From the RLC’s latest press release:

On April 15th, Republican Liberty Caucus members will join with other grassroots activists across the nation to participate in Tax Day Tea Party protests to express frustration with the growth of government under the Bush and Obama Administrations. The RLC National Board is encouraging taxpayers to support the April 15 event in their communities.

On February 27, an estimated 30,000 Americans took to the street in over 40 US cities in the first nationwide “Tea Party” protest. Over 500 cities and hundreds of thousands of taxpayers are expected to participate in the April 15 Tax Day Tea Party demonstrations. To view a listing of Tea Parties in your area, visit http://taxdayteaparty.com.

At the Tea Parties, concerned citizens, grassroots organizations, and free-market activists will band together to have their voices heard. “Our hope is that the politicians will notice when a large group of taxpayers converge to express dissent,” said RLC Chairman Dave Nalle.

“Individuals and families are angry about this economy—and it has everything to do with the tremendous growth of government combined with deficit-spending, tax hikes, and unsustainable central economic planning carried out by the political ruling class,” said Nalle. “RLC members from across the country will use April 15 as a day to protest the federal income tax, government Bailouts, unsound monetary policy, and the insurmountable national debt.”

The Republican Liberty Caucus, founded in 1991, is a political 527 organization dedicated to restoring the principles of individual liberty, limited government and free markets to government via the Republican Party. To learn more about the RLC or to join, visit http://www.RLC.org/.

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All across the country on Tax Day, Republican Liberty Caucus members will be attending Tea Party Rallies to express dissent to Members of Congress and local officials and encourage sensible economic reforms that will enhance America’s struggling economy.

To see a listing of the Tea Parties in your state, click here. On February 27th, an estimated 30,000 Americans took to the street in 40+ cities across the country in the first nationwide “Tea Party” protest.

So why rally? What is the point? Several reasons: 1) There has not been ENOUGH dissent in this country and the “go along, get along” attitude has plagued us for many years; 2) folks are FINALLY starting to wake up, and public rallies engage average citizens in issues; 3) public officials pay attention to large groups of taxpayers; 4) it provides a coalition-building opportunity with like-minded groups; and 5) it allows the RLC to gain visibility.

The Tea Party movement has been organized to protest the Bailouts approved by Congress, the massive federal debt that continues to grow daily, and the increasing burden on average taxpayers. There is no better day to express your distrust of government than April 15 — Tax Day.

In conjunction with the Spirit of the Founders, RLC members are organizing and speaking at Taxpayer Tea Parties throughout the country. For example, in Melbourne, Florida, RLC East Central Florida Coordinator Matthew D. Nye has organized the Brevard Tea Party.

At its website, Nye features a video from a savvy young lady who discusses the relevance of Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged to the current state of the economy. She says:

“The similarities [in Atlas Shrugged compared to] today are striking. In Atlas, we see a world crumbling under the weight of government interventions and regulations. The economy is ground to a halt. Each day, more and more businesses are shutting their doors. The government blames greed and the free market and frantically imposes more government control, but the crisis only deepens. Sound familiar?”

Atlas is currently the Amazon.com “Best Seller” in the fiction category, but it’s RLC member Nye who is educating taxpayers in Brevard County, Florida.

According to the newly chartered Republican Liberty Caucus of Alabama, “Quite a few RLC members are active in the planning of Tea Party rallies to be held across Alabama (and the nation) on April 15th.”  Similarly, RLC Tennessee Officers Gregg Juster, Bryan Haddock, and Joe Dumas are assisting with the Tea Party organizing in Chattanooga.

In Arizona, RLC member Tom Jenney will be a featured speaker, along with RLC State Representative Frank Antenori, at the Tucson Tea Party. Members of the RLC of Pima County, including organize Ken Rineer, are active participants in the Tucson Tea Party.

In northern Virginia, RLC Secretary Aaron Biterman will be addressing the crowd at the Tea Party in Reston, an outer-Beltway suburb of the nation’s capital. Biterman will be speaking about continuing the “Spirit of the Revolution” in 2009 and the importance of eliminating the federal income tax.

These are just some of the RLC members and activists who have taken an active role in the Tea Party Movement.  Look for a full report post-April 15.

In addition to attending your local Tea Party, the RLC is encouraging its members to take the following five steps to promote local Tea Parties:

• Make signs with legible slogans that send a clear message to the public and the media;
• Call local talk radio hosts to ask them to announce the location, date, and time of your local Tea Party on the air for a few days leading up to the protest;
• Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper announcing the rally;
• Write a press release and e-mail, mail and fax copies to the local TV stations, radio stations and newspapers; and
• Call the reporters that cover local events or politics and leave messages on their voice mail.

Congressman J. Randy Forbes (R-VA) recently wrote one of his constituents a response letter that included the names of 17 courageous members of Congress who voted against all of the bailout proposals in 2008 and 2009.

According to Forbes, “I will continue to urge my colleagues to stop the practice of quickly passing bailout bills and instead embark on a serious and earnest debate on how we can best address the economic challenges facing our country. As a conservative member of Congress, my goal is always to ensure the taxpayer gets the absolute most for each tax dollar, and I will continue to do everything I can to eliminate wasteful spending.”

The following a list of members that have continued to oppose the bailouts and a list of final votes that have been taken on bailouts:

Rep. Paul Broun* (R-GA)
Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA)
Rep. John Linder** (R-GA)
Rep. Ed Royce** (R-CA)
Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX)
Rep. Scott Garrett* (R-NJ)
Rep. Jerry Moran (R-KS)
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA)
Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA)
Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA)
Rep. Ron Paul* (R-TX)
Rep. John Duncan Jr.* (R-TN)
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX)
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX)
Rep. Jeff Flake* (R-AZ)
Rep. Jack Kingston** (R-GA)
Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)
[Note: The Congressman mistakenly listed David Price of
North Carolina instead of Tom Price of Georgia.]

______________________________________________________________________________________

The bills with links to complete votes:

- Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008, H.R. 5140, Vote Results

- Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, H.R. 3221, Vote Results

- Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, H.R. 1424, Vote Results

- Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act, H.R. 7321, Vote Results

- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, H.R. 1, Vote Results

______________________________________________________________________________________

*RLC-endorsed in 2008
**RLC-endorsed in previous year, but not in 2008

The Executive Board of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia has endorsed the following measures currently under consideration in the Georgia General Assembly.

•We OPPOSE HB277, SB39, and SR44 – These measures will levy a 1 percent sales tax, statewide or regionally, for specified transportation projects. The Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia stands with Governor Perdue (not often we’ve said that) in unequivocally opposing any increases in transportation taxes until the DOT is reformed so that the money is not wasted;

•We OPPOSE HB 160 – Governor Perdue’s “super speeder” bill to boost fines $200 for drivers exceeding 85 mph on Interstate highways and 75 on other roads. This measure is meant to fund “Trauma Care”. While arguable a worthy effort, the RLC-GA opposes the direct funding of any government services through fines or “sin taxes”.

•We SUPPORT HB480 and 481 – JOBS Act to cut taxes on businesses looking to hire workers and relocate to Georgia.

•We Support Senate Bill 1 - Zero-based Budgeting which will require the General Assembly to review all spending every four years.

Senate Bill 1 is sponsored by Georgia RLC Adviser Senator David Shafer of Gwinnett County.  Sen. Shafer has been allied with the RLC since he was first elected in 2002.  Next year he intends to run for Lt. Governor.

Each year, members of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida gather to engage their legislators on key issues that members can influence from the grassroots level. According to RLCFL Secretary Philip Blumel,

“RLC’ers converged on Tallahassee March 17-18 for the annual grass roots lobbying event organized by RLCer and Florida Taxpayers Union president (and RLC member) John Hallman. They started off with lunch Tuesday at the Governor’s Club with former House Majority Leader Dick Armey of FreedomWorks, attended private meetings with legislators all afternoon and then participated in a late afternoon ‘tea party’ protest on the Capital steps against federal bailout and stimulus plans. The following morning, RLC’ers were back hitting legislators offices and took a break for a sign-waving protest against the Central Florida commuter rail boondoggle as well as a legislative update by James Madison Institute president Bob McClure. Everywhere they went, the group left copies of the RLC tri-fold brochure.”

Several of the most active RLCFL members — including Sarah Lovett, Eric Wall, Cliff Johnson, Jason Hellenberg, and John Hallman — testified at the hearing for the latest draft of Sen. Mike Haridopolos’s Smart Cap proposal, SB 1906. Smart Cap, a version of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (or Stop OverSpending) for Florida, would cap government spending at the rate of inflation.

As with TABOR, which was passed in Colorado in 1992 thanks to RLC-endorsed former State Rep. Doug Bruce (R-CO), the Smart Cab legislation would not allow the government to spend above the limit (except under defined emergency conditions) and would mandate putting any spending above the limit on the ballot for citizens to vote on. Sen. Mike Haridopolos, a featured speaker at the RLC’s 2006 National Convention, is now in line to be Senate President in 2010 if the Republicans retain control of that body. Rep. Anitere Flores sponsored the bill in the Florida House.

Says Blumel:

“RLC members met with all the relevant legislators (or their aides) to push the Smart Cap bill, including House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, Speaker Larry Cretul, Senate President Jeff Atwater, and other senators and representatives on the relevant committees.”

“Notably, RLCers met with the governor’s office Tuesday for a long and thoughtful session with Gov. Crist’s policy coordinator for the Office of Policy and Budget, Christian Weiss. Gov. Crist had spoken positively about the idea of a spending limitation bill but had objections to the specific bills under consideration, find them too restrictive. However, at a committee hearing Wednesday afternoon, a representative of the governor appeared at Sen. Haridolopolos’ committee hearing on the bill and announced the governor’s change of mind. “This is what the grass roots want,” he said, in an apparent reference to RLC efforts.”

State Sen. Mike Fasano reads a Republican Liberty Caucus brochure.
RLC members converged on the Capital to make their presence known.

Senator John Ensign (R-NV) speaking on behalf of the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act which would extend the current ban on taxing the internet and make it permanent.

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.

ATR picked the wrong guy.