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.

Nothing much gets by local Republican Liberty Caucus members.

Liz Karlson (pictured, above, in her interview on local television), Chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Marion County (Indiana), pays attention to local news and politics. When the Republican Mayor of Indianapolis hired an out-of-state fella, Frank Straub, for the post of Public Safety Commissioner, she was paying attention to his agenda for the city. According to The Indianapolis Star,

“In response to a question about illegally owned guns, [the newly appointed] Straub said there is no clear national policy on guns and that gun trafficking needs to be controlled. ‘My own personal perspective,’ he said during that interview, ‘is we have way too many guns on the street and way too many people that own guns’.”

“The concerns were fueled further by Straub’s support for the failed attempt to extend the 1994 ban on certain semiautomatic rifles. Straub, who was public safety commissioner in White Plains, NY, at the time, was among a group of law enforcement officials who met with individual members of Congress to express support for extending the ban so that modifications could be made. Some also have pointed to his membership in the International Association of Chiefs of Police, a group that, according to the National Rifle Association, works closely with the federal gun control lobby.”

WISH TV’s Jim Shella has a story on the opposition to Frank Straub in which he interviews Liz Karlson and explains her position. Stella reports, “Both on Facebook and in her role as chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus, Karlson makes the case that Ballard is not true to Republican principles.”

He concludes that this is just one battle in a much bigger war.

2009 is the year of the party purge.

That’s one way of characterizing what has been taking place in the Republican Party as it relates to Republican Liberty Caucus members.

As voters that identify as Republicans continue to plummet to new lows (just 20 percent according to an October ABC/Washington Post survey), some state or local Republican Parties have targeted their most liberty-oriented members (undoubtedly members of the Republican Liberty Caucus) for removal.

An interesting strategy to build the Republican coalition — let’s boot out the Republicans that most value the Republican Party platform!

RLC members in Florida and Indiana — and, now, Tennessee — have been removed from elected positions, or have been targeted for removal.

Last week, the Davidson County Republican Party — representing the largest county in Tennessee — announced an effort to remove Vice-Chairman Matt Collins from his elected position. The Davidson County Republican Party Executive Committee voted 14 to 5 to begin the process to remove Mr. Collins from his position.

Collins is also the Vice-Chairman of the recently formed Republican Liberty Caucus of Tennessee. In response, the RLC has issued a press release defending Mr. Collins.

“This is the third state in the last year in which party insiders have tried to purge grassroots activists belonging to the Republican Liberty Caucus,” said Dave Nalle, National Chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus. Purges also took place in Marion County, Indiana, where RLC member Liz Karlson was removed from her Ward Chair position, and in Florida, where five Republican Liberty Caucus members were removed from the party for criticizing party leadership or opposing candidates with a history of fiscal irresponsibility and raising taxes.

The Republican Party has a tradition of diversity, tolerance, and support for freedom of speech and the right of dissent. The Republican Liberty Caucus is encouraging its members to contact RNC Chairman Michael Steele and Tennessee RNC Committeemembers Peggy Lambert and John Ryder to ask for their intervention in the matter. The RLC press release includes additional contact information for interested parties.

According to RLC Chairman Dave Nalle, “It looks like a weak faction which barely gained control of the county party decided that Matt Collins and his supporters threatened their positions of power, so despite the fact that he has not violated any rules, they decided to override the party members who voted him into office and force him out.”

Two dozen Republicans gathered last weekend to charter the Republican Liberty Caucus of Marion County. Participants included Precinct Committeemen, party leaders, former elected officials and GOP activists from across Indianapolis as well as two prominent local bloggers, Gary Welsh of Advance Indiana and Paul Ogden of Ogden On Politics.

The group will work to elect pro-liberty candidates within the Marion County Republican Party and to promote these ideals among party members.

In its first act, the Liberty Caucus adopted a resolution urging Republican members of the Indianapolis City-County Council to reject any new tax increases to finance the Capital Improvement Board of Managers. There is a sense of frustration that Republicans elected during the tax revolution of 2007 to city/county offices have reneged on their campaign pledges to oppose new taxes.

Officers elected to lead the Marion County chapter include: Elizabeth Karlson, Chairman; Steve Smith, First Vice Chairman; Lisa Kelly, Second Vice Chairman; Glenn Hatmaker, Secretary; and Lisa Caulderon, Treasurer.

The leadership team will lead the group through the 2012 election.

The below photo is from a previous Indianapolis Area RLC meeting:

Earlier in the month, RLC members from the Indiana and Missouri affiliate attended the Young Republicans Convention in Indianapolis to spread the message of individual liberty and limited government.

RLC members Rob and Karen Hillman and Charlie Kochenash hosted a Republican Liberty Caucus booth at the YR Convention. Two photos from the booth follow.

Dave Nalle recently posted a summary of the YR Convention results at this blog.

Charlie Kochenash, Indiana RLC Chair, also spoke at the July 4 Northwest Indiana Patriots Tea Party:

Watch Charlie at the NW Indiana Patriots Tea Party meeting in News |  

Last week, Charlie Kochenash, a rising star in Indiana politics and Chair of the Indiana Republican Liberty Caucus, addressed attendees at a Tea Party organizing meeting in Northwest Indiana. In the above video, Charlie Kochenash explains the RLC principles, the trouble that the GOP has encountered, and introduces attendees to the World’s Smallest Political Quiz.

Mr. Kochenash cites page 28 of the Republican Party platform from 2008, which says: “We do not support government bailouts of private institutions. Government interference in markets exasperates problems in the marketplace and causes the free-market to take longer to correct itself. We believe in the free-market as the best tool to sustain property and opportunity for all.”

Since chartering its affiliate in September of 2008, the RLC in Indiana has also chartered regional RLC organizations in Hamilton, Lake, LaPorte, Marion, and Porter counties. Learn more about the RLC at www.INRLC.org.

Last April, the Republican Liberty Caucus encouraged its members to participate in Tax Day Tea Parties across the country — and many RLC members did so, as evidenced by these member photos.

According to Human Events, five more states have joined the growing state sovereignty movement sparked by RLC activists and legislators. The new states cited in the article include Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

The Indiana RLC has been lobbying hard on behalf of that states’ resolution. It was introduced by RLC-friendly Senators Walker and Stutzmann, who recently attended the Indianapolis-area “RLC Callout” event (see photo, right).

The online information for Indiana’s 10th Amendment Resolution has been updated to represent that State Senator Mike Delph (district 29) was indeed one of the co-authors and initiators of this legislation along with Senators Greg Walker and Dennis Kruse. Not only that, but the list of Senators now listed along with them on this bill has grown to fourteen.

In Kentucky, RLC-friendly legislator Stan Lee of Fayette County is a co-sponsor of the resolution, HCR 168.  I received an e-mail this week from Rep. Lee’s office in response to a message I wrote to him, saying, in part, that “Rep. Lee shares [the RLC's] vision of limited government.”

In Tennessee, RLC-endorsed State Rep. Susan Lynn (left) introduced the resolution, HJR 108 (pdf).  At her blog, Rep. Lynn says: “State sovereignty is a big deal to state legislators; hopefully, it is to you as well. It is what keeps the federal government from over stepping its constitutional bounds.”

The Kansas resolution was introduced by a Republican Senator.  Kevin Patrick, a RLC ally in West Virginia, has set up a website in support of that state’s resolution.

In addition to releasing its new publication, “The Torch,” the Republican Liberty Caucus affiliate in Indiana hosted a “Callout” event in Marion County to help establish its new Indianapolis affiliate and to call members to action. The formal portion of the evening began with a nine minute introduction video explaining the power of the swinging libertarian voter, followed by words from RLC Indiana Chair Charlie Kochenash. All said, about sixty grassroots activists were in attendance.

Indiana RLC Board member Jerry Titus spoke on the Indiana Honest Money Act, a project that he spearheaded. Melyssa Donaghy led a proverbial battle cry, asking for support for her Revolt at the State House on March 25.

Jocelyn-Tandy Adande from the African American Republican Council of Marion County and former Libertarian Party Lt. Governor candidate Lisa Kelly also addressed the attendees. Finally, a surprise showing by RLC allies State Senators Greg Walker and Marvin Stutzman encouraged the crowd.

Photos from the event follow.

On Saturday, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Indiana took a major step forward by meeting with activists in Marion and Hamilton counties (including Indianapolis) who will become the core group in establishing the first chapter affiliate of the RLCIN — the Central Region.

The officers of the Indiana RLC were extremely impressed with the attendees.

Members in attendance agreed that forming a central region chapter will aid in organizing bringing forth issues to influential members of the GOP at the state capital. There was also hope that the RLC will be in a position to lead a lost and bewildered GOP back to its fundamentals of individual liberty and limited government.

Additionally, critical to the formation of the new chapter is the prospect of recruiting RLC members to run for key offices, such as County Prosecutor or Precinct Committeemen — as well as generating support for candidates who adhere to principles.

A photo from the event follows. The Indiana RLC has also recently established a new website, http://www.inrlc.org/. If you live in Indiana, please become involved today!

RLC Indiana members and activists met on Jan. 24. They included (front row) Sergio Bennett, Steve Keltner, Lisa Kelly, Elisabeth Karlson, RLC Indiana Chair Charlie Kochenash, (back row) Fred Glynn, Abdo Rabadi, Gregg Puls, Steve Pynakker, and Kevin Van Linden (taking the photo).

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 Adviser 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!