"Libertarians Betrayed" - by Richard Viguerie?

As has been reported elsewhere, the interactive and always interesting blog Third Party Watch has been purchased by Richard Viguerie. For those who don't know the name, Viguerie is the direct-mail guru of Reagan conservatism, and one of the most important figures in the history of that movement. Mr. Viguerie is not known as an intellectual powerhouse, and has admitted as much himself, but he has been an effective fundraiser and organizer for years. His other major website, Conservative Headquarters, is linked on our blogroll.

While I cannot say anything unpleasant about Mr. Viguerie the man, his purchase of Third Party Watch comes at a curious time. It turns out that Viguerie is a primary fundraiser for the candidacy of Bob Barr who is seeking the Libertarian Presidential nomination. As LP co-founder David Nolan notes here, Viguerie has been involved in attempts to takeover existing third parties before as a way of pushing his agenda. Third Party Watch was one of the most open and lively discussion venues on the net for coverage of the LP, but Viguerie's purchase of the site should raise serious questions about its impartiality down the road.

Meanwhile several folks previously affiliated with Third Party Watch have started their own site, Independent Political Report. Obviously IPR is an upstart site, but the format is very similar to TPW's and we have added it to our blogroll.

The LP convention is going on as we speak, and I expect something of a fire fight. It is entirely possible that the controversial tactics utilized by the Barr campaign will become an issue with delegates. To add fuel to this potentially catastrophic inferno, the overtly non-libertarian Richard Viguerie will be giving the keynote address.

A friend of mine this week advised me to "lay off" Bob Barr for the time being, arguing that his recent toe-to-toe exchange with Neal Boortz over foreign policy could be a good sign of Barr "coming around". I hope this proves to be true, but the apparent coup attempt taking place within the LP by Barr loyalists is troubling and ought not be ignored.