For the second year in a row, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Utah endorsed a slate at the state GOP Convention.  Below is a Utah RLC flyer handed out at the state GOP Convention this past weekend promoting the RLC-endorsed candidates.

Of the endorsed RLC candidates, only one — former State Representative Morgan Philpot — was victorious.  Philpot challenged the incumbent Vice-Chair of the Utah GOP and was successful in his bid for the office.  In the photo below, RLC members rally around Philpot (center) to help his candidacy:

At it’s annual Convention earlier in the month, Charity Davis of Highland was elected Utah RLC Chair.  At the Convention State Senator Howard Stephenson and State Representative Craig Franks addressed the Utah RLC.  In the below photo, outgoing RLC Chair Lowell Nelson is presiding over the business meeting.

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.

According to the Utah RLC blog, the state RLC Convention will take place on Saturday, May 16 from 10:30am to 3pm (including a break for lunch) at the Tyler Library (8041 Wood St.) in Midvale.

Former State Representative Morgan Philpot, who many Utah RLC’ers are supporting for Vice-Chair of the Republican Party of Utah, will be one of the featured speakers. According to his Facebook campaign page, Representative Philpot has received endorsements from Congressman Jason Chaffetz, a solid conservative, and Senator Howard Stephenson, who runs the Utah Taxpayers Association.

Other speakers will include Representative John Dougall and Representative Craig Frank. The RLC is also trying to secure Congressman Jason Chaffetz to speak. Former Salt Lake County Council Chair Steve Harmsen will also be addressing attendees.

Please confirm your attendance at the RLC Utah 2009 Convention today.

Don Guymon (photo at left), a RLC activist, is running for Davis County GOP Chair in Utah. Guymon’s is running to:

(1) promote the GOP party platform. Republicans should stand for our core values of limiting government and protecting our rights (including our most fundamnental right; the right to life);
(2) Grow the party. As we promote our principles we draw people into the party;
(3) Make every person in the party feel important. Whether you attend your precinct caucus for the first time or are an elected official for years, every person has an important role to play. Every individual in the party should feel that they are important; and
(4) Ensure the party is run in the proper manner.

Mr. Guymon served as Davis County Rules Chair from 2006 to 2008 and as Davis County Elections Chair in 2001. He has been a member of the Utah GOP State Central Committee since 1999, was Vice-Chair of the Utah GOP Constitution and Bylaws Committee from 2001 to 2002, and served on the Utah GOP Rules Committee in 2000, 2001, and 2002.

In Tennessee, the Vice-Chair of the newly chartered RLC affiliate is running for Chair of the Davidson County GOP, according to The Nashville Examiner.  According to the article, “Matt Collins, a sound engineer and producer at Supertalk 99.7 WTN, said the 2008 presidential election showed in rather stark terms that the GOP needs to start embracing a ‘younger, more philosophically-motivated’ brand of ‘limited-government conservatism’ of the sort Ron Paul aroused during his primary run last year.”

Collins is waging an uphill, but necessary, battle. An email from TNGOP chief of staff Mark Winslow that circulated around Tennessee Republican circles last month said the Old Guard of the Party “can do without the zealous peace and freedom-purists that Rep. Paul’s campaign so emboldened,” according to the paper.

The article continues: “Outgoing Davidson County GOP chairman Tom Lawless told Examiner.com he won’t officially endorse a favorite in the race to succeed him. But Lawless said he’s long believed expanding the party base to include new voters and new demographics will require new leaders with new visions. Collins appears to fit the mold, said Lawless.”

“Continued Lawless, ‘(Starnes) is clearly a status-quo candidate, and she’d be the pick of the older generation that currently has the reins of power. But you’ve got to pass those reins at some point. I recognized very early in Matt the strength of his energies and of his traditional conservative beliefs that go back, not just to the ideas of Ronald Reagan, but to the ideas of the Founding Fathers. Matt has exhibited to me some extremely good leadership qualities in a very, very short period of time’,” concluded the outgoing Chair.

As more governors declare their opposition to the Stimulus Bill — which is now estimated to include more than $1 trillion in unfunded mandates for the states above and beyond the initial $800 billion cost — more and more state legislators across the nation have been introducing bills to assert state sovereignty under the 10th Amendment in an effort to assert the rights of their citizens and the authority of state governments against unwarranted interference by the federal government.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and Idaho Governor Butch Otter stated their support for the position against the stimulus taken by Texas Governor Rick Perry and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford this week. Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska has been speaking publicly against the bill and when it passed her office issued a statement praising Alaska’s congressional delegation for voting against it:

“Congressman Young and Senator Murkowski did their best to achieve the right balance in the bill, but in the end the majority allowed the spending to balloon and encompass support for programs that don’t respond to the problem at hand.”

Meanwhile, Governor Palin made the bizarrely optimistic suggestion that President Obama should Veto the bill to five lawmakers a chance to at least read the bill and specifically citing the problem for the states in the huge amount of unfunded mandates in the bill.

The push for state sovereignty laws has really gone nationwide. Texas has gotten on board with a bill submitted this week with six sponsors. It is basically the same as the Oklahoma resolution rather than the more radical New Hampshire resolution, which gives it a better chance of passage. Texas is a big state, and having it in the fight adds a lot of serious weight.

Although it is not yet confirmed on their legislature’s website, the story is circulating that Tennessee is the first state to pass a sovereignty resolution through both of its legislative houses, in only 2 days from its introduction on Wednesday. Their version is a non-binding resolution which doesn’t require the governor’s signature or have the force of law, but it is a significant statement nonetheless.

In Pennsylvania, State Representative Sam Rohrer is leading the charge, and has made a very impassioned video statement which lays out exactly what the problem is and urges other states to join him in reasserting their sovereignty and rejecting federal mandates, stressing the very real concern that the spendthrift federal government will take the fiscally responsible states down with them.

There’s also news from Oklahoma, where a quick phonecall to State Representative Charles Key confirms that the sovereignty resolution which he got through the house last year was approved unanimously by the rules committee and on Wednesday was passed by the Oklahoma House by a 83-13 majority and may be voted on by the state Senate as early as next week, with high hopes of passage.

Missouri, as always, is marching to its own radically conservative drummer, with a state sovereignty bill up for consideration which is unique in that it specifically takes exception to the pro-abortion proposed federal Freedom of Choice law. This is conceptually similar to the bills being considered in Indiana, Wyoming and Oregon which reassert state sovereignty with a special emphasis on gun owners rights in response to a bill currently being considered in the House of Representatives to require licensing of all firearms nationwide.

Because of these articles a lot of concerned citizens are contacting me from various different states about what their states are doing. Sources in Maine inform me that they have also had a sovereignty bill proposed, but because of the structure of their legislative session it likely won’t even be looked at for months. A sovereignty bill was introduced in Minnesota on Thursday as HF997. Arkansas joined in with a bill in its state House of Representatives on Friday morning as well.

Some states have yet to get state legislators on board and are trying alternative methods. In Florida there is a pettition which will be submitted to the state legislature, which may not sit terribly well will stimulus-embracing Governor Charlie Crist. In Massachusets under a provision of their state constitution any citizen can request that a legislator submit a bill on their behalf. Ron Bokleman is struggling to get his bill, which is a version of the New Hampshire bill, past bureaucratic red tape so that it will actually be considered by the legislature. One correspondent also pointed out that a number of states passed or at least considered sovereignty bills in the past, starting with the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions authored by Madison and Jefferson back in 1799, but with some much more recent, like Utah’s 1995 bill which passed their House, a reminder that concern over unfunded mandates isn’t new, though it’s growing ever more critical.

It now looks as if at least half the states will have some sort of sovereignty bill up for consideration this year. Combine that with governors and legislators who are worried about how they’ll ever be able to pay for the massive unfunded mandates included in the so-called stimulus bill, and you have a volatile rift developing between the relatively fiscally responsible and citizen-friendly state governments and the incredibly fiscally irresponsible and increasingly autocratic government in Washington, DC. If we stand together and make our voices heard, we can stop further federal stimulus and bailout spending. If we can reassert control by 2010 we can stop at least two thirds of the current stimulus money from ever being spent. It’s time to storm the gates of power and let our elected leaders know that we do not want to see our country bankrupted and driven into socialism out of desperation and expediency.

Congratulations to the Utah RLC!

The below flyer outlines their slate for GOP National Committee, National Delegate, and Alternate Delegate.

To become involved in the Utah RLC, contact Lowell Nelson.

UPDATE: Larry Meyers and Brian Jenkins both won a delegate seat at the National Convention. Don Guymon, who is listed as a candidate for National Committeeman on this slate, also won a delegate spot at the National Convention.

Arizona, the District of Columbia, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Utah hosted their first RLC meetings in the month of June. Meanwhile, Florida continued its great effort as the model RLC chapter.

In addition, California, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming have recently updated or added content to their web sites. In July, the Texas RLC elected a new Board of Directors and will be revamping their outdated web site shortly. The Minnesota RLC hosted a meeting to endorse candidates and selected a new state Board of Directors.

RLC activists in Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin have expressed interest in organizing state chapters and holding RLC organizing meetings. I will continue to keep you updated on the progress of other state affiliates.

Below is a list of some RLC events that you can attend in the month of August. If there are no events in your area, please volunteer to host an RLC meeting in your area.

Please spread the word about the below events.

California:

San Fernando Valley Republican Liberty Caucus Meetup
August 5 at 7:00pm at Galpin Ford in North Hills, California (15555 Roscoe Blvd., just east of the 405) in the 2nd Floor Meeting Room. For for information, join the meetup group at http://rlc.meetup.com/41/.

Silicon Valley Republican Liberty Caucus Meetup
August 11 at Round Table Pizza in San Jose (4400 Stevens Creek Blvd.). For for information, join the meetup group at http://rlc.meetup.com/109/.

Sacramento Republican Liberty Caucus Meetup
August 27 at 7:30pm. For more information, join the meetup group at http://rlc.meetup.com/6/.

Sonoma County Republican Liberty Caucus Meetup
August 25 at 7pm at Redwood Cafe Coffee House and Grill (8240 Old Redwood Highway) in Cotati. For more information, join the meetup group at http://rlc.meetup.com/115/.

Delaware:

Delaware RLC Meeting
August 23 at 1:00pm at Crossroads Restaurant (4579 Kirkwood Highway/intersection of Rt. 2 and Rt. 7) in Wimington, Delaware. This meeting is in conjunction with the Libertarian Party of Delaware’s annual Convention. RLC’ers are gathering to gauge interest in chapter formation in The First State.

Indiana:

Indiana RLC Re-Chartering Meeting
August 17 at 2:00 pm in Crown Point, Indiana. Contact Kevin for details.

Michigan:

RLC Meeting at State GOP Convention
August 23 in the afternoon. Contact Dan for details.

RLC National Convention
September 12-14 at the Crowne Plaza in Romulus (Detroit), Michigan.

Texas:

Austin RLC Meeting
August 8 at 7:00 pm in the Conference Room at Garlo-Ward (505 E. Huntland Dr.), floor 3. The speaker will be RLC Texas Chair, Judge Melissa Goodwin.

Bexar County RLC Meeting
August 30 at 10:00am the Tobin Library at Oakwell (4134 Harry Wurzbach, San Antonio 78209), the Bexar County RLC affiliate will meet. The featured speaker will be Terri Hall, founder of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom. Don Zimmerman, RLC Executive Director and candidate for Tax Assessor Collector in Travis County, will also be addressing the audience.

Utah:

Utah RLC Convention
September 27 at 10:00 am at Location TBD. Contact Lowell for details.

Wyoming:

Wyoming RLC Convention
August 23 at time at the Best Western Inn (260 Grand View Drive) in Lander. Contact Don for details.

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.

An update from the states …

DC: On July 12, a “Ron Paul March” will take place in Washington, DC. Click here to learn more.

Florida: On June 4, 2008, RLCer Dr. Robert Sussman presented a digest version of a talk that he usually gives to medical students to teach them about free market versus government healthcare, an important lesson for Republican activists as well, to the Palm Beach affiliate of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida. Consistent with RLC political strategy, the Palm Beach County Meetup of the Republican Liberty Caucus is not a stand-alone meeting. Instead, RLCers meet in conjunction with the Republican Club of Central Palm Beach County. According to RLCFL Vice-Chairman Philip Blumel, “We had good turnout — including our county Republican Executive Committee Chair Sid Dinerstein — at what turned out to be a FEE-style back-to-basics lecture about applying market principles to health care.” Blumel reported that Dr. Sussman is available for talks at Republican clubs and other civic groups in South Florida and suggested that other RLC groups can book him with confidence that the program will reflect positively on the RLC.

Minnesota: The Minnesota chapter of the RLC held its annual convention on May 17, 2008 at the French Regional Park in Plymouth. A new slate of officers was elected, including: Dave Fitzsimmons, Chair; Andy Lindberg, Vice-Chair; Norann Dillon, Secretary; Tom Willenbring, Treasurer. Five At-Large members were elected: Marianne Stebbins, Joe Dillon, Ebenezer Howe, Wendy Alfveby, and Dan McGrath. Two alternates were elected: Doug Harrison and Terry McCall. Additionally, Bill Jungauer was endorsed for House District 39A. Additional endorsements will occur at the member outreach meeting on July 12.

North Carolina: The RLC National Board approved the charter of the North Carolina affiliate at the National Board meeting on Monday, June 9, 2008. Additionally, there will be an RLC Business Meeting on Saturday, June 7 at 6:00pm at the “vendor area” of the Koury Convention Center to elect the new officers for the state. This is immediately following the NC GOP busisness meeting at the State Convention.

Utah: The RLC National Board approved the charter of the Utah affiliate at the National Board meeting on Monday, June 9, 2008. On Saturday, June 14, 2008, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Utah will be meeting to discuss its charter application and organization, the mission and objectives of the organization, the calendar and assignments of the organization, and endorsements for the June 24 primary. The meeting will be held at the Larry H. Miller Campus in Sandy, Utah.

There’s a lot going on in RLC-land. Some updates from the states:

Arizona: Roy Miller of Phoenix has replaced Bennett Kopp as the new Arizona RLC State Chair. Roy can be reached via e-mail.

Arkansas: Jim Martin of Eureka Springs is the new RLC State Contact. Jim can be reached via e-mail.

Illinois: The state RLC has established a new website at http://www.rlcil.org. The new state Co-Contacts are W. Guy Finley in Round Lake and Robert M.W. Stanford in Normal. Guy and Robert can be reached via e-mail.

Iowa: Roger Barr of Boone has been appointed the new RLC State Contact. Roger can be reached via e-mail.

Louisiana: Aaron Andrus was appointed the RLC state contact in March. Aaron and his wife Jill have four children, ages 8 years to 4 months old, and reside in Lake Charles. Aaron graduated with a BS in Finance from McNeese State University and a Masters in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University New Orleans (2006). He is the Assistant Operations Manager for Seabulk Towing Services, Inc and has been a registered Republican since 1996. We are excited to have Aaron on board. He can be reached via e-mail.

Nevada: RLC National Board member Daniel Rego has moved to Las Vegas and is the new RLC State Co-Contact in the state. Dan can be reached via e-mail.

North Carolina: RLC National Treasurer Jeff Palmer reports: “Spearheaded by the Triangle-Area (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) RLC Meetup group, which held its largest organizational meeting to date on March 20, the North Carolina RLC approved bylaws, elected an interim Board, heard from our local congressional candidate (who’s now a Board member), and increased its paid membership by more than 50%. A RLCNC rechartering application will be submitted to national shortly. New members came all the way from Wilmington where the Cape Fear Republican Liberty Caucus was founded and promises to absorb the 150+ member Wilmington-Area Ron Paul Meetup group. Seeds have also been planted for local RLC groups in Charlotte, Asheville, and the Triad (Winston-Salem/Greensboro/High Point). Interestingly, three of our new members — including one of our most promising — were libertarian Republicans who just happened to being playing pool in the room where we were about to have our meeting. When it rains, it pours! North Carolina has a delegate selection process separate from and parallel to our upcoming presidential primary and, as the state’s Ron Paul movement has switched gears to the GOP ‘inside-baseball’ that the delegate selection process entails, the RLC here has enhanced its reputation as the putative expert on the process and on working within the GOP.”

Pennsylvania: Shawn McArdle of Erie has been appointed the new RLC State Contact. Shawn can be reached via e-mail.

Tennessee: The state RLC has a new contact, Dr. Joe Dumas of Signal Mountain in Hamilton County. Dr. Dumas is a Professor of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He is a volunteer for Bachman Community Center and Mountain Arts Community Center. He is a rated chess player and is the Senior Tournament Director of the U.S. Chess Federation. The RLC is thankful to have Joe as our state contact. He can be reached via e-mail.

Dr. Joe Dumas

Virginia: A statewide Republican Liberty Caucus chapter meeting is taking place at 3:30 pm on Saturday, March 22 at the Snow Memorial Library in Spotsylvania (north of Richmond and south of Fredericksburg). The featured speaker with be State Senator Ken Cuccinelli, one of the few libertarian-leaning Republicans in the state legislature.

Utah: A statewide Republican Liberty Caucus chapter meeting is taking place at 2:30 pm on Saturday, March 22 at the Sandy Library in Sandy. This is the first official organizing meeting for the RLC in Utah. The state RLC contact is Lowell Nelson, who can be reached via e-mail.

Wisconsin: The state RLC has a new contact, David Baumgardner of La Farge in Vernon County. David is an Eagle Scout who is currently completing his goal of obtaining a Law Degree. He is involved with Boy Scouts of America, the Vernon County Republican Party, GOPAC, the NRA, the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, and the Federalist Society. We welcome David’s enthusiasm to the RLC and look forward to a Wisconsin chapter. David can be reached via e-mail.

David P. Baumgardner

Wyoming: The state RLC has established a new website at http://www.wyrlc.org.