Big government frustrates Idaho, fuels Libertarian interest

MOSCOW, Idaho -- Dylon Starry, a senior at University of Idaho here, used to be a Republican, but on Nov. 4, he'll vote for Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate for president.

Barr's message of less government and more individual rights fits the self-described "recovering Republican" like a new suit. The Democrats and Republicans spend too much of the public's money, he says. "That just brings us down, and Bob Barr would curb that significantly," Starry, 22, says in a chat at a coffee shop just off campus.

Across Idaho, the Iraq war and the Wall Street bailout fuel discontent with the major parties and a renewed willingness to consider Libertarian ideas, says Rob Oates, chairman of the Idaho Libertarian Party.

Oates, a Caldwell resident, sees an opportunity for Barr, a former Georgia congressman with a higher profile than any previous Libertarian candidate, to capture 3%, 4% or even 5% of the presidential vote in Idaho. In 2004, Libertarian Party candidate Michael Badnarik won less than 1%.

"This party is going places," Starry says.

A good showing would help local Libertarian candidates and set the stage for better results at the top of the ticket in the future, Oates says.

Barr has his work cut out for him in Idaho. George W. Bush stomped John Kerry 68%-30% in 2004 and Al Gore 67%-28% in 2000. Idaho last voted for a Democrat for president in 1964, when Lyndon Johnson won the state.

"I'm a hard-core Republican," says retired steamfitter-welder Vernon West, 66, standing on the front porch of his home in northeastern Idaho's Mullan. "There's no way in good conscience I could vote for Bob Barr."

A sign in the former Marine's front yard reads, "I'm a bitter gun owner. I vote," a reference to Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's remark about some Americans who are bitter about the economy and cling to religion and guns. West is voting for Republican Sen. John McCain.

McCain improved his standing with the state's Republicans when he picked a more conservative running mate in Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, says Gary Moncrief, a political science professor at Boise State University. Palin was born in Sandpoint, Idaho, and graduated from the University of Idaho.