RLC members are all over the libertarian and conservative quadrants, with varying degrees of radicalism. We all also tend to colorful.
Our goal is to influence the Republican Party and its candidates and move them towards a more libertarian worldview.
However, Republicans in general are far more moderate and mainstream than we are.
This means we have to be careful in how we present ourselves, or we risk alienating ourselves from them. We obviously lose our effectiveness if we are perceived as being kooky or extreme.
The party doesn’t care too much about ideology, but it does care about winning elections — and it will reject anyone or any group that it perceives might turn voters away.
What does this all mean?
Well, we need to be very aware of how others perceive us.
I was at a liberty-oriented meeting a couple of months ago where the first item on the agenda was keeping the meeting secret. If you feel you have to keep your RLC discussions secret from the voters, or the press, or the GOP leadership, then you’re discussing stuff that probably shouldn’t be a part of the RLC. If you see people start to slowly edge away from you, that usually means you’ve exceeded their comfort zone.
Don’t take this wrong way! You are free to believe and talk about whatever you want. But please be aware of what hat you are wearing when you talk about it. Please don’t give the RLC the reputation of being kooks and extremists.
Our core principle is limited government, as opposed to big government social conservatism or other forms of big government Republicanism. The limited government part seems pretty mainstream, if presented properly. Not so with social conservatism, which is controversial and divisive. Big government Republicanism is pretty much mimicking Democrats with a different (e.g., “kinder, gentler”) set of moral values.
Another aspect of getting mainstream support is presenting limited government solutions to the problems of greatest interest, rather than running off into the weeds that no one cares about. While advocates of limited government might obsess on gun rights, drug decriminalization, etc, it’s better to focus on a small set of issues that are of greatest interest to mainstream voters.
Recent polls show those issues are (in order): the economy, the federal budget, health care, the wars, education, terrorism, and energy policy. Those are mainstream issues for which we have limited government solutions that should appeal to mainstream voters.
Recent polls show self-described “conservatives” are the biggest voting block, exceeding self-described “liberals” by a huge margin and self-described “moderates” by a small margin. At the same time, self-described “Democrats” and “independents” are the biggest voting blocks, exceeding self-described “Republicans” by huge margins.
Something is seriously wrong when conservatives have turned against Republicans like that.
David Johnson and Bob Giramma are members of the Republican Liberty Caucus of California.
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