The Minnesota chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus has been busy, as usual.

Not only is Minnesota RLC member Norann Dillon running for State Senate, but many RLC members were among the first to rally behind State Rep. Tom Emmer, one of two potential Republican Gubernatorial nominees. Polls show Emmer defeating his Democrat opponents.

The upcoming Minnesota RLC events include:

1) A Second Congressional District Meeting for RLC and Campaign for Liberty members on Thursday, March 18. Among the plans at the meeting are to formalize RLC/C4L participation at the Jason Lewis Tax Rally on May 8 and the Minnesota GOP Convention on April 29. Additionally, the Second Congressional District GOP Convention will occur on Saturday, March 20. PLEASE RSVP to this event.

2) The Minnesota RLC Convention on Monday, April 12. PLEASE RSVP to this event.

3) Outreach at the Minnesota GOP Convention on April 29. Stay tuned for details.

The Michigan RLC recently held a successful Convention with former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. The Nebraska RLC is holding its Convention with Governor Johnson in July. The Illinois RLC recently endorsed several candidates.

Additionally, the Wisconsin RLC and C4L chapters are planning to reach out at the state GOP Convention in late May. Meanwhile, Indiana and Ohio have primaries quickly approaching. The Indiana chapter is working to endorse candidates and Ohio RLC members are working to charter their chapter.

Activists in the Midwest are doing good work to keep liberty alive.

In the first primary race of 2010, David Ratowitz carried the cause of liberty to victory in the GOP primary for the 5th Congressional District of Illinois. Ratowitz was the only candidate for federal office officially endorsed by the RLC in Illinois and won his race by a solid margin over two opponents.

In November Ratowitz stands a good chance of beating big government Democrat incumbent Mike Quigley in a district which is mostly middle class Chicago suburbs and leans Democrat, but was held by a Republican during the mid 1990s.

Ratowitz commented after the final results were announced, as he and supporters celebrated at Wise Fools Pub in Chicago:

“My campaign was consistent, informed and relentless in its delivery of a limited government and free market message to the people of Congressional District 5. Ultimately, the voters – both in the city and the suburbs – roundly accepted that message as their own.

“I stand with the independent businesses and working families of the 5th Congressional District who are insisting, in no uncertain terms, on a far less intrusive federal government and increased fiscal responsibility at all levels. This victory is a decisive win for liberty, the first of many that will propel our campaign to success in November.

“I thank my family, supporters, staff and, most assuredly, my fellow citizens of Illinois District 5.”

The RLC looks forward to supporting Ratowitz through the general election and in bringing the liberty message to Washington DC after he wins in November.

Adam Andrzejewski is one of six Republicans running to become the standard bearer for the party’s upcoming statewide gubernatorial race.

Unlike each of his opponents, Andrzejewski is a common citizen — a father and businessman rather than a career politician.

The Illinois primary is today, ridiculously early, and catches us all off guard.

Illinois politics is unique, to be sure. It’s filled with a corrupt cesspool of self-aggrandizing politicians — in the Rod Blagojevich mold — each hoping to out-power one another to become king of the citizenry. It’s power politics, to be sure, and is filled with name-calling, manipulation, and maneuvering.

Adam Andrzejewski is a rare political outsider with common sense and commitment to limited and transparent government.  All of this is rare in Illinois politics, which is usually filled with special interest candidates or those with a solid family tree of political history.

Whatsmore, Adam is gaining traction and could be the GOP nominee for Governor.

As the Republican Liberty Caucus choice for Governor, we hope Illinois voters see in Adam what Rush Limbaugh and former president of Poland Lech Walesa see; both endorsed his candidacy in the last week.

In addition to being profiled at the popular conservative blog RedState, Adam was recently featured in Politico article and at National Review online.

Depending on what poll you believe, Adam is either in first or second place in the tough primary field.

Will the Tea Party impact today’s Illinois GOP gubernatorial race? If so, Adam will be the Republican nominee.  Illinois will be a better place if that happens.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Illinois has endorsed Adam Andrzejewski for Illinois Governor and David Ratowitz for Congress in District 5. The primary for both races is coming up rapidly: February 2, 2010.

According to Illinois RLC Vice-Chair John Bambenek, after thorough research into all the candidates, Adam Andrzejewski had the best credentials to reform state government, bring jobs back to Illinois and resolve the lingering budget crisis.

Responding to the endorsement, Andrzejewski said, “The mission of the Republican Liberty Caucus is to serve as the conscience of the Republican Party. No more is that needed than in Illinois and their endorsement is a validation of my campaign as the true outsider to bring reform to Illinois.” Learn more about Adam at www.adamforillinois.com.

David Ratowitz was also endorsed by the RLC.  He is running for Congress to restore freedom to the Fifth Congressional district and has also been endorsed by Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica and the political arm of the National Taxpayers United of Illinois. In addition, Ratowitz has been featured on Judge Andrew Napolitano’s “Freedom Watch” program on FOX News several times.

Ratowitz faces two Republican opponents, each vying to take on freshman Rep. Mike Quigley (D) in the Chicago suburbs. Learn more about David at www.ratowitzforcongress.com.

Bruno Behrend, RLC Chairman, said last week on Chicago talk radio, “If the Republican Party nationally had listened to the members of the Republican Liberty Caucus, they would not have lost their majorities in 2006 and 2008.”

He’s right.

And if Illinois voters listen to the Illinois RLC in 2010, they will be well on their way to reforming state government by electing Andrzejewski Governor, sending Ratowitz to Congress, and passing the Putback Amendment.

Yesterday Illinois RLC Chairman Bruno Behrend (pictured above) was on the Ray Hanania show promoting the PutBack Amendment and the Republican Liberty Caucus. Listen to the segment.

The PutBack Amendment was crafted by Illinois RLC Vice-Chair John Bambenek and is a comprehensive package of reforms designed to end the backroom dealings of the General Assembly. It includes four-term limits for legislators, seven day public viewing of legislation, equal ballot access for all parties, and an end to gerrymandering.

When asked about the RLC, Behrend said, “If the Republican Party nationally had listened to the members of the Republican Liberty Caucus, they would not have lost their majorities in 2006 and 2008.”

Mr. Behrend is a graduate of University of Illinois (1983) with a degree in Finance, and a graduate of IIT-Kent College of Law (1990). With a strong entrepreneurial drive, Mr. Behrend has started 5 businesses. Throughout this entire time, Bruno has been active in the policy arena, working with various groups and candidates in Illinois to promote progressive business-friendly and market-friendly policies. He hosts his own talk radio program, Extreme Wisdom, on WKRS – 1220 AM.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Illinois has announced the endorsement of the Put-Back Amendment, a citizen-driven initiative to amend the Constitution of the State of Illinois to enact badly needed reforms to the state legislature.

Bruno Behrend, state chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Illinois, said the following in endorsing the Put-Back Amendment, “The culture of corruption and dysfunction plaguing Illinois starts in the State Legislature. It is a part-time job that politicians made into a lifetime career. Term limits and ending gerrymandering, as well as the other reforms, will help return the legislature to being accountable to the voters.”

Illinois RLC vice-chairman John Bambenek is the principal author of the amendment. He announced that he was “delighted to have the support of the Republican Liberty Caucus in championing these badly needed reforms such as term limits. The Republican Liberty Caucus has always functioned as an ‘outsider’ organization in the Republican Party pushing the establishment towards reform and the will of the people and with this endorsement they continue this proud tradition.”

Getting the amendment on the ballot requires 500,000 signatures  to be filed by May 2nd, 2010. The Republican Liberty Caucus of Illinois will be helping to gather those signatures.

The amendment would implement essential reforms to clean up state government, including:

• Term Limits
• Seven-Day Public Viewing of All Legislation
• End Gerrymandering
• Equal Ballot Access
• Unicameral Legislature with 3-Member Districts

Dave Nalle, National Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus congratulated the Illinois chapter for launching this effort and observed that “this shows how liberty activists can take the initiative to work for more open and more honest government in their states. If this can succeed in the home state of some of our most corrupt politicians it will send a message to the back-room deal makers and influence peddlers nationwide that their days are numbered.”

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Illinois is one of the newest chartered affiliates of the nationwide organization which promotes limited government, free enterprise and individual liberty within the Republican Party. The RLC is a rapidly growing voice for a grassroots network of American citizens who champion our country’s Founding Principles.

You can see the full text of the Put-Back Amendment at PutBackAmendment.com and get more information on the Republican Liberty Caucus of Illinois at www.rlcil.og. For more information, and to schedule interviews with Mr. Behrend or Mr. Bambenek contact them at (217) 493-0760 or jcb@putbackamendment.com.

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.

According to the April 7, 2009 Election Results posted at the Lisle (pronounced Lyle) Township Republican Organization in Illinois, RLC member Michael A. Tams won his election to be Lisle Township Trustee. Lisle is in Dupage County (metro Chicago) and has a population of roughly 25,000.

RLC member Tams was the only non-incumbent winner and the number two vote-getter, hopefully because “when I got the chance to talk to people I clearly articulated a pro-Constitution, originalist view of the role of government and a low-tax, pro-prosperity agenda,” he says.

Tams also offered some advice to other RLC activists running for local office:

“Local elections, in my limited experience, are successful when they’re able to do two things.  First, they take an enormous amount of work.  We started walking in the beginning of March for an April 7th election.  While some people think that’s plenty of time for campaigning, it is NOT enough time for door-knocking.  The best experiences I had were knocking on doors in early March.  People generally find running for office daunting enough, and few people are comfortable putting themselves out for potential ridicule.  As such, if you’re willing to put yourself through all of that, people admire your nerve.”

“Towards the end of the campaign, we didn’t have the time to knock on supporter’s doors. With just a couple of weeks left until the election, my team resorted to hanging literature on doors instead of making personal contact.  While time-effective (one can cover a neighborhood very quickly just hanging materials), it is not necessarily results-effective: you have little idea if the effort will yield a return (a vote).”

“There’s a book a friend told me about — Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.  The book is about the Oakland A’s and how they were able to field consistent contenders.  They revolutionized On-Base Percentage (OPB) as the measure for building a team.  Briefly, there’s three outs in each half of an inning and that’s the only sure thing.  If you have a team full of “tough outs” — high OBP players — you’re more likely to score runs and win (in the extreme example, if you never get an out, the score is infinity to zero).  I think the application to politics is this: our On-Base Percentage equivalent is converting the person who answers their door from just an at-bat to someone who is likely to make a point of voting.”

“The first thing I took away from this election is that winning races is all about retail politics.  You need to knock on a lot of doors, shake a lot of hands, and even endure your fair share of rejection.  I’ve worked in sales positions before, which prepared me for this.  You’re going to have your fair share of people who will judge you before you ever utter a word; you need to know how to do simple objection handling and have the confidence to brush off slights, insults, or indifference.”

“I started out saying that you have to do two things.  The second thing is layering networks of people.  I used my friends and family as a network.  Then I used my business relationships as a network.  Then I used the traditional township GOP organization as a network.  Then I borrowed the network of the local baseball league that one of the guys on the ticket has been involved with for 20 years.  Then I borrowed the network of another guy who fought some huge corporate development in town.  Then I spoke at Meetup groups and C4L groups.  Then I used my neighborhood association as a network.  And so on.”

In doing this, the first thing I was able to do is turn out people to our caucus in January.  It was 2 degrees, but I was able to turn out enough people to unseat an incumbent trustee.  By the same networking — and a lot, but not nearly enough of the handshaking — I was the #2 vote getter on Tuesday night, beating two incumbent trustees on our ticket.”

“A couple of personal keys, for me, to this win:  first, people need to get involved in their township GOP organization.  Yes, there are things we all dislike about the GOP; get over it, get involved and try and change it.  There is also the fair share of useless placeholders in these groups, but there’s also probably a third of the people who give a damn about the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and hate the way the party is run.  They’ll fight for you.”

“Second, join or start a politically-oriented Toastmasters group.  These groups meet twice monthly and require 20 people to start a new group.  This will give members invaluable experience getting up in front of a group and speaking about issues that matter to people who share our principles.  Then, when you need to speak for a campaign, you’ve done it dozens of times, sometimes prepared and sometimes not, and it will be second nature.  It’ll seem silly at first, but stick with it.  It will pay dividends.”

Congrats to the citizens of Lisle and to Mr. Tams on his victory!