In a development which may be the first constitutional crisis to come out of the growing state sovereignty movement, the federal Department of Justice has threatened to shut down air travel in Texas if the Texas legislature follows through with passage of a popular bill limiting the power of the Transportation Security Administration within the state.

HB 1937 is one of two bills authored by Rep. David Simpson (RLC-Tyler) designed to prevent the TSA from implementing unpopular security measures within the state of Texas. It would make it a felony for TSA agents to engage in certain forms of intimate touching during the course of an “enhanced pat down” of an airline passenger. If a complaint were made against TSA personnel they could be arrested and charged by local law enforcement.

“All that HB 1937 does is require that the TSA abide by the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution,” commented Senator Simpson. “We aren‘t even prohibiting the pat-downs, per se. We‘re just saying you can‘t go straight to third base. You have to have a reason—you have to have probable cause—before groping someone‘s sexual organs.”

Simpson’s other bill (HB1938) addressed high-intensity scanners and stalled in the Texas House of Representatives, but the anti-groping bill passed the House unanimously, was approved unanimously by a Senate committee and was expected to pass with strong support in the Texas Senate Tuesday or Wednesday.

This is the point at which the federal government intervened. Reports began circulating on Tuesday of TSA bureaucrats descending on the state capitol to lobby legislators against the bill and then John E. Murphy, US Attorney for the Western District of Texas issued an official letter (PDF) on behalf of the Department of Justice to state legislators which threatened an injunction against the bill if it passed as well as stating that if an injunction were not granted the “TSA would likely be required to cancel any flight or flights for which it could not ensure the safety of passengers and crew.”

The Department of Justice makes the argument in the letter that “under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, Texas has no authority to regulate federal agents and employees in the performance of their federal duties or to pass a statute that conflicts with federal law.”

This argument is weakened by the fact that it is not clear that the TSA has legitimate federal jurisdiction over airports which are operated by local or regional airport authorities or private companies. Several major airports in other parts of the country have been able to opt out of TSA services and employ private security instead, and Texas airports could certainly provide adequate security as they did before the TSA takeover.

Another powerful argument against the DOJ position is that the proposed legislation specifically protects the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, a protection which supporters argue the TSA regularly violates. If the TSA is behaving unconstitutionally can the federal government legitimately defend their actions?

In an unprecedented development on Tuesday as the bill was being debated, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst took to the floor of the Senate, organizing opposition to the bill and generating support mostly from Democrat lawmakers to pressure Senator Patrick to withdraw the bill.

In response to the federal threats and weakening support from intimidated lawmakers, Senator Dan Patrick (R-Houston) withdrew the bill from consideration on Tuesday, though it is hoped that it will be put back on the docket for Wednesday.

Defending the bill on the Senate floor, Senator Patrick declared “There was a time in the history of the state where we did not cower to rules and policies that invade the privacy of Texans. This was a ‘come and take it’ moment…The federal government came in and bullied the state of Texas today. They said ‘If you dare pass a bill that makes us change our policy, then we threaten to close down your airports.’”

Local citizens groups which have backed the bill are working hard to lo generate calls and emails to legislators and other officials in support of the bill, including Support Dignity, Stop Austin Scanners and the Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas. Similar legislation has been introduced in New Hampshire, Utah, Alaska, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The fate of the Texas bill will likely determine how this sort of legislation fares in other states. With public sentiment overwhelmingly against the TSA after numerous reports of inappropriate searches, federal authorities may be touching a match to a powder keg with their intimidation tactics.

We are encouraging RLC members in Texas and around the country to contact Texas legislators and other political leaders to raise awareness of this gross violation of individual and states rights. Contacting Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst and Senator Dan Patrick would probably be particularly useful, as would promoting this issue in the national media. Contact information can be found at Stop Austin Scanners.

Some portions of this article appeared in slightly different form on Blogcritics

As liberty voters we’re very lucky this year that we have a better choice of candidates than we have had since the days of Goldwater and Taft.  With both Governor Gary Johnson and Representative Ron Paul running some of us are finding it hard to figure out which candidate to support and others are bickering and squabbling over their choices rather than celebrating how lucky we really are. Liberty is catching fire in the hearts of America and this campaign proves it.

At this point, early in the primary process, it benefits us to have as many candidates as possible talking about cutting back the federal government and reclaiming our rights.  Right now there are no delegates at stake and no serious establishment frontrunner to focus on defeating.  That will probably remain true through the primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, where it’s all about exposure and there aren’t many delegates to win. After that the race gets serious and there are more and more delegates to be won.  At that point we’re going to have to make a choice of who to throw all our efforts and resources behind and it seems obvious to me that the right choice is Ron Paul.

I’ve reached that conclusion for reasons which are both pragmatic and political, and from both perspective he is the gold standard for liberty in 2012.

Practical Advantages

Paul’s practical advantages are obvious.  He is better known, has a large established base of followers and a national organization which is well established with an extraordinary record of fundraising success. Fundraising will be particularly important in a race where the Democrats have promised to spend a billion dollars. Paul is already all over the media, especially the cable news networks.  He is better known than the other hardcore conservative candidates like Rick Santorum and Tim Pawlenty. He has multiple bestselling books in print and his followers promote him tirelessly.  The level of love and support he has generated says a lot about the man and his ideas.  Plus we saw his success at spreading his message in 2008 and now he can build on that base to go even further. Paul has shown he’s a strong debater and an energetic campaigner despite his age, and we need that enthusiasm to beat Obama.

Paul also has long-term associations which will benefit him in the election. He has long been a supporter of pro-liberty groups like the Von Mises Institute and the John Birch Society and was a founding member of the Republican Liberty Caucus. He has a wide base of support on the internet from groups like Justin Raimondo’s AntiWar.com and Lew Rockwell and the many political writers at LewRockwell.com, and has built powerful tools for communication on his own networks like RonPaulForums.com and for grassroots support in Campaign for Liberty. Plus it can’t be forgotten that the idea of the Tea Party originated in Paul’s 2008 campaign and many Tea Party voters are still drawn to him.

The Right Ideas

On his political positions Paul is also superior. People keep comparing him to Gary Johnson, but it’s a false comparison. They’re not nearly as similar as Johnson supporters would like us to believe and they really aren’t even competing for the same voters. Ron Paul is a true constitutional conservative and it’s a mistake to call him a libertarian, even if he has a lot in common with that movement. Gary Johnson is more of a moderate libertarian. He’s a minarchist who is a liberal on social issues. He’s closer to Ronald Reagan or the old Rockefeller wing of the party on many issues and he’s too liberal on social issues for Republican primary voters. Paul has a more clearly defined constitutional position and an established reputation for standing on principle.

Ron Paul’s positions are more appealing on a number of issues. He’s the only candidate who is willing to stand up and call for an end to the Federal Reserve, which is a dangerous cabal run by foreign bankers with no basis in Constitutional authority. He’s the only candidate who believes in sound money and a return to the gold standard rather than fractional reserve banking. He’s also the strongest candidate supporting states rights and state sovereignty and an end to federal tyranny under the 14th Amendment.

Perhaps most importantly, Ron Paul is the only candidate brave enough to have a foreign policy which admits the mistakes we’ve made overseas and the disastrous and parasitical nature of our relationship with Israel. It is Israel and it’s powerful lobby which have drawn us into war after war and made us the target of terrorism, and Ron Paul would end that relationship and he would withdraw all of our military bases outside our border and stop spending money to prop up dictators and intervene in the affairs of countries all over the world. He’d get us out of the United Nations, thumb his nose at the New World Order, and strengthen our borders to protect our workers and our jobs.

What is absolutely essential for the primary election is that Paul’s personal values can win over GOP primary voters. While he believes that states rights are sacrosanct and is willing to leave many things up to the states to decide, Paul personally believes in fundamental moral values. He believes in the sanctity of human life from conception, opposes the immorality of gay marriage, supports the right of students to pray in school and the posting of the ten commandments on public property. He believes in economic liberty, but also the liberty to practice religion freely and maintain a traditional Judeo-Christian moral code in our society without the interference of the federal government.

It is these values which do the most to differentiate Paul from Gary Johnson, and it is these values which will win him the support of key voters in the religious right so that he can win a primary victory. When traditionalist Christian voters discover that Johnson personally supports gay marriage and abortion and letting the federal government dictate social policy to the states they will turn against him in droves. Unless Ron Paul is there for them to turn to they may support a socially conservative candidate who is terrible on other issues like Mike Huckabee.

Winning in 2012

Gary Johnson is a great spokesman for libertarian ideas, but he is out of step with many in the Republican party and while he might draw Democrats and independents in the general election, he cannot win in a Republican primary because of his controversial views, and you don’t get to the general election without winning the primary. As a true constitutional conservative Ron Paul does not have that liability. Once his message gets out most Republicans will realize that he’s got the right ideas for them.

If you believe in the Constitution, states rights, ending the Fed, sound money and a non-interventionist foreign policy, then Ron Paul is your candidate. He will end the abuses of the last two administrations, cut back the overgrowth of the federal government, get us out of hock to foreign bankers and end the Bush-Obama era of imperialism, torture and murder.

The patently unconstitutional “REAL ID” implementation has been delayed for the third time. Passed in 2005, the Department of Homeland Security has extended state implementation of the law to January 2013.

Homeland Security officials said the deadline was extended because most states would not be able to meet all the federal requirements of the so-called Real ID Act by May 11, 2011.

Twenty-four states are refusing to comply with the regulations, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Sixteen of them — including Arizona, Georgia, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Utah — have passed laws prohibiting compliance with Real ID, citing privacy and funding issues. The other eight — including Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois and Nevada — have passed resolutions opposing the law.

Republican Reps. Darrell Issa, Jim Sensenbrenner, and Lamar Smith were outraged at the delay on implementation. “The administration should not prolong Real ID implementation. By doing so, they disregard the law of the land. Delaying Real ID unnecessarily places Americans’ lives at risk and threatens national security,” said Smith, of Texas.

There is no evidence that REAL ID — a national ID card — is constitutional. If implemented, it would prohibit freedom of movement and violate individual privacy like no other law in American history.

Cautioning that the federal dollars in your wallet could soon be little more than green paper backed by broken promises, RLC-endorsed freshman State Representative Glen Bradley of Youngsville wants North Carolina to issue its own legal tender backed by silver and gold. He introduced a bill that would establish a legislative commission to study his plan for a state currency. He is also drafting a second bill that would require state government to accept gold and silver coins as payment for taxes and fees.

If the state treasurer starts accepting precious metals as payment, Bradley said that could prod the private sector to follow suit — potentially allowing residents to trade gold for groceries. “I think we’re in the process of inflating a dollar bubble that could be very devastating. The idea is once the study commission finishes its work, then we could build on top of the hard-money currency with an actual State Tender Act that will basically [issue currency] in correspondence to precious metals stored in the state treasury.”

Bradley predicts that world events could soon prove him prescient. “I don’t necessarily believe [the Federal Reserve] is about to collapse right now,” said Bradley, 37. “There are still a few things they can do with qualitative easing to sort of extend their survival. It’s just a question of how long. Right know we have a lot of sovereign debt going to China and Japan. When that debt stops being purchased by foreign countries, that currency is going to flood back onto American shores, potentially creating hyperinflation and bursting the currency bubble we have coming in Federal Reserve notes today.”

Mr. Bradley, a self-employed computer technician and former Marine, attended Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest until he could no longer afford tuition. While he has not taken any in-depth classes in economics, Bradley described himself as a devotee of the Austrian School, a branch of economic thought that originated in Vienna and was influential before World War I.

A strict Constitutionalist, he has also introduced bills to exempt North Carolina agricultural products and firearms manufactured in the state from federal regulation as long as they are not sold or exported across state lines.

Bradley’s bill has yet to attract any co-sponsors among his fellow Republicans. The office of House Speaker Thom Tillis declined to say whether the Republican Party leadership supports Bradley’s proposal to create a state currency. His bill has been referred to the House rules committee, where legislation is sometimes sent to die. “There are a lot of diverse opinions and diverse views in our caucus,” said Jordan Shaw, Tillis’ spokesman. “I don’t think we’re going to forecast what will happen.”

Thanks to the Raleigh News Observer, DrudgeReport.com, and libertarianrepublican.net for covering Rep. Bradley’s legislative proposal.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida has developed a 2011 legislative agenda for its members to pursue.

The agenda, based on the RLC Statement of Principles, will be put into action as Florida RLC’ers attend the annual Lobby Days at the Capitol in Tallahassee today.

The Florida RLC’s legislative agenda is an excellent model for other state RLC chapters to follow and implement.

1. Restore Our Constitutional Rights
_______________________________________

• “Sovereignty of the State”: Joint resolution proposing the creation of Section 28 of Article I of the State Constitution, to assert the sovereignty of the state and refuse to comply with unconstitutional federal mandates. Support SJR1438/HJR1103
• “Intrastate Commerce Act”: A statute which provides that all goods grown, made or manufactured in Florida and sold within Florida shall not be subject to the authority of the Federal government. Support SB1478
• Scope and Exercise of Federal Power to Regulate Commerce: Urge Congress to honor provisions of U.S. Constitution that limit scope & exercise of federal power to regulate commerce. Support HM577
• Exercise of Federal Power: Urge the Congress of the United States to honor the provisions of the Constitution of the United States and United States Supreme Court case law which limit the scope and exercise of federal power. Support SM358
• Health Care Freedom Act: Creation of S. 28, Art. I of State Constitution to prohibit laws or rules from compelling any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system. Support SJR2/HJR1
• Ban Red Light Cameras: Many studies show how unsafe intersections become after installation of red light cameras, with a dramatic increase in the number of crashes and serious injury. These studies also show cities have been found guilty of shortening the yellow light to increase violations in order to generate revenue. Outside the safety issues raised by installation of these cameras is the constitutionality of the systems. Our Constitution says citizens have a right to face their accuser, yet their accuser in this case is a machine. Support SB672/HB4087
• Repeal REAL ID Act: In 2008, the Florida Legislature enacted the REAL ID Act as 4 of 47 sections in a DMV bill. The law required citizens to produce an enormous amount of personal papers to either obtain or renew a Florida driver’s license. This personal information are then seized by the state and scanned into an accessible database. The REAL ID law was forced on the states by the Congress in violation of the US Constitution’s 10th Amendment and violates the Florida Constitution’s 4th Amendment “Right to Privacy”.
• Open Carry: Allow concealed-weapons-licensed gun owners to openly carry their weapons. Support SB234/HB517
• State Jurisdiction: Limit gun regulation to the state and prohibit all local governments from passing or enforcing gun rules and regulations. Support CS/SB402/CS/HB45
• Doctor Prohibition: Prohibit physicians from asking patients about gun ownership. Support SB432/HB155

2. Repeal Unnecessary and Burdensome Regulations
_______________________________________

• Online Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems: Eliminates provisions directing DOH to create & administer statewide septic tank evaluation program. Support SB168/HB13
• Florida Climate Protection Act: Repeal provisions for Cap & Trade regulatory program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electric utilities. Support SB762/HB4117

3. Cut Spending and Protect the Taxpayer
_______________________________________

• Smart Cap: Amend Florida’s constitution to limit revenues collected by state government to the amount collected the previous year, plus an annual adjustment based on a combination of population growth and the rate of inflation. Any funds in excess of the limits will be placed in the state’s “rainy day fund” until that fund reaches 10 percent of the prior year’s total budget – at that point, the Legislature must vote to either provide tax relief or reduce property taxes.
• Stop High Speed Rail/Sun-Rail: The total cost of these rail projects will be devastating to our economy and the tax increases needed to operate the rail projects will take more money from the taxpayers. Spending billions on 1800’s rail technology such as Sun-Rail is a big mistake at a time when the Florida Legislature has to make cuts to essential services. We oppose state funding of rail projects.
• Pension Reform: Generous public pension benefits promised a decade or more are now placing significant burdens on many local budgets and although the state pension system isn’t in as bad shape as some other states, it is time to address it now before it does become a problem in the near future. The Florida Legislature should enact common sense reforms such as moving employees into a 401K style defined “contribution” plan. It is reasonable for the state of Florida to require government employees to contribute a portion of their salary into a retirement plan. Florida is currently the only state that does not have this requirement. Support SB1128/SB1130/HB1405
• Medicaid Reform: Our current Medicaid program is estimated to cost $20.2 billion this year, approximately 30 percent of our states budget. Sustaining a program that has been over-expanded, combined with new and expensive mandates from Washington from threatens to throw our state into further deficits and requiring more cuts to essential services. Support SB1972
• Property Insurance-Reduce Risk to Taxpayers: With Citizens Property Insurance becoming the primary insurer of property in Florida, the Florida taxpayer could be on the hook for billions of dollars if a hurricane of any significance hits Florida. Insuring Florida properties with state dollars will lead to huge debts, and all taxpayers will bear responsibility for that debt. Consumers in Florida would be served best by laws that attract new capital into the state; competition serves consumers better than regulation. Support SB1714/HB1243

4. Term Limits
_______________________________________

• Congressional Term Limits: Urge Congress to propose to states amendment to U.S. Constitution to limit terms of office of members of Congress. Support HM685.
• Do not extend Florida legislators’ term limits: We believe term limits are the only way to prevent elected officials from becoming entrenched and beholden to special interest groups. We implore you to leave the current term limit for legislators in place. Oppose SJR 300/HJR 207

Learn more about the Florida RLC at www.rlcfl.org.

Republicans in Florida should be proud of the direction Governor Scott is taking the Republican Party (and state government). Thus far, there are several reasons to be pleased with Governor Scott’s budget and agenda:

• Scott proposed spending $4.6 billion less than this year’s budget and wants to eliminate seven percent of the state’s government jobs, which would mean about 6,700 state-worker layoffs — significant cuts and hard choices at a tough economic time. In fact, RLC member Kristi Dunn was recently interviewed about her support for Governor Scott’s budget;

• Tony Fabrizio, Scott’s campaign guru and advisor, polled the issue of legalizing marijuana in Florida and found that nearly 6 in 10 people support the idea — almost enough to pass a state Constitutional amendment. Of the 800 voters surveyed, 456 would have voted yes on a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana, but 344 would have voted against it;

• Governor Scott is working with the legislature to cut government waste. Legislators even asked the RLC’s input on what to cut;

• Governor Scott is a vocal opponent of the Obama health law and refuses to implement it in Florida unless it is found constitutional; and

• Governor Scott’s decision not to accept a $2.4 billion federal grant for a high speed rail project was a “courageous choice”, according to a congratulatory letter he received from the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida Chairman Matthew D. Nye.

Governor Scott spoke at a Republican Liberty Caucus of Central East Florida meeting in September, 2010.

The Florida chapter of the RLC will host its Lobby Days at the Capitol on March 14 and 15. The top issue on the agenda is a Taxpayers Bill of Rights for Florida.

A group of roughly 25 Republican Liberty Caucus of Virginia supporters — including Chairman George Primbs, Vice Chair Steven Latimer, Treasurer Cliff Dunn, members of the Board of Directors, and members of the organization – met early in the morning on Monday, January 17 to participate in the Virginia Tea Party Lobby Day. This was the first coordinated group trip to Richmond.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Central Virginia played host to the northern Virginia contingent as well as several activists from Charlottesville, Newport News, and Virginia Beach. The day began with a RLC business meeting over coffee and breakfast. RLC’ers brought various literature and brochures to the event to distribute, and the Central Virginia RLC paid three folks to hand out our literature to everyone in attendance at the various events of the day. Chairman George Primbs made “I am the RLC” stickers that everyone ended up sporting.

The Board nominated Shelby McCurnin and Rob Kenyon to alternate positions on the Board of Directors. The Board also chose to endorse Republican Delegate Harvey Morgan’s bill to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana possession in the state of Virginia, HB 1443. After the business meeting, the RLC took a group photo (Note: other RLC members were not present at our initial gathering, but met up with us later in the day):

Then RLC members met up at the Capitol to meet with legislators. RLC Board member Rick Sincere met with Senator Creigh Deeds, a Democrat, to discuss non-partisan redistricting in the state. A small group of core RLC members met with Senator Mark Obenshain (R) to discuss his constitutional amendment to protect private property rights. Rick Sincere, who also runs his own blog, was able to get the Senator on audio discussing his legislation. The same group of RLC members had an excellent meeting with a new delegate, retired air force Colonel Rich Anderson (R), who represents a Democratic area west of Woodbridge. Delegate Anderson expressed that he may attend the RLC National Convention and enjoyed hearing from RLC members on the need to end government growth and, in particular, our support for HB 1443 to decriminalize marijuana. Each meeting was fruitful.

RLC members then went to a gun rights rally outside of the legislative office building.  After a break for lunch at the historic Tobacco Lounge, RLC members caught the tail end of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s speech — which an estimated 200 people attended. Cuccinelli talked about his lawsuits related to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Obamacare bill.

After the speech, RLC members went to testify and express support to the Criminal Justice Committee of the House of Delegates on HB 1443, Delegate Morgan’s bill to decriminalize marijuana. RLC’ers went with the intent of swaying a single Republican member of the Committee to consider allowing the bill to be considered in the General Assembly.  RLC member Rick Sincere testified in support of the bill, as did a large crowd from NORML and LEAP. Unfortunately, the bill was killed in Committee by a Democrat-Republican coalition of legislators.

Ultimately, this was one of the most productive meetings of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Virginia. In addition to participating in the lobby process and showing unity at a Tea Party event/rally, the RLC also was able to engage a wide variety of allies on the organization’s mission as well as invite them to attend the 2011 Republican Liberty Caucus National Convention in Arlington, Va. on Feb. 12. Thanks to the RLCVA members who came out to join us.  To become active in the Virginia RLC, please e-mail us.

Oklahoma State Senator Randy Brogdon has been endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus in his race to become the next Governor of Oklahoma. Brogdon is in a tough election with Congresswoman Mary Fallin, the establishment favorite, to win the Republican primary taking place July 27.

As a State Senator, Randy Brogdon proposed or passed …

• The Healthcare Freedom of Choice Act
• The Real ID Opt-out Bill
• The Freedom Firearm Act
• The Tenth Amendment Resolution

Brogdon was also the lead sponsor of the Stop OverSpending Initiative (TABOR) and was instrumental in supporting an initiative to protect private property rights in response to Kelo v. New London.

Become a Facebook fan of Randy Brogdon and join his campaign to claim the Governor’s seat for limited government.

I wasn’t at the Maine Republican Party Convention this weekend, so it’s hard for me to comment on what occurred. From the accounts I have read, it appears that some of the constitutionalist wing of the Republican Party (Ron Paul supporters, mostly) — including some Tea Party activists — felt unrepresented at the previous Maine Republican Party Convention and planned to make themselves a known quantity at the Convention this weekend.

They did so by organizing in advance. Several of them made it onto the Platform Committee and several others had proposed changes to the platform that would strike moderate phraseology and replace it with more hard-line stances. I commend these activists for actually working to change the Republican Party from within. That’s the mission of the Republican Liberty Caucus!

About 1,800 folks attended the Convention, so for the Ron Paul faction of the party to have any impact at all shows just how much influence Ron Paul and the Tea Parties have had over the Republican Party in the past two years.

The platform now features:

- A declaration of state sovereignty
- A call for the passage of “read the bill” legislation
- Opposition to the fairness doctrine
- Opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act
- Investigation of global warming shenanigans
- Balancing the federal budget and paying off debt
- A call for Auditing the Federal Reserve
- Rejecting cap and trade
- Freezing future stimulus payments
- Institute zero based budgeting
- A statement that health care is not a right
- Eliminating the Department of Education
- Prohibiting funding for ACORN or like organizations
- Opposition to any and all treaties with the United Nations
- The passage of a Congressional reform act, including:
….. o 12 year term limits for all members of Congress
….. o Removal of Congressional pensions
….. o Forcing Congress to participate in Social Security and health care (the same system we use)
- “Freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion”
- Nativist anti-immigrant language, including the removal of Maine’s “sanctuary state” status
- A declaration to “Seal the Borders”
- a statement that marriage should be between a man and woman
- “Return to the principles of Austrian economics”
- Resisting the creation of “one world government”

At first glance, this seems like a major victory, but hold on.

Republican Liberty Caucus of Maine Chairman Ken Lindell and former RLC National Committeeman Matt Gagnon (who hails from The Pine Tree state) both find several problems with the platform overhaul. I do, too.

According to Lindell, a former Maine State Representative, “There is a whole lot of stuff in the new platform that I really like and really dislike. It would have been better if the Platform Committee had done its job and taken the proposals for changes to the platform seriously. The end result would have been better written and more presentable.” Although he does conclude, “I think that it is a very positive development that activists who are new to the party have been able to succeed where earlier they were simply ignored and dismissed.”

Says Gagnon: “It is very obviously slapped together, and almost entirely Federally focused in nature. I do not believe this platform gives very many reasons at all for Maine voters to vote for the Republican Party.”

I agree with my colleagues.

But more importantly, when did gay-bashing, a fence along the border, or religious dogma become part of the movement for less government and more freedom?

Ron Paul supporters should respect Ron Paul’s original positions on these issues:

1) Homosexuals are fellow human beings who should be afforded equality under the law.
2) Immigrants should be respected with the same dignity we afford other Americans; people should be free to seek out better lives for themselves and their families; the problem is with the entitlement society that has been fostered by decades of government dependency.
3) Religion is a private matter that should be kept out of government.

I would have preferred the platform without the last six points mentioned above. I don’t know how returning to Austrian economics is possible when our country has never been guided by Austrian economics.

Overall, the platform is a step in the right direction, but it still not a libertarian document.