Republican Liberty Caucus

Americans for Tax Reform recently named Congressman Don Young of Alaska as their taxpayer hero. That’s interesting, because I don’t think he can be considered fiscally conservative, much less a hero for those hoping for limited government spending and taxation.

In fact, Congressman Young issued a press release bragging that he has secured millions of dollars for Alaskans. Thanks for being a fiscal conservative, Don!

But as our friends at The Next Right detail, Congressman Young is responsible for earmarks, is under investigation for bribery, and promises to support tax hikes for earmarks.

ATF picked the wrong guy.

RLC Update from the States

DC: The state RLC is attempting to charter and will hold its first meeting on July 15 at Brickskeller north of Dupont circle at 6:30pm.

Florida: The state RLC is working on a new web site that will debut shortly. Stay tuned.

Idaho: As detailed earlier in the blog, the state GOP Convention saw two rivals fight out debate on the platform and future direction of the party, with our pro-liberty faction coming out ahead. The new state chair is Norm Semanko. RLC member Ryan Davidson was largely successful in his work to change the platform.

Illinois: The state RLC met at the GOP Convention in Decatur on June 6 and 7. Unfortunately, the libertarian-leaning Steve Rauschenberger was defeated for the state committeeman seat by Pat Brady.

Maine: The state RLC is working on candidate endorsements.

Nebraska: The Nebraska RLC charter has been approved. In celebration of the new charter, the Nebraska RLC will hold its first event on July 11 at 5:30pm at the Double D Ranch (567 County Rd. C) in Ashland, Nebraska. Click here to view an PDF of the event invitation.

Nevada: An alternative GOP Convention was held recently, in protest of the previous Convention. See below post for additional information. The state party-sponsored Republican Convention will reconvene on July 26.

New Hampshire: The state RLC is working on candidate endorsements.

New York: The state RLC is working on candidate endorsements.

Ohio: The RLC has a new state contact in Ohio, retired Colonel John Mitchel. Mr. Mitchel is very involved with his community, is a member of his local GOP Committee, and has nearly 30 years of military experience. He is also an adjunct college professor. We look forward to his active involvement in chartering the Ohio chapter of the RLC.

Utah: The newly chartered state affiliate is working on candidate endorsements.

RLC Internet Groups Grow Rapidly Over Past Two Years

The Republican Liberty Caucus is an all-volunteer organization. We have no paid staff. As a result, our growth is based on actions taken by our members and supporters. We have found that the best way for us to stay in touch with our base is through our state-based eGroups. Each state has a group located at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RLCAL/, where you substitute [AL] with your state’s two letter abbreviation.

Membership in our groups has increased in nearly all of our states, as you would expect from any growing organization, since summer of 2006. What follows is the information how many subscribers each state had in 2006, followed by the current number of subscribers. Please keep in mind that the below numbers are not membership numbers, but eGroup subscription numbers. One does not have to join the RLC to subscribe to our eGroups. The numbers:

Alabama had 25 members in August 2006; it currently has 37.
Alaska had 6 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 23.
Arizona had 39 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 39.
Arkansas had 14 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 34.
California had 17 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 133.
Colorado had 60 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 101.
Connecticut had 20 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 39.
Delaware had 12 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 25.
DC had 31 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 62.
Florida had 103 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 203.
Georgia had 125 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 116.
Hawaii had 3 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 17.
Idaho had 9 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 27.
Illinois had 125 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 156.
Indiana had 73 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 112.
Iowa had 31 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 58.
Kansas had 17 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 28.
Kentucky had 36 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 65.
Louisiana had 24 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 51.
Maine had 40 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 56.
Maryland had 58 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 131.
Massachusetts had 49 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 77.
Michigan had 53 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 145.
Minnesota had 56 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 151.
Mississippi had 7 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 15.
Missouri had 43 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 95.
Montana had 9 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 34.
Nebraska had 15 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 38.
Nevada had 22 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 41.
New Hampshire had 79 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 120.
New Jersey had 18 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 47.
New Mexico had 22 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 40.
New York had 77 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 141.
North Carolina had 60 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 177.
North Dakota had 4 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 8.
Ohio had 22 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 81.
Oklahoma had 50 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 67.
Oregon had 37 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 53.
Pennsylvania had 42 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 113.
Rhode Island has 2 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 9.
South Carolina had 34 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 75.
South Dakota had 10 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 12.
Tennessee had 28 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 50.
Texas had 23 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 149.
Utah had 28 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 73.
Vermont had 8 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 12.
Virginia had 26 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 143.
Washington had 14 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 69.
West Virginia had 7 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 19.
Wisconsin had 68 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 148.
Wyoming had 3 subscribers in 2006; it currently has 24.

Fairly good numbers for an all-volunteer organization. Keep up the good work!

In a June 26 article in the Wall Street Journal, Amy Schatz writes about how liberal bloggers have joined Ron Paul supporters in opposition to FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Earlier this month, the Republican Liberty Caucus joined a bipartisan collection of organizations and individuals to oppose FISA. The letter we signed on to states, in part, that the most important reasons to oppose the bill include:

- The bill would authorize massive warrantless surveillance;
- The bill would require no individualized warrant even when an American’s communications clearly are of interest to the government;
- The bill would curtail effective judicial review of surveillance
- The bill would grant retroactive immunity for wrongdoing; and
- The bill would not provide a reasonable sunset

Trevor Lyman, known for his “money bombs” on behalf of Ron Paul, is planning a “money bomb” in August to stop FISA. According to Schatz, the money Lyman raises will most likely be used to fund advertisements against Democratic and Republican lawmakers who supported the warrantless wiretapping legislation.

According to AlterNet, it was the public’s outcry against the bill that caused the Senate to postpone its FISA vote. Over 13,000 calls were made to Senators in the 48 hours before the vote was supposed to occur. An additional 26,000 e-mails were sent to members of Congress. Senators Dodd, Feingold, and Obama mounted a filibuster to delay the vote.

The delay will now allow members of the RLC and other allied groups to lobby the Senate over the July 4th break, according to Matt Holland of TrueMajority.org. “Essential liberty and defending America from those who would do her harm are not mutually exclusive goals,” Holland said. “Congress needs to hear that message. And it will — thanks to the leadership of Senators Dodd and Feingold and the tens of thousands of everyday citizens who believe that we should take our Constitution seriously,” he concluded.

Please write your Senator and ask him or her to vote NO on FISA.

Dick Heller of Heller v. DC to speak at first RLC Meeting in District of Columbia

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller. The High Court ruled that the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution protects an individual’s right to possess a firearm for private use. It was the second Supreme Court case in United States history to address definitively the question of whether the right to keep and bear arms is a right of individuals or a collective right that applies only to state-regulated militias.

Richard Heller, the plaintiff in the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Heller v. District of Columbia, will be the featured speaker at the first meeting of the Republican Liberty Caucus of the District of Columbia. Dick is a longtime libertarian activist. Heller had applied for a handgun permit previously but was denied. Thus, of the six original plaintiffs in the case, a lower court ruled that only he had standing.

The meeting takes place on Tuesday, July 15 at 6:30pm at Brickskeller, north of Dupont Circle at 1523 22nd St, NW, Washington, DC. Once established, the RLC can serve as a vehicle for libertarians in DC to influence the Republican Party in DC and nationally. The RLC exists to endorse and recruit pro-liberty candidates, influence policy, and influence the leadership of the GOP. You can RSVP at our Facebook events page.

Oklahoma RLC Legislator Passes State Sovereignty Initiative

Rep. Charles Key, a longtime Republican Liberty Caucus member and activist, has passed a resolution in the Oklahoma House of Representatives in affirmation of Oklahoma’s state sovereignty.  WorldNetDaily explains:

“Steamed over a perceived increase in federal usurping of states’ rights, Oklahoma’s House of Representatives told Washington, D.C., to back off.

Joint House Resolution 1089, passed by an overwhelming 92-3 margin, reasserts Oklahoma’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and, according to the resolution’s own language, is “serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates.”

The Tenth Amendment states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”

Traditionally, this language has meant that the federal government is limited in its scope and cannot usurp the sovereign powers of states. In recent decades, however, as the size and reach of the federal government has expanded, many have come to question whether Washington has stepped on states’ rights and gotten too big for its breeches.

Specifically, Resolution 1089 says the following:

“The State of Oklahoma hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States.”

The resolution resolves that Oklahoma will “serve as notice and demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.”

It also instructs that “a copy of this resolution be distributed to the president of the United States, the president of the United States Senate, the speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the speaker of the House and the president of the Senate of each state’s legislature of the United States of America, and each member of the Oklahoma congressional delegation.”

The resolution does not, as some have speculated, amount to secession, but it does send a warning signal to Washington: Oklahoma does not intend to be bullied by big brother government.

Key passed a similar resolution in 1994, when he was serving a previous tenure in the legislature. But that attempt was only a House resolution. He authored 1089 as a joint resolution because, he said, he wanted to increase its exposure. “As people who believe in this constitutional form of government,” he said, “we need to bring this issue to a national level and debate.”

Introduction to the Republican Liberty Caucus from Vice-Chair Philip Blumel:

Former RLC State Representatives Running in Maine, Washington

Former elected RLC members R. Kenneth Lindell and Toby Nixon are running to be elected to their former State Representative posts in Maine and Washington state.

Ken Lindell is the RLC State Chair in Maine and was the State Coordinator of the Ron Paul for President campaign.  He was served from January, 2005 to January, 2007.  He also attended the 2006 RLC National Convention in Orlando, Florida.  Ken recently won his primary against two opponents. He received 229 votes; his opponents received 182 and 143 votes, respectively.  If elected, he will represent Orland, Frankfort, Prospect, Stockton Springs, Verona Island, and Searsport in Maine.  He will face Democrat Lance Weddell in the general election.

Toby Nixon is the former RLC state contact in Washington state.  Toby served as State Representative for the 45th District from January, 2002, through January, 2007. Toby has been active in the community for many years. He serves as president and a member of the Board of Directors of the  Washington Coalition for Open Government, a member of the Executive Committee of the Washington state chapter of Republicans for Environmental Protection, a member of the Board of Directors of Heart of America Northwest (one of the leading organizations advocating for cleanup of the Hanford nuclear site), and on the Advisory Council of Youth Eastside Services (YES). He will face Democrat Roger Goodman in the general election. His website is http://tobynixon.com/.

RLC victory: Semanko new Idaho GOP Chair

Excerpt from an article in The Seattle Times:

“[New Idaho GOP Chairman Norm] Semanko ousted two-term incumbent Kirk Sullivan, who earlier Saturday had been endorsed by Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter. The tally was 227-169.

A separate 199-192 vote among delegates in Sandpoint that supported retaining the state’s open primary is indicative just how divided this convention was. That vote is a reversal from two years ago, when delegates at the 2006 convention in Idaho Falls overwhelmingly voted to close the GOP primary election.

As Semanko takes the reins, he’ll have to figure out a way to manage libertarian-leaning Ron Paul supporters; social conservatives such as anti-abortion activist Bryan Fischer; and Rod Beck, the chief advocate for shuttering Idaho’s GOP primary to Democrats and independents he blames for picking Republican candidates only lukewarm to party ideals.

[...]

Otter did his best to rein in Semanko’s support, but it wasn’t enough.

“The time has come to pull together and not bleed into pink, but stay solidly red,” Otter told delegates. “I believe it’s been Kirk Sullivan’s leadership, and I believe it’s the leadership we’ve had in this party, that has made us the reddest of the red states.”

The governor is traditionally the head of the party, but he couldn’t hold back the wave of dissatisfaction with Sullivan that’s been brewing for months. That gained momentum in the last two weeks, when Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna and U.S. Rep. Bill Sali defected and backed Semanko.

Supporters of Paul, the libertarian-leaning Texas congressman who suspended his presidential campaign this week, came to the convention with a vocal contingent.

For instance, when they succeeded in adding a provision to the state GOP platform demanding the Federal Reserve Bank be dissolved, some of the Paul loyalists screamed “Freedom.”

Ryan Davidson, who has spearheaded three successful ballot initiatives in Hailey to legalize marijuana, said he didn’t think Semanko would have beaten Sullivan if his group hadn’t flexed its political muscles.

“I think it’s a fair assumption to say we were critical,” Davidson told the AP. “I was very excited that every race (for the executive committee) was contested. We either had our people running for those positions, or else non-establishment people whom we could support.”

Davidson’s group tried but couldn’t stop a resolution that reaffirms the Idaho GOP’s commitment to opposing marijuana legalization and supporting enforcement of drug laws.

Still, just the fact that the party in control of three-fourths of the 105 legislative seats, all seven statewide elected posts and the four congressional offices was debating pot laws at its biannual convention is a clear sign Semanko will be challenged to manage increasingly competing interests that aren’t afraid of speaking up.

“There’s a lot of passion out there,” said Brad Hoaglun, a delegate from Ada County and chief of staff for the state controller’s office. “As you saw, it explodes. People are fervent about their causes. It may be unmanageable at first, but it will become more so, over time. I think time and experience will allow people to realize what it takes to move folks and get things done.”

To learn more about the RLC in Idaho, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RLCID/.

June RLC State Update

DC: On July 12, a “Ron Paul March” will take place in Washington, DC. Click here to learn more.

Florida: On June 4, 2008, RLCer Dr. Robert Sussman presented a digest version of a talk that he usually gives to medical students to teach them about free market versus government healthcare, an important lesson for Republican activists as well, to the Palm Beach affiliate of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida. Consistent with RLC political strategy, the Palm Beach County Meetup of the Republican Liberty Caucus is not a stand-alone meeting. Instead, RLCers meet in conjunction with the Republican Club of Central Palm Beach County. According to RLCFL Vice-Chairman Philip Blumel, “We had good turnout — including our county Republican Executive Committee Chair Sid Dinerstein — at what turned out to be a FEE-style back-to-basics lecture about applying market principles to health care.” Blumel reported that Dr. Sussman is available for talks at Republican clubs and other civic groups in South Florida and suggested that other RLC groups can book him with confidence that the program will reflect positively on the RLC.

Minnesota: The Minnesota chapter of the RLC held its annual convention on May 17, 2008 at the French Regional Park in Plymouth. A new slate of officers was elected, including: Dave Fitzsimmons, Chair; Andy Lindberg, Vice-Chair; Norann Dillon, Secretary; Tom Willenbring, Treasurer. Five At-Large members were elected: Marianne Stebbins, Joe Dillon, Ebenezer Howe, Wendy Alfveby, and Dan McGrath. Two alternates were elected: Doug Harrison and Terry McCall. Additionally, Bill Jungauer was endorsed for House District 39A. Additional endorsements will occur at the member outreach meeting on July 12.

North Carolina: The RLC National Board approved the charter of the North Carolina affiliate at the National Board meeting on Monday, June 9, 2008. Additionally, there will be an RLC Business Meeting on Saturday, June 7 at 6:00pm at the “vendor area” of the Koury Convention Center to elect the new officers for the state. This is immediately following the NC GOP busisness meeting at the State Convention.

Utah: The RLC National Board approved the charter of the Utah affiliate at the National Board meeting on Monday, June 9, 2008. On Saturday, June 14, 2008, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Utah will be meeting to discuss its charter application and organization, the mission and objectives of the organization, the calendar and assignments of the organization, and endorsements for the June 24 primary. The meeting will be held at the Larry H. Miller Campus in Sandy, Utah.