While Republicans in The Badger State Have Finally Gained a Backbone,
Some Wisconsin Teachers Have Failed Their Students

by Aaron Biterman

Recent protests in Wisconsin have captured the attention of residents in that state and anyone paying attention to politics nationally. Governor Scott Walker, elected in November after many years of total Democrat control, proposed what he calls a budget repair bill to close the $3.6 billion shortfall. The legislation, which has support from large majorities of the Republican-controlled House and Senate, will significantly curb the collective bargaining rights of public employees in the state and would require most government workers to contribute to their pensions and health care premiums.

Specifically, if passed, state employee wage increases will be in conjunction with inflation such that employee pension contributions will rise to 5.8% of each employee’s salary, health insurance premiums will rise to 12.6% of their total premium, state workers could opt out of paying union dues after current contracts expire, and union dues could no longer be collected automatically.

Governor Walker says that these items are necessary to prevent furloughs while also reducing the $137 million deficit, but the Wisconsin Educational Association (WEA) and President Obama claim that Walker is using his political power to take away worker rights while reducing union power in the state. Of course, as the 2012 election moves closer, Democrats nationwide are concerned about Wisconsin – a key swing state – and rightfully so. Democrats receive 65% of union contributions while Republicans receive roughly 1%; roughly 34% is given to non-partisan causes.

The WEA and the Wisconsin Federation of Teachers have a combined annual revenue of nearly $30 million, according to the Center for Union Facts. Additionally, while nearly 10% of private school teachers are fired due to poor performance annually, less than two percent of Wisconsin teachers are let go as a result of inadequate performance. This is because Wisconsin public school teachers are virtually untouchable after three years of service, after which they receive tenure.

Now Wisconsin teachers have taken to the streets of Madison to protest the budget-balancing act of their newly elected governor. Meanwhile, the 14 Democrats who are members of the Wisconsin State Senate decided to leave their state and their constituents to block the Walker budget repair bill. By hiding out in Illinois, the Senate Democrats have blocked the 20 votes needed to obtain a quorum because Republicans only have 19 State Senate votes to pass the bill.

Ironically, from 2006 to 2010, when Democrats controlled the legislature and governor’s office, the same Democrats who fled their state also spearheaded controversial legislation that Republicans were not able to block, including, but not limited to:
▪ State borrowing of nearly $1.5 billion despite an unemployment rate less than the national average;
▪ Raising taxes to the tune of $900 million on cigarettes, hospitals, oil companies, and real estate in 2007;
▪ Raising taxes with a $1.1 billion tax package in 2009 which broadened the corporate tax base, increased the top personal income tax rate, reduced the capital gains tax exclusion, and increased hospital taxes; and
▪ Each of these tax hikes was in conjunction with increases in spending.

In these examples, Republican lawmakers chose to show up and make their arguments in opposition to the Democrat majority. They did not flee to another state as the 14 Democrat State Senators have.

This brings us back to the sad truth about the Wisconsin union protests: Many teachers have left their students behind for their own self-interest.

That’s right; some teachers in Madison and Milwaukee have skipped school to enhance their own wages despite the fact that 90% of black fourth-graders in the state are not proficient readers, thereby making them last in the nation in this demographic group according to the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. In 2009, 19% of Wisconsin high school students failed to qualify for service in the U.S. military as a result of their poor scores on the Army’s Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). Student achievement in Wisconsin is disparate with mediocre results, yet some teachers had the nerve to leave their students in the dust to picket at the Capitol for days at a time.

When it comes to teacher quality, Wisconsin’s results are even worse than its student achievement rates. The National Council on Teacher Quality gives Wisconsin a “D” (with “F” meaning a total failure) in four out of five categories from its 2009 “State Policy Yearbook.” The state fails to deliver well-prepared teachers, expand its pool of teachers, identify effective teachers, and remove ineffective teachers. Specifically, the study concluded that Wisconsin “fails to make evidence of student learning the preponderant criterion in teacher evaluations” and “lacks an efficient termination process for ineffective teachers.”

The essential truth about the budget repair bill is that teacher union bosses across the country are watching Wisconsin. They know that if a Democrat-leaning state like The Badger State reduces the special privileges of its state employees, they could lose tens of thousands of forced dues dollars, some of which are earmarked for the campaigns of politicians like President Obama. States like Alabama, Maine, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia are considering following Governor Scott Walker’s lead on this issue to nip their budget shortfalls in the bud, too.

Freedom of association is a constitutional right and workers should be free to come together to organize. By the same token, teachers who don’t show up to class, legislators who run to another state, and doctors who write false sick notes should be held accountable. Thank you to Wisconsin’s teachers who continue to show up for work. These are the teachers that Wisconsin students can look up to as examples. Those who are not showing up have embarrassed themselves and their profession, and that’s the sadness in the Wisconsin union uprising.

Assuming the budget fix moves forward, there are some positives in the situation, too: the budget may finally balance, other states could follow the Wisconsin model, and a much-needed discussion about the special privileges that union power wields for public sector employees will have entered the public cognizance. We owe a debt of gratitude to Governor Walker and the Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature for their collective backbones.

_____________________________________________________________________________
Aaron Biterman is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is a certified teacher in The Badger State. In 2007, he moved from Wisconsin to Virginia, where he currently resides. He is an Advisory Board member of the Northern Virginia Tea Party and is Vice-Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus.

A few weeks ago I received an unexpected call from Senator Olympia Snowe’s outreach coordinator inviting me, as Maine RLC Chair, to a meeting with the Senator. Also invited were representatives from other conservative organizations including tea party activists, constitutional conservatives and libertarians. Guests includes representatives from the Maine Legislature and the Republican State Committee.

The meeting was on neutral ground in a hotel conference room in Augusta. Ten of us sat around a rectangular table with Senator Snowe and two aides at the head of the table. The common thread was that all the participants represented factions of the Republican Party that were either critical of Senator Snowe’s moderate track record, and in some cases outright hostile to the Senator. The meeting was clearly an effort to reach out to the “right wing” (although, as a libertarian, I reject that label) of the Republican Party.

Senator Snowe began the meeting by thanking us for attending and stating that she wanted to have an open and frank discussion of issues facing the country as well as hearing criticism of her own voting record in the U.S. Senate.

Wow! That was certainly a bold thing for her to do given the ideological demographic of the room. What followed was a very civil yet frank discussion of the big issues facing the country. Olympia Snowe is one of the most seasoned and skillful politicians in the country. Her skills shone as she defended her record. She spoke extensively about some of the truly beneficial work she has done for the State of Maine: saving the Domtar paper mill in eastern Maine, saving the Kittery naval shipyard and consistently working to bring Federal funds to the state. There is no doubt that a good deal of her political success can be attributed to her excellent constituent service work.

Senator Snowe ably defended her voting record on health care. Some in the room thought that her support in committee for Obamacare was a decisive vote. In fact it wasn’t, and she made that clear. She explained that she had voted for the bill in committee in exchange for a promise from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that the legislation would be open to Republican amendments when it reached the Senate floor. Reid broke his promise, she said. Snowe insisted that she is not only opposed to Obamacare now, but that she supports full repeal of the law. A recent vote of hers has actually borne that promise out.

At one point in the meeting when Snowe was accused of “voting against Republicans” we saw her become somewhat emotional. She recounted the time when her husband John “Jock” McKernan was the Governor of Maine. He was in the midst of a government shutdown resulting from a standoff with the legislature over workers’ compensation reform in the late 80′s. Then-Congresswoman Olympia Snowe was on the phone with her husband and she could overhear shouts and insults from protesting State employees who had been admitted to the state house by then-Speaker John Martin. Snowe commented that she and Jock felt that they were not supported by many Republicans at the time.

Olympia Snowe also defended her vote for TARP (the 2008 financial bailout bill) arguing that the country was at the edge of an abyss. She went on to announce that she would be sponsoring a constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget as well as a higher threshold (3/5 vote) to raise taxes. The balanced budget amendment sat well with the invitees in the room.

What fell flat, in my opinion, were some of her answers to questions that should have been predicted from that crowd. Snowe seemed puzzled by a suggestion that the recent food safety bill was unconstitutional because it affected farmers who don’t sell their produce across state lines. Snowe even boasted that she was able to include a provision that farmers with revenues of less than $500,000 would be excluded. What about the potato farmer who brings in $500,001, but doesn’t ship one French fry outside of Maine?

Some in the room questioned the Senator’s membership of the Council on Foreign Relations and even asked if she supported George H. W. Bush’s reference to a “New World Order”. At that point we were getting into some really esoteric conspiracy theory territory. Nevertheless one would expect the Senator to at least understand the context of the comments and be able to respond appropriately. It really seemed to me that she was flummoxed (although she might have been just carefully considering the question). In fact I found myself in the awkward position of having to explain the issue. I also made clear my view that while there is a real threat to our constitution from those who would undermine US sovereignty with globalism, that wasn’t what Bush 41 was referring to in 1991. I would think that someone on her staff would have briefed her about this stuff before going into a meeting that included devotees of the John Birch society.

The genesis of this meeting was clearly a concern by Olympia Snowe’s political operation that she may be facing a primary challenge (we now know that she is) to her upcoming reelection effort in 2012. Snowe has long been seen as a thorn in the side of the “right wing” (again, as a libertarian I exclude myself from that label) of the party. It would be one thing if she were simply a social moderate and a fiscal conservative. That would certainly be okay with me and other libertarians. Her real problem lately has been on the fiscal conservative side of things. I refer specifically to the elephant in the room. The elephant that was never acknowledged at this meeting. That is the Obama stimulus bill. The gigantic budget-busting $800 billion attempt to stimulate the economy in early 2009. Senator Snowe was instrumental in the passage of that bill. The Tea Party movement was a direct reaction to the Stimulus bill, Obamacare just threw fuel on the fire.

Over her career, Olympia Snowe has certainly been a moderate, but a moderate with a libertarian angle. Every year the Republican Liberty Caucus ranks members of Congress on the Nolan chart-inspired Liberty Index. The Liberty Index ranks members of Congress on a pro-liberty voting index equally weighted between social issues and economic issues. Sen. Snowe has consistently scored above 50% on both axis. In fact, most recently she scores in the conservative quadrant with a better record on economic issues than social issues. That record has always earned Olympia Snowe support from me in her previous election campaigns. The question I struggle with now is whether her vote for stimulus was a deal breaker in the next campaign.

I wanted to keep RLC membership informed of this development. We should certainly make time to discuss it during our upcoming Maine RLC Leadership Conference — which is scheduled for April 23, 2011 in Augusta, Maine.

Ken Lindell
Chairman, Maine RLC

Wisconsin RLC Praises Governor Scott Walker’s Budget Repair Bill
State RLC Congratulates Endorsed Legislators, Governor

Yesterday, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin, which has made state and national news as a result of several prominent events in their state over the past year, issued a statement supporting Governor Scott Walker’s budget repair bill.

Wisconsin RLC Chairman Michael S. Murphy of Milwaukee spoke in strong support of the repair bill. “The RLC-WI supports Governor Scott Walker and the Republican Legislation in their efforts to curtail runaway government spending. We also want to commend these brave lawmakers for standing strong against oppositional union forces, which have resulted in numerous threats to their safety already. The RLC-WI stands behind this effort 100% and we hope that not one Republican Legislator waivers in their decision to support this bill before it is made into law.”

Murphy continued, “We are especially proud of the seven RLC-WI endorsed State Representatives, who recently took office after winning their respective elections in November. They are truly upholding the RLC standard and keeping their committed promises to reduce government spending.” (Note: Wisconsin RLC Vice Chair Terri McCormick, who recently spoke at the RLC National Convention in DC, is herself a former three-term State Representative.)

The Wisconsin RLC continues to be the only voice for limited government and individual liberty in the Republican Party in Wisconsin. Governor Scott Walker has exceeded the Wisconsin RLC’s expectations and wishes the Governor well in the coming weeks.

Photo above: Wisconsin RLC members gathered in 2009 to form their state chapter.

Florida RLC Applauds Governor Rick Scott’s High Speed Rail Decision
State RLC Issues Press Release and Congratulatory Letter

Florida Governor Rick 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 sent today from the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida.

In the letter, Florida RLC Chairman Matthew Nye told the governor, “When you spoke an RLC event back in September, you promised you would be making the tough decisions to get Florida back in fiscal order. With this decision, you are doing just that — and we commend you.”

The letter cites the recent Reason Foundation study titled “The Tampa to Orlando High Speed Rail Project: A Florida Taxpayer Risk Assessment,” which suggests the ultimate cost of the project could exceed expectations by $3 billion and these overruns would be borne by Florida taxpayers.

As noted by Florida RLC Vice Chairman John Stevens, the other issue at stake is our responsibility to demand fiscal responsibility at the federal level of government. “With a $13 trillion dollar national debt and deficits as far as the eye can see, state governors and legislators must send an unequivocal message to Washington DC that spending beyond our means — even if it would benefit their state — is no longer acceptable.”

A thank you letter was also mailed to Senate President Mike Haridopolos, who announced today he would stand by the governor’s decision. The press release was sent to about 90 media outlets across the state.

To let your legislators know how you feel on this issue, go here.

Florida RLC members gathered in 2009 to protest tax-increasing High Speed Rail. They just obtained a victory when Governor Rick Scott, an ally of the Florida RLC, blocked the rail plan.

There was a tiny victory for liberty yesterday when the renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act was defeated because it did not receive a 2/3 majority vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.

I say a tiny victory because there are moves both in the Senate and the House to pass the PATRIOT Act reauthorization. Please take action NOW to ensure that our tiny victory yesterday becomes permanent.

Reconsideration of PATRIOT Act

In the House, the PATRIOT Act renewal will be resubmitted to a Committee and then re-submitted in a different form.

In the Senate, the renewal bill will be considered later this week. If the Senate passes it, then it will go to the House for consideration.

Please contact your Senators and Representatives and tell them that the PATRIOT Act should not be renewed. Here are some talking points.

Margin of Twelve; Kudos to 26 House Republicans

The PATRIOT Act renewal failed last night by a margin of just twelve votes. A coalition of House Democrats concerned about civil liberties and 26 House Republicans skeptical of Big Government crushed the measure by this slim margin.

Here is the vote tally. RLC-endorsed members of Congress Justin Amash (MI), Roscoe Bartlett (MD), Jimmy Duncan (TN), Tom Graves (GA), and Kenny Marchant (TX) voted against the measure.

They were joined in their dissent by Tea Party-supported Representatives Bobby Schilling (IL), Tom McClintock (CA), Dana Rohrabacher (CA), Denny Rehberg (MT), David Schweikert (AZ), Raul Labrador (ID), Randy Hultgren (IL), Mike Fitzpatrick (PA), John Campbell (CA), Paul Broun (GA), Jack Kingston (GA), Rob Woodall (GA), and Walter Jones (NC).

More moderate members of the House Republican Caucus such as Phil Roe (TN), Connie Mack (FL), Tim Johnson (IL), Chris Gibson (NY), Don Young (AK), Rob Bishop (UT), and Dean Heller (NV) also voted against the bill on civil liberties grounds.

Some Tea Party-Supported Representatives Vote Against Liberty

A large coalition of Tea Party-supported members of Congress voted for PATRIOT Act reauthorization. They include:

• Kevin McCarthy (R, CA-22) and Eric Cantor, both members of the House GOP Leadership;
• Michele Bachmann (R, MN-06), the leader of the Tea Party Caucus in the U.S. House and a potential 2012 Presidential candidate;
• Mike Pence (R, IN-06) and Paul Ryan (R, WI-01), potential presidential candidates in 2012 or 2016;
• Rick Berg (R, ND-At Large), a prospective candidate for U.S. Senate in North Dakota;
• Diane Black (R, TN-06) and Marsha Blackburn, both Tea Party-supported Congresswomen from Tennessee;
• Larry Bucshon (R, IN-08) and Todd Young (R, IN-09) recently elected Tea Party-supported Congressmen from southern Indiana;
• Steve Chabot (R, OH-01) and Jim Jordan (R, OH-04), both of whom were endorsed by the RLC in 2010;
• Chip Cravaack (R, MN-08) and Jeff Flake (R, AZ-06), who were endorsed by the RLC in 2010;
• Kristi Noem (R, SD-At Large) and Jamie Herrera (R, WA), young “rising star” Representatives elected with support of the Tea Party
• Blake Farenthold (R, TX-27) and John Culberson (R, TX-07), both said to have libertarian leanings;
• Joe Walsh (R, IL-08) and Bob Dold (R, IL-10), newly elected Representatives from Illinois;
• Lou Barletta (R, PA-11), a Tea Party-supported Congressman who was elected last year;
• Dan Benishek (R, MI-01), a Tea Party candidate from northern Michigan who was elected to Bart Stupak’s seat last year;
• Steve Southerland (R, FL-02) and Steven Palazzo (R, MS-04), Tea Party-supported members of Congress; and
• Allen West (R, FL-22) and Tim Scott (R, SC-01), African American members of the House Republican Caucus.

This vote brings clarity regarding which Republicans “get it” and which simply do not — and may never.

Let’s continue to pressure our Representatives to vote against PATRIOT Act reauthorization, as a vote on this issue is likely to come up very shortly.

A founding member of the New Hampshire Tea Party Coalition, Jack Kimball, has been selected to lead the New Hampshire Republican Party for the next term. Mr. Kimball was supported by the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire early in the race, citing his experience and ability to mobilize the grassroots. By a margin of 222-199 — voting members of the New Hampshire GOP Committee — Mr. Kimball defeated the establishment opponent.

At the end of the day long meeting to elect the NHGOP Chair was the announcement of results of a WMUR-ABC News straw poll taken throughout the event. The poll put 21 names of potential 2012 presidential candidates before the voters. With 273 votes cast by New Hampshire GOP insiders, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney came out on top with 35 percent, followed by Ron Paul with 11 percent; former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty had 8 percent; former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had 7 percent; and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina had 5 percent each. Governor Gary Johnson received support from 2 percent.

Since January 17, the New Hampshire RLC has received the following notable media hits:

• “Tea Party Activist Takes Over New Hampshire G.O.P.“, New York Times, Jan. 22
• “Romney wins New Hampshire straw poll“, CNN Politics, Jan. 22
• “Romney keeps away from Tea Party”, Boston Globe, Jan. 21, 2011
• “Republicans Battling in New Hampshire”, The Caucus on NYTimes.com, Jan. 21, 2011
• “Chairman vote will indicate Tea Party influence on NHGOP“, Union Leader, Jan. 21
• “GOP vote barometer of party“, Concord Monitor, Jan. 17

New Republican House Speaker Bill O’Brien and new House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt both consider themselves affiliated with the RLC. In November, the RLC actively supported O’Brien in his race for House Speaker.

And on November 2, the New Hampshire RLC elected 81 of its endorsed candidates for the legislature, including two former RLCNH Chairmen, Jim Forsythe and Dan McGuire. Forsythe was elected to the State Senate, which only has 24 members.  The New Hampshire RLC has a total of 99 State House members, 6 State Senators, and one Executive Councilor.

Please join the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire on Facebook and join the RLCNH e-mail list.  The New Hampshire RLC is on the move!

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.

Monday, Jan. 17 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day so most people will have off from work. It also is the 2011 Virginia Tea Party Lobbying/Rally Day at the Capitol in Richmond.

Those of us in Northern VA are planning a carpool down to Richmond; contact Aaron to ride-share. There will be at least one car departing from Charlottesville; contact Steven to participate in the ride-share. The northern VA group will meet with the Central Virginia RLC group and other interested members/supporters from across the state on Monday morning at 8:45am. If you are planning to attend this event, let us know.

Our goals will be:
1. To meet other RLC members from across the state of Virginia.
2. To gather as a group to show a united front for individual liberty and limited government.
3. To hand out 2011 RLC Convention flyers and general RLC flyers (supplied by the Central Virginia RLC) to prospective members/supporters.
4. To talk to legislators about issues in the coming legislative session.
5. To listen to speakers, learn, educate, and mobilize.

VIRGINIA RLC 2011 LOBBY DAY AGENDA
7:15am – Northern Virginia Contingent Departs
8:45 - 9:30am – Virginia RLC Meeting at 821 Cafe
9:45 – 11am – Lobbying Legislators at Capitol (RLC members break out into small groups)
11am to 1pm – RLC Group Lunch (with various discounted options available)
1 to 2pm – Rally in front of Capitol Bell Tower
2pm – 4pm – Reception w/ Tea Party groups/legislators at Sam Miller’s Restaurant
4 – 4:30pm – Depart Richmond

Confirmed Rally Speakers:
• Parke West, Just Liberty – Invocation & Pledge of Allegiance
• Angie Parker, CoLA Committee VTPP
• John Taylor, Tertium Quids
• Donna Holt, Va Campaign for Liberty
• Bob Shoemaker, ANCIR
• Keynote: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

Click to view a summary of the Coalition Freedom Bills 2011.

Parking will be free because it is a federal holiday.

You may also RSVP to our event on Facebook. Please let us know if you plan to attend.

In a sign of the strength the Tea Party and its supporters, House Republicans will be requiring legislators to cite the Constitution with every proposed law. When the GOP-controlled House convenes for the first time on January 5, legislators will read the Constitution aloud and then require all bills to cite the constitutional authority to enact any given law.

But whether such flourishes will engender real legislative changes or simply offer window dressing is up for debate. “I think it’s entirely cosmetic,” said Kevin Gutzman, a history professor at Western Connecticut State University and a conservative libertarian who sympathizes with the Tea Party. “This is the way the establishment handles grassroots movements. They humor people who are not expert or not fully cognizant. And then once they’ve humored them and those people go away, it’s right back to business as usual.”

The House Historian’s Office has no record of the Constitution being read aloud on the House floor. It’s estimated that the document, which is more than 4500 words long, and which has 27 amendments, will take about one hour to read aloud. Probably the best hour Congress has spent in quite a while.

As we head into the New Year, it’s an excellent time to get involved with the Republican Liberty Caucus and other grassroots Tea Party groups across the country.

In February, I penned an article questioning how libertarian the Tea Party was and pondering whether or not the Tea Party would live up to its libertarian roots.

While the Tea Party is united on economic issues, there is a split between traditional social conservatives and those who think government should refrain from promoting “traditional values,” according to a recent survey taken at the Virginia Tea Party Convention.

The survey was conducted by Emily Ekins and David Kirby on October 9. They surveyed 639 attendees at the Virginia Tea Party Convention in Richmond. While Congressman Ron Paul spoke, so too did many less libertarian-leaning speakers ranging from Lou Dobbs to former Senator and likely 2012 Presidential candidate Rick Santorum.

The results of the survey show that 48% of Tea Partiers were libertarians and 51% were traditional conservatives. Of the libertarians identified, 35 percent self-identified as such — a far larger number than the surveyors expected. The full results can be found here.

This is evidence that we should not only embrace the Tea Party — as many RLC activists have — but continue to sculpt it in a libertarian direction.

Republican Liberty Caucus candidates were playing in the big leagues last night when they were matched up against candidates of the Republican Party machine. Overall, be prepared for some disappointing results — not because our candidates did poorly, but because they didn’t quite do well enough despite coming very close to victories.

INDIANA

Let’s take a look at the race in southwest Indiana’s 8th District. When I was looking at the results, I was floored last night when RLC-endorsed Tea Party “stay at home mom” Kristi Risk was in a very tight race to win the Republican nomination. Ultimately, Kristi ended up losing the race. CQ Politics — geniuses no doubt — reported that “the Republican Party avoided a disaster,” explaining that Risk would not prove to be a challenger to Congressman Joe Donnelly (D) in November. The arrogance of the mainstream media continues to have no bounds. Let’s hope Kristi Risk runs for office again because her campaign clearly lit up the hearts and minds of concerned Hoosier voters.

In the Indiana U.S. Senate race, FOX News’ Carl Cameron reported — long before the polls closed — that Republican Dan Coats had won the race. Again, the media just doesn’t seem to get it: elections are for voters, and every seat is the people’s seat! Coats did win the race, but Marlin Stutzman made it close. My belief is that if either Hostettler or Stutzman were not in the race, the other could have siphoned enough conservative votes to beat Coats in the primary. I believe Indiana is now left with a vulnerable and uninspiring Republican U.S. Senate candidate.

Although he was not endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus, Tea Party candidate and a personal friend of mine, Travis Hankins, had a similar performance to Ms. Risk in the neighboring southern Indiana district. Hankins was running against two others — a former Congressman and an establishment choice — for the right to challenge Congressman Baron Hill in November. Unfortunately, Hankins lost by a few hundred votes. Travis Hankins’ youthfulness — he’s just 28 — and his lack of name recognition — this was his first race — did not seem to cause problems for Hoosier voters. I’m sure we’ll see more of Travis, or his twin brother Aaron, in the future.

On a positive note, RLC member Steve Davisson won his primary and will now advance to the General Election for State Representative in Indiana’s 73rd District — the largest State Representative district in the state that includes much of southern Indiana.

OHIO

There are no positive results to report from Ohio. All of our Republican Liberty Caucus candidates lost their respective races. Beth Lear, running for State Representative, ran a tremendous campaign and got bested by only a small margin of votes for a Delaware County state legislative seat.

The most interesting race in Ohio was perhaps the contest in District 16, whose winner would go on to face vulnerable Democrat John Boccieri — a vocal proponent of government-run health care. Former County Commissioner Matt Miller was the Tea Party candidate and he narrowly lost to the establishment choice, businessman Jim Renacci. Let’s hope Renacci can defeat Boccieri this fall.

NORTH CAROLINA

There were two Republican Liberty Caucus victories in North Carolina. First, but not surprisingly, BJ Lawson won his primary for Congress in District 4. Lawson will face David Price in November in a district that is overwhelmingly Democrat.

Newcomer Jon Hardister won the Republican primary in North Carolina’s 57th District — which includes the city of Greensboro. Hardister will bring youthfulness and common sense if he’s selected by North Carolina voters in November.

Let’s work to help Lawson, Davisson, and Hardister win their races this fall!

Clearly the Tea Party had an impact on these races. Let’s hope its impact is more imprinted on upcoming primary races in Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Utah.