Tonight RLC Chairman Dave Nalle is hosting a special two hour radio podcast to give a last look at RLC candidates in the election coming up on Tuesday. There will be special guests from RLC chapters all over the country and a panel looking at races and issues.

11:00pm – Election Overview
11:10pm – New York City Councilman Dan Halloran
11:40pm – Ken Lindell and Eric Dondero
12:00pm – Panel Discussion w/ Guests, Corie Whelan (RLCTX), Bill Greene (RLCGA) and others.

You can call in to the show at (646) 595-2536 or listen live using the widget to the right.

Gwen Moore, Jim Sensenbrenner, and Paul Ryan have a deal.

One of the headlines on today’s Politico discusses how House Minority Leader John Boener will campaign this weekend for Republican U.S. House candidate Rich Iott in northwest Ohio.

But don’t expect to see Republican incumbents Paul Ryan or Jim Sensenbrenner campaigning for any of Wisconsin’s Republican U.S. House candidates any time soon.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin, a state affiliate of the national RLC, became the first group to expose a sweetheart deal between federally elected Democrats and Republicans in the state. The deal: Democrat and Republican incumbent Members of Congress will not campaign against each other.

Ryan and Sensenbrenner have not lifted a finger to help Republican challenger Reid Ribble, who is in the lead in northeast Wisconsin, or Republican challenger Dan Sebring, running against Gwen Moore in the Milwaukee area.

An incumbent member of Congress has not lost in the state in over ten years and only four Members of Congress have lost in The Badger State in the last 28 years, according to The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

As a result of the discovery and distribution of this information, the RLC has been featured on WTAQ radio (see “Gentleman’s Agreement” segments) in Green Bay and at the WTAQ website. Learn more about the incident at the Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin news page.

ARLINGTON, VA — The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC), a membership organization that exists to promote the principles of individual liberty and limited government, has six endorsed Congressional candidates who are on paths to victory this November as evidenced by poll numbers and leading experts in the field. The candidates include Justin Amash of Michigan, Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina, Doug Cloud and John Koster of Washington state, Chip Cravaack of Minnesota, and Steve Chabot of Ohio.

“With the exception of 1994, the Republican Liberty Caucus has never seen a slate of candidates who have the potential to knock of incumbents like this slate,” said RLC Chair Dave Nalle of Texas. “These candidates are principled and committed to the Republican Liberty Caucus vision of a free nation with limited, efficient government,” said Nalle. In addition to a full slate of endorsed Congressional candidates (including many not mentioned above), the RLC has also endorsed incumbent members of Congress Jeff Flake (AZ), Roscoe Bartlett (MD), Adrian Smith (NE), Scott Garrett (NJ), Jim Jordan (OH), John Duncan (TN), and a slate from the Texas Congressional Delegation.

According to RLC Vice Chair Aaron Biterman, “Justin Amash is a conservative Republican running in a right-leaning Grand Rapids district; Mick Mulvaney is polling even with incumbent John Spratt (D) in South Carolina 5; Steve Chabot is polling even or ahead of Steve Driehaus (D) in a suburban Cincinnati district. Spratt and Driehaus rubber-stamped the entire Obama Big Government agenda and will have to face the voters on November 2.”

Additionally, a Public Opinion Strategies poll from early October showed RLC endorsed candidate Chip Cravaack at 42 percent to incumbent Democrat Jim Oberstar’s 45 percent. RealClearPolitics ranks John Koster’s bid against incumbent Democrat Rick Larson a “toss up” after several polls showed them within 3 points of each other in Washington’s 2nd District. Finally, a Wenzel Strategies poll released last week shows Democrat incumbent Norm Dicks trailing RLC candidate Doug Cloud in Washington’s 6th District.

“If Doug Cloud and Justin Amash in particular advance to Congress, they will be RLC Advisory Board member Ron Paul’s foremost allies in Washington,” said Biterman, adding that, “If our other candidates — Mulvaney, Koster, Cravaack, and Chabot — also succeed, there will be a significantly larger coalition for limited government in Congress.” The Republican Liberty Caucus is urging its members to volunteer for and donate to these candidates in particular.

The Republican Liberty Caucus, founded in 1991, exists to promote individual liberty, limited government, and free enterprise within the Republican Party. The RLC will hold its 2011 Convention in Arlington, Virginia on February 12, 2011 and encourages media, liberty-minded citizens, and other interested parties to attend. Learn more about the organization at http://www.RLC.org/. A full list of endorsed candidates is available at http://www.rlc.org/endorsed-candidates-2010/.

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President Obama counted on Midwestern states to deliver his 2008 Presidential victory. His popularity in the Midwest was high, having won by large margins in states like Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Clearly Midwest voters were interested in change and a new direction for the country.

But with less than two weeks until the 2010 mid-term elections, the Midwest has become the President’s biggest problem area.

The President’s party is poised to lose at least four Senate races in the Midwest (IN, MO, ND, OH) while two others remain tight contests in which the GOP candidate has been consistently leading (IL, WI). Of the four open Midwest gubernatorial contests, the GOP is posting solid results in three of them (IL, OH, WI) with another, Minnesota, still up for grabs.

Looking at swing Congressional races is where you really get an idea of the Democrats’ Midwestern problem. States that rarely have competitive races like Minnesota and Missouri each have several vulnerable incumbents in 2010. Missouri Blue Dog Democrat incumbent Ike Skelton, who has represented central-west Missouri for more than 30 years, is facing perhaps his toughest challenge yet. A similar situation is facing U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, who represents northeast Minnesota. Oberstar has been in Congress consistently for nearly 40 years and is in the race of his life. Tim Walz, a second term Democrat from a southern Minnesota swing district, is facing a tough reelection battle as well.

Wisconsin — which is thought to be liberal but is more accurately categorized as a swing state — currently has only three Republicans in its eight member Congressional delegation but may have just two Democrats in its delegation by January, 2011. Vulnerable incumbents there include Reps. Steve Kagen (D) in the northeastern part of the state and Ron Kind (D) in the west.

Illinois and Ohio have between five and six seats each that are extremely competitive House races while four Michigan and three Iowa and Wisconsin seats are up in the air.

Illinois’ western-most district, represented by second term Congressman Phil Hare, was a seat pundits never thought would be in play. But the rural, gerrymandered district is now a national target of Republicans, who have an excellent candidate in businessman Bobby Schilling. Mark Kirk’s vacated seat in the moderate northern Chicago burbs is also up for grabs and is really the Democrat’s only pickup opportunity in the Midwest this cycle. Reps. Melissa Bean (D) in the western Chicago suburbs, Bill Foster (D) in the southern Chicago suburbs, and Debbie Halvorson (D) in central Illinois are also in tough reelection battles. Halvorson, who doesn’t shy away from any of her votes or support of the Obama agenda, has been down as far as eighteen points in recent surveys.

In Iowa, all three of the incumbent Democrat Congressmen, Reps. Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack, and Leonard Boswell could lose. Indiana’s Joe Donnelly (D) and Baron Hill (D) are facing tough challenges and Brad Ellsworth’s open seat in southern Indiana is poised for a Republican pickup.

The upper Midwest is heavily in play, too. Bart Stupak’s open Michigan upper Peninsula seat is leaning Republican, as are the two northern Wisconsin seats held by the retiring Rep. David Obey (D) and second term Democrat Steve Kagen.

The Democrats are losing rural voters who are deeply concerned about the economy and didn’t see any added benefits after the stimulus and Obamacare.

Voters in rural Ohio districts like the eastern-most districts of Reps. Zack Space (D) and Charlie Wilson (D) may be poised to boot out the incumbents. The same is true of swing districts in Ohio like that of northeast Ohio’s John Boccieri  and central Ohio’s Mary Jo Kilroy, first-term Democrats who rubber-stamped the entire Obama agenda. Suburban districts represented by Steve Driehaus (D) and Betty Sutton (D), which are centered around Akron and Cincinatti, are also in play.

Both the North and South Dakota At Large seats are up for grabs for the first time in many years, too. All told, the entire region is in play — from Skelton’s seat in central Missouri to Wilson’s seat in eastern Ohio and from Kagen’s seat in northeast Wisconsin all the way westward to the Dakotas.

A recent Rasmussen poll showed that voters are angry with Members of Congress who voted for Obamacare, the auto bailout, or the stimulus package. By significant margins, voters do not want to reelect incumbents who voted for these unpopular parts of the Obama agenda.

The Midwest’s economy is suffering and people are out of work. Jobs is the main topic of most Congressional debates in the region. Midwest voters are likely to make significant changes in who represents them in Congress. Whether those changes will help the struggling economy recover and foster job creation in the region remains to be seen.

But one thing is for sure: the Democrats have a Midwestern sized problem.

Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana is probably one of the most disappointing members of Congress.

He says one thing and does another almost all of the time.

His goal? To become President of the United States. And he’s well on his way.

Pence is a social conservative war-hawk fiscal moderate. Think Mike Huckabee, only worse.

Today’s Politico reports that Pence says the Republican Party should avoid compromise, saying “The last Republican Congress didn’t suffer from too little compromise, it suffered from too much.”

One of the chief compromisers was none other than Congressman Mike Pence, who voted with George W. Bush 94% of the time.

Pence voted for the Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008 (source), the Bush stimulus costing taxpayers $152 billion. In July of 2009, Pence voted for $192 billion in additional federal stimulus spending (source).

On military issues, Pence votes with the establishment 100% of the time, which includes votes in support of all foreign interventions and funding for them, the Military Commissions Act, the USA Patriot Act and its reauthorization, FISA warrants for wiretaps, and electronic surveillance without a warrant. He also supports policies of torture.

Mr. Pence’s reckless voting record illustrates that he compromises with whomever is in power at the time as long as they are in his political party. Therefore his empty words about compromise are the words of a hypocrite.

Learn more about Mike Pence and his voting record.

The 2012 election cycle will be one of the most important in our country’s history and the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida is sure to have a profound impact. Join us at our biennial convention to learn more about our organization and how you can play a role in taking the Republican Party back to it’s core values of individual liberty, limited government, and free enterprise.

Save the date! The 2011 Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida Convention will occur on Saturday, January 15, from 1:30pm to 9pm in Orlando. Location and guest speakers are still being confirmed. The day will begin with meetings and reports from leadership around the state, culminating in the Annual Meeting and election of new officers. Once all of the work is finished we will celebrate at the Gala which begins at 7pm.

When: January 15th, 2011; 1:00 – 9:00 pm
Contact: Matt Nye, (321) 626-9791; treasurer@rlcfl.org
REGISTER TODAY!

In addition to attending the Florida RLC Convention, we hope you’ll consider attending the RLC National Convention in Arlington, Virginia on February 12.

There’s a question that’s been on my mind a lot lately.

In the midst of a stirring debate over whether individual members of the Republican Liberty Caucus should support the Republican Party candidate Marco Rubio or the Libertarian Party candidate Alex Snitker, there’s been a lot of tossing about the idea of “principles.”  In particular, the pro-Snitker camp has done a good amount of saying that any vote for Rubio is a vote for “party over principles,” whereas they say that a vote for Snitker is “putting principles first” and “the only principled vote.”  Obviously, this leads to the conclusion that by extension they are saying that anyone supporting Rubio is unprincipled.

Wait a minute.  What do they mean by “principled,” though?  According to a dictionary, principles are “a personal or specific basis of conduct or management.”  Doing something on principle – such as voting “on principle” – would be doing so “according to personal rules for right conduct.”

The use of the term “personal” suggests that it would be up to an individual to determine his own code of conduct or management.  So it’s hard to declare that one broad definition could fit everyone, especially in an organization that values individual rights (and thus an individual’s right to hold to his own set of principles).

For the pro-Snitker camp, they believe that a candidate must hold to a strict set of guidelines – a litmus test of policies that must be adhered to almost to the letter.  It doesn’t matter how many of these issues or policies are considered important by the majority of voters, or even whether voters might reject a candidate for them; or, even, if no particular candidate has those strict values.  The candidate must adhere to them, or they will not support them.  There is no middle ground.  You are for their specific ideals, or you are against them.  If you are for them, you should be supported fully, as the “principled” vote.  If you are against them, then you should not be voted for, and as you do not match their personal basis of conduct or management, you are “not principled.”

For the pro-Rubio camp, there are a variety of reasons to vote for him.  One is that he is a Republican candidate, the man who succeeded in the primaries as the best option.  As members of the Republican Liberty Caucus, which is dedicated to working through the Republican Party, this makes him the more correct choice for them.  Another reason is that he is good enough (or better than good enough) on the issues they feel are most important.  And in some cases, he might not be ideal, but they see him as being a much better option than the other likely winning candidates, and he can be a shift toward their ideals much more than any of the other possibilities would be.

All of these are their own personal basis of conduct or management.  In other words, their principles.  So for these individuals to choose to support Marco Rubio, they are making a principled choice.

Similarly, for other individuals to choose to support Alex Snitker, they are also making a principled choice.

With that said, I would hope that no one continues to make suggestions that any vote that does not match their own is not a vote being made based on principles.  To claim that because someone is not supporting your guy, that it means they are not acting based on principles, is a very offensive comment, and simply isn’t true in the slightest.

The issue of which candidate to support based on matters of caucus procedure, strategy, and such may still be open for debate.  But as long as each individual believes that their support is the right move to get closer to their ideal goal in the liberty movement, there should be no debate that each of them, whether for Rubio or Snitker, is making a principled decision, and will be casting a principled vote.

If ever there was proof that feminist groups like NOW care more about abortion than about women’s rights and dignity (as well as the inane political correctness standards they are often known to advocate), is it not in the recent endorsement of California gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown by NOW’s California chapter despite his campaign’s use of the word “whore” to describe Republican candidate Meg Whitman, a word that NOW’s national president describes as “hate speech?”

And furthermore, the fact that NOW’s California chapter president insists that Meg Whitman is indeed a “political whore?” We report you decide. Here’s the scoop (with FULL AUDIO of the voicemail which inadvertently recorded a Jerry Brown campaign aide calling Meg Whitman a whore and Jerry Brown approving) from an article I wrote over at the California Independent Voter Network.

AUSTIN, TEXAS – The Republican Liberty Caucus, a membership organization that exists to promote individual liberty and limited government, is praising its endorsed Congressional candidates who have taken pro-liberty positions on civil liberties and equal rights.

The Caucus Statement of Principles outlines that members support medical and banking privacy, equal protection under the law, and all voluntary and non-violent consensual conduct. Accordingly, the Caucus wishes to praise certain Congressional candidates who have taken exceptional positions on privacy, civil liberties, and equal rights.

“We must drastically limit the ability of government to collect and store data regarding citizens’ personal matters,” says RLC-endorsed Congressional candidate Delia Lopez (pictured, right) of Oregon. Lopez opposes GPS tracking mandates and any move toward a national ID card.

Military veteran David Ratowitz, a RLC-endorsed candidate for Congress in suburban Chicago, says he is “confident that American security is better served by streamlining our military [and] concentrating our forces and avoiding futile nation building.” Continues Ratowitz, “We must recognize that our most powerful tool of foreign policy is the soft power generated by American citizens through their generosity, industry and the example they set for the world.”

“I believe the military should adopt an inclusive approach towards gays and lesbians,” says RLC-endorsed Congressional candidate Joel Pollak of Illinois. RLC Advisory Board member Gary Johnson, the former Governor of New Mexico, recently said “‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ has always been wrong and it is still wrong.” And earlier this year, the Texas chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus blasted homophobic language that was added to the official Texas Republican Party platform.

According to the late Senator Barry Goldwater, a hero to many RLC members, “You don’t need to be straight to fight and die for your country… you just need to shoot straight.” Goldwater rightly stated that a fundamental tenet of conservatism is that government should stay out of people’s private lives — and out of the impossible task of legislating morality.

According to National RLC Chairman Dave Nalle, “We are proud that our slate of candidates are speaking on these important social issues and bucking the trend of the Republican Establishment by simply being honest about these issues. Ultimately, these issues — civil liberties and treatment of gay Americans — are about individual rights and freedoms. We’re working for a Republican Party that will defend those rights and freedoms.”

Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, Joe Wilson, and Other GOP “Heroes” are “Zeros” on Private Enterprise and Limited Government

According to Forbes, the United States racked up a $1.29 trillion deficit in fiscal year 2010. Generally speaking, the slight decline in 2010 is due to somewhat higher tax receipts (up 2.7%) and slightly less spending (down 1.8%).

The Government Accountability Office projects that by the end of this decade, the vast majority of all federal tax revenue will be swallowed up by just four things: Interest payments on the country’s debt, and the payment of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security benefits.

Now Republicans are talking about the problem of the debt and the deficit. But who was it that voted for the Wall Street Bailout under the Bush Administration? Bush’s Wall Street Bailout passed both houses on October 4, 2008. Republican House members who voted for the bailout are as follows. Keep them in mind this November.

Rodney Alexander. R-La.
Spencer Bachus, R-La.
J. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C.
Judy Biggert, R-Ill.
Roy Blunt, R-Mo.
John Boehner, R-Ohio
Jo Bonner, R-Ala.
John Boozman, R-Ark.
Charles Boustany, R-La.
Kevin Brady, R-Texas
Henry Brown, R-S.C.
Vern Buchanan, Fla.
Ken Calvert, R-Calif.
Dave Camp, R-Mich.
John Campbell, R-Calif.
Chris Cannon, R-Utah
Eric Cantor, R-Va.
Mike Castle, R-D.E.
Howard Coble, R-N.C.
Tom Cole, R-Okla.
Mike Conaway, R-Texas
Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla.
Barbara Cubin, R-Wy.
Tom Davis, R-Va.
Charlie Dent, R-Pa.
David Dreier, R-Calif.
Vern Ehlers, R-Mich.
Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo.
Terry Everett, R-Ala.
Mary Fallin, R-Okla.
Mike Ferguson, R-N.J.
Vito Fossella, R-N.Y.
Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J.
Jim Gerlach, R-N.J.
Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md.
Kay Granger, R-Texas
Wally Herger, R-Calif.
David Hobson, R-Ohio
Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich.
Bob Inglis, R-S.C.
Peter King, R-NY
Mark Kirk, R-Ill.
John Kline, R-Minn.
Joe Knollenberg, R-Mich.
Randy Kuhl, R-N.Y
Ray LaHood, R-Ill.
Jerry Lewis, R-Calif.
Ron Lewis, R-Ky.
Daniel Lungren, R-Calif.
Mary Mack, R-Calif.
Jim McCrery, R-La.
John McHugh, R-N.Y.
Buck McKeon, R-Calif.
Gary Miller, R-Calif.
Sue Myrick, R-N.C.
John Peterson, R-Pa.
Chip Pickering, R-Miss.
Jon Porter, R-Nev.
Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio
Adam Putnam, R-Fla.
George Radanovich, R-Calif.
Jim Ramstad, R-Minn.
Ralph Regula, R-Ohio
Thomas Reynolds, R-N.Y.
Mike Rogers, R-Mich.
Hal Rogers, R-Ky.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla.
Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
Jim Saxton, R-N.J.
Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio
Pete Sessions, R-Texas
John Shadegg, R-Ariz.
Christopher Shays, R-Conn.
Bill Shuster, R-Pa.
Michael Simpson, R-Idaho
Lamar Smith, R-Texas
Mark Souder, R-Ind.
John Sullivan, R-Okla.
Tom Tancredo, R-Col.
Lee Terry, R-Neb.
Mac Thornberry, R-Texas
Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio
Fred Upton, R-Mich.
Greg Walden, R-Oregon
James Walsh, R-N.Y.
Zachary Wamp, R-Tenn.
Dave Weldon, R-Fla.
Jerry Weller, R-Ill.
Heather Wilson, R-N.M.
Joe Wilson, R-S.C.
Frank Wolf, R-Va.

Republicans in the Senate who voted for the bailout:

Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
Bob Bennett, R-Utah
Christopher Bond, R-Mo.
Richard Burr, R-N.C.
Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.
Norm Coleman, R-Minn.
Susan Collins, R-Maine
Tom Coburn, R-Okla.
Bob Corker, R-Tenn.
John Cornyn, R-Texas
Larry Craig, R-Idaho
Pete Domenici, R-N.M.
John Ensign, R-Nev.
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Charles Grassley, R-Iowa
Judd Gregg, R-N.H
Charles Hagel, R-Neb.
Orrin Hatch, R-Utah
Kay Hutchison, R-Texas
John Isakson, R-Ga.
Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.
Richard Lugar, R-Ind.
Mel Martinez, R-Fla.
John McCain, R-Ariz.
Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska
Gordon Smith, R-Oregon
Olympia Snowe, R-Maine
Ted Stevens, R-Alaska
John Sununu, R-N.H.
John Thune, R-S.D.
George Voinovich, R-Ohio
John Warner, R-Va.