… ABOUT THE RLC
“The Republican Liberty Caucus is an organization that deserves a huge influence, especially today, as the Republican Party is moving further and further away from its founding principles.”
— Mark Skousen, economist & investment adviser
“In 2005, I wasn’t involved in politics in any substantive way. I had never really thought about running for office. I began looking for organizations that shared the beliefs I had — and that’s when I came across the Republican Liberty Caucus. And, really, it’s what’s started my move toward running for office.”
— U.S. Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), second youngest member of Congress
“We need to have ten thousand, a hundred thousand, members of this organization because it is the guidepost for where the Republican Party should be headed.”
— Stephen Moore, Wall Street Journal
“I served in Congress for many years as an elected libertarian Republican. The RLC has proven to be effective at electing other libertarian Republicans to office.”
— U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), RLC National Chair in 1996
Dr. Ron Paul takes the World’s Smallest
Political Quiz at a RLC Convention.
“I’m thrilled to receive the endorsement of the RLC because they are an active and growing organization that understands that big government prevents free market job creation and growth, which is the cornerstone of the economic freedom our country was founded upon. The RLC is doing a great job of spreading this message, which is resonating very well with voters across the country.”
— Dr. BJ Lawson, North Carolina Congressional candidate
“The Republican Liberty Caucus does the real work of advancing limited government. You don’t just talk about it. What you do really makes a difference.”
— Haley Barbour, former RNC Chairman and Mississippi Governor
“[The RLC's endorsement is an] important endorsement for me.”
— Mitch Seabaugh, Georgia State Senator, 2008
“Thank you. I am proud to have the support of any organization in favor of free markets, individual rights, and limited government. Those are the values that got me interested in running for office, and those are the values that I always try to embody as a public servant.”
— Dan Greenberg, former Arkansas State Representative, 2008
Michigan Congressman and RLC member Justin Amash (center) poses with other RLC elected officials.
“The Republican Liberty Caucus provided the springboard for my campaign for State Representative. Its members are committed to upholding the foundational American principles of limited government, free markets, and individual liberty.”
— Justin Amash, Michigan Congressman
“I’m honored to be on the RLC’s current Board of Advisors, along with many associates, colleagues and other esteemed defenders of liberty. I support the RLC’s 2010 endorsed candidates, and am encouraged with the prospects of returning power to the people.”
— Dr. John Hospers, Retired Professor of Philosophy; 1972 candidate for President
Thank you for your endorsement. I am very honored.”
— Daryl Wheeler, Sheriff, Bonner County, Idaho
Daryl Wheeler, County Sheriff and defender of liberty.
“The Republican Liberty Caucus of Michigan was a great help in our canvassing efforts to recall Speaker Dillon. As the RLC grows, so will our chances of success in future campaigns to protect Michigan’s taxpayers.”
— Leon Drolet, former Michigan State Representative
“I am honored [to be endorsed by the RLC]. It is my sincere hope that I prove to be worthy of this endorsement.”
— Tom Martin, 2008 endorsed candidate for State Representative, Pennsylvania
“I am honored to have the RLC’s endorsement and will proudly carry the banner for liberty throughout this race.”
— Tyler Nixon, 2008 endorsed candidate for State Representative, Delaware
… ABOUT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
“I am a libertarian with a small ‘l’ and a Republican with a capital ‘R.’ And I am a Republican with a capital ‘R’ on grounds of expediency, not on principle.” — Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize winning economist
“We’ve found that the 14-15 percent of libertarian voters we identify usually vote about 70 percent Republican. But not always. In 1992 half that libertarian Republican group jumped ship and voted for Ross Perot. In 2004 George W. Bush got only 59 percent of the libertarian vote, and in 2006 libertarians gave only about 54 percent of their votes to Republican congressional candidates. Facing a prospective Obama-Reid-Pelosi government during an economic crisis, they came back to the Republican fold in 2008.”
– David Boaz, “Libertarian is Not a Four Letter Word”
“The doctrine of blind obedience and unqualified submission to any human power, whether civil or ecclesiastical, is the doctrine of despotism, and ought to have no place among Republicans and Christians.”
— Angelica Grimke, abolitionist and writer
“The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it.”
— P.J. O’Rourke
“Do not associate my name with anything you do. You are extremists, and you’ve hurt the Republican party much more than the Democrats have.”
— Barry Goldwater, speaking of unprincipled establishment “Republicans”
“If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism.”
— Ronald Reagan
“Some men change their party for the sake of their principles; others their principles for the sake of their party.”
— Winston Churchill
“George W. Bush destroyed the Republican Party, by which I mean he sundered it, broke its constituent pieces apart and set them against each other. He did this on spending, the size of government, war, the ability to prosecute war, immigration and other issues.”
— Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal
“Listening to mainline Republican Party spokespersons, people could be persuaded to think Republicans are libertarian. However, recent Republican actions show them to support big government, big business and increasing control over people. This has resulted in higher taxes, massive unemployment and a potentially catastrophic fall in consumer confidence and demand.”
— John Browne, former British Member of Parliament, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Oct. 2009
“I will oppose Republicans when they are wrong … because if you support bad Republicans, you just make them worse.”
— Bernie Kunkel, Boone County Republican Party, Kentucky
… ABOUT AMERICAN PRINCIPLES
“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government — lest it come to te our lives and interests.”
— Patrick Henry
“The strength of the Constitution, lies in the will of the people to defend it.”
— Thomas Edison
“No cause is left but the most ancient of all, the one that, from the beginning of our history, has determined the very existence of politics: The cause of freedom versus tyranny.”
— Hannah Arendt
“A society based on the freedom to choose is better than a society based on the principles of socialism, communism and coercion.”
— Milton Friedman
“In a free society, government is restrained—and therefore political power is less important. The proper role for government in America is to provide national defense, a court system for civil disputes, a criminal justice system for acts of force and fraud, and little else. In other words, the state as referee rather than an active participant in our society.”
— Dr. Ron Paul
… HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
“The Republican Party is deeply split between the traditional big-government establishment and the small-government libertarians, who seem to be gaining ground fast not only in America, but also in Germany and France.”
— John Browne, former British MP, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Oct. 2009
“The Virginia chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus had endorsed [Ken] Cuccinelli [for Attorney General]. They were out in force. From eyeballing, people identified with either the Republican Liberty Caucus or the Campaign for Liberty seemed to be about 10-15% of the convention. They pushed Cuccinelli over the top. I think that this marks a pattern for the future of the GOP in smaller caucuses and conventions.”
— Soren Dayton, GOP strategist, May 2009
“A politician running on a Ron Paul-style economic platform [will do] very, very well in the GOP primaries of 2012.”
— Ross Douthat, Atlantic Monthly, Sept. 2008
“The old priorities of the Republican coalition are being replaced … by new issues such as energy, the environment, health care and the effects of global competition on American workers. But in the long term, Republicans will need to find compelling conservative and free-market policies that appeal to the concerns of young people, Hispanics and an anxious middle class.”
— Michael Gerson, Newsweek, 2008
“The effectiveness of the Libertarian Party and almost all other third parties in U.S. history in promoting their policy positions has usually been counterproductive, because running a third-party candidate reduces the vote for the less undesirable of the major party candidates. A disciplined group that is prepared to endorse one or the other major party candidate in a close election, however, can have a substantial effect on the issue positions of both major party candidates.”
— Dr. William Niskanen, Chairman Emeritus, Cato Institute, Sept. 2008
