Wisconsin State Representative Steve Nass, who was endorsed by the RLC in 2006, has a great column at WisOpinion.com about the proposed economic stimulus package.

Says Nass:

It is true that the country faces the greatest economic challenge in nearly 100 years. It is true that greed and wasteful government spending are fundamental reasons fueling the financial inferno.

If you believe that greed is a serious part of the problem, do you then offer solutions that reward both individual and corporate greed?

If you believe wasteful government spending helped sap the strength of the economy, do you then offer proposals that will require some of the largest tax increases in U.S. and world history?

Read more.

Senator John Ensign (R-NV) speaking on behalf of the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act which would extend the current ban on taxing the internet and make it permanent.

The Orlando Sentinel reports on a showdown in Orange County, Florida related to the “fault lines and fights that are flaring up around Florida and the nation, spurred by a push by [l]ibertarian-leaning supporters of Paul who want traditional party-leadership slots.”

An Orange County judge recently dismissed a case that sought to seat a group of disaffected local Republicans on the county’s party leadership team because they didn’t sign a loyalty oath in time. Circuit Judge Jose Rodriguez dismissed a request for a temporary restraining order to seat the members in question because of a number of legal holes in the case, including testimony that some had been aware and signed an oath.

In Alameda County, California, members of the Constitutional Republicans activist group won the right to be seated on their County GOP Committee. Last November, Court Judge Frank Roesch discarded a lawsuit against them. The lawsuit attempted to void the memberships of seven RLC activists who were elected to the County Central Committee. In filing the suit, County GOP Chair Paul Cummings was attempting to replace the elected pro-liberty candidates with individuals of his choosing.

Newly elected Texas speaker of the House Joe Straus tells Texas Monthly that he has “some pretty strong libertarian leanings, and sometimes that causes a conflict.”

While Republicans around the country are licking their wounds and advocacy groups are bombarding us all with press releases about how they have the secret formula for bringing the Republican Party back from the brink of the abyss, politicians in Texas are quietly making changes which may define the future of the GOP.

What appears to be happening in Texas is a substantial political shift away from the religious right and towards increased influence within the Republican Party for social moderates and libertarian-leaning Republicans, a shift which is taking place despite the outraged cries of extreme right groups like the psychotic biddies at Texas Eagle Forum.

The first really big sign of this change comes in the results of the just-concluded election of a new Speaker of the House to replace the iron-fisted Tom Craddick (R-Midland). Passing over more than a dozen other candidates, House Republicans selected relative newcomer Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) as their final choice for Speaker, and on Tuesday he officially won the office with unanimous support from both parties in the legislature.

What makes the selection of Straus remarkable is that he was the choice of a group of moderate and libertarian-leaning legislators which the press had dubbed the “gang of 11″ and described as “dissident” and “insurgent” Republicans, and among that group he was one of the least experienced with only two terms in office.

Extreme conservatives attacked him viciously claiming that he would sell out the party to liberals and Democrats. Cathie Adams of Texas Eagle Forum declared that “He’s not a conservative. He’s out of step with the Republican Party and its platform,” which may explain why he won so much support since the Texas Republican Party Platform is one of the most ridiculous expressions of pure extremist craziness ever put into print.

Straus was even condemned by five members of the GOP state Executive Committee in a public letter. All of which suggests that Straus may be out of touch with the party leadership and conservative interest groups, but that may mean that he’s representative of the dissatisfied grass roots of the party which they have been ignoring for years.

Straus’s voting record and issue positions are intriguing. He belongs to a reformed Jewish synagogue in San Antonio that enthusiastically performs gay marriages. He has voted in favor of abortion rights several times and is one of very few Republican lawmakers with a 100 rating from NARAL. He also has a history as an advocate for legalized gambling which has to irk anti-gambling fanatic Governor Rick Perry.

His issue ratings from various advocacy groups suggest that he is genuinely socially libertarian and fiscally conservative. Economic conservative groups give him high numbers, like a 90 from Americans for Prosperity and 71.43 from Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. He gets similarly positive ratings from civil liberty oriented groups like an A rating from the NRA and endorsements from gambling advocacy groups. He opposed a ban on gay foster parenting and his candidacy has gotten a very positive response from gay and lesbian groups.

That Straus can take the Speaker’s seat with overwhelming bipartisan support and with the religious right screaming, ignored on the sidelines, is a very positive sign, but it’s not the only sign of sanity returning to the Republican Party of Texas. Earlier this month, Governor Rick Perry finally publicly acknowledged that his pet boondoggle the Trans-Texas Corridor was a dead issue, a sign that his reign of fiscal insanity and right-wing extremism may be coming to an end.

A more telling sign may be that moderate Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is clearly planning to challenge him for the governorship and has been drawing away a lot of his financial suppport. Hutchinson is more of a soft conservative than a libertarian and hardly as appealing as Straus, but she’s also no darling of the religious right and would be a marked improvmeent over Perry.

When Hutchison runs for Governor she will have to give up her Senate seat, which would be filled in a special election. Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Michael Wiliams has already declared his intent to run for her seat.  His campaign website is fairly generic, but rumors suggest that he is libertarian-leaning.

All of these things suggest a substantial shift in the orientation of the Texas Republican Party. It seems like there is a resurgence of more traditional republicanism and a rejection of the policies of the theocratic element of the party.

Pressure from the libertarian grassroots from below and more moderate elected leaders from above might be just what it takes to break up the cabal of religious conservatives who have held onto positions of power within the state party for too long. With them gone, Texas might lead the way to a nationwide rededication of the GOP to the principles of individual liberty and fiscal responsibility on which it was founded.

Throughout 2008, the RLC of Florida has been doing its part to rebuild the party with practical action. Florida RLCers expanded its network, labored in the primaries, registered new Republicans, lobbied the legislature, endorsed candidates, participated in educational forums, provided speakers for GOP clubs, worked on general election campaigns and added its members to Republican Executive Committees around the state.

The year started in the midst of the Republican primaries, where a former national chair of the RLC, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), made a respectable stand, breaking fundraising records and bringing new people into the Republican Party. Individual RLCers mobilized for the Paul campaign, with RLCFL Treasurer Mark Cross running the campaign in our state, by organizing rallies and signing up new Republicans by the hundreds. The Paul campaign brought in many new, mostly young, Republicans and the RLC welcomed them, even when other elements of our party did not.

Picking up new members in parts of the state where the RLC has not traditionally been active, new Meetups were launched in Lee County as well as Tallahassee and Jacksonville.

The Jacksonville Meetup – using the informal moniker the RLC of Northeast Florida – in particular brought new energy to the RLCFL and under its chair Will Pitts took the lead in creating a beautiful new RLC outreach brochure now used across the state. Also, in May, Steve Burden of Lutz launched this vastly improved upgrade of the RLCFL website. The RLCFL’s state executive committee was expanded to improve representation for the more geographically diverse membership.

Arguably the most important ongoing project of the RLCFL is its annual lobbying trip to Tallahassee. Unlike in previous years (such as here and here), the RLC cannot claim a significant legislative victory in 2008. However, the effort to pass a Taxpayer Protection Amendment – a TABOR-like constitutional amendment requiring voter approval to increase spending outside certain limits – moved forward, failing to make it to the ballot by only two votes of the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission.

However, the RLC did not give up. Having helped promote and participating in the pre-vote Americans for Prosperity forum on TPA under the direction of RLCer Adam Guillette, RLCer John Hallman held a ‘what next?’ forum on the issue in June under the auspices of his new vehicle the Florida Taxpayers Union, a National Taxpayers Union affiliate. Again, RLCers took leadership positions in promoting and participating in the event. It was here the National Federation of Independent Businesses made its announcement that it would seek a citizen referendum on TPA. The fat lady hasn’t sung just yet on this one.

Besides the AFP and FTU forums, individual affiliates hosted several educational speakers across the state. In January of 2008, RLCFL Secretary Philip Blumel kicked it off with his “GOP and the libertarian vote” talk in Miami. Over the course of the year, local RLC affiliates hosted or co-hosted talks by Foundation for Economic Education President Larry Reed, libertarian physician Bob Sussman, James Madison Institute policy director Bob Sanchez as well as Adam Guillette, John Hallman and others.

For many, however, the arrival of Ron Paul in Boca Raton for the January primary debates held at Florida Atlantic University was the highlight. The post-debate rally near the campus was among the most wildly enthusiastic celebrations of liberty that most of us will ever get to see. Again, RLCers including National RLC Board member Steven Talcott Smith were among the chief organizers. RLCFL secretary Philip Blumel spoke at the event.

At least two Florida RLCers published books in 2008, including Jupiter’s Bob Burg and Naples’ Bob Levy. Levy was also the subject of a new book after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the individual right to keep and bear arms in the DC vs. Heller case of which Levy was chief counsel. Levy has since been tapped to Chair the libertarian Cato Institute in Washington, DC.

Several RLCers and RLC-endorsed candidates ran in the primary and general elections. In the Florida legislature, two of the five RLC-endorsed candidates won their seats – Rich Workman (D30) and Lake Ray (D17).  RLCers Bruce Reichert and Alan Burton won non-partisan seats on the Collier County and Volusia County Soil & Water Boards, respectively. At least two RLCers were elected to the RPOF state committee. For the full RLC election results nationwide, see here.

In the run-up to the elections, the RLC sponsored an ‘Adopt-a-Republican’ effort to direct support to deserving Republican candidates.

With the election finally over, the RLC was quick to start the rebuilding process of the demoralized GOP. Much of the party had – often quite blindly - embraced spending, inflation and war and the rank-and-file were disappointed and even disillusioned by the results.

The RLC encouraged and aided reform-minded activists to join their local Republican Executive Committees and distributed and explained the complicated paperwork to do so. More friends of the RLC than ever are now REC members across the state. This has already begun to express itself in various ways, such as a prominent RLC presence at the Hillsborough County Lincoln Day dinner.

Also, RLCFL board member Eric Wall now runs the Bay County Republican Party website and also writes for Red County and State of Sunshine weblogs. To top it off, RLC Treasurer and Republican Party of Florida state committeeman Mark Cross announced his campaign to run for state chair of the GOP.

There were also some hiccups in 2008. The elections, of course, but also some pushback from intolerant elements of the Republican Party who felt threatened by the reawakening of limited government activists of the party that had abandoned them over the last decade. Also, in an unfortunate incident, someone posted offensive material on one of our affiliate Meetup websites.

But these are growing pains, as the Republican Liberty Caucus is indeed growing. To improve our organization, Woody Engle along with Lisa Bullion and Mark Cross and others have revamped the RLCFL’s by-laws, subject to membership approval at the March 27-28 convention in Jacksonville.

This recap can be found on the RLCFL website, here.

To become involved in your local RLCFL affiliate, click here.

The Republican Liberty Caucus operates a Political Action Committee to help our candidates get elected. The PAC, called RLC-USA PAC, can accept contributions from individuals or charitable foundations of up to $5,000. Donations are not tax deductible. The PAC has a new address:

Alan H. Cousin, Treasurer
Republican Liberty Caucus PAC
185 Main St., Apt. 14
Malden, MA 02148

Arizona RLC Interim Chair Roy Miller with Jeff Flake. Miller delivered a $1,000 check to Congressman Flake from the RLC-USA PAC in October 2008.

In an article from The Arizona Republic on Dec. 30, the newspaper opined that Congressman Jeff Flake of Arizona may be exactly what the GOP needs if it wants a successful future. In its November issue, Esquire Magazine named Flake one of the 10 best elected officials in Washington. “A true conservative, Flake is as rare as the dodo. Republicans should learn from him, and liberals and libertarians will find in him a strong privacy-rights ally.”

In 2006, the Arizona RLC hosted a banquet for Rep. Jeff Flake at the Gainey Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale. In both 2006 and 2008, the RLC-USA PAC contributed $1,000 to support Jeff Flake’s successful re-election efforts.

In 2008, the RLC-USA PAC also contributed to two unsuccessful candidacies: Sydney Hay for Congress in Arizona and Tom Feeney for Congress in Florida.

Roy Miller with Sydney Hay. Miller delivered a $1,000 check to Ms.
Hay in October 2008 from the RLC-USA PAC.

The RLC-USA PAC assists pro-liberty Republicans running for office who have been official endorsed by the RLC.

Please contribute to the PAC today!

The RLC National Board has recognized that the organization needs to transform from an all-volunteer organization to one with a full-time support staff. As such, the organization is working hard to raise money in 2009.

Large proposals have been sent to prospective donors throughout the country. Stay tuned for details on progress. If you have any potential donor suggestions, please contact us.

Scott Schneider of Mandeville, Louisiana has been appointed to the Louisiana Ethics Commission by Governor Bobby Jindal. Schneider was one of the first active RLC members in the state of Louisiana after the RLC’s formation in 1991.

Mr. Schneider has a degree in economics from the University of New Orleans and is a graduate of Washington and Lee Law School in Virginia. He is a board member of Louisiana CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) and the Hospice Foundation of the South. He will represent the 1st Congressional District, as required by statute.

The Louisiana Board of Ethics serves to administer and enforce conflicts of interest legislation, campaign finance disclosure requirements, and lobbyist registration and disclosure laws, to achieve compliance by governmental officials, public employees, candidates, and lobbyists and to provide public access to disclosed information.

Governor Jindal said, “It is important that ethics board members are completely free of any and all conflicts of interest. Our strict ethics laws not only help the state protect and serve the best interests of the people, but our reforms are also a strong signal to businesses around the world that Louisiana is open for business and competing to become the best place to raise a family and pursue a great career.”

Texas RLC Seeks Local Leaders for PLGILFM Initiative

The Texas RLC is looking for local leaders and teams to be built in an effort to promote its Principles of Limited Government, Individual Liberty and Free Markets (PLGILFM) initiative throughout Texas. If there is a PLGILFM group in your area, please work with them to build a team. If there is not a PLGILFM group in your area, please consider starting one.

Currently 18 local Republican Liberty Caucus leaders throughout Texas are working toward PLGILFM, but since there are 254 counties in Texas, many more are needed.

Please contact contact Don Zimmerman for more information or to volunteer.

Texas RLC Encourages Liberty Candidates in May Elections

Be sure that your local group ‘adopts’ and campaigns aggressively for local candidates. The May elections are smaller and it is easier to have an impact on smaller elections and campaigns. This will build your credibility in your area among future candidates. This will also provide much needed experience and network building.

The RLC wants to track its local Texas candidates. Please report the names of candidates as well as reports on campaign efforts. Send all reports, stories, or articles to newsletter@RLCtexas.org.

Texas RLC Seeks Executive Committee Members

There are several counties that are being represented on the RLC Executive Committee by a Committeeman who works within their county or district to promote the PLGILFM (principles of limited government, individual liberty and free markets) initiative and participate in quarterly phone conference calls to share ideas and make decisions facing the RLC.

A listing of contacts is available Online. If you are interested in building a group in your local area, please contact Don Zimmerman.

Texas RLC Encourages Attending Regional Pro-Liberty Grassroots Conventions

A series of district meetings are being called for Texas in early 2009 to facilitate the grassroots freedom movement in Texas. Meetings will discuss what will be needed to advance liberty in Texas. The only requirement for attendees include a passion for the cause of liberty.

These meetings will be organized by SD (State Senatorial District) and held as Mass Meetings under Robert’s Rules of Order. Each SD will elect delegates to attend a statewide meeting in February. At the statewide meeting, each SD will have a proportional voting strength equivalent to the votes cast for Dr. Ron Paul for President in the March 2008 primary in that SD divided by the total statewide vote for Dr. Ron Paul for President in the March 2008 Texas Republican Primary.

The current schedule of meetings follows:

1/10/09 - Dallas and Waco
1/17/09 - Harlingen and San Antonio
1/24/09 - El Paso and Houston
1/31/09 - Lubbock
February – State convention

If you are interested in volunteering to help with a meeting that will be held on a day other than the day your home SD meeting is being held, please send you name, contact information and the date/location of the meeting that you are interested in helping with to Convention@OCATI.org.