situation where the federal government is going to bring an entire suitcase of
San Francisco values to the American family, and while I would love to explain all the things that are wrong with that, the fact is that this is a corrupting, left-leaning, influence on a section of society that so many liberal elites want to see taken out of the 'red state' column. The only solution to this kind of behavior is dour and austere social conservatism, like my own."
Georgia's congressional districts were
reorganized by the Democratic-controlled
Georgia legislature ahead of the
2002 elections for the
108th Congress. As part of the legislature's effort to get more Democrats elected from the state, Barr's district was renumbered as the 11th District and made significantly more Democratic. A large slice of his base was drawn into the same district as fellow Republican
John Linder. The new district was numerically Barr's district – the 7th – but contained most of the territory from Linder's old 11th District. This move profited Democrats by leading to the inevitable defeat of an incumbent Republican (i.e., either Barr or Linder). Recognizing Barr's precarious situation, the
Libertarian Party seized on the opportunity to oust one of the federal
drug war's most vocal proponents (Barr), and ran TV ads criticizing Barr's opposition to
medical marijuana during the Republican primaries. Barr was soundly defeated by a 2-to-1 margin. Before the medical marijuana ads were aired, and Pat Gartland, southeastern director of the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, called it "too close to call". Ron Crickenberger, the Libertarian Party's political director and producer of the TV ads, was quick to warn other supporters of the
war on drugs: and
libertarian causes in general. In 2002, he was described by Bill Shipp in an OnlineAthens.com article as "the idol of the gun-toting, abortion-fighting,
IRS-hating hard
right wing of
American politics". and "
Libertarian". During the 2002 race, a supporter handed Barr an antique pistol during a fundraiser at a private home. The gun went off in Barr's hands, though no one was injured.
War on drugs Barr was originally a strong supporter of the
war on drugs, reflecting his previous experience as an Anti-Drug Coordinator for the
United States Department of Justice. The task force crafted legislation specifically designed to "win the war on drugs by 2002". – the "Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1998" – which would have legalized medical marijuana in Washington, D.C. The "Barr Amendment" to the 1999
Omnibus spending bill not only blocked implementation of Initiative 59, but also prohibited the vote tally from even being released. Nearly a year passed before a lawsuit filed by the
American Civil Liberties Union eventually revealed the initiative had received 69 percent of the vote. In response to the judge's ruling, Barr simply attached another "Barr Amendment" to the 2000 Omnibus spending bill that overturned Initiative 59 outright. The Barr Amendment also prohibited future laws that would "decrease the penalties for marijuana or other
Schedule I drugs" in Washington, D.C. This preemptively blocked future attempts by
Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) to reform marijuana laws in DC via the initiative process. Barr's response to the ruling was defiant: The federal government later prevailed on appeal, reinstating the Barr Amendment just in time to thwart MPP's initiative 63 – "The Medical Marijuana Initiative of 2002" – which had already qualified for the November 2002 ballot. In 2009, both the United States Senate and House of Representatives voted to lift the ban against a medical marijuana initiative, effectively overturning the Barr Amendment. Barr later reversed his position on medical marijuana,
joining MPP as a
lobbyist five years later. In a June 4, 2008, interview with
Stephen Colbert on the
Colbert Report, Barr confirmed that he now supports ending marijuana prohibition, as well as the war on drugs, for which he once vehemently fought. In 2009, he was hired by the MPP to lobby to overturn the amendment that he had authored, an effort which was ultimately successful.
Same-sex marriage Barr took a lead in legislative debate concerning
same-sex marriage. He wrote and sponsored the
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a law enacted in 1996 which states that only marriages that are between a man and a woman can be federally recognized, and individual states may choose not to recognize a same-sex marriage performed in another state. At the
2008 Libertarian National Convention, he apologized for the part of DOMA which prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. He now supports same-sex marriage and opposed the
Federal Marriage Amendment, having contended that it is a violation of
states' rights. Before the United States Supreme Court mandated recognition of same-sex marriage in
Obergefell v. Hodges, Barr supported the
Respect for Marriage Act, which would have repealed the Defense of Marriage Act.
Terrorism He voted for the first
USA PATRIOT Act, but only after his amendments adding "
sunset clauses" were added to the final bill. Barr played a similar role during the debate over Bill Clinton's Comprehensive Anti-Terrorism Act of 1995, crafting pro-civil liberties amendments to the original text. He now publicly regrets
War in Iraq In 2002, Barr voted for the
Iraq Resolution. He has since called for withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, leaving no permanent military bases. A press release from Barr's presidential campaign stated: "The next president should commit to a speedy and complete withdrawal from Iraq, and tell the
Iraqi people that the U.S. troops will be going home."
Religious freedom In Congress, he also proposed that
the Pentagon ban the practice of
Wicca in the military.
Economic freedom Barr advocates the repeal of the
16th Amendment, which gives the U.S. Congress the power to levy an income tax without apportionment. As an alternative, he proposes a form of
consumption tax, such as the
FairTax. He also favors drastic reductions in
government spending and the elimination of
corporate welfare. Barr has written: "The hearing was a farce: a virtual lovefest, during which members of the Clinton Administration responded to softball questions from their colleagues in the House with superficial answers, and Republican queries were ignored or glossed over with disdain, if not outright contempt." Barr called for Congress to reopen investigations, but senior House Republicans refused. In 2003 testimony submitted to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Barr wrote: "[T]here remains time to turn back the constitutional clock and roll back excessive post-9/11 powers before we turn the corner into another Japanese internment or, closer to our own experiences, before we witness a legally sanctioned Ruby Ridge or Waco scenario."
Controversies over Barr's personal conduct In the early 1990s, Barr was photographed at a fundraising event licking whipped cream off a woman. According to
The Washington Post, "Two people who observed the act say it wasn't exactly a bosom lick but more like a neckline lick, at the sort of event where business and civic leaders perform dares to raise money. 'Not exactly Mr. Effusive,' says Matt Towery, the former chairman of Newt Gingrich's political organization, who observed the brief and awkward licking. 'You can hardly get the guy to smile.
Role in Clinton impeachment Barr is best known for his role as one of the
House managers during President
Bill Clinton's
impeachment trial. In the spring of 1997, Republican, Bob Barr wrote House Committee on the Judiciary chairman
Henry Hyde, encouraging him to open an impeachment
inquiry. Hyde responded that such an action would be premature. This resolution, introduced in November 1997 did not specify any charges or allegations. Barr argued that Clinton had been "systematically operating outside the bounds" of the law. After the Lewinsky scandal broke, Barr was the first lawmaker in either chamber to call for Clinton's resignation. After the
Clinton–Lewinsky scandal came to light, Barr ramped up his efforts to push for Clinton's impeachment, appearing regularly on television, as well as even publishing a scholarly article in the
Texas Law Review on the subject. During debate on the 1998 impeachment resolution on the House floor, Barr argued that Clinton's attempt to interfere with Lewinsky's testimony in the
Paula Jones case endangered the Constitution. In doing so, Barr said, Clinton violated what Barr called a "fundamental right" of any American citizen – "the unshakable right each one of us has to walk into a courtroom and demand the righting of a wrong." In 1999, during Clinton's impeachment trial,
Hustler publisher
Larry Flynt offered money to anyone who could provide evidence about prominent Republicans who had engaged in an extramarital affair. According to the
American Journalism Review, investigators for Flynt said that Barr was "guilty of king-size hypocrisy." Flynt subsequently paid a sum of money to Barr's second wife, Gail Barr, after she had sworn an affidavit stating Barr had not dissuaded her from having an abortion, and Barr drove her to the abortion clinic for the procedure. Investigators reported that Bob Barr then "invoked a legal privilege from his 1985 divorce proceeding so he could refuse to answer questions on whether he'd cheated on his second wife with the woman who is now his third" (Jerilyn). ==Criticism of Bush Administration==