Barrwatch: Wayne Allyn Rootwater?
Wayne Allyn Root, that other VP nominee who looks better every day, announces a new book that'll hit shelves in April.
The Conscience of a Libertarian… is modeled after Root's hero Barry Goldwater and Goldwater's all-time best-selling conservative book The Conscience of a Conservative.
Root said of his new book, "The Conscience of a Libertarian will honor the ideals of freedom and limited government as communicated by great political leaders such as Thomas Jefferson, Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan and, most recently, Dr. Ron Paul. My views are simple- the government that governs least, governs best. I believe the constitution is clear- power does not belong to the government, or the politicians, or the career bureaucrats, or corporate interests, or lobbyists. It belongs to the American people. The day that I take office, I vow to dramatically cut government; to dramatically lower taxes; to dramatically increase freedom; to fight to make my own political office obsolete; to make government so small, you won't even notice it's missing; and, most importantly, to give power back to the people- where it belongs."
Root said of his political future, "I want to thank great patriots and freedom-fighters like Libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr and Republican Presidential candidate Dr. Ron Paul for reinvigorating the modern- day Libertarian freedom movement. I would do anything, make any sacrifice, to move the freedom agenda forward. The media has called me "Ron Paul on steroids!" A quarter of a century from now, I'll still be younger than Ron Paul is today. That's a very good thing- the freedom movement can benefit from the unique combination of energy, passion and youthful enthusiasm that I bring to the table."
I met with Root last month and he was, as you'd guess, extremely excited about the book, and about the potential to increase his visibility for a possible run at mayor of Las Vegas. If London can elect an ideological pundit to run the trains on time, why not Sin City?
Also, Atlanta magazine profiles its favorite son. It's one of the better Barr-ologues out there. One tidbit:
Even though it doesn't seem to be resonating with voters, Barr's almost obsessive attention to the government spying issue continues unabated. Richard Viguerie, a Barr friend and longtime Republican operative, says he's urged Barr to focus less on privacy issues and more on the corruption of incumbents. "I share Bob's concerns about privacy," he says, "but it doesn't affect the voters right now; it's not where they live."
The new Zogby poll puts Barr at 3.7 percent, way out ahead of the third party pack, and with him in the race a 1.2 point Obama lead swells to 3 points.