Although it looks like it will be a bad year for Republicans as a whole, GOP candidates advocating for limited government (and meaning it!) are going to do well in 2008, just as they did in 2006. (The only RLC-friendly member of Congress who lost in 2006 was Arizona’s J.D. Hayworth.)

In Virginia, the state RLC’s favorite legislator, Ken Cuccinelli, is running for Attorney General in 2009. He will face another Republican in the state primary, but he is the favorite to win both the primary and general election. Senator Cuccinelli addressed the newly chartered Virginia RLC earlier this year:

In Georgia, things are looking good for 2010. If Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, who the RLC has supported for years, jumps into the race for Governor, then the RLC’s leader in the State Senate, David Shafer, has a real opportunity to become Lt. Governor.

Georgia Senator David Shafer.

In Missouri, State Treasurer Sarah Steelman is facing an uphill fight against establishment Congressman Kenny Hulshof in the open gubernatorial race. Steelman is favored by RLC members for her no-nonsense, common sense approach to the issues. Ron Paul supporters are even planning a Money Bomb for Steelman. Treasurer Steelman also attended the Ron Paul Freedom Rally in Branson earlier this year. Roy Blunt, predictably, has endorsed her opponent, Kenny Hulshof.

Sarah Steelman

Finally, the RLC is thankful for its current incumbent Governors, Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Sarah Palin of Alaska. Although not perfect, these state leaders have shown independence from the GOP establishment and have the chutzpah to make real inroads toward returning the GOP to its small government heritage.

Sarah Palin

Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention our heroes of past, namely former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld.

While Governor of Massachusetts, Bill Weld ended the state’s borrowing, controlled Medicaid spending, reduced property taxes and balanced seven budgets in a row while passing 19 tax cuts and never raising taxes. He was elected during a tumultuous time when the state’s bond rating was near junk status, unemployment was nearly 10%, and the state had continuously borrowed money to close large operating deficits.

“When the Republican Party issued a clarion call last week for its grassroots supporters to submit ideas online to build the party’s platform, Republican National Committee officials probably weren’t expecting a concerted push for the dismantling of the Federal Reserve and a return to the gold standard,” writes Wired.com.

However, “Ron Paul supporters have made themselves at home on the the GOP platform site, sounding many of the themes that turned the Texas congressman’s doomed run for the Republican presidential nod into an internet cause célèbre. ‘Get rid of the unconstitutional Federal Reserve, and go back to a sound gold and silver based currency,’ wrote Cathy, a contributor from Stevensville, Montana, in a post to the ‘Jobs and Economic Growth’ section of the site.”

Cathy’s comment is just one of pages and pages of comments submitted by users complaining about the Federal Reserve, the USA Patriot Act, REAL ID, NAFTA, and No Child Left Behind. The RLC encourages you to use the automated search tool at the site to see exactly what Republican voters want their platform to say. And, believe it or not, their wishes don’t include a whole lot of meddling government.

The RLC is interested in documenting the impact that grassroots RLC members have had any on the platform debates at state GOP conventions in 2008. Across the nation, county Republican Parties have had their platforms amended to oppose the PATRIOT Act’s warrantless wiretapping provisions, the Iraq War, the Federal Reserve, the federal income tax, and REAL ID, among other changes. What impact have these local changes had at the state level, and to what extent was the RLC involved?

In March at the Alaska GOP Convention, delegates supporting Ron Paul were able to amend the state GOP platform to include a provision affirming Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights against the USA Patriot Act and REAL ID Act. They also added a plank supporting fully informed jurers. Among the resolutions that passed: Abolition of the IRS, repeal of the federal income tax, abolition of the Department of Education, and against implementation of REAL ID in Alaska.

In Idaho, where libertarian-friendly Norm Semanko was elected Chair, Ron Paul supporters (many of whom are members of the Republican Liberty Caucus) were able to add a provision to the state GOP platform demanding the abolition of the Federal Reserve bank.

In St. Charles County, Missouri, the largest Republican County caucus in the state, libertarian-leaning Republicans won 128 of 137 slots. According to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Ron Paul delegates “snagged roughly a third of the 2,137 Republican delegates” in the state. Similar events took place in Jackson County and Greene County. In Jackson County, delegates changed the county platform in fourteen distinct ways, including abolition of the Department of Education and affirming that Congress only can go to war with a declaration from Congress.

In Oklahoma, the candidate endorsed by the libertarian-leaning faction of the GOP for National Committeeman, attorney James Dunn, was also selected by the majority of Convention delegates.

In Texas, RLC Board member Dave Nalle was able to stop two proposed resolutions, one condemning homosexuality and one opposing any form of gay unions.

Last May in Spokane at the Washington state GOP Convention, delegate Bruce Morton was able to pass a resolution affirming the that the GOP supports a formal declaration of war passed by Congress.

Attempts to change the platform in some states, such as Hawaii, Maine, and Nevada, were diffused by the establishment Republicans ‘leading’ the Convention.

In short, the RLC’s active grassroots membership is having an impact. Please let your voice be heard in the National GOP platform debate.

Americans for Tax Reform recently named Congressman Don Young of Alaska as their taxpayer hero. That’s interesting, because I don’t think he can be considered fiscally conservative, much less a hero for those hoping for limited government spending and taxation.

In fact, Congressman Young issued a press release bragging that he has secured millions of dollars for Alaskans. Thanks for being a fiscal conservative, Don!

But as our friends at The Next Right detail, Congressman Young is responsible for earmarks, is under investigation for bribery, and promises to support tax hikes for earmarks.

ATR picked the wrong guy.