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Ex-congressman supports ballot reform The Journal Record Wed., Oct. 24, 2007 By Ron Jenkins, Associated Press http://www.journalrecord.com/article.cfm?recid=82946 OKLAHOMA CITY – Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia on Tuesday said excesses in the use of executive power during the Bush administration helped nudge him out of the Republican Party. Barr, now on the national Board of the Libertarian Party, said he left the GOP because he concluded it was no longer interested in protecting individual liberties and was "not going to change." The ex-congressman was in Oklahoma City to speak at a fundraiser in support of an initiative petition to make it easier for the Libertarian Party and other parties to get on the Oklahoma ballot. He was sharply critical of the Bush administration for what he called excessive use of the warrantless surveillance program and powers of the Patriot Act. Barr, considered one of Congress' most conservative members during his eight years in office, said he regretted voting for the Patriot Act. Since he was defeated for re-election in 2002, Barr has worked with the American Civil Liberties Union on some issues. While that may seem to be a strange mix, he said he and the ACLU have common ground. "That is a deep concern for individual freedom and a greater concern over the excesses, post-9/11 especially, by the government in Washington, particularly the Republican Party, to denigrate our civil liberties and to work through such things as the warrantless surveillance program, practiced by the Bush administration, and the ever-expanding use of powers of the Patriot Act." He said he decided the Libertarian Party was the best political fit for him because it believes in smaller government and protecting individual liberties. The fundraiser is in support of State Question 740, which would make easier for small political parties to get their candidates on statewide ballots. Currently, a party must obtain the signatures of registered voters equal to 5 percent of the total vote in the last gubernatorial or presidential election in order to gain ballot access in Oklahoma. The initiative petition would lower that requirement to 5,000 voters. It also would allow parties to continued to be recognized if they get 2 percent of the last general election vote, instead of the current 10-percent requirement. Redpath said the Oklahoma requirements are among the most restrictive in the nation. He said Oklahoma was one of only two states where the Libertarian Party did not have a presidential candidate in 2004. The proposed state question will go to a vote if supporters can collect 74,117 valid signatures in a 90-day period. The deadline for filing the petition is Jan. 14.