Cautioning that the federal dollars in your wallet could soon be little more than green paper backed by broken promises, RLC-endorsed freshman State Representative Glen Bradley of Youngsville wants North Carolina to issue its own legal tender backed by silver and gold. He introduced a bill that would establish a legislative commission to study his plan for a state currency. He is also drafting a second bill that would require state government to accept gold and silver coins as payment for taxes and fees.

If the state treasurer starts accepting precious metals as payment, Bradley said that could prod the private sector to follow suit — potentially allowing residents to trade gold for groceries. “I think we’re in the process of inflating a dollar bubble that could be very devastating. The idea is once the study commission finishes its work, then we could build on top of the hard-money currency with an actual State Tender Act that will basically [issue currency] in correspondence to precious metals stored in the state treasury.”

Bradley predicts that world events could soon prove him prescient. “I don’t necessarily believe [the Federal Reserve] is about to collapse right now,” said Bradley, 37. “There are still a few things they can do with qualitative easing to sort of extend their survival. It’s just a question of how long. Right know we have a lot of sovereign debt going to China and Japan. When that debt stops being purchased by foreign countries, that currency is going to flood back onto American shores, potentially creating hyperinflation and bursting the currency bubble we have coming in Federal Reserve notes today.”

Mr. Bradley, a self-employed computer technician and former Marine, attended Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest until he could no longer afford tuition. While he has not taken any in-depth classes in economics, Bradley described himself as a devotee of the Austrian School, a branch of economic thought that originated in Vienna and was influential before World War I.

A strict Constitutionalist, he has also introduced bills to exempt North Carolina agricultural products and firearms manufactured in the state from federal regulation as long as they are not sold or exported across state lines.

Bradley’s bill has yet to attract any co-sponsors among his fellow Republicans. The office of House Speaker Thom Tillis declined to say whether the Republican Party leadership supports Bradley’s proposal to create a state currency. His bill has been referred to the House rules committee, where legislation is sometimes sent to die. “There are a lot of diverse opinions and diverse views in our caucus,” said Jordan Shaw, Tillis’ spokesman. “I don’t think we’re going to forecast what will happen.”

Thanks to the Raleigh News Observer, DrudgeReport.com, and libertarianrepublican.net for covering Rep. Bradley’s legislative proposal.

There are a host of upcoming Republican Liberty Caucus events that we want you to be a part of!

………………APRIL
______________________

• Gary Johnson at South Michigan Area Republican Club
April 2, Berkley
RSVP/learn more.

• Central East Florida RLC Meeting
April 4, Indian Harbour Beach
RSVP/learn more.

• Orlando Area RLC Meeting
April 7, Winter Park
RSVP/learn more.

• Northeast Florida RLC Meeting
April 5, Jacksonville
RSVP/learn more.

• Los Angeles Area RLC Meetup with Governor Gary Johnson
April 7, Los Angeles
RSVP/learn more.

• Central Texas RLC Meetup
April 8, Austin
RSVP/learn more.

• Colorado RLC Organizing Meeting
April 9, Boulder
RSVP/learn more.

• Gary Johnson in Orlando, Palm Beach, Boca Raton
April 13-16
RSVP/learn more here, here, and here.

• Silicon Valley RLC Meetup
April 18, San Jose
RSVP/learn more.

………………MAY
______________________

• Central East Florida RLC Meeting
May 2, Indian Harbour Beach
RSVP/learn more.

• Colorado RLC Organizing Meeting
May 7, Denver
RSVP/learn more.

• Michigan RLC Convention with U.S. Rep. Justin Amash
May 14, Wyoming (Grand Rapids area)
RSVP/learn more.

• Wisconsin RLC Outreach at State GOP Convention
May 21, Wisconsin Dells
Contact Michael to volunteer.

………………JUNE
______________________

• Maine RLC Leadership Conference
June 4, Augusta
RSVP/learn more.

• Virginia RLC Convention
June 4, Arlington
RSVP/learn more.

• North Carolina RLC Outreach at GOP Convention
June 3-5, Wilmington
Contact David to volunteer.

• North Carolina RLC Convention
June 4, Wilmington
RSVP/learn more.

• Utah RLC Convention
June 16, Draper
RSVP/learn more.

In addition to the upcoming National RLC Convention and the Florida RLC Convention, three RLC states affiliates are also hosting events in the coming days and weeks.

Minnesota RLC 2011 Convention

Saturday, February 5, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Brookview Community Center (next to the golf course)
200 Brookview Parkway, Golden Valley, MN 55426

Tentative Agenda
2:00pm – Registration Opens
2:30pm – 4:00pm – Convention
4:00pm – 5:00pm – Social Hour with refreshments and appetizers
5:00pm – 6:00pm – Panel Discussion with former and current legislators (TBA)

6:00pm – 6:30pm – Q&A and Wrap-up

The business of the convention shall be to:
1. Nominate and Elect the Board of Directors*
2. Approve any changes to the Bylaws and Rules*
3. Transact other business as may properly come before the convention.

*Members in good standing of the RLCMN, as well as supporters who are in accord with the principles and positions of the RLCMN are invited to unite under this call. To be eligible to vote or seek office at this convention, you must have paid your dues pr ior to the beginning of the Convention.

The cost is $40 per person ($70 per couple) and includes membership, social hour and discussion. Attendance for the social hour and discussion only is available for $25. Checks may be made to RLCMN and mailed to PO Box 14244, St Paul, MN 55114 (preferred method).

Audience participation is requested! Submit your panel discussion topics and questions with your reservation! E-mail us with topics and questions, or for more information.

Triangle Area (North Carolina) RLC Hosts
State Representative-Elect Glen Bradley

Friday, January 21 · 7:00pm – 10:00pm
at Oh’ Mulligans (100 Jerusalem Dr., Morrisville, NC)

The NC GOP State Convention is coming up and we have Precinct Meetings right around the corner (Wake is Feb. 8 at the fairgrounds Kerr Scott Bldg). Now is the time to start recruiting and preparing for the delegate process. We will be electing a new NCGOP State Chair at the State Convention (in Wilmington, NC) this summer. We need a strong presence at this convention and the Precinct Meetings are the first step in the delegate process. If you can’t make it to the Precinct Meeting we can help you get your name on the list to the county and district conventions. We will be going over all of this at the meeting. Becoming a delegate to the State Convention is a must for anyone concerned with the future of our nation. It is extremely easy to become a delegate! You must be registered as a Republican prior to January 31 and we can assist you in registering at this event.

Joining us at this meeting will be State Representative Glen Bradley. Glen was an RLC endorsed candidate who recently got elected to the NC General Assembly representing NC 49 District. He is a huge asset to the liberty movement currently working within the NC GOP. He has a lot to talk with us about in regards to what he is working on and what we need to be doing as a movement within the GOP, i.e. working to reduce government, protect individual liberty, get like minded Republicans elected, and to defend free markets economics.

RSVP on Facebook.

Utah RLC Monthly Meeting

Please join the Utah RLC Executive Board this Saturday, January 8th, from 1 pm to 3 pm at the Murray Library for our monthly meeting. Your input will be very valuable as the new Congress begins to take charge and the new legislative session proceeds here in Utah. We will also be formulating our state liberty index, so be sure to bring your thinking caps!

The Murray Library is located at 166 East 5300 South in Murray, Utah.

See you there! RSVP on Facebook.

Campaign strategist Dick Morris recently blogged about focusing support on ten key house races where he believes money and personal effort will make the most difference for Republicans in November.  While I agree with the concept of focusing support on key races, there is a fundamental problem with the list Morris has put together. Instead of focusing on the best candidates, it is a list almost entirely composed of establishment candidates. It focuses on winning seats and ignores the imperative to change the focus of the party and the Congress in November.

While Morris’ candidates may have a good chance of winning, they are mostly not the kinds of candidates who will move the GOP in a positive direction or take roles as principled leaders in Congress. They may end up being helpful votes as part of a future coalition, but they are not the right candidates to form the nucleus of a new and better Republican majority.

It’s much more important in this key election to put your money and support behind GOP candidates who are both able to win and also dedicated to Constitutional principles and restoring the core ideals of the GOP. To redo Morris’ work from the perspective of a pro-liberty activist rather than a political hack who used to call his pal Bill Clinton while he was in bed with a hooker and Clinton was playing hide the cigar with an intern, I offer my list of the ten house candidates who really deserve your help and your money. They are listed in order of my somewhat subjective assessment of their need and worthiness.

Mick Mulvaney (SC-5)

A principled constitutional conservative who is running in a tough blue-leaning district against an incumbent he has done the near impossible to come up tied at 46% to 46% with his opponent in the latest poll. He needs any support he can get in a critical race.

Find out more about his campaign at www.mulvaneyforcongress.com

Jason Levesque (ME-2)

Trailing in the polls, but working very hard to catch up. He’s a committed Liberty Republican and is trailing 7 points in the polls. It’s a deficit he can make up by November. He has the energy and needs your support.

Find out more about his campaign at www.levesqueforcongress.com

John Koster (WA-2)

A principled constitutional conservative who is leading by about 4 points in the latest poll. He needs to widen his lead to secure an important upset win.

Find out more about his campaign at www.kosterforcongress.com

Delia Lopez (OR-3)

A promising and hard working Liberty Republican who speaks out strongly for Constitutionally protected rights and civil liberties. She’s a real anti-establishment candidate who is running a very active campaign, but has an uphill battle.

Find out more about his campaign at: www.dlopezforcongress.com

David Ratowitz (IL-5)

One of my favorite Liberty Republicans running this year. On the right side of just about every issue. Strong on individual liberty and fiscal issues. He has a tough but winnable race, but needs help to pull off an upset.

Find out more about his campaign at: www.ratowitzforcongress.com

John Dennis (CA-8)

One of the most high profile Liberty Republican candidates in one of the most challenging races in the country, taking on Speaker Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco. Yes, he’s down by more than 20 points in the polls, but there are still enough undecided votes that he could win. He might be able to pull off a miracle with your help.

Help him beat Pelosi at: www.johndennis2010.com

Chip Cravaack (MN-8)

A strong fiscal conservative with integrity and a background as a navy pilot. The kind of principled leader we need in Congress. Not much polling information, but his fundraising is strong and he seems like a potential winner.

Find out more about his campaign at: www.chipcravack.com

Gary Clift (CA-10)

A strong Liberty Republican in a race that is under the radar in northern California. The incumbent was elected in a special election and did not beat Clift by wide margins in that race, so there is potential for an upset with your help.

Find out more about his campaign: www.cliftforcongress.com

B. J. Lawson (NC-4)

One of the most respected Liberty Republican candidates, he has surprised many by taking a small lead in the latest poll. He needs to widen that lead to secure the seat and put another principled spokesman for liberty in the House.

Find out more about his campaign at www.lawsonforcongress.com

Lee Byberg (MN-7)

Coming off a very strong primary win, but the race hasn’t gotten much media attention. Internal polling suggests that he can win with enough support and exposure. He’s a strong constitutional conservative with civil libertarian leanings.

Find out more about his campaign at: www.bybergforcongress.com

These are hardly the only deserving candidates, but Morris picked ten so I limited myself to that. I eliminated great candidates with races which were too hard to assess like Bill Gunn (MA-1), Dan Sebring (WI-4) and others. I also passed over candidates who are running away with their races like Justin Amash (MI-3) or some who just seem too far behind to be saved.

There will be many turnovers in the House this fall.  There’s not one candidate Morris and I agree on, but there’s room for his less inspiring candidates if we can put my 10 pro-liberty, pro-constitution Republicans in the House to show them the way.

Check out the websites of the candidates from both lists and think about which group of 10 you’d rather have shape the future of the Republican Party.

In the course of researching this article I found TPM’s new Political Tracker beta site very helpful.

A version of this article appeared previously on Blogcritics.

According to Brian Irving at his blog LibertyPoint, “’Legislators will legislate anything and everything in the name of safety’, Gary Johnson told a meeting of the N.C. Republican Liberty Caucus Tuesday night. The New Mexico Republican has considerable experience dealing with this penchant. He vetoed more than 750 bills and issued thousand of line-item vetoes in his two terms. Few of his vetoes were overturned.”

Members of the Republican Liberty Caucus, Students for Liberty, and Young Americans for Liberty gathered in Raleigh to hear Governor Johnson’s message of limited government and individual liberty — which he championed while serving two terms as Governor of a Democrat state.

Read more about what the Governor had to say at LibertyPoint.

RLC Organizer Nick Williford with Gov. Johnson.

Attendees mingling with the Governor.

Conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats have come together to introduce bipartisan legislation to curb the never-ending war in Afghanistan.

U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Congressmen Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) have introduced legislation requiring the President to develop a flexible timetable to draw down U.S. troops from Afghanistan. The legislation would require the President to provide a plan for drawing down our forces in Afghanistan. The legislation also increases oversight by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) over work done by private contractors with records of waste, fraud and abuse in order to safeguard U.S. taxpayer dollars.

Senator Feingold has also offered a flexible timetable to draw down U.S. troops from Afghanistan as an amendment to the supplemental spending bill currently being considered by the Senate.

Although the legislation does not set a specific date for withdrawal, it’s a step in the right direction.  It was recently announced that over 1,000 young men and women serving in the U.S. armed forces have died in that war.

It’s long past time to end it.

Republican Liberty Caucus candidates were playing in the big leagues last night when they were matched up against candidates of the Republican Party machine. Overall, be prepared for some disappointing results — not because our candidates did poorly, but because they didn’t quite do well enough despite coming very close to victories.

INDIANA

Let’s take a look at the race in southwest Indiana’s 8th District. When I was looking at the results, I was floored last night when RLC-endorsed Tea Party “stay at home mom” Kristi Risk was in a very tight race to win the Republican nomination. Ultimately, Kristi ended up losing the race. CQ Politics — geniuses no doubt — reported that “the Republican Party avoided a disaster,” explaining that Risk would not prove to be a challenger to Congressman Joe Donnelly (D) in November. The arrogance of the mainstream media continues to have no bounds. Let’s hope Kristi Risk runs for office again because her campaign clearly lit up the hearts and minds of concerned Hoosier voters.

In the Indiana U.S. Senate race, FOX News’ Carl Cameron reported — long before the polls closed — that Republican Dan Coats had won the race. Again, the media just doesn’t seem to get it: elections are for voters, and every seat is the people’s seat! Coats did win the race, but Marlin Stutzman made it close. My belief is that if either Hostettler or Stutzman were not in the race, the other could have siphoned enough conservative votes to beat Coats in the primary. I believe Indiana is now left with a vulnerable and uninspiring Republican U.S. Senate candidate.

Although he was not endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus, Tea Party candidate and a personal friend of mine, Travis Hankins, had a similar performance to Ms. Risk in the neighboring southern Indiana district. Hankins was running against two others — a former Congressman and an establishment choice — for the right to challenge Congressman Baron Hill in November. Unfortunately, Hankins lost by a few hundred votes. Travis Hankins’ youthfulness — he’s just 28 — and his lack of name recognition — this was his first race — did not seem to cause problems for Hoosier voters. I’m sure we’ll see more of Travis, or his twin brother Aaron, in the future.

On a positive note, RLC member Steve Davisson won his primary and will now advance to the General Election for State Representative in Indiana’s 73rd District — the largest State Representative district in the state that includes much of southern Indiana.

OHIO

There are no positive results to report from Ohio. All of our Republican Liberty Caucus candidates lost their respective races. Beth Lear, running for State Representative, ran a tremendous campaign and got bested by only a small margin of votes for a Delaware County state legislative seat.

The most interesting race in Ohio was perhaps the contest in District 16, whose winner would go on to face vulnerable Democrat John Boccieri — a vocal proponent of government-run health care. Former County Commissioner Matt Miller was the Tea Party candidate and he narrowly lost to the establishment choice, businessman Jim Renacci. Let’s hope Renacci can defeat Boccieri this fall.

NORTH CAROLINA

There were two Republican Liberty Caucus victories in North Carolina. First, but not surprisingly, BJ Lawson won his primary for Congress in District 4. Lawson will face David Price in November in a district that is overwhelmingly Democrat.

Newcomer Jon Hardister won the Republican primary in North Carolina’s 57th District — which includes the city of Greensboro. Hardister will bring youthfulness and common sense if he’s selected by North Carolina voters in November.

Let’s work to help Lawson, Davisson, and Hardister win their races this fall!

Clearly the Tea Party had an impact on these races. Let’s hope its impact is more imprinted on upcoming primary races in Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Utah.

RLC members across the country are engaged in the political process and many have run or are running for leadership within their state or local Republican Parties. In Tennessee, for example, RLC Tennessee Secretary Matt Collins* was elected Davidson County Republican Party Vice-Chair earlier in the month.

A week ago Saturday, four of six Republican Liberty Caucus members running for District and State GOP Committee At-Large seats were elected. (The remaining two remain in contention for three Wake County seats yet to be determined due to the loss of a quorum.) A slate called “Republicans for Principled Change” was run.  Of those, the following RLC members were elected to party positions:

Durham County: Jeff Palmer*
Wake County: B.J. Lawson, John Underwood*, Andrea Walker

Five of eight candidates for the remaining three seats — Will Adkins, John Lahtinen, and several others — were also “Liberty Slate” members. These seats will be filled by appointment by the new District Committee.

Overall, the liberty slate secured 12 of the 17 at-large seats filled thus far, and only one liberty slate candidate lost to a non-liberty slate opponent. Many of those elected who were not liberty slate members are, nonetheless, responsible and fair GOP stalwarts with whom we look forward to working. Among them is District Chairman Zan Bunn who was reelected — soundly defeating a challenge by a vitriolic B. J. Lawson opponent with 68% of the county-weighted vote. A pro-state sovereignty resolution was also unanimously passed.

In Utah, the Salt Lake County Republican Party 2009 Organizing Convention took place last Saturday. RLC member Kurtis Constantine* was elected Secretary of the Salt Lake County GOP. He was also selected to serve on the Utah GOP State Central Committee. Joining him on the SCC will be RLC-endorsed candidates Nancy Lord and Merrill Cook.  This is the second year in a row that the RLC has run a slate of candidates for party positions in Utah.

According to Interim RLC Utah Chairman Rob Alexander, “At the convention on Saturday I spoke briefly with Mark Maxon, a K-TALK AM 630 Radio Host who is also a County and State GOP Delegate. Mark was impressed with our slate and said that he plans to dissolve his Defenders of Liberty organization and to encourage his radio listeners and the 40-50 people who have been attending the Defenders of Liberty meetings to get involved with the Republican Liberty Caucus (a 527 electioneering-focused organization) and Campaign for Liberty (a 501c4 issues-focused organization).”

If you haven’t already, mark your calendar for Saturday, May 16, when the Republican Liberty Caucus of Utah will hold its 2009 convention at the Tyler Library in Salt Lake County from 12 noon to 4 PM (recent minor time change). For more details and to RSVP whether you will be attending, maybe attending, or not attending, you can go online to http://tr.im/RLCUT2009.

These successes are a testament to the RLC’s mission of working within the GOP to promote liberty-related ideas and individuals. Our challenge now is to sustain these efforts as members of the GOP State Committee and as delegates at the upcoming GOP State Convention.

___________________________________________________________

RLC member Kurtis Constantine was elected Secretary
of the Salt Lake County Republican Party.
___________________________________________________________

* Denotes a state RLC Officer.

In Florida, the Republican Liberty Caucus recently drafted a resolution that RLC activists have been circulating to friendly legislators for introduction. The legislation is based off of the Oklahoma resolution introduced by the RLC-endorsed Rep. Charles Key and Sen. Randy Brogdon. The Florida RLC is encouraging residents to sign a petition in support of the resolution and urging legislators to introduce it in the 2009 session. Stay tuned! The fight has just begun in Florida.

The newly up-and-running Asheville Area RLC chapter in North Carolina was able to obtain unanimous approval of a “Resolution for State Sovereignty” at the recent Buncombe County GOP Convention. The State Sovereignty Resolution will be forwarded to GOP Delegates at the North Carolina GOP Convention to be held June 12-14 in Raleigh.

Last month, Missouri RLC Chair Rob Hillman testified before a legislative committee in support of the Missouri sovereignty resolution. Rep. Cynthia Davis, who has been in close contact with RLC members in the state, introduced the resolution, H.R. 212.

Across the country, the sovereignty movement continues to grow, and the RLC is proud to lead the way to affirm sovereignty of the states.

Two members of the Republican Liberty Caucus of North Carolina are representing their districts on the state GOP Platform Committee. The Committee will meet at the North Carolina GOP HQ in Raleigh on March 14.

The Committee includes:
Dist 1: Bob Steinburg
Dist 2: Mark Edwards
Dist 3: Perry White
Dist 4: Jan Pueschel
Dist 5: Buck Golding
Dist 6: David Ruden
Dist 7: Mitchell Mercer
Dist 8: Ron Crawley
Dist 9: Neil Moore
Dist 10: Sandi Walker
Dist 11: Bill Lack*
Dist 12: Pat Armstrong*
Dist 13: Becki Gray
Chairman’s Appointees: Skip Stam, David Black, Ann Sullivan

*RLC members

Congratulations to RLC North Carolina members Bill Lack and Pat Armstrong for being appointed to the Platform Committee.