Background
Bob Barr was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1994 as part of the Republican Revolution. While in office, he was a strong proponent of the War on Drugs, called for further investigations into the Waco Siege, and authored the Defense of Marriage Act. In 1998, he was a central figure in the Lewinsky scandal investigation, being the first congressman to call for President Bill Clinton's resignation after the allegations surfaced. Near the end of his time in Congress, Barr voted in favor of the USA PATRIOT Act and the authorization for use of force against Iraq. After his congressional district was redrawn in 2002, making reelection more difficult, Barr was ousted from the House. After leaving Congress, Barr became critical of the Bush administration, specifically for the administration's use of the USA PATRIOT Act, which Barr now believed to be unconstitutional. He also worked as a privacy consultant for the American Civil Liberties Union. In 2004, he left the Republican Party and endorsed Libertarian Party nominee Michael Badnarik for president, formally joining the party in 2006.
Read more about this topic: Bob Barr Presidential Campaign, 2008
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