Jesse Benton, Rep Ron Paul’s controversial political director
and the de facto guy in charge of the political end of the Ron Paul
operation (though never officially the “campaign manager”) has left
the position in the larger Paul machine he held between the 2008
and 2012 runs, senior vice president of the Campaign for Liberty.
(Benton also managed Rand Paul’s winning Senate campaign in 2010 in
the interim.)

Campaign for Liberty is the grassroots activism group launched
in the aftermath of the 2008 Paul run, most closely associated with
“Audit the Fed” activism.

Benton said this in his
public resignation letter to Campaign for Liberty
president, and Paul 2012’s official campaign manager, John
Tate.

After much soul searching, I have decided that my passion lies
in direct electoral politics, and I plan to work on campaigns
rather than resume my work in grassroots advocacy.

It is therefore with a heavy heart that I write to tell you that
I will not rejoin Campaign for Liberty’s staff this fall. Please
know that you, our team, Dr. Paul, and all our wonderful members
have my undying friendship and loyalty.  I am of course
happy to be a resource and friend to any and all of you, for
whatever is in my power to provide.

Benton is also married to Paul’s granddaughter Valori
Pyeatt. Ron Paul appended this to the letter:

As Jesse moves on to new opportunities, I wanted to take a
moment to thank him for his tireless efforts on behalf of our cause
these past few years.  

Jesse remains committed to building on the historic progress our
movement has made, and I wish him all the best in his future
endeavors.

I look forward to seeing the great things I know he and Valori
will accomplish together in the years to come.

Benton, in my reading of the campaign, was the leading
strategist behind the idea that it was best for the Paul machine to

normalize itself within the Republican Party, and is also known
for being eager to
segregate the campaign from the Paul grassroots’ more radical
edges. Taking that tack often earned him the enmity of many of
Paul’s more hardcore fans, especially the ones who wanted a loud
and vigorous and messy fight-to-the-death against the establishment
until the very end.

The
comment thread at this afternoon’s Daily Paul post on
his resignation is a fair representation of the sort of
vituperation regularly aimed at Benton.

I’m hearing unspecific and unsubstantiated tales that Benton
will be announcing his next political job very soon, and that the
specifics of it may further aggravate Paul hardcore fans. (Not that
there is any other political campaign around that’s as good in
libertarian terms as Paul’s.) Benton himself is not commenting
about that as of this afternoon.

The history of the Paul campaigns is told in my book
Ron
Paul’s Revolution.