In The Orange County Register, RLC ally Steven Greenhut opines about a new California group formed to elect Republicans to office. The group is led by former California GOP Chair Duf Sundheim and some donors he has courted. They believe the GOP’s problems are symptomatic of the Republican Party field candidates focused on principles rather than politics and leadership, so they’re working to change the direction of the party.

“[California Republicans Aligned for Tomorrow]‘s mission is to identify, develop and support strong Republican candidates who can win key statewide general elections in California,” according to Sundheim. Sundheim points to Arnold Schwarzenegger as the best recent example of a GOP success story. Presumably, the group is going to find other ‘leaders’ like Arnold and throw money behind those candidates.

Just what kind of ‘leader’ is Arnold Schwarzenegger? As a result of Arnold’s tremendous respect for Republican Party principles, “the state is in an even bigger budget mess than it was in under Gov. Gray Davis. Budgets are growing faster, the deficits are bigger, the unfunded liabilities and debt ratios are more ominous,” according to Greenhut.

Concludes Greenhut: “The answer is to start challenging the Democrats on core issues by outlining an alternative set of values and principles. It’s time to directly explain – even in San Francisco – why limited government and personal freedom should be the prime goals of public policy.”

The RLC gives a voice to the GOP activist base who wish to return to these cherished American principles.

Sundheim’s group is about political power. But power without any principles guiding you is like a ship at sea without a rudder.

According to a CBS affiliate in northern California, Attorney General and former Presidential contender Jerry Brown is cracking down on a Nestle water bottling plant.

Brown will sue to block a proposed water-bottling operation in Northern California unless its effects on global warming are evaluated, according to the affiliate.

“It takes massive quantities of oil to produce plastic water bottles and to ship them in diesel trucks across the United States,” according to Brown.

Hey Jerry, why don’t you go a week without water and then report back to us on your progress?

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.