The Republican Liberty Caucus of Nebraska played host to Governor Gary Johnson on Friday and Saturday, June 18 and 19th.

On Friday evening, a group of about 20 attended an informal pizza party (see photo, above) with the Governor where they learned more about Johnson’s views on a range of issues, with the greatest debate coming in the area of immigration.

Governor Johnson took a bit of a walking tour of Lincoln with a couple of RLC members, seeing Nebraska’s historic capitol building (built during the depression without borrowing any money), as well as a look around the Haymarket area of downtown Lincoln, and a quick tour of the University of Nebraska campus. (UNL has just signed an agreement to become a part of the Big 10 Conference in 2011.)

Upon returning to the hotel, Governor Johnson took in a bit of the “Nebraska Liberty Summit”, being hosted by the Nebraska RLC, and consisting of leaders from the RLC, Grassroots in Nebraska, 912 groups, Minutemen Patriots, Campaign for Liberty, and others. The goal of the summit was to discuss ways that groups might work together in upcoming legislative sessions.

Following the summit, a reception/fundraiser was held, with 65 who bought $35 tickets to have a bite and a chance to talk with Governor Johnson. Another 10 or so came for Governor Johnson’s speech alone. Folks hung out for an hour or so afterwards, continuing conversations with Governor Johnson and others, and enjoying some evening snacks.
The RLCNE convention was held immediately prior to the Liberty Summit, with 20 members present. Elections of Officers and Directors for the ensuing two years was held, with the following elected to office until 2012:

Laura Ebke, Chair
Jon Tucker, Vice Chair
Amy Haberman, Secretary
Ron Schwab, Treasurer
Zach Dean, Director
Brian Petermann, Director
Mike Schwab, Director
Nick Sulser, Director

Officers and Directors of the Nebraska RLC come from seven different communities, and six different counties — both urban and rural — stretching from the far northwestern corner of the state to the eastern edge.

Three more Republican Liberty Caucus affiliates are hosting Conventions in the coming months. These three Conventions are in addition to the four state RLC conventions I previously blogged about that are coming up in Arizona, California, Michigan, and Utah. The three other RLC state affiliates hosting spring Conventions include DC in February, Tennessee in March, and Nebraska in May.

District of Columbia RLC Convention: February 8

Join the Republican Liberty Caucus of DC for our biennial Convention on Monday evening, February 8.

Gary Johnson, former two-term New Mexico Governor, will be joining us.

The event will be held at the Old Dominion Brewhouse (9th and M St, near the Convention Center) from 7:00 to 8:30pm.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Tennessee RLC Convention: March 15

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Tennessee is holding its annual Convention on March 20, 2010 in the Chattanooga area. In order for the our group to grow and be effective, we need people willing to commit to the time and energy required to make an impact. The future of the RLCTN depends upon you. RSVP to attend the RLCTN Convention on Facebook.

Nebraska RLC Convention: May 15

On Saturday, May 15, 2010 (time TBA) in Omaha (site TBA), the Republican Liberty Caucus of Nebraska will host special guest Governor Gary Johnson. Gary E. Johnson recently founded, and serves as the honorary chair of the Our America Initiative. He is a longtime member of the National RLC’s Board of Advisers. As Governor of New Mexico from 1994-2002, Johnson vetoed 750 pieces of legislation–more than all of the 49 other governors combined during the same time frame. Stay tuned to the Nebraska RLC 2010 Convention page for details and registration.

California, Florida, Maryland, and Nebraska chapters of the Republican Liberty Caucus have revised and launched new versions of their state Republican Liberty Caucus websites.

The California and Florida RLC websites offer quicker load times and ease of access. Both chapters also have quite a few active local affiliates.

The new Maryland RLC offers information on current candidates, pending legislation, and upcoming events.  The Nebraska RLC website is in a new, easy format that emphasizes 2010 candidate endorsements.

Learn more about these and other RLC affiliates at our chapter page.

A contingent of Nebraska RLC members that serve on the Republican Party of Nebraska State Central Committee, along with a number of other non-RLCNE State Central Committee members, expressed their disapproval of the NEGOP taking the position of endorsing incumbent GOP officeholders at a recent statewide Republican Party meeting.

While the Nebraska RLC members and others were not able to turn away the decision to endorse (by a narrow margin), Republican Liberty Caucus members did have the opportunity to object to the Party’s endorsements — not due to animosity toward any of the incumbents, but because they believe that Party itself should avoid the look of ’smoke filled rooms’ making decisions about who the nominees of the Party should be.

According to Nebraska RLC Chair Laura Ebke, “We will continue to act as the conscience of the Nebraska Republican Party, and question actions that we consider ill-advised — even when we don’t win.”

Some photos from Republican Liberty Caucus members and activists from the month of August (2009):

RLC members in northern Virginia had a meeting on August 20.  It featured two former RLC-endorsed Congressional candidates (Amit Singh and Vern McKinley) and a 2009 RLC-endorsed candidate for Delegate, Eric Brescia.  The Virginia RLC was re-chartered at the Republican Party of Virginia Convention in May.

Kentucky RLC Coordinator Michael Moreland (right) chats with the son of RLC Advisory Board member Ron Paul, Dr. Rand Paul at the Jim and Mary Bunning Family Picnic hosted by the Campbell County GOP. Dr. Rand Paul is running for the open Kentucky U.S. Senate seat.

RLC members from the DC and Virginia affiliates gathered in a studio in DC on August 9 to film an introduction to the Republican Liberty Caucus that will soon appear at RLC.org. From left is Aaron Biterman, Mitchell Bemos, Matthew Gagnon, and Nena Bartlett.

On Saturday, August 15, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Nebraska held its first-ever summer meeting.

Nebraska RLC Vice Chair, Jon Tucker, of Omaha, discussed the many faces of the liberty movement and helped RLC members discover where we fit in. The answers were not entirely clear, although it was clear by the end of the discussion that Nebraska RLC’ers are committed to continuing their efforts to promote their foundational principles of liberty within the Republican Party.  Mr. Tucker is also in the process of forming a regional Republican Liberty Caucus representing the Omaha area.

Former Nebraska Republican Party Chairman Mark Quandahl (left) and Nebraska’s Republican National Committeeman, Pete Ricketts (right), fielded questions from the audience during a panel discussion.  Both men welcomed the involvement of Nebraska RLC members.

Quandahl expressed appreciation for the enthusiasm of the RLC’ers at Nebraska’s 2008 GOP Convention and Ricketts encouraged members to stay involved.

Nebraska RLC Secretary, Amy Haberman of Papillion, provided delegates with an overview of the Nebraska Republican Party and its structure. Amy’s presentation emphasized the importance of getting involved locally.

According to Nebraska RLC Vice Chair Jon Tucker, “All we need to do now is increase our numbers to increase our impact of the party.  I can’t wait to do this again next year, but I will not wait until then to find other opportunities for us to get together to grow and educate each other and those around us about the principles of the Nebraska Republican Liberty Caucus.”

By all accounts, the meeting was a success.  Members learned the GOP state structure, how to create a PAC, how to encourage others to join our efforts, who others in the liberty movement are, history of the liberty movement, and an introduction of how technology can impact the political process.

A very special thank you to Laura Ebke, Nebraska RLC Chair, who organized the meeting.

The California and Nebraska affiliates of the RLC have rolled out their new web sites. Log on and view the new sites:

California RLC

Nebraska RLC

The Nebraska Republican Liberty Caucus received its state charter status from the National Republican Liberty Caucus in June, and this marks the first election in which the group has endorsed candidates for office. State Chair Laura Ebke of Crete indicated that the endorsement of Josh Furnish by the RLC Nebraska Board of Directors was a unanimous vote, and represented a strong sense that Furnish would represent the principles of the RLC well.

According to Mrs. Ebke, “Josh Furnish is a small businessman, a parent, and a community volunteer who has the experience voters are looking for. Voters looking for change and tax relief should choose Josh in November. Josh’s success this November will result in more prosperity, lower taxes, and liberty for residents in Cass County.”

Added Ebke, “Ultimately, we believe that the best place for governance to occur is as locally as possible. County Commissioners are an important first step in assuring that our government stays as small and efficient as possible, and makes the best possible use of taxpayer dollars.”  READ MORE from the press release.

Josh Furnish is a Republican candidate for Commissioner in Cass County, Nebraska, District 1 and, if elected, will represent Wards 1, 2, and 4 in Plattsmouth.

The inaugural event of the Nebraska Chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus took place at the Double D Ranch outside of Ashland, Nebraska on Friday evening, July 11.  The event, which included dinner, social time, and introductions of the organizational Officers and Board of Directors, marked the first time that the group had assembled as a group—and indeed the first time that many of our folks had actually met one another face to face, in spite of many phone conversations and e-mail communications which had taken place.  All 21 of the charter members (those who had paid their dues by June 30) were in attendance, and several new charter members joined the group, as well.  A total of 39 members and guests were in attendance for this first event.

The event, deliberately held this year in conjunction with the Nebraska GOP Convention the next day, included discussions of how we might be most effective in promoting the cause of liberty in the Republican Party.  The Nebraska RLC welcomed a guest, Don Waggoner, a local businessman who has a long history as a political “operative” in Nebraska, and who worked in the Goldwater movement toward the end, and served as an advance man for Ronald Reagan for his brief presidential run in 1968.  Waggoner, and a couple of other local Goldwater-era folks, agreed to help our group navigate convention politics the next day, and to add their experience to our efforts.

The consensus was that our next Convention, to be held in 2010, would take place several weeks prior to the Party Convention, and would include debate on proposals to the State GOP Platform so that the Nebraska RLC could submit proposals as a block of the state party.

At the Convention, the RLC had a booth. According to Nebraska RLC Chair Laura Ebke, “I saw a lot of people walking around with our literature and a few even picked up our RLC buttons and were wearing them.”

Three Nebraska RLC charter members were elected on Saturday—outside of the McCain organization slate—as uncommitted delegates (2) and alternates (1) to the National GOP Convention.  Our newly chartered chapter was recognized formally by the Nebraska state Republican Party Chair, and Nebraska RLC members were welcomed as (mostly) new participants in the process.  All in all, a great weekend to be part of the Nebraska RLC!

Many thanks to Laura Ebke for her experience and enthusiasm in the Nebraska RLC charter process.

DC: The state RLC is attempting to charter and will hold its first meeting on July 15 at Brickskeller north of Dupont circle at 6:30pm.

Florida: The state RLC is working on a new web site that will debut shortly. Stay tuned.

Idaho: As detailed earlier in the blog, the state GOP Convention saw two rivals fight out debate on the platform and future direction of the party, with our pro-liberty faction coming out ahead. The new state chair is Norm Semanko.

Illinois: The state RLC met at the GOP Convention in Decatur on June 6 and 7. Unfortunately, the libertarian-leaning Steve Rauschenberger was defeated for the state committeeman seat by Pat Brady.

Maine: The state RLC is working on candidate endorsements.

Nebraska: The Nebraska RLC charter has been approved. In celebration of the new charter, the Nebraska RLC will hold its first event on July 11 at 5:30pm at the Double D Ranch (567 County Rd. C) in Ashland, Nebraska. Click here to view a PDF of the event invitation.

Nevada: An alternative GOP Convention was held recently, in protest of the previous Convention. See below post for additional information. The state party-sponsored Republican Convention will reconvene on July 26.

New Hampshire: The state RLC is working on candidate endorsements.

New York: The state RLC is working on candidate endorsements.

Ohio: The RLC has a new state contact in Ohio, retired Colonel John Mitchel. Mr. Mitchel is very involved with his community, is a member of his local GOP Committee, and has nearly 30 years of military experience. He is also an adjunct college professor. We look forward to his active involvement in chartering the Ohio chapter of the RLC.

Utah: The newly chartered state affiliate is working on candidate endorsements.