As we switch to a session of Congress with Republicans in the majority of the House of Representatives, the Republican Liberty Caucus’s newly released Liberty Index ratings for 2009 provide an important reminder of the positive impact that being out of power — and in the minority — had on Republican legislators. With a clear anti-liberty, big-government agenda coming from the White House and the Democrat leadership, Republicans embraced their role as the “party of no” in 2009 and were more true to basic principles of limited government and individual liberty than they have been in many years. Our Liberty Index, which has been compiled every year since 1992, reflects this environment with more high ratings on both the Personal and Economic Liberty scales than ever before, particularly in the U.S. House.

A not-so-surprising standout in the House of Representatives rankings is Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who is the first member of Congress in the history of the Liberty Index to score a perfect 100/100 in the Economic and Personal Liberty components of the index. Flake was not alone at the top, with perennial top scorers Ron Paul (R-TX) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) not far behind. They both scored 100 on Personal Liberty and 96 on Economic Liberty because of problematic votes on earmarks and a technology bill. Other than these minor exceptions, Paul and Rohrabacher were outstanding champions of liberty.

With Democrat spending completely out of control, many Republicans were given an opportunity to oppose their policies and as a result score very well on Economic Liberty. Forty-eight House members scored perfect 100s on Economic Liberty. Personal Liberty scores were less consistent, though 115 House Republicans scored in the Libertarian quadrant on their combined scores.

Senate Republicans were somewhat less impressive than their House allies, but five did manage to score perfect 100s on the Economic Liberty scale. Because of the types of votes that came up in the Senate, it was more difficult to score well on Personal Liberty, but 31 Senate Republicans did have combined ratings in the Libertarian category.

In both houses Democrats scored substantially less well on both Economic and Personal Liberty issues. Two-hundred and twenty-five Democrats in the House and 36 in the Senate scored so low that they were scored Authoritarian, siding with increasing government power and reduction of civil and personal liberties. Three House Democrats, all from California and including outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi, scored perfect 0/0 results, voting against liberty on every major issue to come before them. Senate Democrats did somewhat better, especially on Personal Liberty, but Senator Ted Kaufman (D-DE), who was fortunately never elected to office, was the one Senator to score an imperfect 0 on Economic Liberty.

In many cases the deciding issues which separated those who did well from those who did poorly were votes that were split on non-partisan lines, particularly over issues of military spending, foreign policy and national security, where both parties have strong internal divisions.  Many Republicans are rejecting the policies of the Bush era and moving toward limiting America’s overseas commitments, while some of the most powerful Democrat leaders remain committed to a policy of war and nation building.  And, of course, many of the important votes where Republicans took a stand against bigger and more intrusive government were votes where their efforts were doomed and produced nothing more than good ratings on this index due to their minority status.

The Liberty Index is based on forty roll call votes, twenty on issues of Economic Liberty and 20 on issues of Personal Liberty in each chamber. The votes are compiled and analyzed by Professor Clifford Thies who holds the Eldon R. Lindsay Chair of Free Enterprise in the Economics Department of Shenandoah University. He is assisted by an anonymous panel of experts who have worked with him on the project for many years. This year his work is dedicated to the late David Nolan, whose system of charting political ideologies has been a valuable tool for educating voters and promoting libertarian ideas.

The full results of the 2009 Liberty Index are available in PDF format from the Republican Liberty Caucus, including charts of the distribution of the ratings and detailed analysis by Professor Thies. For comparison you can find past results going back to 1991 in the RLC archives.

For the first time in recent memory, the Republican Liberty Caucus will host an outreach booth at the Conservative Political Action Conference from February 10-12, 2011 in Washington, DC.
The Republican Liberty Caucus National Convention will also occur on February 12, 2011 in nearby Arlington, Virginia — a short metrorail or cab ride from the CPAC location.

We decided to host our Convention on the final day of CPAC to piggyback on the fact that many potential Convention attendees and many likely Convention attendees may already be in town for CPAC.  Interested parties can choose to attend one event — or both.  Most major CPAC events, including the Campaign for Liberty and assorted liberty movement events, will occur on February 10-11, while our Convention will occur on February 12.

This is an excellent opportunity to inform or remind folks that no public policies will change without changing the Republican Party structure and makeup; hence, the RLC’s existence.  “Education” is important, but “action” is also necessary.

If you’re planning to attend CPAC, please make sure to stop by the Republican Liberty Caucus booth and say hello to us!  If you wish to register for CPAC, you can check out the following links:

• Gary Johnson CPAC Packages
• Young Americans for Liberty / C4L CPAC Packages
• CPAC Official Site – Agenda and List of Speakers

Please make sure to register and attend the 2011 RLC National Convention on Saturday, February 12, 2011 in Arlington, VA — the largest gathering of liberty Republicans in the country!

If you would like to volunteer to work the RLC booth at CPAC 2011, please get in touch with us.

Dave is right! Liberty is under attack.

We must become MORE involved, not less involved.

We must work to further our cause. 2011 is a time to build our organization.

Join your state chapter, make a monthly pledge, or make a donation of any size to the Republican Liberty Caucus.

At the upcoming Republican Liberty Caucus National Convention on February 12, delegates from across the country will elect a new National Committee to lead the organization forward in the coming years.

The National Committee consists of the Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, At-Large Board members, Alternate Board members, and four Regional Directors for the Midwest, Northeast, Southern, and Western Regions.

Regional Directors are elected from among their members by the officers of Chartered states in each of the Regions within thirty days of the Regular Convention.

These are voluntary positions and running for one of them is an excellent way to become more active in the liberty movement. The responsibilities of the positions are as follows:

• Chair: Primary spokesman of the Caucus; must execute the resolutions of the Board; must preside at meetings of the Board and official sessions of any Convention; must ensure the administration of all provisions of the RLC Bylaws.  The bylaws require having served on the National Board for 6 months and having been a registered member of the Caucus for 2 years in order to be qualified to run for this position.
• Vice-Chair: Assumes the duties and obligations of Chairman in his/her absence; assists the Chairman in his/her duties and oversees state chartering and the Convention Committees. You must have served on the board for 6 months and have been a registered member for 2 years to run for this position.
• Secretary: Records and distributes the minutes of all Board meetings and Conventions, certifies Delegates, conducts such ballots as the Board may direct, and acts as Parliamentarian (unless otherwise designated) for all official business of the Caucus. Also directs the Public Relations Committee.  You must have been a dues-paid RLC member for 1 year to run.
• Treasurer: The custodian of all Caucus funds; must propose annual and quarterly budgets, safeguard the financial resources of the Caucus and make such periodic reports of finances as the Board may require. The Treasurer directs the Fundraising Committee. You must have been a dues-paid RLC member for 1 year to run.
• At-Large Board members: Responsible for attending RLC meetings (conference calls) regularly, boosting RLC membership, and promoting the RLC. You must have been a dues-paid RLC member for 1 year to run.
• Regional Directors: There is one director in each of the four Regions established by the Bylaws. Each regional director should attend RLC meetings (conference calls) regularly, be in contact with state affiliates in their region, try to develop more state chapters in their region, and recruit new RLC members. You must have been a dues-paid RLC member for 1 year to run.

If you are interested in running for any of these positions, please let us know. Additionally, the Convention Business page will have information on who is running for what position, the proposed Bylaw changes, and other relevant information for Convention delegates.

The Board ensures the effective implementation of the Bylaws, adopts an annual or quarterly budget, provides for effective communications among members, Chartered State organizations and the general public, and makes arrangements for Regular and Special Conventions of the Caucus. Regular meetings of the Board must occur at least quarterly. (Typically the Board has met once per month via teleconference and is in regular e-mail communication.)

Other Opportunities to Get Involved

The RLC has the following committees: Finance Committee, Membership Committee, Outreach and Press Committee, Publications Committee, and Technology Committee. If you are interested in serving on any of these Committees, please let us know.

• RLC Statement of Principles
• RLC Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• Convention FAQ and Convention Homepage
• Volunteer with the RLC!

What’s In It For Me?

We are a grassroots, volunteer operation. The only thing in it for you is experience and the ability to reach new people with the message of individual liberty and limited government. We consider the RLC a very professional organization with patriotic, principled members who are making a real difference for liberty in their communities.

Tomorrow members of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Travis County as well as other activists from throughout Texas will gather in Austin for the first meeting of a newly expanded affiliate of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas — the Central Texas chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus. “Our chapter has grown beyond just Travis County alone, so we decided to include all of Central Texas in our region,” explained Dave Nalle, who also serves as National Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus.

The featured lunch speaker for the meeting is State Representative-elect David Simpson, who represents an East Texas district that includes the city of Longview. Simpson was endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus in his November 2 victory.

The event will occur tomorrow, November 20, at the Cool River Café (in the Longhorn Room) at 4001 West Parmer Lane, Austin. Admission is free; the lunch buffet is $20. RSVP to the lunch buffet at travispct112chair@gmail.com.

“This is a special event bringing together representatives of diverse activist groups in the Central Texas area, including Tea Party groups, pro-liberty groups and issue advocacy organizations with the goal of coordinating future activities and identifying issues of mutual interest.” The schedule is as follows:

12 Noon — Lunch Buffet ($20)
Featured Speaker – Rep. David Simpson
1 PM — General Session
Welcome – Dave Nalle, National RLC Chairman
How Paradigm’s Shift – Pierre de Rochement, CenTex RLC
How to Stimulate a Mass Movement – Barry Klein
Coalition Building – Johana Scot, Parental Guidance Center
Profile of 2011 Texas Legislature – Greg Holloway, Austin Tea Party Patriots

3pm — Group Session – Dave Nalle, Moderator
Discussion of Lobbying and Activism Coordination
Defining Target Issues – Health Freedom, Nullification, Family Rights
RLC Membership Outreach

4:30pm — Closed Session
RLC members only.

You can RSVP to the event on Facebook.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, a state affiliate of the Republican Liberty Caucus, endorsed Bill O’Brien to become Speaker of the House earlier this week.

“To maximize Republican impact over the next two years, we must have leadership in the state House that is not only committed to traditional Republican principles, but is also able to unite a majority in the House behind those principles of limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility and free enterprise,” said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. “No one will get that job done better than Rep. Bill O’Brien, who will effectively repair the New Hampshire Advantage through a focus on the common goals of the GOP majority.”

Yesterday Mr. O’Brien, a Mont Vernon State Representative, was elected House Speaker over former House Speaker Gene Chandler in the second round of balloting. The New Hampshire RLC elected more than 75 of its endorsed candidates on November 2 — many of them for State House — so the Republican Liberty Caucus had a significant role to play in Mr. O’Brien’s new role.

RLC-endorsed State Representative Mark Warden of Goffstown, who is just beginning his first term, said O’Brien is fair, thoughtful, intelligent and “has a strong inclination towards the Constitution.” Warden said he believes O’Brien will focus on balancing the budget, reducing the size of government and protecting individual liberties while “getting rid of a lot of fluff.”

Voters elected 298 Republicans to fill three-quarters of the seats in the New Hampshire House of Representatives on November 2. “There is now a general recognition that the over-spending has got to stop. Bill O’Brien is a leader with new ideas, new solutions, and new strategies to make that happen,” concluded New Hampshire RLC Board member Tim Condon.

As opposition mounts to the Transportation Security Administration’s new intrusive pat-down and naked body scanner interrogations for America’s airline travelers, courageous RLC-endorsed legislators are fighting back.

In the past three days, legislation has been introduced by two RLC-endorsed legislators at the federal level and in the state of New Jersey.

Yesterday, RLC Advisory Board member Dr. Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced H.R. 6416, The American Traveler Dignity Act. The legislation would specifically outlaw fondling or groping of private law-abiding airline travelers by federal employees.

Also yesterday, Republican Liberty Caucus-endorsed Congressman Jimmy Duncan of Tennessee gave a factual overview of the assault on individual privacy and health risks of the naked body scanners:

And earlier this week, New Jersey Senate and House legislators introduced a bipartisan resolution calling on the federal government to change TSA’s anti-liberty procedures. The coalition was led by Republican Liberty Caucus-endorsed Senator Michael J. Doherty:

Stay tuned to the RLC blog for details on other legislative action items regarding the Transportation Security Administration’s invasive policies.

AUSTIN, TX — The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) denounces the recent changes in the airport passenger screening practices of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

RLC Chairman Dave Nalle said the intrusive nature of new TSA procedures draws attention to the fundamental flaws in the government’s strategy of attempting to address the threat of terrorism through increasingly draconian domestic security measures.

“In the name of public safety, government agencies have been given more and more power at great cost to our civil liberties and in violation of the Bill of Rights,” Nalle said.  “The emergence of an unaccountable state security apparatus in America is a reminder of Ben Franklin’s maxim that ‘they who give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.’”

“The new TSA procedures of giving randomly selected passengers a choice between a full body, backscatter x-ray scan and an intrusive, hands-on body search are unacceptable,” Nalle contends.  “These searches are a clear violation of our 4th Amendment rights, because they are not reasonable and are carried out with no probable cause.”

“The increase in security at airports with more technology and more violation of the privacy rights of passengers cannot be justified on the basis of any increase in the threat of terrorism, because there has been no such increase,” Nalle explained.

The RLC believes that the level of power and authority granted to agencies like the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration is out of proportion to any actual threat against the American people.  Terrorism is not a significant threat on flights within the United States and basic security measures instituted immediately after 9/11 have been sufficient to deter any similar attacks since that time.

The Republican Liberty Caucus believes that the people of the United States have had enough and calls on the federal government to curb abuses by the TSA and other agencies.  We recommend putting control of passenger security in the hands of the airlines, which have a vested interest in making sure that flights are safe.  We also support the passage of Representative Ron Paul’s “American Traveler Dignity Act” (H.R. 6416), which would make TSA employees accountable for their actions.

Nalle observed, “With the increasing level of government intrusion into our lives in the name of security, America reminds me too much of what I saw in the Soviet Union, where I lived as a teenager.  How long will it be before police will be stopping us in the street at random to ask for our identity papers?”

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Several county Republican organizations have either co-sponsored or sent out e-mails promoting appearances in their communities by former New Mexico Governor and Republican Liberty Caucus Advisory Board member Gary E. Johnson. Johnson, a lifelong Republican, recently remarked that the party had always treated him well and he had no reason — if he ran for future political office — to run as something other than a Republican.

Republican Party organizations in Brevard County, Florida and Jefferson County, Alabama are promoting Republican Liberty Caucus-sponsored forums with the courageous former Governor:

At the Brevard County Republican Party website, the county party previews Governor Johnson’s upcoming appearance: “BREC is joining with the Republican Liberty Caucus of Central East Florida and the Florida Campaign for Liberty to host a meet and greet for former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson on Friday, November 19, 6:30 – 8 PM, at the Duran Golf Club. RPOF Vice Chair and Party Chairman candidate Debbie Cox-Roush will also be speaking. The event is free of charge, so please join us. There will be a private policy briefing and photo opportunity with the governor following the reception at a cost of $100.”

In Alabama, the Jefferson County Republican Party — home of Birmingham — sent an e-mail blast promoting the upcoming event with the Governor sponsored by the Alabama RLC and the Samford University Republicans. Their message was addressed to “Members, Elected Officials, clubs, friends, and interested individuals.”

This is exactly the purpose of the RLC: to spread the liberty message to local Republican Party clubs. Congratulations to the Alabama and Central East Florida RLC affiliates for their efforts!

On Saturday afternoon, Governor Gary Johnson was in Austin for a barbecue at Bartholomew Park sponsored by the Republican Liberty Caucus of Central Texas. RLC Chairman Dave Nalle captured the Governor’s remarks on video (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4). He touched upon his background in business, his run for governor, and his positions on various political issues. You can watch and listen below:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4: