Shane Cory
has resigned as exectuive director of the Libertarian Party,
which issued a press release with three top LP officials praising
Cory’s service to the party.
Cory’s exit comes in wake of an internal party uproar
surrounding longtime Libertarian activist Mary Ruwart, who is
seeking the LP presidential nomination, after it was
reported that a passage in a book she wrote in 1999 appeared to
defend child pornography. This prompted Cory, who had been the
Libertarian executive director since 2005, to issue an official
LP press release clarifying that the party opposes child
pornography. Ruwart’s supporters and others in the party’s
“left-libertarian” wing responded by accusing Cory of attempting to
sabotage her presidential campaign and being a “lackey
for Bob Barr,” who is considered
Ruwart’s chief rival for the LP nomination.
One LP activist familiar with the dispute said the departure of
Cory — viewed as an ally of party pragmatists who aim to widen the
Libertarian electoral base — sets up the LP national convention
May 22-26 in Denver as a major showdown over the future
direction of the party.
Many of the party’s pragmatists are backing the “exploratory”
presidential bid by Barr, the former Georgia Republican
congressman who joined the Libertarians in 2006. The
Philadelphia Inquirer recently called Barr
“John McCain’s worst nightmare.” But as I explained in an American
Spectator article last month, before Barr can disturb any
Republican dreams in November, he’s first got to overcome
resistance from Ruwart and other stalwarts of the LP’s more radical
wing.
