Republican Liberty Caucus

On Friday, December 19, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Maryland had its first formal meeting. According to Matthew Gagnon, chapter Co-Coordinator, “We had a GREAT meeting. About 35 or so people showed up, and I actually have money from several of them to sign up for the RLC.”

Gagnon said the Maryland RLC is making progress: many former Congressional candidates were in attendance (including RLC endorsed candidates Collins Bailey, Rich Matthews, and Mike Hargadon) and two elected State Delegates attended, including the featured speaker, Del. Joe Boteler. “We did nominations for officers, discussed what was required of chartering, what the purpose of the state level RLC is going to be, and so on,” said Gagnon.

The Maryland RLC has set a new meeting date for January in Annapolis, during which time chartering, by-laws, officers, and more will be discussed.

Photos from the event are provided below. Thanks to Matt Gagnon for his tremendous efforts.  Without Matt’s leadership, this meeting would not have occurred.

Maryland RLC’ers discussing issues.

Maryland RLC’ers taking notes.

Former Congressional candidates Mike Hargadon and Collins Bailey.

Matt Gagnon, RLC Co-Coordinator, and former Congressional candidate Richard Matthews.

Group photo.

Some updates from RLC state affiliates:

CALIFORNIA

An affiliate of the state RLC, the Constitutional Republicans of Alameda County, scored a victory in late November when Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch discarded a lawsuit against them. The lawsuit attempted to void the memberships of seven RLC activists who were elected to the County Central Committee. In filing the suit, County GOP Chair Paul Cummings was attempting to replace the elected pro-liberty candidates with individuals of his choosing.

Commenting on the suit, Walter Stanley of the Constitutional Republicans said, “One can only wonder what the [November election] results would have been if the resources diverted by this lawsuit had instead been directed at supporting our candidates this November. We are sure the Democrats are … grateful [to Paul Cummings].”

For additional details on the suit, visit this press release (pdf).

MARYLAND

The Maryland RLC is holding an organizational meeting on Friday, December 19 at 6:30 pm at the GOP Maryland HQ in historic Annapolis.  State Delegate Joe Boteler, III of northeastern Baltimore County will be the guest speaker. For details, contact Matthew Gagnon or RSVP at the Facebook event invitation.

MISSOURI

The first meeting of the newly chartered Missouri RLC will occur on December 6 at 12noon in the upstairs meeting room (WiFi hotspot!) at the Midtown Carnegie Library, 397 East Central Street, in Springfield, Missouri. For additional details, contact Rob Hillman.

NORTH CAROLINA

The North Carolina RLC is planning to hold an organizational meeting in January. Contact Leonard Burton for details.

NEW YORK

On Tuesday, November 18, several members of New York’s Republican Liberty Caucus met with about 15 Town of New Paltz and Westchester County Libertarians  at the College Diner in New Paltz, New York.

Carl Svensson, New York RLC Chair, organized the meeting. The attendants ranged from college students at SUNY New Paltz who have organized a campus Libertarian Club to a retired math professor and a recent candidate for mayor of Peekskill, New York (who lost by only two percent).

The meeting focused on strategy rather than ideology and the attendees are thinking of ways to get involved in Republican politics and to potentially run for office in several cases. The dynamic and lovely Raquel Okyay was in attendance.

Carl Svensson is doing an excellent job, and we anticipate that the meetings will continue next month. I am on the state board of the RLC. As long as the ideological discussion can be minimized and the focus remain on action toward a few well defined goals, the group can potentially make a dent.

I track political races all across the country — with an emphasis on the races that libertarian Republicans can win or have a significant impact on. The following is a list of races that you should pay attention to.

ARIZONA: Sydney Hay is a traditional limited government conservative with a long track record of leadership in Arizona. Now, Sydney wants to replace Republican Rick Renzi in Congress. Sydney has an uphill battle because of Renzi’s corruption charges and because the DNCC is targetting this seat for her opponent, State Representative Ann Kirkpatrick. The race will be a nail-biter come Nov. 4.

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The RLC-USA PAC has donated $1,000 to Sydney Hay’s campaign.
Above, Sydney poses with RLC Advisor Barry Goldwater, Jr.

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CALIFORNIA: Tom McClintock has, for over 20 years, been the conscience of the ultra moderate Republican Party of California. Tom is running for Congress in Placer and Modoc Counties, which traditionally trend conservative, but is having trouble because of George W. Bush and other neo-conservatives who have literally ruined the Republican brand. The race is rated “toss-up,” but libertarian Republicans across the country should be rooting for Tom McClintock.

INDIANA: Ron Paul campaign activist, businessman, and RLC member Bill Johnson is the Republican candidate for State Represenative in District 19, running against a one-term Democrat incumbent in a swing district. This is a race to watch!

MAINE: Former State Representative and RLC State Chair Ken Lindell is running for State Representative in the district he formerly represented.

MICHIGAN: Justin Amash is running for State Representative in a conservative district in suburban Grand Rapids. Justin is a longtime RLC member and supporter, and is considered a “rising star” in Michigan GOP politics. Look for Justin to win in November.

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RLC endorsed Nevada State Senate candidate Lindsay Madsen.

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NEVADA: Lindsay Nicole Madsen, a young rising star in the state GOP, is running for State Senate in Clark County (Las Vegas). How much damage can an outspoken, attractive and principled limited government candidate have in a traditionally Democrat district?

NORTH CAROLINA: There are three races to watch for libertarian Republicans interested in the Tar Heel State. B.J. Lawson, a favorite of libertarian Republicans, has waged an amazing uphill battle for Congress against David Price in District 4. Similarly, Asheville City Council member Carl Mumpower is targetting Heath Shuler in District 11; Shuler was elected by a small margin in 2006 in this swing district. Finally, State Auditor Les Merritt (Incumbent), who the state RLC has been in close contact with, is fighting off a challenge from accountant Beth Wood.

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RLC endorsed incumbent, North Carolina State Auditor Les Merritt.

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PENNSYLVANIA: Long-time State Representative Sam Rohrer (Incumbent) is in a tough re-election battle, and needs your support. Rohrer has been firm about preserving individual rights, and fought hard against the federal government on REAL ID.

TEXAS: State RLC Executive Director and all-around great guy Don Zimmerman is running for Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector.

WASHINGTON: Former State Representative and RLC State Contact Toby Nixon is running for State Representative in the district he formerly represented.

These are the races to watch as the election nears. Please help the above candidates succeed!

Last weekend I spent a couple of days in Washington, DC at the Defending the American Dream Summit, sponsored by Americans for Prosperity. It was a unique experience to be at an event with so many liberty-minded people from all sorts of backgrounds, all united by a desire to bring our republic back to the principles on which it was founded. Although AFP is technically a non-partisan group, I found myself mostly in the company of Republicans who were battered and bruised by the difficulties of the presidential campaign and events of recent days, but above all they remained unbowed and determined not to allow our nation to perish at the hands of reckless government or sacrificed on the altar of greed and irresponsibility.

This conference was the centerpiece of a series of similar regional conferences that Americans for Prosperity has hosted around the country. The idea is to bring together political leaders and the liberty-oriented grassroots to develop a dialog and build a movement to make liberty issues the focus of the political process, especially on the right and in the GOP. The conferences include sessions for bloggers and community organizers, working with groups like the Sam Adams alliance to educate and inform attendees and help them find the resources and learn the skills to be more effective. It’s sort of like a right-wing version of DailyKos’s Netroots Nation conference, which I attended a few months ago.

One of the things that struck me was how many of the attendees were surprisingly young … far younger than the GOP blue hairs who dominate the state parties and younger than the Netroots Nation denizens who average in their mid-fifties. There were students and soccer moms and reformed hippies and a surprisingly large number of African-Americans. It was a diverse and interesting and highly motivated group.

There was a great schedule of speakers, including Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, who has earned a career rating of ‘libertarian’ from the Republican Liberty Caucus and was one of the 25 heroic Senators who voted “no” on the Bailout bill. Inhofe spent most of his time talking about the downfall of the global warming movement and talking about sensible energy policy, but he was very impassioned and well received. Also impressive were radio talk show host Herman Cain, TV libertarian John Stossel and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. What surprised me about the speakers was how strongly dedicated to liberty these politicians are. Having heard them speak I understand more than I ever did before that not all politicians are the same and that there are men of principle who are worthy of our support.

Of all the speakers the most impressive was columnist George Will, who gave the keynote address on Friday. Will spoke magnificently, at least partly off the cuff, but presumably stringing together memorized bits of wisdom from past speeches adapted to his audience and the current times as he paced around the stage restlessly, conveying his frustration and anger at Congress and out of control government and the irresponsibility of the American people with enormous enthusiasm and conviction. Will talked at length about the erosion of personal responsibility and the willingness of too many Americans to look for a handout from government instead of helping themselves, pointing out that “more and more Americans are dependent on a government which they are not paying for,” reminding us that while the top 50% of wage earners pay 97% of the taxes in America, the overwhelming majority of our tax money is spent for the 50% of the population which pays no tax at all. He talked about the fall of communism and fascism around the world and how in many ways with no outside enemies we have become our own worst enemies and drifted away from the values which we once shared. He made the fundamental point which I’ve stressed in some of my writing that our current economic woes are not the result of the failure of the free market as the left would try to convince you, but the inevitable outcome of an overly managed and controlled and dependent economy and of businesses which have lost fiscal discipline and become dependent on government for undeserved support. In his conclusion he said that “capitalism does not just make us better off, it makes us fundamentally better.” Although he was angry and clearly dissatisfied with the current state of the world, Will’s speech was surprisingly inspiring and positive in its overall message.

One event which I didn’t attend at the summit was the rally on the steps of the Capitol to call attention to the bailout and government irresponsibility in general. Busses were available to take attendees directly to the mall, and hundreds turned out for some short speeches and relatively dignified protesting. Congress was not in session, but at least some news media were there to report on the concerns expressed by Americans for Prosperity members. You can get a feel for the rally from the Fox News video presented below.

The Defending the American Dream summit attracted a lot of interesting people. Not the kinds of Republicans which the left holds in their imaginations and certainly not what most associate with the Bush administration. At one point during the closing reception Ken Blackwell began talking about the importance of traditional Republican values and the woman next to me turned and surprised me by smiling and declaring that she was a liberal. I smiled back and acknowledged that I’m one too. It was an enlightening experience. Somehow despite all the pulls and pressures and the mistakes of accepting Dixiecrats and Neocons into the party, there remains a growing core in the Republican party which holds to the values of the party from a century and more ago when the interests of business and the best interests of the people were seen as naturally allied and the philosophy of the Republican party was one of individual liberty, responsibility and prosperity. Some of them might consider themselves libertarians or independents today, but the adherent of those traditioanl values were out in force at the Defending the American Dream Summit.

Well represented within this group were members of the Republican Liberty Caucus, the group within the Republican Party which is working hard to return the party to its classical liberal roots, and which shares many principles with the AFP. Some were there to attend the various breakout sessions and presentations and several were there as bloggers. RLC members in attendance included the following.

Krystle Weeks was there to write reports for her Crystal Clear Conservative blog, which features liveblog-style reports. Krystle is very prolific, so you have to go a couple of pages back to find her posts - she’s written about 20 new articles in the last week. She’s well connected in the Virginia and Washington political community and has a lot of useful insights.

Dr. Bill Smith came up from Arkansas and was writing for his ARRA News Service, which is a very useful resource for conservatives with some insightful critiques of the left. There are some really strong, hard-hitting articles on his site and I’ve added it to my regular reference sources.

John Underwood of the North Carolina RLC was there. I hardly saw him since he was intensely immersed in the sessions and meetings throughout the conference. I did at least manage to get him to slow down long enough for a photo, which is more than I was able to manage with a couple of other RLCers who were at the conference but nowhere to be seen. I also saw RLC member Aakash Raut, who writes at University Blog and is with the University of Illinois (Springfield) Young Republicans. Sadly, he wasn’t around for photo time.

I saw a lot more of David Baumgartner, who is the RLC coordinator for Wisconsin and is working hard on getting his state’s RLC organized and chartered. He’s a very nice fellow who has taken a late-life career shift and is attending law school and expanding his political activism. I suspect he’ll do a great job getting the RLC on its feet in Wisconsin.

With thousands in attendance and a high level of enthusiasm, the Defending the American Dream summit was a great look at where the Republican party and the nation might be going in the next few years. The message was positive, the dissatisfaction with the current establishment in both parties was palpable, and there were not just questions but a lot of good ideas and positive approaches to our current problems being discussed.

A lot of people are talking about change this election. The left would have us believe that the change we need is towards a bigger state and more socialism and that it is embodied in Barack Obama. Yet at the Defending the American Dream summit I saw a remarkably strong movement pushing for a very different and much more positive sort of change. Americans for Prosperity has gone from nothing to an estimated 300,000 members in only two years. As they continue to grow, they are poised to emerge to political prominence in the chaos which is likely to follow after next month’s election. They may not have all the answers, but the folks at AFP and the groups who are working with them do at least seem to grasp the key message that less government and more freedom are the only way to run our country if we want to avoid repeating the errors of the current era in the future.

You can find my full series of five articles on the conference with lots of video interviews at the Republic of Dave.

On September 2, 2008 in Minneapolis, Ron Paul’s “Rally for the Republic” kicked off with speeches from U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, former U.S. Rep. Barry Goldwater, Jr., former Governor Gary Johnson of New Mexico, Tucker Carlson, Grover Norquist, and Olympic swimmer Erik Vendt.

Several RLC members were in attendance. Photos from the event follow.

Vincent Campos, left, a Ron Paul RNC delegate from Mineral Wells, Texas, and his friend hit the streets to check out the action.

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Supporters joyously promote Dr. Paul outside of the Target Center.

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Ron Paul book signing and rally at Rosedale Mall.

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Champion Olympic swimmer (and future RLC endorsed candidate?) Erik Vendt passionately makes the case for liberty.

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Emcee Tucker Carlson makes a point. Carlson objected when the John Birch Society’s President made the case for closed U.S. borders at the Rally for the Republic.

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Grover Norquist made the case for drowning government.

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RLC Advisor Governor Gary Johnson speaks to the crowd.
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Ron Paul addresses the crowd of 10,000+.
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RLC Mississippi Coordinator Jeff Powell (left).

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A family celebrates liberty.

Ron Paul speaks to the crowd.

RLC-endorsed candidate for Congress in North Carolina, Dr. William Lawson (right).

RLC-endorsed candidate for Congress in Maryland, Richard Pryce Matthews (left).

Arizona, the District of Columbia, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Utah hosted their first RLC meetings in the month of June. Meanwhile, Florida continued its great effort as the model RLC chapter.

In addition, California, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming have recently updated or added content to their web sites. In July, the Texas RLC elected a new Board of Directors and will be revamping their outdated web site shortly. The Minnesota RLC hosted a meeting to endorse candidates and selected a new state Board of Directors.

RLC activists in Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin have expressed interest in organizing state chapters and holding RLC organizing meetings. I will continue to keep you updated on the progress of other state affiliates.

Below is a list of some RLC events that you can attend in the month of August. If there are no events in your area, please volunteer to host an RLC meeting in your area.

Please spread the word about the below events.

California:

San Fernando Valley Republican Liberty Caucus Meetup
August 5 at 7:00pm at Galpin Ford in North Hills, California (15555 Roscoe Blvd., just east of the 405) in the 2nd Floor Meeting Room. For for information, join the meetup group at http://rlc.meetup.com/41/.

Silicon Valley Republican Liberty Caucus Meetup
August 11 at Round Table Pizza in San Jose (4400 Stevens Creek Blvd.). For for information, join the meetup group at http://rlc.meetup.com/109/.

Sacramento Republican Liberty Caucus Meetup
August 27 at 7:30pm. For more information, join the meetup group at http://rlc.meetup.com/6/.

Sonoma County Republican Liberty Caucus Meetup
August 25 at 7pm at Redwood Cafe Coffee House and Grill (8240 Old Redwood Highway) in Cotati. For more information, join the meetup group at http://rlc.meetup.com/115/.

Delaware:

Delaware RLC Meeting
August 23 at 1:00pm at Crossroads Restaurant (4579 Kirkwood Highway/intersection of Rt. 2 and Rt. 7) in Wimington, Delaware. This meeting is in conjunction with the Libertarian Party of Delaware’s annual Convention. RLC’ers are gathering to gauge interest in chapter formation in The First State.

Indiana:

Indiana RLC Re-Chartering Meeting
August 17 at 2:00 pm in Crown Point, Indiana. Contact Kevin for details.

Michigan:

RLC Meeting at State GOP Convention
August 23 in the afternoon. Contact Dan for details.

RLC National Convention
September 12-14 at the Crowne Plaza in Romulus (Detroit), Michigan.

Texas:

Austin RLC Meeting
August 8 at 7:00 pm in the Conference Room at Garlo-Ward (505 E. Huntland Dr.), floor 3. The speaker will be RLC Texas Chair, Judge Melissa Goodwin.

Bexar County RLC Meeting
August 30 at 10:00am the Tobin Library at Oakwell (4134 Harry Wurzbach, San Antonio 78209), the Bexar County RLC affiliate will meet. The featured speaker will be Terri Hall, founder of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom. Don Zimmerman, RLC Executive Director and candidate for Tax Assessor Collector in Travis County, will also be addressing the audience.

Utah:

Utah RLC Convention
September 27 at 10:00 am at Location TBD. Contact Lowell for details.

Wyoming:

Wyoming RLC Convention
August 23 at time at the Best Western Inn (260 Grand View Drive) in Lander. Contact Don for details.

The Republican Liberty Caucus is taking off in state affiliates across the country. For example:

In Arizona, organizer Ken Rineer is hosting an RLC organizing meeting in Pima County, Arizona on July 29. Joe Higgins, Republican candidate for the Pima County Board of Supervisors, District 1, will be the guest speaker. Mr. Rineer and company will also discuss the following items: Organization, officers, future meetings, the Candidate Pledge and setting up a separate web site. The event will occur at Cody’s Beef and Beans in Tucson at 6:00pm.

In Minnesota, the RLC will meet on July 23 at 6:30pm at the Devanni’s Restaurant in Golden Valley. Candidate endorsements will be considered.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Wyoming will hold its first annual summer convention on Saturday August 23 at the Best Western Inn in Lander. They plan a full day of events, including speakers on a variety of topics, as well as panel discussions. Organizer Don Wills says, “You shouldn’t miss this gathering if you are interested in liberty in the Equality State!”

In addition to these meetings, the RLC affiliates in the District of Columbia, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Texas have recently hosted member meetings.

Roger Barr with Ron Paul

In addition to the recent RLC booth at the Nebraska GOP Convention, there were also RLC booths at Conventions in Iowa and Texas.

Roger W. Barr, Jr., Iowa Republican Liberty Caucus Contact, set up a table at the Iowa State Republican convention under the banner of the RLC, IowansforLiberty.org, and Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty. Roger and company handed out hundreds of RLC pamplets and gave away 200 copies of Ron Paul’s new book “The Revolution: A Manifesto.”

According to Roger, “We where very well recieved at the convention. I along with seven other Ron Paul Repulicans were elected to the National Convention as delegates — 7 Alternates and 1 Delegate. The delegate was Drew Ivers, the Ron Paul Iowa campaign manager.” According to a report at NolanChart.com, “One man behind the table called the interest in RLC ’somewhere between gratifying and excellent’.”

Roger continued, “A long story short: The John McCain people tried to strong arm the social conservatives and kick out the libertarian-leaning Republicans. Thus, the Campaign for Liberty and the RLC created a coalition and shut them out. The John McCain state coordinator ran for a Delegate position and did not become a delegate. It was a great day.”

Thanks, Roger, for your great efforts!

Don Zimmerman of Texas

In Texas, The Dallas Morning News reported that the Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas had a booth at the state GOP Convention in June. “It’s really kind of a rallying and recruiting point,” said Don Zimmerman, an Austin area Republican who led a group that supported Paul’s presidential run but wasn’t directly affiliated with his campaign.

The article continued, “Zimmerman, who describes himself as a “Barry Goldwater Republican” and has attended GOP state conventions for more than a decade, said the struggle between Paul supporters and other delegates at the Houston convention will be typical of minority-majority clashes that have occurred repeatedly at past Texas conventions.”

Thanks to Don Zimmerman and company for their efforts at the Texas GOP Convention.

The inaugural event of the Nebraska Chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus took place at the Double D Ranch outside of Ashland, Nebraska on Friday evening, July 11.  The event, which included dinner, social time, and introductions of the organizational Officers and Board of Directors, marked the first time that the group had assembled as a group—and indeed the first time that many of our folks had actually met one another face to face, in spite of many phone conversations and e-mail communications which had taken place.  All 21 of the charter members (those who had paid their dues by June 30) were in attendance, and several new charter members joined the group, as well.  A total of 39 members and guests were in attendance for this first event.

The event, deliberately held this year in conjunction with the Nebraska GOP Convention the next day, included discussions of how we might be most effective in promoting the cause of liberty in the Republican Party.  The Nebraska RLC welcomed a guest, Don Waggoner, a local businessman who has a long history as a political “operative” in Nebraska, and who worked in the Goldwater movement toward the end, and served as an advance man for Ronald Reagan for his brief presidential run in 1968.  Waggoner, and a couple of other local Goldwater-era folks, agreed to help our group navigate convention politics the next day, and to add their experience to our efforts.

The consensus was that our next Convention, to be held in 2010, would take place several weeks prior to the Party Convention, and would include debate on proposals to the State GOP Platform so that the Nebraska RLC could submit proposals as a block of the state party.

At the Convention, the RLC had a booth. According to Nebraska RLC Chair Laura Ebke, “I saw a lot of people walking around with our literature and a few even picked up our RLC buttons and were wearing them.”

Three Nebraska RLC charter members were elected on Saturday—outside of the McCain organization slate—as uncommitted delegates (2) and alternates (1) to the National GOP Convention.  Our newly chartered chapter was recognized formally by the Nebraska state Republican Party Chair, and Nebraska RLC members were welcomed as (mostly) new participants in the process.  All in all, a great weekend to be part of the Nebraska RLC!

Many thanks to Laura Ebke for her experience and enthusiasm in the Nebraska RLC charter process.

The Ron Paul Revolution marched on DC this past weekend, bringing the message of peace, freedom and government conspiracies to the seats of power. Although I couldn’t be there, I’ve combed the internet for reports from those who did attend and offer this for those lovers of liberty who’d rather fight from their keyboards than in the streets.

By far the best and most balanced report is from David Weigel at Reason online. He’s got photos and videos and some appropriate wry comments based on his experience from other rallies. It’s what I hope I would have written had I been able to go.

There is some nice personal coverage from several writers at gather.com, which includes discussion of some of the speeches and of a smaller protest at the Federal Reserve building. They provide a link to the all revolution all the time podnet Revoluton Broadcasting which had live coverage of the march which is still available on their site.

Another informative report comes from Marc Gallagher of the Liberty Maven blog. He has some past experience with DC rallies and estimated the turnout at perhaps 2500 people, far less than the 10,000 attendees organizers anticipated. Low but enthusiastic turnout is probably not surprising after Paul’s withdrawal from the race when attentions have turned elsewhere and with Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr not in attendance.

The most amusing coverage is some more or less live blog coverage of Paultardpalooza from the left-leaning gossips at Wonkette (now featuring 100% less actual Wonkette), who apparently got their staff and some friends to show up and attend in a group by offering copious free alcohol and then let them run wild. Lots of fun snarky comments and the best photos by far of Paul supporters in costume and acting silly. The actual report is less funny than the buildup and seems to kind of peter out, perhaps from alcohol induced distraction.

In addition to all of these reports, there are plenty of videos from participants on YouTube, including a good video of Ron Paul’s speech right in front of the Capitol building.

Reports from participants seem to agree that the march was fun for all who attended, with more of the atmosphere of a post-campaign wrap party than a substantive political event. Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party stood out as a speaker and he and his supporters seem to have been particularly prominent. Although blog reports were fairly easy to find, coverage of the march was significantly absent from the mainstream media.