DENVER — “The Libertarian Party — Not For Sale!” declares a
flyer being distributed here by the LP Radical Caucus. The charge
is that former Rep. Bob Barr’s presidential campaign is part of a
takeover plot by Barr’s campaign manager Russ Verney and longtime
conservative fundraiser Richard Viguerie.
The accusation that Barr and others are attempting to “hijack”
the party is one of the many intrigues surrounding the Libertarian
convention that began here Thursday. With 14 declared presidential
candidates and more than 1,000 delegates — none of them officially
pledged to any candidate — there is plenty of opportunity for
suspicion.
Barr’s candidacy has generated an intense level of media
interest in this year’s convention at the Denver Sheraton, though
the Washington press corps seems not to comprehend the difficulties
Barr faces to win this slippery fish of a nomination. Verney
earlier this week called Barr the LP’s “underdog.”
Many reporter leapt to the conclusion that the nomination was
Barr’s for the asking and began speculating about whether the
ex-Republican would be a “spoiler” for Republican Sen. John McCain.
An ABC News article Thursday described Barr as “the likely
Libertarian choice,” but many of the delegates here at the Sheraton
Hotel are skeptical of Barr’s likelihood.
“He’s not a shoo-in by any means,” said Scott Mallek, a
Minnesota delegate, who is “leaning toward” LP presidential
candidate Mary Ruwart.
RUWART IS THE focus of one of the controversies surrounding this
week’s convention, with good reason.
Last month, an anonymous contributor to ThirdPartyWatch.com
posted excerpts of a 1999 book by Ruwart in which she wrote,
“Children who willingly participate in sexual acts have the right
to make that decision,” and suggested that laws against child
pornography only increased “incentives for parents to use children
against their will.”
Earlier this month, LP Executive Director Shane Cory resigned
after a dispute with party leaders over whether Libertarians should
condemn Ruwart’s statement. Since then, Cory has been hired by
Viguerie, who also purchased ThirdPartyWatch.com. Both Cory and
Viguerie are seen as allies of Barr, and the party’s Radical Caucus
presents this all as part of an insidious, organized plan.
“Barr and Viguerie are attempting to gain control of the LP so
that Barr can campaign on a hybrid conservative/libertarian
platform,” the caucus flyer warns. “If successful, the Libertarian
Party will become just one more mouthpiece for malcontent
Republicans.” It urged delegates to support either Ruwart or
California pro-marijuana activist Steve Kubby on the first ballot
of Sunday’s presidential vote, to save the party from certain
Republicanization.
They obviously didn’t let the details get in the way of a good
story. ThirdPartyWatch.com had been owned by Stephen Gordon, who
served as both communications director and political director for
the national Libertarian Party. He dismissed complaints about the
sale of the site. “Basically, we have Libertarians complaining
about selling private property…what in any other party would be
considered the normal business of politics,” Gordon said
Thursday.
Gordon is now a Barr senior campaign advisor. He protested that
“Viguerie is not ‘officially’ involved in the Barr campaign.” LP
delegates with conspiratorial appetites, however, might have noted
the presence of Viguerie in the lobby of the Sheraton Thursday
night, where he was spotted speaking with known Barr
supporters.
SEVERAL CONVENTION delegates say they sympathize with Ruwart, a
longtime LP activist.
“I was disgusted by the smear,” said Glenn Nielsen, chair of the
Missouri LP and a Ruwart supporter. “I think the party needs to
show her our support, for all she’s done for the party.”
Illinois delegate Ken Groeling is supporting Michael Jingozian
for the presidential nomination, but said he wasn’t troubled by
Ruwart’s statement. “For what she wrote, she’s right….Underage
kids are going to have sex,” said Groeling, adding that he could
see how “talking heads” on TV news would misconstrue her argument
against criminal sanctions for child pornography.
Groeling has been active with the LP since 1988. He shrugged off
the conspiracies and rumors with a, “We get that all the time.”
Another thing that the party gets all the time is horrific
platform fights. Today votes are expected on several motions
regarding the party platform and bylaws. Those votes should “give
us a good indication” of the relative strength of Barr and his
opponents, said one Barr supporter.
One cause favored by the LP radicals is the so-called “Restore
‘04” agenda to change the party’s platform back to the detailed
14,000-word treatise that was scrapped at the 2006 Libertarian
convention in Portland, Ore. The revised platform is a spare 5,000
words.
The radicals hope to get a vote to revert to the earlier
platform, which among much else contained a plank condemning “all
international attempts to prevent or limit private exploration,
industrialization, and colonization of the moon, planets,
asteroids.” Talk about aiming high.
