Another election gone by, and it turned out quite well for the Republican Party overall and the Republican Liberty Caucus in specific.

Republicans elected new Governors in New Jersey and Virginia. Neither of the candidates, Chris Christie or Bob McDonnell, was endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus, but we believe they will provide a better vision for their states than their respective opponents.

In Virginia, voters elected State Senator Ken Cuccinelli to the post of Attorney General. Cuccinelli is a social and fiscal conservative, and some RLC members have been offended by his social conservatism. Still, he seems to be one of the few politicians in the state that understands the concept of limited government, and has a voting record consistent with the RLC’s goals. His new position elevates Cuccinelli to one of the most high-level advocates of limited government in the country.

RLC members in Virginia worked hard to help Cuccinelli win the nomination for Attorney General, and many contributed to his campaign directly. Cuccinelli has said that he will not enforce laws he deems unconstitutional. In 2007, Cuccinelli took the time to drive several hours to address a small group of RLC members. View his speech to RLC members at YouTube.

In the RLC’s biggest victory of the night, RLC National Committeeman Dan Halloran was elected to the New York City Council in a Queens district that leans heavily Democrat. Halloran is also the state Chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus in New York. He worked tirelessly to become elected and will join just four other Republicans on the 51-member City Council.

The RLC also had some other significant victories in New Jersey and New Hampshire. Incumbent Michael Patrick Carroll, who the RLC discovered earlier in the year, was re-elected to his New Jersey House seat. Perhaps the most successful liberty-oriented politician in the state, Michael Doherty, was elected to an open seat in the New Jersey State Senate. The RLC profiled Doherty in an earlier edition of our newsletter.

In the Granite State, Jim Forsythe led a team of liberty-loving Republicans that successfully helped three candidates obtain victory. Political newcomer Lynne Blankenbeker was elected in a special election to the New Hampshire House, and RLC members Phil Greazzo and Cameron DeJong were elected to Alderman and Selectman positions in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Several non-endorsed candidates with strong libertarian leanings were also successful on Election night, including Kim Rafferty, who was elected to the Birmingham City Council in Alabama, and Shaun Kenney, who was elected to a County Supervisor in Fluvanna County, Virginia. In Minnesota, RLC member Luther Stueland won a position on the Moorhead City Council and Patricia Barnum was elected to the West St. Paul ISD 127 School Board.  Additionally, Lisa Marie Coppoletta has advanced to a run-off in a race for San Marcos City Council in Texas.

Unfortunately, TABOR ballot initiatives — which would tie revenue increases to population and inflation growth to keep spending in check — were defeated by voters in Washington state and Maine. The gay marriage ballot initiative in Maine passed, overturning gay marriage in the state, while voters in Washington state chose to extend rights for gays and lesbians.

The nine victories for RLC-endorsed candidates this fall combined with the five spring victories (in Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Texas) have resulted in a very successful off-year election for liberty-focused Republicans.

Congratulations are extended to all of the above candidates, our other endorsed candidates, our supporters, and the folks that helped our endorsed candidates succeed.

Complete RLC election results are available here.

A Republican Liberty Caucus-endorsed candidate for House of Delegates in Virginia was endorsed by The Washington Post last week.

Eric Brescia, who is running in a longtime Democrat stronghold in Arlington, Virginia, impressed The Post. Brescia, who is young, articulate, and has strong libertarian leanings, has run a campaign that may well fit his far-left district during an economic crisis due in part to overspending: his campaign emphasized policies that are socially tolerant and fiscally conservative.

The Post said, “[Brescia] is exactly what the Republicans need in Northern Virginia: an independent-minded thinker who has fresh and specific ideas for how to save money in health care and make government work better.”

Brescia is running for an open seat and will face Democrat and Green Party opponents. He spoke to Republican Liberty Caucus members in August at a Republican Liberty Caucus of Northern Virginia meeting.

Notably, the entire campaign platform, media relations, and grassroots effort was organized almost entirely by Republican Liberty Caucus members.

In addition to traditional conservative positions on economics, Brescia has also bucked the party line by supporting civil liberties, equal treatment for gays and lesbians, and fair treatment of immigrants — positions he shares with many RLC members.

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.

Earlier in the month, RLC chapter leaders from the DC, Maryland, and Virginia RLC affiliates gathered in the nation’s capital to discuss strategy for the 2010 election cycle.

Below is a photo from the event.  Thus far in 2009, the RLC has chartered new state chapter affiliates in Maryland, Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee, and Washington. Additionally, RLC chapters that were previously inactive (at least for a short period) have been revived in New Hampshire, Texas, and Virginia.

Front row, from left: Dave Nalle (National Chair), Aaron Biterman (National Press), Brett Guidry (DC Treasurer), Nancy Sellers (DC Secretary); back row, from left: Daniel Kamerling (guest), Rick Sincere (Virginia At-Large Board member), Steven Latimer (Virginia Vice-Chair), Matt Gagnon (Virginia Chair), Dr. Scott Pearson (guest), John Orlando (Maryland Chair), and Stephen Wright (Maryland Treasurer) plus his wife.

I have recently blogged about the ongoing tensions between liberty-minded Republicans and social conservatives:

• the post “Is it time for liberty to shine in the GOP?” discusses how some social conservatives — like Cal Thomas — are calling on his movement to ‘turn the other cheek’ on the issue of gay marriage. Mr. Thomas thinks the battle has already been lost;

• the post “Are Republicans shifting on gay marriage and the war on drugs?” discusses how we’re seeing a shift in Republican positions on gay marriage and the failed War on Drugs take place before our very eyes; and

• the post “Why must some social conservatives use government to enact their agenda?” calls on social conservatives to practice more tolerance in their interactions with those who don’t agree with them. (After all, it was Thomas Jefferson himself who said “I never will by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance.)

The tensions continue to persist.

But, as far as I can tell, the “Campaign for Liberty” organization (founded by RLC Adviser Ron Paul) is still pretending that there is no tension between social conservatives and libertarian-minded Republicans.

In fact, a search of the Campaign for Liberty website finds only 68 mentions of the word ‘libertarian’. Most of those references talk about the Libertarian Party or its candidates; none of those listings are from official Campaign for Liberty staff members.  Additionally, no official literature of the Campaign for Liberty uses the word libertarian.

A key problem with the Campaign for Liberty is even more fundamental: they appear to be allied with social conservatives rather than libertarian Republicans.

The evidence: I recently received an invitation from the Campaign for Liberty in Virginia to attend an event in conjunction with the Republican Party of Virginia Convention called “Restore the Founders’ Vision.” The event took place a week ago Friday in Richmond.  I did not attend it because I don’t attend events intended to prop up social conservatism.

The problem with “Restore the Founders’ Vision” is that it is run by known social conservative (and former Republican Party of Virginia Chair) Patrick McSweeney, who discusses in a recent letter to the editor that Bush won Ohio in 2004 because he “attracted social conservatives by taking strong positions on their issues”. Bush took the proper positions on social issues in 2004, according to McSweeney. Why he uses the word ‘their’ is unclear to me.

In a letter of endorsement written by McSweeney in the race between Patrick Muldoon and Bill Bolling in the recent Lt. Governor’s race at the Virginia GOP Convention, McSweeney says: “Bill Bolling has decided that Republicans should either hide or compromise their positions on social issues. He never consulted the grassroots about that. We want candidates who will unapologetically defend those [social conservative] positions, not act as if they are afraid of them.”

“Those positions” (of course, the right positions in the eyes of the author) for social conservatives like McSweeney (who was promoted by Ron Paul’s C4L org.) include: NO exceptions on the abortion issue; consistent opposition to “the homosexual agenda”; opposition to embryonic stem cell research; government censorship of pornography and other TV or Internet “indecencies” (as determined by government rather than families); government intervention on a plethora of issues relating to family values, including many “nanny state” provisions; and government intervention on drugs, prostitution, and euthanasia.

So much for preservation of individual liberty!

Of course, there are some social conservatives who understand the problem with using government as a tool of coercion.  The best type of social conservative, to be sure.  I give these social conservatives all the credit in the world.

So, is the Campaign for Liberty an organization intended to woo social conservatives, or is their target audience true blue libertarian Republicans?  I wrote to the Campaign for Liberty’s senior staff members more than a month ago explaining that they would have to choose one of these two groups (rather than both) to work with.

I also informed them of the Republican Liberty Caucus event at Republican Party of Virginia Convention.  I told them that they could inform their members of our event and we would be delighted to have their members at our RLC annual meeting.  The RLCVA meeting was a huge success, but C4L senior staff chose not to inform their members of our meeting and instead chose to promote McSweeney’s event aimed at the religious right.

I never received any e-mail acknowledgment or reply from the Campaign for Liberty.

I am not the only one who has noticed these discrepancies in the C4L.  In a recent Forbes Magazine article, libertarian Republican author Bruce Bartlett talks about how the Campaign for Liberty “pays lip service to the libertarian philosophy on foreign and social policy, but says little about them.”  Says Bartlett, “The discussion of economic policy, however, is much greater.” He concludes, “Whoever wrote these [C4L] talking points is simply pandering to the stupid, the ignorant, and the unsophisticated.”

Fortunately, the Republican Liberty Caucus still maintains a fervent belief in defending both social and economic liberty.  And our members are intelligent, sophisticated, and able to make inroads at the grassroots level of the Republican Party, as evidenced by our showing at the recent Republican Party Convention in Virginia.

Additionally, on Saturday, Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida Chair Will Pitts and Secretary Sarah Lovett participated in a “Drive the Discussion” forum in Live Oak, Florida.  The event also featured Senate challengers Gov. Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio.  The fact that RLC members were invited shows the type of influence they have in the Sunshine State.

According to an analysis of the event by a blogger for an organization called “Faith is the Foundation for Freedom” that is based in Florida, the RLC is “appalling” because of “the manner and language which the Republican Liberty Caucus attacked Traditional Republicans [sic] and the values that we hold near and dear.”

Traditional Republicans, in my estimation, are those Republicans that helped Barry Goldwater receive the Republican Party nomination in 1964.  By that definition, the RLC is ‘traditional[ly] Republican’.  Ronald Reagan said, “If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism.”  Again, by Reagan’s standard, the RLC is ‘traditional[ly] Republican’.

Additionally, as is expected, the Republican Liberty Caucus firmly upholds freedom of religion.  What RLC members attack is the assumption by social conservatives like Mr. McSweeney or the “Faith is the Foundation for Freedom” blogger that they can use government to legislate morality or make choices traditionally meant for individuals or family units.

And we attack those notions with vigor.

At the Florida forum, the “Faith is the Foundation for Freedom” blogger maintains that he asked RLC Florida Secretary Sarah Lovett, “Why aren’t the Libertarians advancing their agenda in the Libertarian Party rather than the Republican Party?”  Lovett and Will Pitts addressed the issue at the forum.

The RLC strategy — outlined throughout our website — is to work within the Republican Party, as we believe the two party system (however flawed it may be and however hard we work to change it) will always win out.  Since we want liberty to win, we work to establish liberty via the two-party system.

The agitation that this social conservative blogger has with our group is to be expected because the Republican Liberty Caucus is having a real impact at the grassroots level — and those who have ruined the Republican Party brand with their RINO and neo-con policies may be running scared.

TheNextRight blogger Soren Dayton was at the Republican Party of Virginia Convention yesterday. His observations:

“I have written a bunch about the role of Ron Paul supporters in the party and the impact that John McCain’s military supporters may have. Yesterday, I went to the convention of the Republican Party of Virginia. The only seriously contested race was for the nomination for Attorney General.”

“State Senator Ken Cuccinnelli, the candidate of grassroots conservatives, was the most likely winner, given who normally attends a state party convention. And indeed he won.”

“However, many people were shocked that he won on the first ballot over John Brownlee, former U.S. Attorney, and Dave Foster, a Republican who sits on the Arlington County School Board. When I drove down to Richmond for the convention, I certainly did not expect that result either.”

“But when I got to the convention floor on Saturday, it was clear what was going on. The Virginia chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus had endorsed Cuccinelli. They were out in force. From eyeballing, people identified with either the Republican Liberty Caucus or the Campaign for Liberty seemed to be about 10-15% of the convention. They pushed Cuccinelli over the top. I think that this marks a pattern for the future of the GOP in smaller caucuses and conventions.”

Why did the RLC endorse Senator Cuccinelli?

To begin, Senator Cuccinelli was the only candidate who had previously addressed our group — in 2007:

See part II and part III and part IV of Ken’s speech, too.

At his website, Ken Cuccinelli discussed the importance of property rights, open/accountable government, and fighting taxes.  Perhaps most important of all is that Cuccinelli truly understands the disconnect between Republican Party leaders and the grassroots. He knows why Republicans have been losing in Virginia and nationwide. And he is a longtime former activist for limited government.

Now he will be the next Attorney General.

And, according to Mr. Dayton (who was not supporting Ken for the nomination), our members put him over the top.  Says Mr. Dayton: “RLC/CfL/Ron Paul supporters are likely to continue to hold an important swing role in party contests like this.”

RLC member photos from the Convention are available here and here. A report on our success at the Convention is available here.

Since January, Republican Liberty Caucus members in Virginia have been planning a re-launch of the RLC affiliate. The affiliate was chartered at the RPV Advance in 2007, but RLC Chair D.J. McGuire stepped down to run for Supervisor in Spotsylvania County and subsequently the affiliate needed to elect a new Board of Directors.

On Friday and Saturday, over 10,000 Republican Party delegates from across Virginia came together at the Richmond Convention Center to select their nominees for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and state GOP Chair.  The winning candidates for those races included Bob McDonnell for Governor, Bill Bolling for Lt. Governor, Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General, and Pat Mullins for Virginia GOP Chair.  Cuccinelli was endorsed by the RLC and our members helped him win in the most contested Convention race.

Although not delegates, Matt Gagnon and I spent all day yesterday (starting very early in the morning and going until the Convention concluded) reaching out to prospective RLC members at the state GOP Convention.

The RLC booth at the RPV Convention, sponsored by RLC member Lisa Miller of Alexandria, was a massive success, with:

· Nearly 100 Convention-goers signing up to receive e-mail alerts from the RLC;

· 135 individuals took the World’s Smallest Political Quiz;

· The Virginia RLC meeting after the Convention, attended by 35 liberty-loving Republicans from across the state, was a huge success;

· The Virginia RLC solidified its new Board of Directors;

· The RLC gained a dozen new members on the spot;

· The RLC’s endorsed Attorney General nominee (Ken Cuccinelli) won on the first ballot.

Our quiz results were as follows:

This was the first time the World’s Smallest Political Quiz was used at Virginia GOP Convention.  I was surprised to see how many folks who took the quiz landed in the ‘libertarian’ quadrant.  There were even some RPV delegates that joined me at 100-100, the far top of the chart.

The exact results were: 64 right libertarians, 15 center-libertarians (including ten at 100-100, the top of the chart), 12 left libertarians, 15 centrists, 26 right conservatives, two left liberals, and one statist.  Therefore sixty-seven percent of quiz-takers scored in the libertarian quadrant; eleven percent were centrist; and nineteen percent were right conservative.

The response to the booth was overwhelmingly positive.  Virginians were proud to see the quiz providing a diamond view of the political spectrum and several teachers commented that they would be presenting the chart to their students.

At certain points, the booth was so busy it was very hard to keep up with the demand:

After the Convention, RLC members in Virginia held the Annual RLCVA Meeting at the Hard Shell restaurant in Richmond.  The venue was perfect for our meeting.  The food was great, the company excellent, and the quality of the individuals who attended our meeting was extremely impressive.

Some photos from the Republican Liberty Caucus of Virginia Annual Meeting are below.

The Virginia RLC also elected its new Board of Directors: Matt Gagnon (Chair); Steven Latimer (Vice-Chair); Krystle Weeks (Secretary); Cliff Dunn (Treasurer); and At-Large Board members Rick Sincere, Leonard Harris, and Matt DeLeon.

Look for more activity from the Virginia RLC affiliate on Facebook or at http://www.RLCVA.org/. Some additional RLC Convention photos are available here.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Virginia is gearing up for the 2009 elections, vowing to support State Senator Ken Cuccinelli in his bid to become the next Attorney General. According to the Virginia RLC’s press release, “Over the years, Ken Cuccinelli has been a strong advocate of smaller government and personal liberty” said Bert Mueller, Interim Chair of the chapter. “We are proud to endorse Mr. Cuccinelli and to work with him to bring the Republican Party back to its traditional roots.” Cuccinelli will face two Republican opponents for the GOP nomination, which will occur at the RPV Convention from May 29-30 in Richmond.

In its efforts to help Cuccinelli, the RLC of Virginia will be holding a re-organizational meeting in Richmond on May 30 in conjunction with the RPV Convention. To join the updates list of RLC activists attending this event, please contact Anthony.

In 2007, the Virginia RLC was organized at the RPV Convention due to the influx of Ron Paul supporters, however the chapter became dormant after the Ron Paul campaign. A five-member Committee has been formed to re-active and re-charter the Virginia RLC chapter.

On another note, Governor Tim Kaine has signed anti-REAL ID legislation, making Virginia the 22nd state to rebel against the legislation.

According to RLC member Donna Holt, who runs the website VALibertyDefense.org and has been coordinating the grassroots anti-REAL ID effort, “Eleven organizations came together in coalition during the 2009 legislative session to pass legislation that would prohibit the implementation of the Real ID Act of 2005.” Says Holt, “The grassroots fought feverishly to lobby the House and Senate for support of this important legislation.”

On March 30, Governor Kaine signed HB 1587/ SB 1431, which places limitations on the federal Real ID Act as it applies to Virginia drivers. REAL ID would require DMVs in every state to collect and store background information on every driver; as a result of the Virginia law, DMVs cannot collect financial data (such as tax returns or personal investment information) or biometric samples or data (such as DNA, fingerprints, or retinal scans) from drivers, even if the federal law requires those collections.

Virginia RLC members at the 2007 RPV Convention.

American Solutions, an organization founded by Newt Gingrich in 2007, is now pushing its agenda on state Republican Party delegates. The “solutions” focus little on reducing the size of government, but on American popular opinion. The top ten issues of the platform are listed here.

According to NolanChart, “In the week leading up to the convention, a coalition of Ron Paul Meetup group activists and members of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Michigan came together to examine the document. The conclusion by the membership of these groups was that this ‘Platform’ was both anti-liberty  and in direct conflict with the principles of the Republican Party. The members of these two groups took it upon themselves to inform the approximately 2000 delegates that this proposal should be opposed.”

In the end, the proposals were rejected. Unfortunately, delegates at GOP Conventions in Virginia and Wisconsin accepted over 70 planks of the American Solutions Platform.

Although it looks like it will be a bad year for Republicans as a whole, GOP candidates advocating for limited government (and meaning it!) are going to do well in 2008, just as they did in 2006. (The only RLC-friendly member of Congress who lost in 2006 was Arizona’s J.D. Hayworth.)

In Virginia, the state RLC’s favorite legislator, Ken Cuccinelli, is running for Attorney General in 2009. He will face another Republican in the state primary, but he is the favorite to win both the primary and general election. Senator Cuccinelli addressed the newly chartered Virginia RLC earlier this year:

In Georgia, things are looking good for 2010. If Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, who the RLC has supported for years, jumps into the race for Governor, then the RLC’s leader in the State Senate, David Shafer, has a real opportunity to become Lt. Governor.

Georgia Senator David Shafer.

In Missouri, State Treasurer Sarah Steelman is facing an uphill fight against establishment Congressman Kenny Hulshof in the open gubernatorial race. Steelman is favored by RLC members for her no-nonsense, common sense approach to the issues. Ron Paul supporters are even planning a Money Bomb for Steelman. Treasurer Steelman also attended the Ron Paul Freedom Rally in Branson earlier this year. Roy Blunt, predictably, has endorsed her opponent, Kenny Hulshof.

Sarah Steelman

Finally, the RLC is thankful for its current incumbent Governors, Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Sarah Palin of Alaska. Although not perfect, these state leaders have shown independence from the GOP establishment and have the chutzpah to make real inroads toward returning the GOP to its small government heritage.

Sarah Palin

Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention our heroes of past, namely former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld.

While Governor of Massachusetts, Bill Weld ended the state’s borrowing, controlled Medicaid spending, reduced property taxes and balanced seven budgets in a row while passing 19 tax cuts and never raising taxes. He was elected during a tumultuous time when the state’s bond rating was near junk status, unemployment was nearly 10%, and the state had continuously borrowed money to close large operating deficits.