[UPDATE 8/10/11 -- Florida's 4th District Court of Appeals rule today IN FAVOR of county term limits. Thanks to the Broward County attorney's office and all the RLCers and others who rallied behind their voter-approved term limits laws!]

In Palm Beach County, two county commissioners – Burt Aaronson and Karen Marcus, a Democrat and a Republican -- have announced they intend to defy 70% of the voters by running again in 2012 in spite of a voter-approved and initiated term limits law. RLCers and others are not taking this news sitting down.

Citizens – including RLCers Rick Shepherd, Bill Skinner and George and Philip Blumel – met on Monday to plan a response. The meeting, called just two days before, drew over 20 activists, most veterans of the successful campaign to impose term limits in 2002.

Earlier this year a new local website was launched to track this issue, www.pbctermlimits.com. At Monday’s meeting, activists raised some Monday and decided to buy ads in local media and start a 93,000 home robocall informing voters of the commissioners’ intentions and directing them to the website.

A poll has been created on the site, allowing readers to weigh in on the controversy.

Palm flyers were created for distribution at public places and citizens are encourage to participate in the current charter review process, calling for retention and defense of the people’s term limits law.

On Thursday, Philip Blumel spoke to the Palm Beach County Young Republicans and distributed the flyers.

The goal of the so-far unnamed group is to educate voters about the law and discourage Marcus and Aaronson from running against the clearly expressed will of the people. Both commissioners are pinning their hopes on a legal challenge to the Broward County term limits law, but the citizens committee is echoing the Palm Beach Post’s call for commissioners to stand down in accord with the clearly expressed will of the people.

The term limits law is typical of those in home rule charter counties throughout the state. It imposes an 8-year consecutive term limit and passed with 70% of the voter. Activists collected over 60,000 petition signatures to put the idea on the ballot for a vote.

The term limits went into affect in 2010. In the eight-year period before the limits went into effect, four members of the commission have been indicted and three have gone to prison for corruption.

Former New Jersey Senatorial candidate Dr. Murray Sabrin, echoing Milton Friedman’s famous advice, told Republicans to work to reduce all taxes, everywhere, in his address to the Republican Club of Central Palm Beach County on June 2.

In his manifesto-like address, “The Case for Zero Taxes,” Dr. Sabrin drew on his professional experience as finance professor at Ramapo College in New Jersey and political experience as an RLCer and Republican candidate to make his seemingly radical case to mainstream Republicans. He said this is only possible by drastically reducing the scope of government, returning it to the Founders' limited, Constitutional vision.

The four major classes of taxes under fire included direct taxes (income tax), indirect taxes (tariffs and excise taxes), regulation and inflation.

Dr. Sabrin warned Republicans not to get enthused about some novel new tax, like the Fair Tax, but instead should focus on cutting spending and taxes, not adding or shifting or improving them. “Taxation is not a solution,” he said, “It’s the problem."

He noted that noone in Washington – “except for Ron Paul and maybe a few others” are serious about cutting spending and, hence, taxes. In his run for the U.S. Senate, Dr. Sabrin was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and has served on the national board of the RLC.

It has become a tradition. Every year, dozens of RLCers make the trek to Tallahassee for RLC Days at the Capitol -- two days of tangling with legislators, drinking at Clyde's and Costello's and getting briefings from economists, grass roots lobbyists and think tanks.

It is a lot of fun, and comradrie is always a welcome result. But it is more than just fun. RLCers express the views of the membership on key issues directly to legislators and teach them about the libertarian Republican approach to policy. The group chooses issues that emphasize liberty and urge principle over party.

This year, the issues agenda was longer than usual and RLCer and political consultant John Hallman helped us press the right issues in the right offices to be most effective as he led 34 of us around the capitol.

Top issues turned out to be supporting the governor on tough pension reforms, cutting spending and taxes, banning of red light cameras, repealing the REAL ID act, several state sovereignty bills, eliminating mandatory minimum sentencing and repealing the state septic tank inspection program.

Interestingly, Smart Cap -- the institutional spending restraint billed as TABOR and Taxpayer Protection Act in the past -- was on the list but didn't engender the same enthusiasm of years past. This idea, which traditionally would limit the growth of state spending or revenues to a combination of inflation and population growth, passed the Senate before RLCers had left town. The Senate bill was pushed by its longtime champion Senate President Mike Haridopolos, but had been watered down with exceptions and even with a padded formula that increased spending in the early years and hence raised the spending trajectory forever. As a result, most of our lobbying on Smart cap was urging House members to adopt a tougher version.

Another surprise is the interest we found in Tallahassee for medical marijuana. The statewide coordinator for the MedMar referendum effort, new RLCer Kim Russell, joined us as we made our rounds and we discovered several rookie legislators of both parties supported the idea.

RLCers received a briefing from our chief advisor, FSU professor of economics Randy Holcombe, on several issues. Also, Bob McClure of the James Madison Institute briefed us on the work the Tallahassee-based think tank is currently doing. RLCer Greg Newburn of Families Against Mandatory Minimums briefed us as well as representatives of Floridians Against REAL ID.

RLCers met with dozens of politicians as a group and individually, as time was provided for us to visit our own legislators. As a group RLCers met with, among others, Reps. Jimmie T. Smith, Matt Caldwell, Jeff Clemens, Alan Hayes and Sens. Joe Negron, Greg Evers, Scott Plakon, Mike Haridopolos and Don Gaetz. 

Pictured: At top, Senate President Mike Haridopolos goes through our legislative agenda commenting and answering questions from RLCers. Next, Rep. Matt Caldwell addresses RLCers about his memorial calling for Congressional term limits and other issues. At bottom, Bryan Donnelly and Steve Burden listen to FSU professor Randy Holcombe.

Eric Olson for Congress TV interview with local channel 56 News