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SMYRNA - Americans' civil liberties as established in the Bill of Rights are seriously in danger, says Bob Barr. So much so, he says, that it prompted the Smyrna resident and former member of Congress to consider a bid for president as a Libertarian.

"There is one set of issues that ought to be discussed during a presidential campaign - the Bill of Rights, what are our liberties, what are our freedoms and how can we protect these liberties," Barr said in an interview Monday at his office for his consulting firm, Liberty Strategies, near the Cobb Galleria. "I'm interested in working to begin dismantling the status quo because it stifles risk, it stifles free enterprise, it stifles individual liberties and it increases the size of government," Barr said.

"Every dollar the government spends is one dollar less that the people have; every power the federal government exercises is less power and freedom individuals have," he said.

On April 5, Barr, a former U.S. Attorney and CIA official, announced at the Heartland Libertarian Conference in Kansas City, Mo., that he had launched a presidential exploratory committee. That allows him to raise money and test the waters of support without officially declaring his candidacy.

In 1994, Barr was first elected to Congress, representing Georgia's 7th District, as a Republican. He served four terms and was among the most conservative members of the House, supporting and sponsoring the 1996 Defense of Marriage act, for one. He lost the primary in 2002.

In 2006, he left the Grand Old Party for the Libertarians.

"The Republican party has made, if not a 180 degree turn, a 179 degree turn from the principles that attracted me and kept me as a member for so many years," he said. "Why spend more of my time with a party whose views have shifted so dramatically and that we had nothing in common?"

Lessening government's size and power no longer seems to be a key issue for the Republican party, Barr said. He acknowledges some votes he cast as a member of Congress - namely in support of the Patriot Act and No Child Left Behind - added to the size of the federal bureaucracy.

At the time, he said, No Child sounded like "a fresh approach to get the government out of education." It has instead done the opposite, he said. His vote for the Patriot Act is among the worst he ever cast, he said, because the Bush administration has not regularly reported on its use of the powers.

The rights and liberties lost in those laws, he said, are key to making him a Libertarian today.

But some political watchers across the county have said a Barr campaign would likely only benefit Democrats in November, by drawing voters away from the Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

McCain's local supporters, though, say they aren't worried.

John Sours, a lawyer who lives in Smyrna, is on the Georgia steering committee for McCain.

"The McCain campaign is focused on winning the presidency," Sours said. That focus "will remain the same no matter who else runs or doesn't run."

Barr, though, said voters across the spectrum, from independents and conservatives who would not vote for McCain to liberals who care about civil liberties, would support him.

"I think this notion that Bob Barr would spoil anyone's race is preemptory sour apples," he said, and an excuse for the losing candidate.

Barr's exploratory committee reports it has raised $25,000 and Barr said he has not decided yet whether to officially enter the race.

About 1,000 Libertarian delegates will name their candidate at the party's national convention in Denver May 22 to May 26. At least three other candidates are seeking the party's bid.

Ballot access is also an issue for third-party candidates, and Barr said federal and state laws have made that difficult. But the Libertarian presidential candidate appeared on ballots in 48 states in 2004, he said, and expects to again be on at least that many.

Ultimately, Barr said, every American is Libertarian to some degree, whether it's how they educate their children, what they do in their homes, or how they run their business.

"Everyone has something we wish to keep private," he said.

ahungerford@mdjonline.com

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