Wayne Allyn Root to Head Libertarian National Congressional Committee (Corrected)

Last month, TWI examined the schism within the Libertarian Party over the rise of Wayne Allyn Root, a showy Fox News staple and recent libertarian convert who embodies the Republican-tinged libertarianism that defines so much Tea Party politics. To the consternation of many of his veteran party colleagues, Root often sounds more like a modern states-rights Republican than a philosophically pure libertarian. “Wayne is still a Republican,” one former vice chair of the LP was quoted as saying in the piece. “Whatever you want to call it. He’ll use whatever name is most fashionable.”

It now appears that Root and his allies, not his critics, are gaining ground within the party. This week it was announced that Root has been elected Chairman of the Libertarian National Congressional Committee (LNCC), the organization charged with electing Libertarian candidates to federal office.

“I’d like to see whose message truly resonates with citizens and taxpayers across the country,” Root said in a statement announcing his new position.

In addition to a Republican-style foreign policy, Root has also recently dabbled in birtherism — in May, he visited planned to travel to New York to participate in a birther-organized “CIA/Columbia/Obama Treason and Sedition Trial,” before pulling out at the last minute. The “trial” centered on the charge that the president “was a C.I.A. operative who used Columbia University as a cover to go to Pakistan in 1981 when the C.I.A. and the Mujahideen worked together against the Soviet invasion. Obama supplied arms, logistics and money using his Muslim background.”

Editor’s note: This post was corrected to reflect Root’s last-minute decision not to attend the event in New York. See here for further explanation.

Commenter knappster adds: “Actually, Root kicked out of a live ‘Obama Trial’ appearance at the last minute after receiving strongly negative feedback from within the Libertarian Party on the subject, although I’ve heard that he may have ‘testified’ via Internet video.” TWI has not verified this.