Dear Libertarian National Committee members,
I recently visited the website of the Libertarian National Campaign Committee (formerly the Libertarian National Congressional Committee?), LNCC.org, and was troubled by what appears there. Several pages on this site read like promotional puff pieces for Wayne Allyn Root, who is described as a "Reagan Libertarian" and "the face and voice of Libertarian-conservative politics in the mainstream national media" in a lengthy bio touting his acumen as a prognosticator, among other things.
Other materials make it sound like the Libertarian Party is a conservative party. There is lots of focus on economics and only passing mention of civil liberties. No mention at all of the War on Drugs, "PATRIOT" Act, or "War on Terror" abuses, that I could see. While the party's non-interventionist stance is noted, someone reading that section could get the impression that extra-national military intervention is okay with the LP so long as it's done for the purpose of protecting "national interests" and not spreading democracy or getting involved in nation-building. Two current Democrats (Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi) and only one past Republican not seen as a conservative by most conservative Republicans anyway (George W. Bush) are depicted as politicians to oppose. Under the heading "Libertarian Issues" we find things like a national sales tax and a section on "Tea Party Libertarians".
Wayne Allyn Root should not be allowed to distort what our party stands for and use a national LP website as his own personal promotional vehicle. Does the LNCC have any effective oversight from the LNC, or is it essentially Root's private fiefdom? What is the term of office for LNCC chair, anyway? Is the contact info being collected from visitors to this site being shared with the rest of the party?
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
At-Large Representative, Libertarian Party of California Executive Committee*
*for informational purposes only