The Republican Liberty Caucus National Board issued this press release on Saturday the 18th:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 18, 2012 CONTACT: Chairman Dave Nalle at 512-656-8011 or chairman@rlc.org Maine Caucus a Failure in Leadership and a Lesson for Republicans Nationwide AUSTIN, TX – The Republican Liberty Caucus National Board met this week to address member concerns over the way in which the recent Maine presidential caucus was conducted.  The problems with this simple vote in a relatively small but important state casts light on issues which should be of concern to every Republican state party during this primary season. When a state party organization is responsible for conducting its own polling and counting votes it is enormously important that this work be done competently and be managed with appropriate diligence and a high level of responsibility.  In announcing results with incomplete data and admitted “clerical errors” Maine Republican Chairman Charles Webster did a disservice to the candidates, to his state party and to Republican voters.  Under pressure from the media and campaign organizations he rushed to action when he should have proceeded with caution and he has embarrassed his party and set a negative example for other state party leaders to learn from. William Westmiller, Data Analysis Specialist for the Republican Liberty Caucus, has examined the data from the Maine caucuses and concluded that “the candidate totals were all miscalculated, a dozen township totals were simply wrong, and the Romney margin over Paul was actually 154 votes, rather than the 194 reported.”  He reports that his impression “is that the person collecting the poll data had no knowledge of spreadsheet functions, took tallies from anyone who called, and overlooked email tallies that ended up in her/his spam folder.”  This indicates a failure in management of the caucus, which should have set clear and consistent procedures for collecting and processing results, for dealing with problems like weather delays and for managing the data competently to produce accurate results. “When the eyes of a nation are on your state you cannot afford to conduct a vote which is this amateurish,” said RLC National Chairman Dave Nalle.  “It is essential that party organizations be seen to be above and separate from the campaigns and avoid any appearance of picking favorites.  If all Republicans are expected to support the final nominee then that nominee must be the product of a process which is above reproach.  You cannot demand party loyalty from partisans who feel that their candidates and their votes were treated with disdain and disrespect and you cannot expect them to accept the results of an election which was conducted in a sloppy and incompetent manner.  Chairman Webster’s failure as a leader and an organizer is an insult to Republican voters and activists nationwide.” Chairman Webster was under no obligation to announce incomplete and incorrect results as early as he did.  State law and party rules would have permitted him to wait until he could make sure that the results were correct.  This was already a multi-week caucus process.  A delay of a few days or even a week would have done far less harm than rushing to a flawed and controversial announcement which has stirred up resentment and hostility between the supporters of different candidates in the primary. We are all Republicans.  We share common values.  We believe in a constitutionally limited government where all voices are heard and none are excluded or given special privilege.  We are a party of principles and those principles suffer when party leaders take actions which reflect badly on the party whether out of expediency, partisanship, ambition or simple negligence.  As Republicans we should demand a higher standard of conduct from our party leaders and party organizations.  We should all take a lesson from the scandal in Maine and guard against any repetition in other states. — Foinded in 1991, the Republican Liberty Caucus is a nationwide grassroots organization which promotes individual liberty and limited government within the Republican Party.   You can find more about the Republican Liberty Caucus at www.rlc.org

An excellent and in-depth interview with Carolyn McKinney, Chair of the RLC of New Hampshire from Saturday. Good material here for other state chapters to pay attention to. And chapter leaders should remember that they should be prepared for an opportnity like this if it comes their way during the election cycle.

CONCORD, N.H.–To bolster Republicans’ progress toward responsible government in the House of Representatives, the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire is endorsing David Simpson for state representative in a Hillsborough District 3 special election on Tuesday, Sept. 20.

Simpson, who is running for a vacant House seat representing the towns of Peterborough, New Ipswich, Sharon and Greenville, would bring important experience to reinforce the already impressive efforts of the Republican majority in restoring the common sense principles of limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility, free enterprise and adherence to the state and federal constitutions.

“The Republican majority has demonstrated that they are dedicated to bringing prosperity back to New Hampshire, and David Simpson will be a valuable addition to that effort,” said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. “David’s experience, primarily in the areas of finance, budgets and small businesses, will be important as we continue to undo the economic damage wrought by years of Democrat control and public mismanagement.”

On his Web site, www.davidlsimpson.org, Simpson makes clear his commitment to improving the business climate in New Hampshire, which will lead to economic and job growth. He says he wants to work to protect the New Hampshire Advantage by maintaining a reasonable regulatory balance, making business tax rates more competitive and protecting individuals right to work free from union coercion.

“David Simpson will strengthen Republican efforts to restore common sense government in Concord,” said Hemingway. “He is unwavering in his commitment to the welfare and prosperity of our state, and he understands that the only way to get the state back on the path to prosperity is by returning to our legacy of responsible, honest and limited government.”

In general, endorsed RLCNH candidates are strong proponents of limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility and free enterprise. They have shown their dedication to these ideals with their score on RLCNH’s 20-question candidate survey and their reputation among liberty activists. Endorsed candidates must score 80 percent or higher on the survey and they must have a strong character recognized by their peers.

For more information about David Simpson’s candidacy, please visit www.davidlsimpson.org.

Today, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Minnesota, a state affiliate of the Republican Liberty Caucus, announced endorsements for five members of the state Legislature who demonstrated their commitment to fiscal responsibility and smaller, more efficient government. "These freshmen members showed strength and poise as they faced unbelievable pressure to spend more money than the state would take in this biennium," said state RLC Chair Norann Dillon.  "It was not a popular position to take in the face of a state shutdown, but doing what's right and doing what's easy are not always the same thing." Founded in 1991, the Republican Liberty Caucus works to advance the principles of individual rights, limited government and free enterprise within the Republican Party.  The Minnesota Chapter was chartered in 2003. - 30 -

The Republican Liberty Caucus of West Virginia is holding two preliminary organizing events with the goal of getting chartered this fall. At these events they will be telling attendees about the RLC, handing out materials and recruiting members for the founding chapter.

Ron Paul 2012/RLC Meetup

Sunday, September 11 · 3:00pm – 6:00pm

South Charleston Public Library

312 Fourth Avenue

South Charleston, WV

Facebook Event Page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=164042247006706

This meeting is  to organize and strategize for the Ron Paul primary campaign in WV. Additional information will be available about the Republican Liberty Caucus and working toward obtaining a charter for WV.

WV Liberty Club Pre-Lincoln/Reagan Dinner Get Together

Saturday, September 17 · 4:00pm – 7:30pm
Panera Bread
Town Center Mall
Charleston, WV

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=154679567947851
Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/ronpaul-wv/events/31793622/

Come join us as we gather to socialize and discuss candidates who value liberty. Topics will include the upcoming special election, the GOP presidential primary, and the Republican Liberty Caucus. Great opportunity to network with other Republicans and independents from across the state who want big liberty and small government. Enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and good company before the big event!

CONCORD, N.H.―The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire is urging Tea Party activists, movement conservatives and all party members who love liberty to convert their frustration over Republican Chairman Jack Kimball’s resignation tonight into resolve to join the RLCNH and help elect more people like themselves to positions in the state Legislature. “Jack Kimball’s resignation from the party chairman position was the right thing for him to do to help unify the Republican Party and help everyone involved with the party move beyond this unfortunately divisive situation,” said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. “Now it is time for activists and party leaders to cooperate and bring the party together so we can prepare for the First in the Nation Primary and victory in the 2012 elections. We have shown repeatedly that our influence and will to serve the people is so much stronger when we work together with Republicans of all varieties to advance the founding principles that made our state and nation great. “In addition, Jack Kimball’s resignation from the chairman position is the perfect opportunity for Tea Party activists, movement conservatives and all liberty-loving Republicans to unite under another common goal; namely, working with the RLCNH to elect more principled and effective Republicans who value limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility, free enterprise and the New Hampshire and United States constitutions,” Hemingway added. The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire endorsed 153 candidates in the 2010 primary, and 107 of those liberty-loving candidates, or 70 percent, were elected into state representative, state senator and executive council positions. Since taking their positions, RLCNH-endorsed elected officials have cut the state budget by $1 billion and passed several pro-business and pro-family pieces of legislation, which will help create a better quality of life in New Hampshire. With more people volunteering to help the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire and its effort to elect principled Republicans, common sense will undoubtedly become more common within the halls of government, and that will reflect positively on the New Hampshire economy and its ability to create private sector jobs. “Those people in the government and their friends in the media who want us to fail so they can take more of your money to increase the size of government will attempt to make Jack Kimball’s resignation into a repudiation of our movement or as a sign that the Republican Party is falling apart, but we believe the people will see through such politicking and recognize the good that Republicans have done in just one year to create an affordable government that respects the rights of individuals and families,” Hemingway said. “The movement led by the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire to restore our founding principles is much larger than one man or one woman. Looking at the big picture, the successes or failures of one member of this movement are far less important than the success of the effort to restore liberty in America and within the State of New Hampshire. “We are confident that the people of New Hampshire believe in what RLCNH-endorsed officials are doing in the Legislature and will continue to support those officials and new liberty-minded candidates who stick with our founding principles,” Hemingway added. “We are also confident that our effort will always be more effective and will always have a home within the Republican Party, regardless of who is chairman of the organization.” To join the RLCNH, sign up using the box in the top right corner of the page.

Don’t Believe the Hype.  Meet the Real Rick Perry
Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas Sends Warning to Republicans Nationwide About Perry’s Tax and Spend Record

AUSTIN, TX – Texas Governor Rick Perry may be the flavor of the day for a lot of Republicans, but Texas Republicans who are familiar with his record are a lot less enthusiastic about his presidential run.  “Perry has a unique talent for finding new ways to raise taxes and loves to use taxpayer money to subsidize his business cronies,” says Secretary Dave Nalle of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas.  “His supposed belief in limited government and states rights conveniently disappears whenever it conflicts with the demands of the special interests and corporate cronies who he serves.”

Governor Perry’s record of big government, big spending, big taxing and attacks on the fundamental rights of Texas citizens is a familiar to Texans, but seems to be much less well known to Republicans outside of the state, which may explain his high initial showing in the polls.  The Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas is compiling a complete dossier on Perry to share with fellow Republicans outside their state so that they can be informed about what they are being sold in a Perry presidential candidacy.

The file on Perry’s abuses of power, insider deals with cronies and tax and spend policies is thick, but for a start here are what Texas RLC members voted as the top five Perry scandals which GOP primary voters need to know more about:

1. Business Slush Funds: Perry made heavy use of business incentive “slush funds” which used taxpayer dollars to subsidize selected businesses, many of them run by his major campaign contributors.  Just two of these funds, the Texas Enterprise Fund and the Texas Emerging Growth fund, spent over $700 million to subsidize businesses to move to Texas or expand operations in Texas, with little evidence that these handouts of taxpayer money produced job or revenue growth anywhere near sufficient to justify the expense.  In fact, many of these businesses eventually downsized or relocated long before they had earned the money Perry gave them, or even went bankrupt with $25 million fund dollars like Countrywide Financial. source

2. Toll Roads and Land Seizures Perry has never met a toll road project he wasn’t willing to seize huge amounts of private land for and then give the exclusive management contracts to foreign corporations.  Perry’s time in office has set records for eminent domain land seizures – over a million acres have been seized.  His toll road projects have confiscated family farms and torn communities apart.  Toll roads have been used as a massive off-the-books tax program, taking money from Texas drivers and feeding it to foreign financial interests and management groups which lobbied the governor for special deals which produce much higher tolls and higher profits than are typical in other states. source

3. Forced Vaccinations: In 2007 Perry issued an executive order which would have forcibly vaccinated every girl in Texas entering the sixth grade with Merck’s Gardasil vaccine for Human Papilloma Virus.  This massive violation of the privacy rights of Texas teenagers and their parents would have come at a cost of $360 in taxpayer money per shot.  It would have been a huge windfall for Merck, which had paid Perry’s former Chief of Staff $250,000 to lobby the governor and legislature to promote the forced vaccination program. source

4. The Job-Killing Franchise Tax: Knowing that it would be impossible to pass an income tax against popular opposition in Texas, Perry promoted the idea of a special business tax called the “Franchise Tax” which taxes businesses at different arbitrary rates set by the government.  This tax expands business taxes to types of businesses which are not taxed in most states and in many cases taxes small businesses more than large corporations they compete with.  For example it taxes small car repair shops at double the rate it taxes large dealerships for car repairs.   It’s a small business and job killer. source

5. Scuttled the Anti-TSA Bill When Rep. David Simpson led the Texas legislature towards passage of an enormously popular bill (HB1938) to hold the TSA accountable for intrusive searches of airline passengers, Perry played a key role in making sure that the bill was not passed.   When the TSA and the Justice Department began pressuring him, although Perry had promised to submit the bill to the special legislative session, he delayed submitting the bill until it was so late in the session that it was virtually impossible to hold the constitutionally mandated votes necessary for passage.  That way he could score points with the public for submitting the popular bill while at the same time making sure that it wouldn’t pass.  It’s a classic example of Perry’s insincere pandering. source

Don’t be fooled by campaign hype.  If Perry says he’ll cut taxes or get government off our back, look up his real record.  Look up his past statements.  He supported TARP.  He supported the bailouts.  He was even Al Gore’s Texas campaign manager back in 1988.  A vote for Perry in the Republican primary is a vote for more big government and more taxes and more of the the same deficits and irresponsibility we had for 12 years under Bush and Obama.  The Republican Party and the nation need real leadership, not more of the same with a nicer head of hair.

RLC of Texas Chairman Judson Vandiver asks, “Let’s hope Republicans outside Texas see through all the hype.  Let’s all say to to Perry what he said to a Texas state trooper when he tried to bully her after she pulled him over for speeding YouTube: ‘Why don’t you just let us get on down the road?’”

Republican Liberty Caucus of Virginia Endorses Patricia Phillips in Senate District 33

June 19 (Fairfax, VA) – The Republican Liberty Caucus of Virginia announced its endorsement of Patricia Phillips today in her race for the Senate of Virginia in District 33. She has the Republican nomination in hand, and will face incumbent Democratic Senator Mark Herring in November.

Virginia RLC Secretary Rob Kenyon observed: “Patricia‟s dedication to federalism and liberty will be a breath of fresh air in the Senate, a body that desperately needs it. She‟s also a longtime advocate of good stewardship of taxpayer dollars, as evidenced by her opposition to the Dulles Metrorail boondoggle, and the effective selling off of the Dulles Toll Road, for example. Patricia will also be a voice in Richmond against unconstitutional federal mandates like the Affordable Care Act, and understands the duty of the state government to interpose itself in such cases.”

Phillips will represent a change from “business as usual‟ in the Senate of Virginia, and a welcome contrast to the unmitigated disaster that is incumbent Mark Herring’s votes for big government. The Republican Liberty Caucus of Virginia and its Board of Directors is proud to offer its endorsement to Patricia Phillips.

The Virginia RLC was founded in 2007 and has formal chapters in northern Virginia and central Virginia. Members meet periodically to discuss issues, lobby, and endorse candidates.

To the dismay of many Texans and of civil libertarians nationwide, after a dramatic struggle this week, the Texas legislature’s special session ended on a sour note with the defeat of Rep. David Simpson’s bill opposing invasive TSA searches of airline passengers.

The failure of the bill was made considerably more bitter by the underhanded tactics by which a tiny faction of the House leadership scuttled the bill against overwhelming support from both parties and the public. With all of the hard work put into promoting the bill by grassroots groups, its defeat under questionable circumstances has redirected anger originally aimed only at the TSA to political leaders in Texas, particularly House Speaker Joe Straus.

The story of how such a widely supported bill could end up not being passed is an object lesson of how easily the will of the people can be subverted by those who value power over principle.

During the regular legislative session Rep. Simpson’s anti-groping bill made it through the House of Representatives by unanimous acclamation . It was passed out of committee and onto to the floor of the Senate where it was set to pass when the TSA stepped in and lobbied against it and the Department of Justice issued a letter threatening to close Texas airports if it passed. This lead Lt. Governor David Dewhurst to apply his influence to get the bill which was minutes from passing pulled from the floor.

As the inevitable special session approached, Senator Dan Patrick and other supporters convinced the governor to come on board and support the bill and agree to sign it if they could get a pledge from a majority of the members of the House and Senate to support it. This would let them fast-track the bill through both houses and to the governor for his signature quickly without unduly delaying other legislation.

They got the votes. They notified the Governor’s office that they had the votes and they asked the Governor to call the bill for the special session. Governor Perry was out of town doing a pre-presidential tour and when confronted by a citizen journalist and asked about the bill he said that he was not aware that the necessary votes had been pledged, but when he returned to Austin on Sunday the 19th of June he did put the bill on the call for Monday the 20th.

Already a week had been wasted, but there was still time to pass the bill. Despite the Governor’s support, after the session began on the 20th the bill was not scheduled for consideration until the Friday the 24th, wasting more precious time. Then, when it was scheduled to be introduced on Friday, House Speaker Joe Straus made a public announcement that he thought the bill was a “publicity stunt” and not serious legislation, sending a clear message to his supporters to oppose it. This despite the fact that he had not voted against it in the regular session.

Nonetheless, a version of the bill was introduced in the House and another in the Senate with wording which had been edited by the Attorney General’s office to reduce the chances of the bill being contested in court and to satisfy complaints from Speaker Straus, but because of wrangling over the language any votes on the bill were delayed until Monday with the session scheduled to end on Wednesday.

With the Speaker apparently unwilling to advance the House version of the bill, desperate supporters in the Senate passed their version through committee and passed it on the floor in a matter of hours and sent it on to the House where the decision was made to use the Senate version as written to avoid the possibility that the Speaker would keep the House version off the floor.

The House session didn’t start until 2pm on Tuesday and when the messenger from the Senate arrived with the bill the Speaker’s office refused to accept the bill and it was kept waiting for several hours. This final delay guaranteed that passage of the bill would be extremely difficult because of Constitutional rules about how bills have to pass the House.

Under the Texas Constitution, for a bill to pass the House it has to be read and voted on three times, on three separate days and win each vote. At the point where the bill finally made it to the floor there was less than 24 hours left before the end of the session on Wednesday, so the only way to pass the bill was to hold a vote to suspend that constitutional rule to allow them to hold two of the three votes on the same day. Although there were plenty of votes in favor of the bill – enough to make up a supermajority – the vote to suspend the Constitutional rule required a 4/5 majority, and that was going to be very difficult.

The bill passed its first reading easily on Tuesday and then passed a second reading on Wednesday morning easily 106-27, but by the time the held a vote on the motion to suspend the constitutional rule some members had left and it passed with a 96-26 majority – an overwhelming vote in support of the bill, but not quite enough to meet the 4/5 requirement. Ironically the previous vote did meet that requirement, but it didn’t apply to that particular motion. At that point the bill which so many supported and which was enormously popular with the public, was dead.

Before adjourning the special session, the Speaker allowed Rep. Simpson to make a final speech about the bill and how the legislative process had failed so dismally. Simpson was not afraid to point fingers, saying:

“The people in support of this bill have succeeded in shining the light on those who collaborate with the growing tyranny of our federal government….Its’ defeat only propels the liberty movement in this state. The people now know that it is possible to fight back.”

His sentiments were echoed by a statement from the Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas, one of the grassroots groups which had made calls to legislators in support of the bill, which said “We may not have won the final victory today, but we sure flushed out the enemies hiding in the brush.” Another grassroots group, Stop Austin Scanners thought that Governor Perry should share the blame, citing Perry’s “failure to call the bill in a timely manner despite numerous requests to do so, his total lack of stewardship in the process, and Speaker Joe Straus’ willful misconduct are the principal reasons why the legislation was derailed.”

At every step Rep. Simpson and his allies did what was requested by the leadership. They amended the bill. They watered down the language. They even ultimately changed “probable cause” to “reasonable suspicion” to give the Feds an easy out. Yet despite promises from Governor Perry, they were met with obstruction and delays from the Speaker at every step of the way. With two weeks to pass the bill they ended up having to try to pass it in two days with a special suspension of the rules requiting an outrageously large majority and creating the ironic outcome that a bill which passed easily with a 4/5 majority in the morning when it didn’t need it could not get that same majority in the afternoon when it did.

The defeat of the bill was not a complete loss.  It raised awareness of the issue substantially and drew attention to the forces opposing it and exposed the heavy-handed tactics of the TSA. There’s also some evidence that Simpson’s bill helped influence the TSA’s recent decision to reduce the intensity of their searches of children, though it did not stop them from carrying out a horrendous and highly publicized abuse of a 95 year old Leukemia patient.

This fight is not over. The issue still draws great public interest and anger at the TSA and its practices has never been higher. Supporters in Texas promise to continue to pursue the issue and legislators in a growing number of additonal states are introducing similar legislation. People don’t like having their privacy invaded and their persons violated in the service of excessive security procedures which have never been proven to be at all effective. The people may have lost this battle, but the war is far from over.

A version of this article appeared previously at Blogcritics Magazine.