Barr vs. Linder: A matter of more than style
June 12, 2002

Georgia’s fiery Republican Rep. Bob Barr (Ga.) has never been particularly popular among his Democratic colleagues. He was, after all, the first member of Congress to call for former President Clinton’s impeachment and has never cut his opponents much slack on issues that concern him.

What’s more, the man’s ubiquitous. He fights for his beliefs in committee, on the House floor and in the media. As a result, he’s been a target ever since his 1994 arrival in town and this time they believe they may be able to get him.

Oh, they know he won’t be taken out in a general election. They’ve tried that and failed, but now they’re banking on getting his fellow Republicans to do him in for them. The Democrats had a field day redistricting Georgia and one of the benefits of their ultimate scheme was throwing Barr into a newly created district with fellow Republican Rep. John Linder. They’re hoping that Linder can beat him in the GOP primary.

It’s not that they like Linder all that much. His voting record differs so little from Barr’s that the two men stipulated at a recent debate — or “joint appearance” as they call such things these days — that they agree on just about everything. It’s just that the Democrats simply cannot stand Barr.

During that appearance the two combatants suggested that since they do agree on just about everything (The American Conservative Union rates Barr at 100 percent and Linder at 96 percent) voters might want to make their selection based upon which man’s “style” they find most appealing.

Linder, an old-style conservative who gained at least a smidgen of notoriety toiling as then-Speaker Newt Gingrich’s handpicked man at the National Republican Congressional Committee or NRCC, hasn’t been heard from since Newt left the House. He’s what conservative activists sometimes refer to as “House-broken.”

He is, in short, relatively uncontroversial if only because he doesn’t get up in the morning ready to go to war for his beliefs or much of anything else. The House is largely made up of folks just like him … good men and women on both sides of the aisle who go to work in the morning, do their job and rarely make waves. Most of them get reelected and, to be perfectly honest, Congress couldn’t function without them.

Indeed, a Congress filled with Bob Barrs would be both difficult to picture and hard to manage. Imagine 435 men and women brimming with ideas, unwilling to compromise on matters of principle, and ready to take on all comers in the fight for what they see as right. It might be fun to watch, but probably wouldn’t produce much.

But a Congress without a few Bob Barrs would be even worse. It would be easy to manage but incredibly boring.

The question is whether the voters of Georgia’s new 7th Congressional District will recognize this or whether they’ll opt for a candidate who’ll vote right and let others carry the fight. The numbers favor Linder since much of the new district includes voters who have supported him in the past, but primary voters are a fiery bunch and may just decide to opt for a fighter. At least that’s what Barr is hoping because one suspects he wouldn’t change his approach to what he does even if he could.

Poll data from the district suggests the Republicans who will make this choice on August 20th like both men. As a result the primary will be close and the winner will be the candidate who can inspire and motivate his supporters.

Barr and Linder suggest their differences are largely stylistic. That’s only partially true because their stylistic differences go to their relative willingness to take risks on behalf of their beliefs and their overall influence. Bob Barr is an innovator and a leader. He’s considered partisan by those who don’t like him, but he’s fought for privacy and individual rights alongside folks like Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) to reform our civil forfeiture laws and the American Civil Liberties Union in warning about the future dangers lurking in our nation’s response to Osama bin Laden and his buddies.

He’s raised important questions that a Congress without a few Bob Barrs might never even consider. In fact, I believe that a Congress without him would be poorer for his absence and I hope his constituents agree.

---

David Keene is chairman of the American Conservative Union and a Washington-based government affairs consultant