In November, the Republican Liberty Caucus helped elect five new State Representatives to the Montana House. The new legislators will join sitting libertarian Republicans in the legislature and are forming a strong coalition for limited government in the Montana House. According to newly elected State Rep. Mike Miller (R-Helmville) says the libertarian-conservative coalition in the Montana House have big plans for the coming year. According to Miller,

“My current goal is to get more money into the hands of the people and less in the state coffers. I have two bills in to do that: (1) a tax credit of up to $100 for anyone that purchases Long Term Care insurance and (2) to make necessary health care expenses a tax credit at the lower income levels (limit $1k), phasing into a tax deduction at the higher income levels. Anything I can do to reduce the size of government and the amount of government intrusion into our personal lives is high on my list of priorities.

The House is split 50/50 so the Speaker is of the same party as the governor – Democrat. Also of note is that four-term State Rep. and RLC ally Scott Mendenhall of Helena has been elevated to the Number Two post in the House GOP Caucus.

State Rep. Mike Miller was endorsed by the RLC
and pledges to work for limited government.

(Hat tip to the blog libertarian Republican for information.)

On Friday, December 19, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Maryland had its first formal meeting. According to Matthew Gagnon, chapter Co-Coordinator, “We had a GREAT meeting. About 35 or so people showed up, and I actually have money from several of them to sign up for the RLC.”

Gagnon said the Maryland RLC is making progress: many former Congressional candidates were in attendance (including RLC endorsed candidates Collins Bailey, Rich Matthews, and Mike Hargadon) and two elected State Delegates attended, including the featured speaker, Del. Joe Boteler. “We did nominations for officers, discussed what was required of chartering, what the purpose of the state level RLC is going to be, and so on,” said Gagnon.

The Maryland RLC has set a new meeting date for January in Annapolis, during which time chartering, by-laws, officers, and more will be discussed.

Photos from the event are provided below. Thanks to Matt Gagnon for his tremendous efforts.  Without Matt’s leadership, this meeting would not have occurred.

Maryland RLC’ers discussing issues.

Maryland RLC’ers taking notes.

Former Congressional candidates Mike Hargadon and Collins Bailey.

Matthew Gagnon and former Congressional candidate Richard Matthews.

Group photo.

On Dec. 18, a unanimous 10th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down as unconstitutional Oklahoma’s law that bans non-residents from circulating petitions to place proposals on the ballot in that state.

The ruling is another vindication for Paul Jacob – a friend of the RLC who spoke at its 2006 national convention in Orlando — and the rest of the Oklahoma 3 who are facing felony prosecution under the law.

“It appears the Oklahoma 3 received an early Christmas present and [Attorney General Drew] Edmondson got his well-deserved chunk of coal,” said Oklahoma State Sen. Randy Brogdon.

In 1998, Sen. Sam Brownback — an advocate of term limits — put pen to paper and pledged to serve only two full terms in the U.S. Senate and then step aside to permit another Kansan to take the seat. On Thursday, he officially announced his intention to honor his pledge.

In a perfect world, this would be an unremarkable event: A politician makes an unambiguous promise and then keeps it. But in our world, where politicians face enormous temptations and pressure to distance themselves from such promises, this simple act of integrity is worthy of special note.

Last Thursday, Florida RLCer Philip Blumel, president of the Virginia-based U.S, Term Limits, joined the senator in a tour across Eastern Kansas to assist in making the announcement. Together they held joint press conferences in Olathe, Topeka and Wichita and gave several interviews with the media, including the Topeka News Journal and Kansas City Star.

Sen. Brownback first took the seat in 1996, in a special election to fill out then-Sen. Bob Dole’s term when Dole ran for president. Since then, Sen. Brownback won his two subsequent elections with increasing margins and he continues to enjoy high approval ratings today. And yet, at 52 — a relative babe in the Senate where the average age exceeds 60 — he is retiring from the senate to start a new chapter of his life.

In doing this, Sen. Brownback joins an elite crowd of politicians who have signed the U.S. Term Limits pledge and then kept their word. Sen. Jim DeMint, Sen. Tom Coburn and South Carolina Mark Sanford are all pledge honorers who moved on to other offices.

Many other politicians have reneged on their promises. Tough luck for them: while several pledge breakers have continued to retain their current seats, none have ever won higher office. “As fellow Kansans know, your word is your bond,” Sen. Brownback said. “If a man breaks his word, it breaks the man.”

The California and Nebraska affiliates of the RLC have rolled out their new web sites. Log on and view the new sites:

California RLC

Nebraska RLC

The Republican Liberty Caucus is proud that one of our members, Mark Cross, is running for State Chair of the Republican Party of Florida.

Best of luck, Mark! To learn more about Mark’s campaign, click here.

(Note: Unfortunately Mr. Cross dropped out of this race at the Convention.)

December 12, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: William Westmiller, (805) 493-4332

Liberty Caucus: Auto maker Bailout Rewards those Responsible for Financial Collapse, Penalizes all Americans

Thousand Oaks, CA — A national caucus of Republican activists is urging members of Congress to oppose the Big Three automakers bailout of a corrupt financial regulatory system. “This proposal is a government takeover of yet more of the already stifled U.S. economy,” said Republican Liberty Caucus Chairman William Westmiller, “and when and where will the bailouts stop?” he asked.

“For decades, auto makers have been forced to comply with arbitrary congressional dictates that are not supported by consumers,” said Michigan RLC Chairman and National Board member Dan Sheill. “The solution is to cut regulations, not to give taxpayer dollars for the continuation of poor government mandates. The auto industry doesn’t need a dictatorial ‘czar’ to run their businesses,” said Sheill, “but the industry needs the freedom to respond to consumer demands for safe, efficient, and inexpensive transportation.”

The Caucus [www.RLC.org] opposes any taxpayer payoff to rescue those who made bad investments in any sector of the economy. “This plan violates basic principles of honest business practices and free-market capitalism by transferring money from taxpayers directly to three failed automakers,” said Westmiller. “Individuals and firms can only be held to account if they are allowed to both succeed and profit, to sustain losses and sometimes even fail.”

The Republican Liberty Caucus favors clear legislation protecting individuals against fraud, misrepresentation, and theft. It opposes any law that benefits one class of Americans at the expense of another, including any form of financial guarantee or subsidy that rewards failure or encourages foolish investments.

The RLC applauds the stamina and fortitude of multiple Republican members of Congress who have opposed any corporate bailout, expansions of government fiscal20power, new burdens on taxpayers, or any further assaults on the value of the dollar through inflation. “Those Republicans voting for this package and other similar bailouts need to pause, reflect, and ask themselves to reexamine their core beliefs,” said Westmiller. “If these Congressional ‘leaders’ don’t change their willingness to spend away Americans’ savings, they are simply going to be voted out of office,” he warned.

The Republican Liberty Caucus is a political membership organization working within the Republican Party in support of individual rights, limited government, and free enterprise. The Caucus has members in all 50 states and 20 chartered state chapters. The RLC has urged all of its members to communicate to their representatives in Congress their total opposition to any auto maker bailout.

- 30 -

References:

RLC Statement of Principles and Positions:

“We oppose all restrictions on the voluntary and honest exchange of value in a free market … We oppose all legislation that concedes Congressional power to any regulatory agency, executive department, or international body. We support the phase out of any government subsidies and incentives that support or favor any business or special interest … We favor the privatization of all government assets an a transition to free market management and services for all programs that exceed the enumerated powers of the Constitution.”

The U.S. Senate stood up for the American people yesterday, voting to reject the House-approved bailout plan. Google provides a Roll Call tally. No big surprises, but “fiscal conservative” Liddy Dole voted for the bailout, along with nine other “Republicans.” Kudos to Democrats Blanche Lincoln, Max Baucus, and Jon Tester for voting against their party establishment.

Two members of Congress have proposed sound bailout alternatives.

First, regarding the Wall Street bailout already approved by Congress: Representative Louis Gohmert of Texas has proposed returning all 2008 income taxes to American taxpayers as a solution to boost the ailing economy, as he believes taxpayers, rather than the government, should be using their hard-earned money to choose the economy’s winners and losers. Gohmert is preparing a bill to declare the tax holiday for January and February of 2009. According to Gohmert, “We can save more home mortgages, increase employment, and boost economic growth for a lower price tag with this plan than with any centralized bureaucratic program, all by giving the power back to the taxpayers. I am demanding that not another penny goes to executive bailouts, but these billions of taxpayer dollars should go to the taxpayers who earned them.”

According to American Solutions, citizens pay $101.6 billion per month in personal income tax and $65.6 billion per month in FICA tax. Under Gohmert’s proposed plan, all of these taxes would not be paid during January and February of 2009, and the money would stay in the hands of American taxpayers. There is a petition you can sign in support of the Gohmert plan at https://redstate.kimbia.com/taxholiday.

Additionally, Colorado Congressman Doug Lamborn has proposed an alternative to the soon to be approved Big Three automakers bailout. The bill, HR 7928, would provide incentives for people to buy cars and reduce the inventory. Lamborn’s plan would give up to a $10,000 tax deduction to each American who buys a new automobile manufactured in the United States — including Ford, Chrysler, GM and foreign auto companies that build cars in this country. The plan would also help small businesses by increasing expense limits from $250,000 to $500,000 with a phase-out cap of $1 million.

In short, there are sound alternatives to Bailout politics, but few Congressional members are willing to look toward alternatives that provide long-term solutions rather than short-term quick fixes.

FreedomWorks has made it simple for you to contact your members of Congress in opposition to the auto bailout.

Click here: Say NO to the Auto Makers Bailout!

Of course, one of the chief problems with the auto bailout is that, even with the money being appropriated by Congress to the big three, the money will not sustain them beyond March 2009.

Furthermore, as John Stossel pointed out on “20/20″ last week, special privileges for the big three are unfair given that some companies — like Honda — have been extremely responsible with their finances.

Once again we have a case of government rewarding the irresponsible and punishing the responsible.

Please write your members of Congress!