Last night the Michigan chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus hosted a Republican Secretary of State Debate at the Oakland County Commissioners Auditorium in Pontiac.

The candidates included were:
* State Senator Cameron Brown
* Oakland County Clerk & Register of Deeds Ruth Johnson
* State Senator Michelle McManus
* Calhoun County Clerk & Register of Deeds Anne Norlander
* State Representative Paul Scott

View the debate at http://blip.tv/file/4020645.

Thus far the Republican Liberty Caucus has not endorsed any candidate in the race.

Congratulations to the Michigan RLC affiliate for introducing these candidates to voters in a format that allowed them to hear their answers to the tough problems facing the state.

On Thursday the Republican Liberty Caucus released the following press release on Afghanistan and Michael Steele’s recent comments.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 8, 2010
CONTACT: Dave Nalle at 512-656-8011 or chairman@rlc.org

It’s time for Republicans to open a debate on the war in Afghanistan

When Chairman Steele brought up the war in Afghanistan he was talking about campaign strategies for Republican candidates, and broaching the possibility that some of them might not support a continued American presence in Afghanistan. Some Republicans have been shocked by this, but the Republican Liberty Caucus can assure the doubters that we have thousands of members and hundreds of candidates who share his doubts about the wisdom of expensive long-term military occupations and nation building programs. In particular, many question the practicality of dragging out the war in Afghanistan with no clear objective and little chance of any positive outcome at an unjustifiable cost to taxpayers.

“We haven’t always been impressed with Chairman Steele’s leadership in other areas, but in this instance it is refreshing that the leader of our party has shown he can sometimes think outside the box defined by those who irrationally reject any contrary views on foreign policy”, observed RLC board member Dan Sheill. “We wish he had stuck by his statement and not backed down so quickly.”

Chairman Steele was right to call this Obama’s war, because by choosing to continue it against all good sense the President has taken on responsibility for the costs and the consequences of the war. This creates an opportunity for Republican candidates to stand up for fiscal responsibility, smarter foreign policy and more efficient use of the military by running against Obama and his war. Ronald Reagan won the Cold War because he understood that the best use of our military is to use it as a deterrent and to let our enemies wear themselves out with military adventurism and risky long term deployments. We are now making the same mistake that the Soviet Union made. Do we want to suffer the same fate?

“We are not the world’s policeman, we are not the world’s babysitter and we’re not the world’s social worker,” said RLC Chairman Dave Nalle. “America is a great and charitable country, but we should remember how the Soviet Union was brought down by overreaching ambition, and realize that we can no longer afford to bear the world’s burdens alone. Michael Steele has opened up the debate on Afghanistan. It’s time for sensible Republicans to take the lead on this issue and express their dissatisfaction with this unjustifiably expensive war which no longer serves its intended purpose.”

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The Republican Liberty Caucus is a nationwide grassroots organization which promotes individual liberty and limited government within the Republican Party. You can find more information about the Republican Liberty Caucus at www.rlc.org.

Michael Steele (pictured with Florida RLC Vice Chairman Steve Smith) is in trouble.

This time he criticized a never-ending undeclared war, saying (correctly) that it is not a war the American people are interested in supporting. He further stated that the war doesn’t make much sense.

Chairman of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele is correct on these points. Predictably, neo-conservative pundit William Kristol and Congressman Tom Cole (primary opponent of RLC-endorsed candidate RJ Harris) have called for Chairman Steele to resign.

Congressman Ron Paul, Adviser to the Republican Liberty Caucus, put out a statement in support of Steele’s comments.

Here is Congressman Paul’s speech on the House floor from last week in opposition to the continued U.S. presence in Afghanistan:

The question remains: When will this unsustainable, undeclared war end?

In the interim, congratulations to Chairman Michael Steele for questioning the Bush/Obama policy of endless foreign interventionism.

The Republican Liberty Caucus, a grassroots network of concerned citizens dedicated to upholding individual liberty, limited government, and free enterprise within the Republican Party, is pleased to announce its support of the following Colorado candidates:

* Mike Fallon, U.S. Congress in District 1
* Stephen Bailey, U.S. Congress in District 2;
* Tim Leonard, State Senate in District 16
* Ted Harvey, State Senate in District 30 (Incumbent);
* Robert Houdeshell, State House in District 13
* Donald Beezley, State House in District 33
* Luke Korkowski, State House in District 61
* Carl Bruning, Larimer County Sheriff

Each of our endorsed candidates share common goals of dramatically reducing spending, cutting taxes, and an overall sense that government needs to return to its proper role and and exercise only those powers enumerated in the Constitution.

In addition to these endorsements, the Republican Liberty Caucus is pleased to endorse the following Colorado ballot initiatives in 2010:

* Yes on Amendment 60, to limit property taxes;
* Yes on Amendment 61, to limit Colorado debt; and
* Yes on Proposition 101, to limit vehicle registration fees.

The Republican Liberty Caucus mission is to recruit and endorse candidates who support its agenda, elect limited-government Republicans to political office, and change the direction of the Republican Party to reflect members’ vision of peace and prosperity.

If we are able to elect these liberty-minded candidates while passing these ballot initiatives, Colorado will be many steps ahead of where it is now. There’s lots of work to do still, so please get involved today!

Learn more about the Caucus at http://www.RLC.org.

PO Box 130
West Shokan, NY 12494

June 12, 2010

Lazio 2010, Inc.
P.O. Box 4818
New York, NY 10185

Dear Mr. Lazio:

I am writing as a registered Republican and a member of my Town’s Republican Committee.

Your opponent, Carl Paladino, has publicly stated that during your tenure as a full-time employee and lobbyist for JP Morgan Chase you lobbied for and arranged a payment of $25 billion from the US Treasury to your employer. In other words, Mr. Paldino has publicly alleged that you participated in the “bailout.”  In return you received a $1.3 million bonus.

If Mr. Paldino’s allegations are inaccurate, please respond to this inquiry publicly.

If Mr. Paladino’s allegations are accurate you are morally unfit to serve in public office.  I am posting this letter on my blog and stating explicitly that if Mr. Paladino’s allegations are accurate you are morally equivalent to a common criminal and belong in jail.  Consequently, I would urge you to step down from the gubernatorial candidacy and allow the better man to run.

Sincerely,

Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.

It’s just a few days until the Republican Liberty Caucus statewide meeting in Dallas.  The Texas chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus has to rebuild and we need your help now more than ever before.

On Friday (yes, tomorrow) night at 8:30 pm, the Texas RLC will have a meet and greet gathering at XYZ bar at the Aloft hotel in Dallas. Please join RLC’ers to mix, mingle, and engage.

On Saturday, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas will hold its annual business/reorganizational meeting 4pm at the Tactics Room at the Aloft hotel.  If the Convention floor fight extends until after 4pm, that is when you should arrive at the Tactics Room.  We have the room booked for the evening.

Please RSVP to attend these events on Facebook.

Judicial candidate (and former Judge) Melissa Goodwin and past gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina (pictured) will be addressing the Texas RLC. At the business meeting we will be electing a new board and officers for the Texas RLC and approving by-laws and rules. All are welcome to participate in these activities but voting will be limited to dues-paid RLC members, though you will be able to join the RLC on site.

If you can’t be there, you can follow the events at the convention through facebook (check out the group Texas Liberty Delegates) or on Twitter by subscribing to the feed for Texliberty.

We hope you’ll join us for the meeting and be part of restoring the RLC as a potent force in Texas politics and in promoting the  principles of limited government, free enterprise and individual liberty in the Texas Republican Party.  For more information, see our updated website at http://www.rlctx.org.

A special thanks to Dave Nalle and the Texas RLC Organizing Committee for making these events possible to members, future members, and other interested parties. See you on Friday and Saturday!

Former Florida Republican Party Chair Jim Greer was arrested today on charges of grand theft and money laundering.

Governor Charlie Crist, then a Republican, appointed Greer as head of the state’s Republican Party upon election as governor in 2006. Greer was committed to alienating libertarians and conservatives from the party to favor the moderate (read: Democrat) wing of the party.

Greer resigned his position in February after receiving intense criticism of his tactics and spending, including reports of excessive funds spent on private jets, luxurious meals and entertainment.

Statewide Prosecutor William Shepherd said Greer developed a scheme to take money from the Republican Party through a shell company he created, Victory Strategies. He used the money for his personal expenses — at least $100,000.

Activists most concerned with issues of transparency and party spending — including Republican Liberty Caucus members Will Pitts, John Stevens, Elizabeth Campbell, and Doug Guetzloe — were promptly suspended from the Republican Party by Jim Greer’s puppets.

The next step for the Republican Party and its new Florida Chairman are to repeal the bogus suspensions of these Republican Liberty Caucus activists.

I have been objecting loudly to the GOP nominating processes in various states for many years now.

In short: the Republican Party Establishment has swooped into competitive Republican Party primaries (election contests that VOTERS should decide) to coronate certain candidates and exclude candidates they do not prefer.

This practice began during the Bush Administration, as far as I can tell. It’s a disgusting process and is truly politics as its worst.

Here is an article in which I criticize the Wisconsin Republican Party for nominating two candidates — one for Governor and another for U.S. Senate — at its Convention on Saturday despite the fact that one other candidate is running in each of these races. Enjoy!

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin, which was chartered in December of last year, had its first major presence at the state Republican Party Convention. The Convention, which took place over the weekend in downtown Milwaukee, featured Presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty and the much-loved Congressman Paul Ryan.

At the Convention, Chairman Michael S. Murphy handed RLC literature out to longtime Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner and had a brief conversation with Wisconsin Republican Party Chair Reince Preibus. Additionally, the Wisconsin RLC received numerous requests for membership applications and talked to candidates who wanted to seek the Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin endorsement.

Several candidates who have already been endorsed by the state affiliate were being actively promoted by RLC members, such as Terri McCormick for Congress in Wisconsin’s 8th District and Ed Thompson for State Senate in District 31.

Below are some photos of Wisconsin RLC members at the 2010 GOP Convention. A special thanks to Chairman Michael S. Murphy and Secretary Paul Sanchez for their hard work to prepare for liberty outreach at the Convention.

Learn more about the Wisconsin chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus at http://wi.rlc.org/.

Secretary Paul Sanchez with RLC endorsed candidate for State Senate from Rock County, Rick Richard.

Two RLC board members with Wisconsin’s Voice of Liberty, Ken Van Doren (center).

Michael S. Murphy, U.S. Senate candidate Dave Westlake, and Paul Sanchez.

Wisconsin RLC Vice Chair Chris Ciancimino.

Wisconsin RLC Chair with candidate for Congress Dan Sebring (District 4).

Wisconsin RLC Chair with candidate for Congress Terri McCormick (District 8).

Three U.S. Senate candidates who have been endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus are well on their way to securing victories in November.

First, Pat Toomey won an easy victory last night in his race and will face Congressman Joe Sestak in November. Toomey, while more of a social conservative generally, has a proven record of voting for less government. His new opponent, Sestek, is telegenic and has a heavy populist streak, so Toomey will have to energize his base while also reaching out to independents and moderates to win in the swing state of Pennsylvania.

Mike Lee is now in a run-off with Tim Bridgewater in the Republican U.S. Senate primary in Utah, which will be decided by Utah Republican Party voters on June 22. Lee’s opponent Tim Bridgewater is someone that has been running for various positions locally for quite some time. Like Lee, he is concerned about too much government interference, but his policy solutions are different. Specifically, Mr. Bridgewater believes in more U.S. intervention abroad and much more federal involvement in immigration. After looking at the issue pages of their websites again, I have no doubt that Mike Lee is the solution-focused leader that Utah needs in the Senate. Which is why the Republican Liberty Caucus endorsed him, along with his commitment to limited government.

Most importantly, Rand Paul is the Republican nominee in Kentucky. Dr. Paul gained nearly 60% of the vote in his primary yesterday. He will face Attorney General Jack Conway in November. While watching the fair and balanced news last night, I already saw various left-wing pundits excited that Rand Paul was the victor so they could start attacking his views.  Will the Tea Party and the Liberty Movement have the power to take Rand to the finish line?

These candidates, while not perfect, are our best hope to achieve liberty in the coming years. With these three committed small government advocates in the Senate, our country will be much better off.  Work tirelessly to support them in the coming months.