Founded in 1991, the Republican Liberty Caucus works to advance the principles of limited government, free markets and individual liberty within the Republican Party.

In a June 26 article in the Wall Street Journal, Amy Schatz writes about how liberal bloggers have joined Ron Paul supporters in opposition to FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Earlier this month, the Republican Liberty Caucus joined a bipartisan collection of organizations and individuals to oppose FISA. The letter we signed on to states, in part, that the most important reasons to oppose the bill include:

- The bill would authorize massive warrantless surveillance;
- The bill would require no individualized warrant even when an American’s communications clearly are of interest to the government;
- The bill would curtail effective judicial review of surveillance
- The bill would grant retroactive immunity for wrongdoing; and
- The bill would not provide a reasonable sunset

Trevor Lyman, known for his “money bombs” on behalf of Ron Paul, is planning a “money bomb” in August to stop FISA. According to Schatz, the money Lyman raises will most likely be used to fund advertisements against Democratic and Republican lawmakers who supported the warrantless wiretapping legislation.

According to AlterNet, it was the public’s outcry against the bill that caused the Senate to postpone its FISA vote. Over 13,000 calls were made to Senators in the 48 hours before the vote was supposed to occur. An additional 26,000 e-mails were sent to members of Congress. Senators Dodd, Feingold, and Obama mounted a filibuster to delay the vote.

The delay will now allow members of the RLC and other allied groups to lobby the Senate over the July 4th break, according to Matt Holland of TrueMajority.org. “Essential liberty and defending America from those who would do her harm are not mutually exclusive goals,” Holland said. “Congress needs to hear that message. And it will — thanks to the leadership of Senators Dodd and Feingold and the tens of thousands of everyday citizens who believe that we should take our Constitution seriously,” he concluded.

Please write your Senator and ask him or her to vote NO on FISA.