This a chart of RLC affiliates that are active across the country.

If your state is in blue, red, or black below, we need your help to form a Republican Liberty Caucus affiliate in your state.

Please view the new RLC intro. video!

In Mississippi, Chair-elect Jeff Powell, who has been the state RLC coordinator since 2007, put together several conference calls and in-person meetings to establish the Mississippi chapter of the RLC. The affiliate, which has established a website at http://www.mississippirlc.org/, has already accomplished a wonderful feat in establishing a Liberty Index for the state. Members are planning a 2010 Convention and will issue candidate endorsements.

In Wisconsin, Republican Liberty Caucus members in Appleton and Milwaukee gathered in November at two separate meetings to organize their affiliate. The chapter, which furnishes a website at wi.rlc.org, is in the process of sending out the Liberty Compact to Wisconsin candidates, organizing local meetings/affiliates, and recruiting new members. A top priority among members in the northern part of the state is to help RLC-endorsed Congressional candidate Terri McCormick win her September primary to face U.S. Rep. Steve Kagan (D) in November.

Below is a photo from the Milwaukee RLC meeting that took place on November 29.

Arizona and Nevada RLC members are also in the process of forming affiliates. The Arizona RLC will host a statewide RLC Convention in late January and the Nevada RLC has drafted its by-laws and charter document. Contact Ken Rineer to become active in the Arizona chapter and Dan Rego to help with the Nevada affiliate.

The Republican Liberty Caucus is pleased to announce the latest candidates we’re recommending you support in 2010.  They include:

* Congressional candidates Brian Miller (AZ-08), Adam Kokesh (NM-03), Jaynee Germond (OR-04), and Terri McCormick (WI-08);

* Virginia State Senate candidate Steve Hunt (January special election); and

* State House candidates Jenn Coffey in NH (incumbent) and Paul Curtman in Missouri, as well as Missouri House incumbents Shane Schoeller, Tim Jones, and Jim Guest.

Learn more about these and other endorsed candidates at our 2010 endorsements page.

“What seems to be a GOP victory at first may well become another liberal victory in the long term. Unless Parker Griffith (formerly D-AL, now R-AL) starts voting like a true fiscal conservative, Alabama could be stuck with another entrenched Big-Government Republican Congressman.”

“Welcome to the party, Parker. Here’s an electronic copy of the Constitution. Read it well, as you will have to continue to dodge us if you continue to disregard it.”

The Washington Times features an article on how conservatives are not ready to accept Griffith; and the Alabama RLC provides several quotes from other conservative pundits on the switch.

Some thoughts about liberty at the end of a very eventful year:

One of the best ways you can help the RLC in the coming year — a year absolutely critical in the fight for liberty — is to make a donation. Give whatever you can so we can keep working and expanding our efforts to make the GOP the engine for liberty which we all want it to be.

Support the RLC with a donation.

Liberty Republicans need to think about strategies to counteract the cooptation of the revived liberty movement that Rockefeller or Progressive Republicans will attempt. The Tea Party movement’s explosion shows that liberty Republicanism can succeed. As well, the failure of Rockefeller Republicanism under the Bush administration might  keep big government Republicans from success, especially when we liberty Republicans refuse to cooperate with them.

Because the Tea Party movement is composed of many fine and well meaning but inexperienced activists, it is susceptible to the same tactics that coopted the libertarian movement in 1980. If a Progressive Republican calls himself a “libertarian” or a “capitalist” and offers symbolic gestures to prove it, he can  cloak his commitment to the status quo and special interests. It doesn’t help that many call the pro-freedom movement “conservative”, which implies that we aim to conserve the big government status quo.  Nuh uh. We are moderate, but we are radical in the sense of getting to the root. The current system is extremist. The status quo is not normalcy. We represent a return to normalcy and moderation, which means  less government and more freedom.

Recently, Forbes Magazine has been calling its pro-Wall Street, statist positions like support for the Bush-Obama bailout “libertarian”. This reflects an ancient tactic. Karl Popper argues that Plato was the first to call totalitarianism “justice” 2,500 years ago. Some classicists dispute Popper’s reading of Plato, but we can all agree that George Orwell was not the first to think of this idea, and Forbes will not be the last to apply it.

In a recent article in the Washington Post, reporters Dan Eggen and Perry Bacon, Jr. note that “the energized tea party movement…is preparing to shake up the 2010 elections.” The Post article notes of the tea party movement:

“The strategy poses both an opportunity and a risk for the beleaguered Republican Party, which is seeking to take advantage of conservative discontent while still fielding candidates who appeal to independent voters.” (bold added).

Websites such as Erick Erickson’s RedState.com and Dick Armey’s and Matt Kibbe’s Freedomworks.org are aiming to engage in direct political competition via primaries with the Republican machines in various states. The article makes a crucial point:

“…political experts in both parties say it is unclear if the movement can become the kind of unified force that can win, and not just disrupt, elections… The tea party movement is splintered into hundreds of local and state-level groups that have differing rules and goals and for the most part have not participated in big-money politics. Many of the groups have been torn apart by personal feuds in recent months; one major umbrella organization, the Tea Party Patriots, has filed a lawsuit against a founding board member who signed on with a rival, the Tea Party Express. ”

The Republican Liberty Caucus ought to play an integrative role. We should be thinking about how to (a) win elections; (b) prevent the professional politicians from coopting liberty Republicanism in the interest of special interest pandering; and (c) pressure the Progressive Republicans to defer to libertarians’ aims.

The Post article quotes Senator John Cornyn of Texas, head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, as to the importance of “tempering our conservative approach with pragmatism.” In other words, the kind of pragmatism that causes 50% of the national income to be invested in failed government programs that, obsessively, must not be terminated when they fail. Rather, they should be expanded when they fail. That is “moderation” in the eyes of the Washington Post and Senator Cornyn.

Given the large amounts of money that government provides to its favored interests, such as Wall Street, government employees, the military-industrial complex and agribusiness, there will be a slick, well-executed thrust to neutralize and manipulate the liberty movement to make it palatable. We need to devise intelligent tactics to resist it.

The Georgia RLC hosted a strategy session on Saturday, December 5. Members discussed the future of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia. Like-minded individuals weighed whether the RLCGA should focus more on Georgia or on federal issues, with consensus being Georgia-focused. Dialogues were given on how to bring about the proper change within the state, including the methods. Endorsements of candidates and legislation are the short-term goals for the RLCGA. This upcoming Session is a crucial one in Georgia and the RLCGA will be active in promoting pro-liberty legislation while attacking anti-liberty legislation.

Below are the minutes of the Convention portion of the meeting:

Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia
Convention
December 5, 2009
Varner’s Tavern, Smyrna, GA

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Chris Farris at 2:40 PM.

Nathan Smith was nominated and elected as Convention Secretary.

Chairman Farris credentialed all of the delegates to the Convention.

There was a motion and a second on the approval of the Convention Agenda.

Chairman Farris proceeded with the election of officers for the Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia. The floor was open to the nomination of the Chairman. Tyler Burgess was nominated. With no further nominations, the floor was closed. The floor was open to the nomination of Vice-Chairman. Todd Pull was nominated. With no further nominations, the floor was closed. The floor was open to the nomination of Secretary. Nathan Smith was nominated. With no further nominations, the floor was closed. The floor was open to the nomination of Treasurer. Chris Farris was nominated. With no further nominations, the floor was closed. The floor was then open to the nomination of five board members at-large. Ben Brandon, Jason Shepherd, Travis Bowden, Doug Deal, and Jason Thompson were nominated. With no further nominations, the floor was closed.

A motion, without objection, was made to elected said nominees to their respective offices by acclamation. There were no objections and the nominees were duly elected.

With no further business to come before the Convention, the Convention was adjourned at 3:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Nathan A. Smith

Convention Secretary

Elected Officers:

Chairman- Tyler Burgess

Vice-Chairman- Todd Pull

Secretary- Nathan Smith

Treasurer- Chris Farris

Board Members At-Large:

Ben Brandon

Jason Shepherd

Travis Bowden

Doug Deal

Jason Thompson

Last week, the Florida chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus held a statewide meeting whereby the membership passed a resolution condemning the actions of the Republican Party of Florida. Readers will recall that five Republican Liberty Caucus members were booted from the Republican Party in September for supporting limited government policies and being vocal about it!

According to Florida RLC Chairman Will Pitts, “As much as I dislike what the Party apparatus has done to discredit [me and] personally attack others and myself, I realize that we must stay the course and fight the good fight. Those few in power in the party would like nothing more than for us to leave and take the others that are upsetting their good ole boy corrupt system with us. We will not give them that satisfaction. As a result, I have decided to continue my fight to restore the original principles within the Republican Party in spite of the daunting long road ahead.”

“I would like to encourage you to join us in this fight and become a member of the Republican Liberty Caucus in your area. If there is not one, then start a chapter and encourage others to do the same. Then join your local executive committee in the Republican Party, and encourage others to join that as well. Soon through participatory government, you will bring change to the organization from the inside and from the ground up. It will only be through a concerted effort of many of us working in the same direction that we will be able to change things.

Below are a few photos from the recent Florida RLC membership meeting, which took place in the Orlando area.

….

Signing the resolution, Chairman Will Pitts and RLC members.

by Aaron Biterman

A headline in this week’s Tampa Tribune is titled “GOP infighting shakes party”. The article talks about a familiar 2009 theme: “An increasingly fractious challenge to the Republican Party from its own conservative base could relegate the party to indefinite minority status,” says author William March.

No state has more of a fight on its hands than Florida, where Republican Party Chair Jim Greer has, no doubt, acted illegally to prop up his favorite candidates and help his friends defeat his enemies.  This was already clear when Greer had his cronies boot Republican Liberty Caucus members from the party in September. Now there are increasingly vocal calls for Greer to resign as party boss.

In Florida, State Senator Paula Dockery is challenging Attorney General Bill McCollum for the Republican nomination for Governor and Senator Carey Baker is challenging U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam in the primary for Florida Agriculture Commissioner. Both Dockery and Baker are more conservative than their moderate and establishment opponents. RLC members are supporting Dockery and Baker.

The reason that governorship is open, of course, is that Charlie Crist is running to become Florida’s junior U.S. Senator. Crist faces opposition from Marco Rubio — who has been endorsed by Senator Jim DeMint’s Senate Conservatives Fund — and former New Hampshire Senator Bob Smith.

But, never fear, the National Republican Senator Committee (NRSC) has plans to come to the rescue. As has been standard practice since the election of George W. Bush in 2000, the NRSC has already coronated its top-tier candidates for Senate in 2010 — without any regard for the opinions of GOP primary voters.

Those candidates include Crist, Carly Fiorina in California, and Trey Grayson in Kentucky.  All three have more conservative and credible opponents: former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, California Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, and Kentucky taxpayer advocate Dr. Rand Paul.

Whatsmore, the NRSC is now encouraging its readers to take advice from Karl Rove. In an e-mail the NRSC sent out yesterday, its Communications team forwarded an article from Karl Rove to all NRSC subscribers. Rove’s article was published in The Wall Street Journal, and the NRSC team said it’s a “WSJ Editorial You Should See”.

I saw it, and — shock! — I am not impressed.

Why is the NRSC encouraging its members to listen to Karl Rove? Rove’s name has come up in many political scandals, including the Valerie Plame affair, the Bush White House e-mail controversy and the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy. Moreover, his strategy of “compassionate conservatism” along with his support of the Bush Doctrine are among the main reasons why Republicans lost in 2006 and 2008.

In the article, Rove says, “In Connecticut, Sen. Chris Dodd trails former Republican Rep. Rob Simmons 35% to 48% in the latest Quinnipiac poll.” Rove does not acknowledge that two other Republican candidates also poll ahead of Chris Dodd: Linda McMahon and RLC-endorsed candidate Peter Schiff. This “ignore at all costs” strategy has been something that Republican establishment candidates have been very skilled at, but has not yielded successful results.

The strategy, a familiar Rove tactic, was employed masterfully by George W. Bush throughout both terms as President, and trickled down to candidates that the NRSC and NRCC supported (mostly unsuccessfully) in 2006 and 2008 such as John Gard in Wisconsin and Darren White in New Mexico. Both Gard and White — unfamiliar names to most readers — had primary challengers that were more conservative, but simply relied on the Bush Administration and the NRCC to “ignore at all costs” these opponents. Both Gard and White went on to lose their general election contests in conservative-leaning districts.  The result was Democrat pickups.

The title of Rove’s article is, “Can Republicans take back the Senate in 2010?”

The answer is yes, but not if they listen to Karl Rove or the NRSC.

The NRSC cannot be allowed to select Republican Senate candidates for GOP primary voters.

Registered Republicans in CA, CT, FL, IL, KY, and other states should select the best candidate to represent the state — without NRSC interference.