In the past year Wisconsin has gone from having no RLC affiliate at all to having an active chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus.
In the past eight months the RLCWI has chartered its affiliate, reached out at the state GOP Convention, introduced itself to party leaders/activists, protested the Wisconsin GOP’s pre-primary endorsements, and endorsed a liberty slate of candidates. Their progress is documented at http://wi.rlc.org/.
The endorsed candidates for State Assembly, who will face primary opposition on September 14, include:
∙ Andre Jacque for State Representative, District 2 (Green Bay) ∙Jim Steineke for State Representative, District 5 (Appleton) ∙Brad Sponholz for State Representative, District 7 (Milwaukee) ∙Chris Kapenga (pictured) for State Representative, District 33 (Waukesha) ∙Evan Wynn for State Representative, District 43 (Whitewater) ∙Both Jeremy Thiesfeldt and Timothy Lakin for State Representative, District 52 (Fond du Lac) ∙Chuck Schmidt for State Representative, District 57 (Appleton) ∙Scott Krug for State Representative, District 72 (Wisconsin Rapids) ∙Roger Rivard for State Representative, District 75 (Superior) ∙Dave Redick for State Representative, District 77 (Madison)
“This is a great slate of candidates. We hope they make it through their primaries so we can reshape the Wisconsin Assembly with a liberty slate,” said Wisconsin RLC Chairman Michael S. Murphy. Learn more about the candidates at http://wi.rlc.org/endorsements/.
Congratulations to the Wisconsin RLC!
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the RLC.
It’s almost a month to the day of the Wisconsin primary (September 14) and 8th Congressional District Republican candidate Terri McCormick finds herself in a 3-way Republican battle to face Congressman Steve Kagen.
It’s getting ugly.
Kagen, a 2nd-term Democrat representing an independent-minded swing district, voted for Obamacare, Cap and Trade, and nearly everything else that Obama-Pelosi asked him to pass.
The Wisconsin chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus endorsed McCormick early on in this election cycle. This piece reviews her credentials, the attacks against McCormick in northeast Wisconsin, the 8th District race, and why McCormick is a good bet for WI-08 voters and the broader liberty movement.
Terri McCormick: The Original Maverick
In 2006, the Republican Party was clinging to its electoral strategy of “Compassionate Conservatism”. President George W. Bush and his wife Laura came to Wisconsin to campaign in the WI-08 Congressional primary. Wisconsin Republicans had a prime opportunity to pass a Republican-held Congressional seat to a fresh face because Congressman Mark Green decided to run for Governor. The primary field was cleared by the Republican Party, which was betting that Speaker of the Wisconsin House John Gard could win the race. There was only one problem: Terri McCormick, a self-term limited Representative, also decided to run. Despite a drawn out smear-ignore campaign strategy and despite the intimidation tactics used by the Republican Party Bosses both nationally and in Wisconsin, McCormick continued her bid for Congress.
Long story short: Gard and the National Republican Congressional Committee spent $2 million to defeat her in the primary. McCormick received 32 percent of the vote and established herself as a Republican maverick. The 32 percent she received represented the segment of Wisconsin voters frustrated with George W. Bush’s policies, pissed that the Republican Party Establishment refused to allow the independent-minded voters of the district decide the primary, and excited about Terri McCormick’s message.
Establishment Republican John Gard lost the General Election to Steve Kagen in 2006 and 2008. Some Wisconsin Republicans incorrectly blame Terri McCormick for his defeat in both election cycles.
Terri McCormick entered public policy in the 1990s when her children were in grade school. A concerned mother with a background in education policy (and an impeccable resume), she fought to pass Wisconsin’s charter school laws and later headed up the Wisconsin Charter School Association. The charter school laws she wrote now successfully serve over 25,000 students in the state.
As book reviewer Michael Swartz notes after reading McCormick’s book, “While Tea Parties weren’t being contemplated yet in the early 1990’s, Terri McCormick was leading a grassroots effort of her own.”
In Terri you will find a candidate committed to listening to voters and solving problems. That’s how she entered political life.
Representative McCormick
Terri McCormick was elected in 2000 and served in the Wisconsin Assembly representing Neenah and Appleton until 2006. She pledged to serve only three terms and adhered to her original pledge. While in the Assembly, she wrote new transparency and open bid requirements so watchdogs could trace the costs of healthcare proposals, voted to attach an economic impact statement to legislation crafted to negatively impact small business, and authored legislation to give a property tax credit to combat disabled veterans.
Most legislators enter the State House with grandiose ideas about what they will achieve and end up with little to show for their time there. McCormick was able to build bipartisan coalitions to pass important legislation that positively impacts Wisconsin families years after she left the legislature. As former Republican National Committeeman Terry Kohler notes about McCormick, “She [was] a real bell ringer in Madison and I have no doubt she will repeat that perseverance and persuasiveness in Washington.”
Terri McCormick’s former constituents asked her to run for Congress in 2010 because they could not find another candidate with the combined integrity, credentials, and commitment to common sense policy solutions.
McCormick Under Attack
As her campaign has picked up steam, McCormick has increasingly been under attack. Almost daily the Wisconsin blogosphere is hurling snowballs at McCormick, to put it mildly. She has been targeted in print through the mainstream media, via personal verbal smears, in the blogosphere, and even on the radio.
Thus far she’s been accused by several “conservative” (read: neocon, establishment) bloggers of not attending a rigged 8th Congressional district candidate forum, not getting enough hits at her website, questioning the good health status of Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, and bashing the very bloggers who are spending nights and weekends posting smears to throw a wrench into her candidacy. They continue to question her 1977 Wisconsin Truman Scholarship nomination even after she has posted it at her campaign website and they even hacked into her computer to search for documents that might ruin her campaign.
So far their smear tactics have only added fuel to her candidacy. Quite clearly the bloggers at PartyofKnow, “RhymeswithClown”, and “BerryLaker” are desperate to defeat Terri McCormick.
Their motivation may be to keep Congressman Steve Kagen in office: McCormick is the only 8th Congressional district candidate with the name recognition, debate skills, and credentials to defeat the incumbent Democrat.
Two other possibilities: 1) McCormick is a strong-minded, independent woman running in a state that has never elected a Republican woman to federal office; 2) McCormick will not bow to the Republican Party Establishment.
The 8th District Race
The Eighth Congressional district is in northeast Wisconsin and borders Bart Stupak’s Upper Peninsula Michigan district. It’s largest cities are Green Bay and Appleton, both of which have a Republican mayor. From 1998 to 2006 it was represented by Congressman Mark Green, a conservative Republican. Since Green resigned to run for Governor in 2006, the district has been represented by liberal Democrat Steve Kagen of Appleton.
In 2010, the Republican candidates for candidates number three: Roger Roth, nephew of former Congressman Toby Roth; Reid “the Roofer” Ribble; and McCormick. Roth’s numbers seem to be decreasing rather than increasing after the Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin exposed his anti-liberty voting record and dangerous rhetoric.
Reid Ribble was the leader of the National Roofing Contractors Association, a lobbying organization that supported the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill seeking to give amnesty to illegal immigrants. Ribble was also the Chairman of ROOFPAC in 2005-2006, the roofing contractor Political Action Committee. Despite his residency in Wisconsin, it appears Mr. Ribble has long been connected to Washington lobbyists.
Speaking of residency, a simple search of the White Pages indicates that Ribble lives in the 6th Congressional District represented by Republican Tom Petri, not the 8th District. Sherwood, Wisconsin is located in Calumet County, outside the boundary of the 8th District.
A March survey of the race illustrates that Ribble barely registers when it comes to name recognition despite that he has received over $20,000 in contributions from DC Political Action Committees to date. Still, the Establishment believes either Reid Ribble or Roger Roth will defeat Terri McCormick in the primary. They’re betting on it.
Terri McCormick’s campaign has already achieved several of its benchmark goals:
- Raised over $100,000 in the 2nd quarter fundraising period; - Gave the race a national focus by appearing twice on “Freedom Watch” with Judge Andrew Napolitano; - Featured in Politico (August 2010) and the National Journal’s Hotline (November 2009); - Became the first candidate to run a TV ad in the race; - Hired Tea Party-endorsed candidate Will Johnson from Iowa as campaign manager.
Given that McCormick received 32% in her 2006 Congressional race, she simply needs a repeat performance to win the 8th District primary.
Help McCormick Win the Primary
Establishment Republicans in the 8th District are desperate to derail the Terri McCormick freedom train. This is precisely why it is critical to participate in McCormick’s August 11 MoneyBomb, donate to her campaign, and join her Facebook fan page for updates.
Terri McCormick has addressed members of the Campaign for Liberty (see above video), Students for Liberty, the Republican Liberty Caucus, and “Freedom Watch” viewers. The issues page of her website outlines not only her achievements, but also her solution-focused approach to Washington politics-as-usual.
Voters in the 8th district should bet on McCormick because she is the only candidate who can defeat liberal Big Government Democrat Steve Kagen. As The Capital Times in Madison notes, “[T]he former legislator (Terri McCormick) has always been a maverick … [s]o the 8th might experience something rare in American politics: a contest between two genuine mavericks who disagree on a bunch of fundamental issues. A Kagen/McCormick race would be exciting, maybe a bit edgy.”
Terri McCormick’s slogan is “Credibility cannot be bought or borrowed; it must be earned.” Hopefully Terri McCormick has earned your support.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the RLC.
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.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the RLC.
I have been objecting loudly to the GOP nominating processes in various states for many years now.
In short: the Republican Party Establishment has swooped into competitive Republican Party primaries (election contests that VOTERS should decide) to coronate certain candidates and exclude candidates they do not prefer.
This practice began during the Bush Administration, as far as I can tell. It’s a disgusting process and is truly politics as its worst.
The Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin, which was chartered in December of last year, had its first major presence at the state Republican Party Convention. The Convention, which took place over the weekend in downtown Milwaukee, featured Presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty and the much-loved Congressman Paul Ryan.
At the Convention, Chairman Michael S. Murphy handed RLC literature out to longtime Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner and had a brief conversation with Wisconsin Republican Party Chair Reince Preibus. Additionally, the Wisconsin RLC received numerous requests for membership applications and talked to candidates who wanted to seek the Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin endorsement.
Several candidates who have already been endorsed by the state affiliate were being actively promoted by RLC members, such as Terri McCormick for Congress in Wisconsin’s 8th District and Ed Thompson for State Senate in District 31.
Below are some photos of Wisconsin RLC members at the 2010 GOP Convention. A special thanks to Chairman Michael S. Murphy and Secretary Paul Sanchez for their hard work to prepare for liberty outreach at the Convention.
Learn more about the Wisconsin chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus at http://wi.rlc.org/.
Secretary Paul Sanchez with RLC endorsed candidate for State Senate from Rock County, Rick Richard.
Two RLC board members with Wisconsin’s Voice of Liberty, Ken Van Doren (center).
Michael S. Murphy, U.S. Senate candidate Dave Westlake, and Paul Sanchez.
Wisconsin RLC Vice Chair Chris Ciancimino.
Wisconsin RLC Chair with candidate for Congress Dan Sebring (District 4).
Wisconsin RLC Chair with candidate for Congress Terri McCormick (District 8).
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the RLC.
Tomah Mayor Ed Thompson is running for State Senate in Wisconsin’s 31st district, a rural western Wisconsin district that is Democrat stomping grounds. Mr. Thompson was a Libertarian Party member from 1999 onward, and was the Libertarian Party candidate for Governor in 2002 (in which he gained 11.5%, a LP record), but decided to switch parties in 2009 after the state Republican Party smartly begged him to run as a Republican.
Wisconsin RLC Adviser Aaron Biterman, who worked on Ed Thompson’s 2002 campaign, praised the endorsement. “There isn’t anyone in Wisconsin who can wrestle District 31 away from the liberal Democratic machine, with the exception of Ed Thompson. He is a trans-partisan leader who is a true believer in the principles of our Founders and he brings a vision of a free society to the public consciousness,” said Biterman.
The Wisconsin chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus was founded in December, 2009. Thus far it has endorsed Terri McCormick for Congress in Wisconsin’s 8th District, Rick Richard for State Senate in District 15, and Mr. Thompson. Said Michael S. Murphy, RLC Chairman, “We are proud to have Ed Thompson promoting our principles in western Wisconsin and look forward to hearing about his common sense vision when he crafts policy in the Wisconsin Senate.”
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the RLC.
The Minnesota chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus has been busy, as usual.
Not only is Minnesota RLC member Norann Dillon running for State Senate, but many RLC members were among the first to rally behind State Rep. Tom Emmer, one of two potential Republican Gubernatorial nominees. Polls show Emmer defeating his Democrat opponents.
The upcoming Minnesota RLC events include:
1) A Second Congressional District Meeting for RLC and Campaign for Liberty members on Thursday, March 18. Among the plans at the meeting are to formalize RLC/C4L participation at the Jason Lewis Tax Rally on May 8 and the Minnesota GOP Convention on April 29. Additionally, the Second Congressional District GOP Convention will occur on Saturday, March 20. PLEASE RSVP to this event.
3) Outreach at the Minnesota GOP Convention on April 29. Stay tuned for details.
The Michigan RLC recently held a successful Convention with former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. The Nebraska RLC is holding its Convention with Governor Johnson in July. The Illinois RLC recently endorsed several candidates.
Additionally, the Wisconsin RLC and C4L chapters are planning to reach out at the state GOP Convention in late May. Meanwhile, Indiana and Ohio have primaries quickly approaching. The Indiana chapter is working to endorse candidates and Ohio RLC members are working to charter their chapter.
Activists in the Midwest are doing good work to keep liberty alive.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the RLC.
The Republican Liberty Caucus is pleased to announce the latest candidates we’re recommending you support in 2010. They include:
* Congressional candidates Brian Miller (AZ-08), Adam Kokesh (NM-03), Jaynee Germond (OR-04), and Terri McCormick (WI-08);
* Virginia State Senate candidate Steve Hunt (January special election); and
* State House candidates Jenn Coffey in NH (incumbent) and Paul Curtman in Missouri, as well as Missouri House incumbents Shane Schoeller, Tim Jones, and Jim Guest.
On November 21, the first-ever Wisconsin RLC meeting was held in Appleton, Wisconsin. Former State Representative Terri McCormick spoke at the meeting.
On November 30, a RLC meeting was held in the Milwaukee area. Attendees included former Representative McCormick, a candidate for Congress in Wisconsin’s Eighth District; Tomah Mayor Ed Thompson, a candidate for State Senate; and State Senate candidate Rick Richard.
The November 30 event was held after a speech by Dr. Tom Woods at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Some photos from the event follow.
The Wisconsin chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus expects to submit paperwork to charter its affiliate later this month.
Tom Woods Speech:
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RLC Meeting – Nov. 30: ..
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the RLC.
Limited government voters are fed up with both parties. The Republican Liberty Caucus was founded in 1991 to promote individual liberty, limited government and free enterprise for the country by using the Republican Party as a vehicle to advance these timeless principles.
This month, the RLC will have two meetings to, hopefully, charter an official Wisconsin RLC organization. The goal of this organization, if chartered, will be to increase the number of limited government Republicans that serve in party positions and elected positions in the state.
Congressional primary. Wisconsin Republicans had a prime opportunity to pass a Republican-held Congressional seat to a fresh face because Congressman Mark Green decided to run for Governor. The primary field was cleared by the Republican Party, which was betting that Speaker of the Wisconsin House John Gard could win the race. There was only one problem: Terri McCormick, a self-term limited Representative, also decided to run. Despite a drawn out smear-ignore campaign strategy and despite the intimidation tactics used by the Republican Party Bosses both nationally and in Wisconsin, McCormick continued her bid for Congress. 
