Last week, the Florida chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus held a statewide meeting whereby the membership passed a resolution condemning the actions of the Republican Party of Florida. Readers will recall that five Republican Liberty Caucus members were booted from the Republican Party in September for supporting limited government policies and being vocal about it!

According to Florida RLC Chairman Will Pitts, “As much as I dislike what the Party apparatus has done to discredit [me and] personally attack others and myself, I realize that we must stay the course and fight the good fight. Those few in power in the party would like nothing more than for us to leave and take the others that are upsetting their good ole boy corrupt system with us. We will not give them that satisfaction. As a result, I have decided to continue my fight to restore the original principles within the Republican Party in spite of the daunting long road ahead.”

“I would like to encourage you to join us in this fight and become a member of the Republican Liberty Caucus in your area. If there is not one, then start a chapter and encourage others to do the same. Then join your local executive committee in the Republican Party, and encourage others to join that as well. Soon through participatory government, you will bring change to the organization from the inside and from the ground up. It will only be through a concerted effort of many of us working in the same direction that we will be able to change things.

Below are a few photos from the recent Florida RLC membership meeting, which took place in the Orlando area.

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Signing the resolution, Chairman Will Pitts and RLC members.

On Monday, December 7, the Republican Liberty Caucus in DC hosted a happy hour for interested parties in the area. The turnout was great, including notable folks from DC think-tanks and single-issue groups and representatives from the Republican National Committee and Ron Paul’s Congressional staff. The Paul representative updated members on the Audit the Fed bill, and recommended contacting the Senate about it.

DC members decided to develop a Liberty Index to rate DC officials, gear up for 2010 elections, and look into lobbying members of Congress.

Some photos from the event follow.

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On November 21, the first-ever Wisconsin RLC meeting was held in Appleton, Wisconsin. Former State Representative Terri McCormick spoke at the meeting.

On November 30, a RLC meeting was held in the Milwaukee area. Attendees included former Representative McCormick, a candidate for Congress in Wisconsin’s Eighth District; Tomah Mayor Ed Thompson, a candidate for State Senate; and State Senate candidate Rick Richard.

The November 30 event was held after a speech by Dr. Tom Woods at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Some photos from the event follow.

The Wisconsin chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus expects to submit paperwork to charter its affiliate later this month.

Tom Woods Speech:

RLC Meeting – Nov. 30:
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Students for Liberty has taken on the amazing task of organizing seven regional conferences this fall. The conferences bring different types of liberty-loving students together to hear from prominent speakers — many of whom are affiliated with the Republican Liberty Caucus.

This year’s regional conferences have occurred, thus far, in New York, Chicago, Phoenix/Tempe, and Austin. The RLC conducted outreach at three of the four seminars and had official speakers at two out of the four seminars.

I previously reported on the outreach at the first conference, which occurred on October 10. Two RLC supporters helped us table at that event, and two RLC representatives spoke. The most notable of the speakers was former National Board member Dr. Murray Sabrin, who was a contender for U.S. Senate in 2008. Additionally, RLC Northeast Regional Director Dan Halloran addressed the crowd. Dan is running an impressive campaign for New York City Council in a district that trends more conservative than most in the city.

Above: Students at the Chicago Conference weigh the issues.

On October 17 in Chicago, students heard from two RLC representatives: former Michigan State Representative Leon Drolet and former Wisconsin State Representative Terri McCormick (photos below).

Leon participated in a debate with Isaac Moorehouse about how liberty-oriented people can achieve our goals.  Leon argued for the RLC strategy.  Terri McCormick gave a presentation about the political elite versus the grassroots, arguing that now is the time we take our country back for liberty.

On October 24, RLC members conducted outreach at two Students for Liberty Conferences: the Texas SFL conference in Austin and the Southern SFL conference in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Rising young star and RLC supporter Jared Fuller organized the Winston-Salem conference, and North Carolina RLC members Gloria Lloyd and Dana Mazer tabled for the Republican Liberty Caucus at the conference.  Former Congressional candidate and North Carolina RLC Board member B.J. Lawson was among the featured speakers.  Dr. Lawson gave a speech called “The Economy, Monty Python, and You”:

Meanwhile, RLC National Chair Dave Nalle and Bexar County (Texas) RLC Membership Chair Nadia Gaona reached out at the Texas SFL conference.

Dave observed a general trend that we continue to see to in our small-but-growing movement, noting that “the long-time libertarian activists [in the] audience were eager to stand up and talk proudly about their token political campaigns where they spent no money but got their name mentioned in the local newspaper when they won 3% of the vote.”

Says Dave, “It’s heartening to see the growth of interest in liberty and bringing our government under control, but it’s enormously frustrating to see so much of this enthusiasm misdirected into the political dead end and do-nothingism which still characterizes the Libertarian Party. The truth is that the pissed-off non-intellectuals of the Tea Party movement who come to libertarianism out of expediency rather than intellect have already accomplished more real political change in a year than the Libertarian Party has accomplished in more than 30 years.”

All complaints aside, these events have proven tremendously beneficial to the movement and the RLC has been able to capitalize on the opportunity to reach new young people with our strategy for victory.

The next RLC outreach booths at Students for Liberty Conferences will occur on November 7, when members will conduct outreach at the Philadelphia and Boston Students for Liberty Conferences.  Prospective RLC endorsee, 2010 U.S. Senate candidate from Connecticut Peter Schiff will be speaking at the Boston conference.  Schiff has previously explained the RLC strategy in a poignant way.

We look forward to reaching additional students at these conferences and thank the Students for Liberty for continuing to host these tremendous regional events. Thanks, too, to all of the RLC representatives and volunteers who have helped us at the conferences.

Above: Former Michigan State Representative Leon Drolet makes his points in a debate on strategies to attain liberty in our lifetime.

On Saturday, October 10, RLC members reached out at conferences in New York and Wisconsin.

In New York City, the Students for Liberty held its first of seven regional conferences taking place this fall. Several Republican Liberty Caucus representatives brought literature and the RLC banner to the conference to educate students about the Republican Liberty Caucus message and strategy.

Former RLC Board member, Ramapo College Professor of Finance, and former New Jersey Senate candidate Murray Sabrin addressed the audience, as did New York RLC Chair and City Council candidate Dan Halloran (pictured below).

Paul Sanchez of the soon-to-form Wisconsin RLC affiliate attended the Future Wisconsin Conference on October 10, too, to reach out to interested parties there. Future Wisconsin is an annual gathering of conservatives in Wisconsin.

Said Sanchez, “I was able to meet a number of allies to liberty throughout the day and we received a positive reception.”

“After [we charter our chapter], [we should] hit the ground running [to] network as [much as] possible,” he said. “This should then help us gain experience in other tasks such as supporting candidates on a local and state level. I think the next year should be pretty exciting and look forward to moving on to the next step.”

The RLC hopes to have a presence at upcoming Students for Liberty conferences in Boston, Chicago, Austin, Winston-Salem, and Philadelphia.

On Sunday night, Republican Liberty Caucus members in Jacksonville, Florida attended a gathering hosted by a medical school friend of Dr. Rand Paul. Members of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida populated the event to help raise funds for Rand Paul’s race in Kentucky against Trey Greyson for the Republican nomination.

According to the latest poll data, there is a statistical dead heat between Grayson and Rand Paul when put up against their opponents on the Democrat side.

Above: Will Pitts, Florida RLC Chair; Dr. Rand Paul;
John Stevens, Northeast Florida RLC Chair.

Later this month, Dr. Rand Paul will speak at a Republican Liberty Caucus event in Georgetown, Kentucky. If you’re in the area, please view the event details and RSVP.

On Constitution Day, September 17, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Central East Florida organized a dinner with Cato Institute Chairman and legal scholar Robert A. Levy (who is also a RLC member). The Central East Florida chapter of the RLC is based in the Melbourne area. Over 100 guests attended the event.

Dr. Levy joined the Cato Institute as senior fellow in constitutional studies in 1997 after 25 years in business. He also sits on boards of the Institute for Justice, the Federalist Society, and the George Mason University School of Law. He founded CDA Investment Technologies, a major provider of financial information and software, and was its CEO until 1991. From 1997 until 2004, Levy was an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University. He has written numerous articles on investments, law, and public policy. Levy received his Ph.D. in business from the American University and his J.D. degree from the George Mason University School of Law.

Most recently, Dr. Levy helped bring the case Heller v. DC to the Supreme Court, where the Court ruled in favor of an individual right to keep and bear arms. The case was brought about by Republican Liberty Caucus member Richard Heller, who has previously addressed RLC members.

The Republican Liberty Caucus was very honored to host Dr. Levy. Below are some photos from the great event. Special thanks to Matthew Nye for organizing it.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of California successfully held its second annual convention meeting of 2009 in conjunction with the California Republican Party Convention. The CRP Convention was held the weekend of September 25-27, which provided the RLCCA with a unique opportunity to hold a Convention Meeting and build relationships with fellow California Republicans.

The RLCCA Convention Meeting took place on Saturday, September 26. With several new faces and our growing leadership, comradery and activism filled the room. During the meeting, new By-laws revisions were passed unanimously.

All weekend long, the RLC offered an exhibitor booth along side other volunteer organizations and candidates running for state office. The World’s Smallest Political Quiz was again administered at our table, with the results, as expected, placing the majority of fellow California Republican quiz takers in the libertarian quadrant. New to this years convention was the RLCCA Voter Recommendation Guide. The guide focus was on two proposed state party rules and a resolution. There was no action taken by CRP Delegates on the rules, but the resolution passed!

The California Republican Party voted nearly unanimously in support of HR 1207 and S 604, The Federal Reserve Transparency and Sunshine Acts. The resolution was sponsored by the Alameda County and Sonoma County GOPs, and co-sponsored by the Republican Liberty Caucus of California, RLC-endorsed Congressman Tom McClintock, State Assemblyman and U.S. Senate candidate Chuck DeVore, as well as a number of CRP Delegates.

The California Republican Party supporting an audit of the Federal Reserve was a shining moment for the RLCCA and the Liberty Movement. Chuck DeVore, a tremendous supporter of auditing the Federal Reserve, spoke passionately on behalf of the resolution during the resolution committee meeting. Immediately after Chuck DeVore spoke, the Resolution Committee voted unanimously to send the resolution to the floor of the convention. Thanks Chuck!

All weekend long, members of the Republican Liberty Caucus could be seen at our exhibitor booth, CRP committee meetings, County Chairman and Treasurer meetings, CRP Convention floor, and many other party functions and meetings. We certainly made sure the Liberty Movement was active throughout the weekend. And it paid off with our co-sponsored resolution passing overwhelmingly.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of California would like to thank all our members and volunteers who showed up to the convention. We could not have done it without your dedication! We would also like to thank the California Republican Party for holding the Convention and so overwhelmingly supporting the resolution; and U.S. Senate Candidate Chuck DeVore for his support.

2010 elections are right around the corner and the RLC CA is poised to make a difference! If you haven’t yet done so, please join the RLC today!

Some photos from the event follow:

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Maryland, which was chartered in winter of this year, held its first annual Convention on Saturday, March 26 in Laurel, Maryland.  John Orlando (photo below), RLC Chair, presided over by-law changes and I oversaw the elections.  Two by-law changes were adopted.

A new board was elected, including: John Orlando, Chair (pictured); Steve Wright, Vice-Chair; Randy Gearhart, Secretary; Ingrid Dean, Treasurer. Outgoing Treasurer Rich Matthews is moving out of state. The Convention business began around 3:00pm and ended around 3:15pm.

A RLC strategy discussion was held from 5:30 to 6:00pm.  Between 3:15pm and 5:30pm, many speakers were heard from — including past candidates, current candidates, organization leaders, and general members.

Overall, the meeting was a great success.  Delegates came away energized and poised to continue their fight for a free Maryland.  After the Convention, delegates gathered for dinner at a local restaurant.  Some photos from the event follow.

Delegate Joe Boteler addressed the crowd. He explained how he wears a t-shirt in his community that says “ordinary citizen” and encourages his neighbors to view him as such.

Delegate Don Dwyer addressed the crowd. Dwyer was quite passionate and was excited about the Tenth Amendment legislation that he will introduce in the near future.

Delegates listened as Collins Bailey discussed his run against House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.  Bailey was endorsed by the RLC in 2008 and also serves on the Charles County Board of Education.

Mr. Collins Bailey speaks to the crowd.

Joe Seehusen talked about his run for State Senate in Maryland, District 42 (Baltimore County).  Seehusen was Deputy Campaign Director for the Ron Paul 2008 Presidential campaign.

Delegates discuss strategy.

Delegates enjoy a laugh.

I attended the 9/12 rally that overtook Washington, DC on September 12, 2009.  I attended to take a few photos and (mostly) pass out literature about the Republican Liberty Caucus to targeted attendees.  To distinguish myself, I wore a Ron Paul hat that said “Real conservatives are against the War” and a t-shirt reading, “The community is worthless without the individual.”

As I handed out literature, I heard people talking about Ron Paul.  One young man from Georgia told his girlfriend, “I’m starting to like him. He makes the most sense.”  I handed out the literature to moms who had “Term Limits” signs and explained that we need to vote selectively for only small government Republican candidates.  Overall, the reception was great, the crowd was very committed, and I was surprised at its size and scope.

I have attended many rallies in DC over the years and this was by far the largest. The media can continue to say 75,000 people attended the rally.  I would estimate the number to be between 750,000 and 1 million.   It was overwhelming — it over took the city.  Even as I walked back to my car — from from the Capitol — I saw the 9/12 rally attendees … soccer moms, working dads, government employees, common folks … uniting for limited government.

What a sight!

Less government? Sounds enticing …

First Amendment and marchers!

This guy had a “Got Beck?” sticker on his driver’s side window.

Rally attendees. Notice all the Gadsen flags!

More attendees.