RLC BASICS
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What is the purpose of the RLC?
As stated in RLC national and state Bylaws, Article II: The Caucus is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of individual rights, limited government and free enterprise within the Republican Party of the United States of America by:
A. Promoting these ideals among Party officials and its various organizations;
B. Identifying and supporting candidates sympathetic with these ideals;
C. Developing Caucus membership among Party registrants, officials, and officeholders.
RLC members are “advocates of liberty” and therefore “libertarian” (small-l). The RLC has no relationship with the Libertarian Party. We welcome anyone who generally agrees with the RLC Official Statement, including constitutionalists, fiscal conservatives, and classic liberals. There is no member litmus-test on issues, nor any membership pledge. Civil discussion of issues is welcome at all RLC forums.
Who can be a RLC member?
Any person resident in the United States who has paid membership dues and “affiliates with the Republican Party” may be a Regular member. Since state registration laws vary and records may not be readily available, the RLC assumes that a member intends to affiliate with the GOP until there is clear public evidence that the person has associated themselves with some other political party, or none at all.
Dues-paid members who are not affiliated with the Republican Party are considered Associate members, who may not serve as national or state officers, official delegates to any RLC convention or meeting, or Charter application signers.
What is a RLC state chapter?
A RLC state chapter must be certified and chartered as a division of the national Republican Liberty Caucus, governed by state and national RLC Bylaws (PDF). All chapters subscribe to the RLC Statement of Principles and Positions, which is the only official expression of RLC political positions on national issues. It is revised or amended only by delegates to a national convention.
What is chartering?
Chartering is the process the RLC uses to formalize a state chapter. You can find the RLC’s official Charter Application (with instructions) online.
The goal of establishing a state chapter is to advance the RLC’s mission through political activities such as establishing an organizational structure (principles, by-laws, officers, board of directors, board of advisors, etc.), recruiting candidates, endorsing candidates, lobbying, mobilizing activists, participating in outreach, attending events, and influencing the GOP leadership.
The RLC National Board may appoint Contacts or Coordinators from the state to facilitate state chartering. These representatives will have access to current member and prospect lists to solicit participation in a Charter Application among state residents. The current list of Contacts, Coordinators, and Officers for each state may be found at: http://www.rlc.org/about/chapters/.
All states, districts, and territories in the United States have an established communications resource at Yahoo Groups, with the name RLCxx [substitute state initials for xx] which includes any member or prospect interested in subscribing. The eGroups are not limited to members, but may be used to facilitate member communications regarding chartering efforts: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RLCxx/join/.
A chartering petition may be initiated by any member in cooperation with the current state Contact or Coordinator. National officers should be informed of pending petitions and will facilitate communications with dues-paid members as required.
Although many RLC state affiliates are chartered, many other states still need an active charter. If your state is not currently chartered, please write or call your State Contact and ask them how you can assist in the chartering process.
Why do you charter?
Per the By-laws (PDF) of the Republican Liberty Caucus, “A State Charter may be granted to any group of ten or more Regular members who are residents of the subject state and who have signed a Petition for Charter and submit it in writing to the Board of Directors.” Those listed on the charter must be RLC members and must verifiably assent in one form or another.
The By-laws continue, “The Board may certify qualified State Charters by a majority vote at its next regular meeting. Charters for the District of Columbia or any United States territory or possession may be approved by the Board and granted the same status as State Charters.”
Quite simply, a charter in a state indicates that there is an interest among the membership in pursuing the mission of the RLC, and that they are going to work toward carrying out the RLC’s mission in their state.
What are the time commitments to charter a state affiliate or become active my state RLC?
Make of it what you will. If you become involved, you set your own priorities and schedule. There are many things that you could do, and we’re happy to make suggestions, but it’s all at your convenience.
As the organization grows, you’ll find many new members with experience, time, and talent. If you ever want to “hand off” a title to someone else, you may do so.
Because all of our positions are volunteer positions, we don’t expect you to spend your own money on promotion. If there is a development project you’d like to undertake, just let us know and the RLC will be happy to reimburse approved expenses.
What are the chartering requirements or standards?
According to the RLC By-laws, “No affiliate shall be chartered with fewer than 10 (ten) members in that state or territory. The National Committee of the Republican Liberty Caucus reserves the sole right to grant or revoke charters for state chapters under the guidelines and criteria it establishes. In addition, in any dispute with the Republican Liberty Caucus and an affiliate Republican Liberty Caucus, the decision of the National Committee is final. All applications for state chapter recognition are subject to a majority vote of approval by the National Committee, and are also subject to revocation at any time and for any reason by a majority vote of the National Committee.”
The present requirements, subject to change, modification or alteration by the National Committee at any time, include the following:
1.) An organizational Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer are elected;
2.) Additional Board of Directors members named or elected;
3.) Adoption of by-laws (see: Sample state by-laws available at our site).
Petitioners for a state charter must provide a brief description of the charter organization and plans for consideration by members of the National Committee. Completed charter applications can be sent to chapters@rlc.org.
What support can the National RLC provide to me in my effort to form an RLC state affiliate?
Since we are still a small — but growing — organization, RLC National and state budgets are tiny. There are no paid staff, offices, or consultants. Most of our work is done at the grassroots level — local and state GOP meetings.
On the Internet, we have eGroups that we use to network. Each of our state affiliates has at least one networking eGroup. Our state pages provide links to such groups. One of the purposes of the eGroup is to get members and prospects activated by assigning tasks and motivating them to participate in their local GOP activities.
State officers and coordinators are volunteers, so their time and resources will fluctuate with personal obligations.
Chapter dues from chartered state affiliates are split between RLC National and state organizations and are applied to many purposes. National uses funds for maintenance of our web sites, printing of literature, sponsoring booths at events, public ads and other promotions.
How influential can the RLC be?
The RLC has tremendous potential. The RLC is not an official organ of the Republican Party, since we intend to change the party to support our principles. We are free to endorse in primaries, advocate for new platform positions, and participate as officers and GOP delegates within the party.
We also believe that our endorsement has tremendous value for candidates. (Please see “Value of an RLC Endorsement” at our Candidates page for details on how an RLC endorsement can help a candidate.
Most party officials are aware of our existence, but we are still a small constituency and have a long way to go before having a significant impact on the Party or campaigns.
Generally, we are well received by local party officials and ignored by “major players.” Only by increasing membership and expanding our activities within the Party will we gain recognition and respect. Thus, our first priorities are organization and growth.
If I want to charter or become active in the RLC, should I also be involved in my local GOP?
Absolutely. The RLC’s most successful chartered state affiliates have officers and members attending local GOP functions with RLC brochures. Becoming active in your local GOP party organization is the critical step beyond getting the state affiliate organized for cooperative effort. A personal appeal to join the RLC will always get the best results.
RLC STATE CHAPTERS
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Are RLC dues tax-deductible?
Neither dues nor contributions are tax-deductible. The RLC is a non-profit IRS Section 527 political membership organization, which may accept dues or contributions from any person, business, or organization, foreign or domestic, in any amount. Individual dues or contributions are not reported to any government entity, although total amounts may be included in an informational return.
Contributions to our affiliated RLCUSA-PAC are not tax-deductible and must be reported to the FEC, along with the required contributor information. State PACs may be required to report receipts and expenditures under their state laws. PAC accounts are maintained as separate and distinct financial entities, even though affiliated with the RLC in the form of various PAC bylaws and rules. The PAC Board of Directors consists of RLC officers and the official PAC Treasurer.
Does the RLC have a tax-deductible division?
At present, it does not. RLC national or state chartered organizations may establish and incorporate complimentary 501(c)4 divisions at some future date, but they would be limited to providing strictly non-partisan products or services.
Can a state affiliate’s Statement of Principles vary from the National SoP?
No. The purpose of the chartered state is explicitly stated in the state by-laws, which are a requirement for chartering. A “Mission Statement” is totally at the discretion of the state RLC board, but it should not conflict with the charter by-law provisions.
National and state By-laws require that statements conform with the National RLC’s Statement of Principles and Positions. Chartered state affiliates can expand on them, reduce them to a set of state-specific issues, or expand on tactical and political objectives that apply a particular state.
If one were writing a state “Mission,” one could start with a direct quote from Section II of the sample state By-laws. Since the mission is intended as a set of state priorities, one should exclude national issues and avoid any issues where RLC members have disagreement (e.g., immigration).
However, there are cases where state and local affiliates will want to focus on an issue not addressed in the national By-Laws or Statement of Principles and Positions. For example, the National RLC recently chose to strike term limits from our Statement of Principles and Positions. A state affiliate, however, could still list term limits as a priority in their RLC affiliate’s platform.
Can a state affiliate be reimbursed for political activities that promote the RLC?
The National Board is always willing to consider proposals for subsidizing state organizational efforts. However, the RLC is not a wealthy organization and would like to see some prospect of a direct “return on investment.”
Are there separate national and state RLC dues?
All members are always joint members of the national RLC and their state organizations. Dues may be paid to national or chartered states, which share the contact information and proceeds for national and state operations. Unchartered state affiliates may not collect dues directly and no state chapter may require regular dues in excess of the national $30 limit for Regular membership.
How are RLC membership dues shared?
National and chartered state bylaws specify that $10 of each dues payment be shared with the other entity. National and state Treasurers reconcile sharing amounts quarterly and any balance due is distributed to the other entity. Unchartered states do not participate in dues sharing, but may receive disbursements from the national Board for state organizational purposes, events, and projects.
National encourage state charters to solicit their own memberships for renewals, but reserves the right to solicit the same prospects directly. Each chartered state can use a link to the national on-line credit card service and receive full credit for the whole sum (less the $10 share) by using the graphic and link at http://www.republicanlibertycaucus.org/Pay/DuesLink.htm.
National reports all dues receipts and contact information to each state in a monthly update. Chartered states receive a complete listing of members and prospects quarterly and are obliged to promptly report all dues receipts and contact information to national. A quarterly dues reconciliation report is distributed by national to all chartered states.
RLC CANDIDATES
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Does the RLC rate legislators?
The RLC sponsors an annual comprehensive rating of federal legislators, called the Liberty Index. Although national officers review selected roll-call votes for inclusion in the Index, the selections do not necessarily represent official RLC positions on specific legislation, nor the rated legislators.
Liberty Index ratings can be found at
http://www.republicanliberty.org/libdex/. Various state chapters may conduct their own rating of state legislators, or use the ratings of independent liberty-minded organizations in reviewing endorsements.
Does the RLC have anything similar to the Liberty Index for state officials?
Not currently. The founders of the Liberty Index are willing to provide information on procedures and methods of developing such a tool.
Most states have libertarian-oriented think-tanks that already rank members of their legislature. Other states find ratings from other organizations and combine them or screen them to create their own ratings.
Starting from scratch on candidate or incumbent ranking is a huge task and should not be done unless you are certain that your state has no ranking system available.
Does the RLC endorse candidates?
RLC national and chartered state Boards may endorse candidates for any partisan or non-partisan public office, including Republican Party positions. Endorsements do not oblige any member to support a candidate, nor does the RLC itself ever contribute to any candidate. Endorsements are simply advice to members that someone is worthy of consideration for their support for a particular office.
The endorsement of candidates for federal offices and the primary state executive office require approval and confirmation of both national and chartered state Boards. Chartered states may endorse any other state executive, legislative, or local candidates without national review. In the absence of a state charter, the national Board may endorse state and local candidates in consultation with state Contacts or Coordinators.
The RLC has an affiliated Political Action Committee [RLCUSA-PAC] which may contribute to any federal candidate endorsed by the RLC. The federal PAC does not contribute to state candidates, but chartered states are encouraged to establish a separate state PAC for that purpose.
How should my state affiliate decide which candidates to endorse?
The RLC attempts to find or support Republican candidates who oppose a “bad” GOP incumbent or a candidate who is particularly good on the issues. Our endorsements are selective. We want to endorse candidates who are at least 80% on board with our mission and principles and are purposefully selective in the endorsement process.
Many of our state affiliates send surveys out to legislators, asking them their views on particular issues. State affiliates then review candidate and incumbent responses and choose to endorse candidates based on issues alone.
Since the RLC only advises our members on those candidates that we deem worthy of support, the members themselves are free to take any action in any other organization or campaign that they believe will advance liberty. Our members are not required to support candidates endorsed by the organization.
What type of candidates does the RLC support?
The RLC is not a “libertarian certification service.” We do not claim that endorsed candidates pass the World’s Smallest Political Quiz or any other test.
Endorsed candidates have been reviewed by our state affiliate or our National Board and are deemed worthy of support by RLC members. Such candidates, we believe, will implement policies that will reduce the size of government and expand liberty in both the social and economic spheres.
The RLC can and does make mistakes. The RLC never has and never will certify any candidate (or even member) as “ideologically pure” or even a “safe bet.” Ultimately, voting decisions are up to our members and others who vote. We serve to endorse the candidates who best serve our interest in limited government.
If you don’t like a candidate who we have endorsed, your best option is to become involved in our organization. We rely on our local and state contacts for information on candidates. If you’re involved, you will have a much greater chance to influence our direction.
Does the RLC endorse candidates from other parties? What does the RLC believe about other political parties or movements?
The RLC can (and does) endorse candidates of other parties (all Libertarian Party thus far), but only when there is no official GOP candidate.
There are a few people trying to organize a Caucus-style effort in the Democrat party. The RLC applauds their efforts. We also applaud any Libertarian Party successes as a strong catalyst for motivating GOP candidates and officials to focus on appealing to libertarian-leaning voters.
However, as an organization, we do not take positions opposing official GOP candidates. It is our task to find candidates who are worthy of RLC member’s support. We’ve been fairly successful at doing so.
BLOGS AND SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES
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Are RLC eGroups official member organizations?
The Yahoo eGroups sponsored by the RLC are communication resources for members and/or prospects. Only certain restricted RLC eGroups are used for official business. As a service to members and as a means of recruiting new prospects, the RLC has established state eGroups that are open to any subscriber. State eGroups may be moderated by state Contacts, Coordinators, or Officers, but no posting to any public eGroup should be considered an official statement of the RLC.
To join any eGroup in your state, substitute state initials for xx: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RLCxx/join/. If you do not want to join Yahoo!, you can subscribe to any state eGroup by sending a blank message to RLCxx-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and then sending a blank reply to the e-mail Yahoo! sends to your e-mail address. All state eGroups attempt to enforce common rules against solicitation [either from commercial or non-RLC organizations or campaigns], profanity, and personal attacks, but attempts at civil moderation may not satisfy all subscribers.
The purpose of the state eGroups is to provide a discussion forum for those interested in *the pursuit of liberty* within the GOP. It is intended to advance the RLC goals of bringing the ideals of individual rights, limited government, and free enterprise back to prominence in the Republican Party. If subscribers don’t agree with that purpose and those objectives, then they may be banned from participation.
National or state organizations may establish members-only eGroups at their discretion, for specific purposes, or officer-only eGroups for the consideration of official business. Those eGroups may only be joined by invitation and subscriptions may be cancelled when a person’s membership or term of office expires. At present, national maintains the following exclusive eGroups:
RLC-National – National and state officers only
RLC-National-Committee – National Board officers and directors only
RLC-Discuss – Current RLC members only, for discussion of issues
RLC-Action – Current RLC members only, for activity planning
RLC-Comm – Invited RLC officers and members for communications projects
RLC-News – Open-subscribe receive-only news and events from officers
GOP-Liberty – Open-subscribe for any members or prospects
Several chartered states have established member or officer-specific eGroups that are usually named RLCxx-Members, RLCxx-Officers, or project-specific names. These are only accessible by invitation.
New subscribers to public or restricted RLC eGroups should identify themselves by name and residence shortly after subscribing. Subscriber eMail addresses are almost always displayed to all other subscribers, which is required to allow postings via e-mail.
Personal notes, messages, or personal discussion should always be taken off the eGroup by sending a direct, private email. None of the eGroups are bulletin boards - do not re-post web-pages or messages from other boards. Provide a link or offer to send the information via personal email to anyone who is interested. Bulk destination postings to multiple eGroups or form letter postings for any purpose are strongly discouraged.
Does the RLC have a blog?
The RLC’s main website incorporates a blog, primarily focused on RLC-related news and events. Postings are usually offered by RLC officers, but they represent the views of the author, not necessarily the RLC. Comments are moderated, but require registration. Various state chapters have also used RLC.MeetUp.com for scheduling events. Contact state officers for details on local and regional Meetups.
CHARTER APPLICATION
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The Application for Charter requires the designation of a slate of Chartering officers, including at least a Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and four At-Large Directors. All officers, directors, and at least three additional Charter signers, must be current dues-paid RLC members. Complete the current contact information for each of the officers.
The ten petition signers must give verifiable assent to the Application and Bylaws. This may be accomplished by having members sign a hard copy of the Application, confirm via eMail or eGroup their approval, or by a witnessed teleconference or phone call to the signers.
Applicants should respond to all the questions on the Application and use additional pages as required. The Chartering Bylaws must be included with the Application to form a completed petition. Sample Bylaws may be used as offered, with a substitution of the state or district name and the date of the Application. Chartering officers may modify the boilerplate as suits their purposes, but Articles in red font may not be deleted or modified.
A complete Petition may be submitted to the RLC National Chapter Director, or any officer of the National RLC, by mail, fax, or via e-mail with attached JPG, PDF, or DOC files of the Application and Bylaws. The current status of signers will be verified by the National Secretary and the petition will be considered by the National Board for approval at its next meeting or via eMail ballot.
The provisions of the state Bylaws are not active until after approval of the petition by the National Board of Directors. Chartering officers shall serve until a membership meeting is held, as specified in the Bylaws. National/State dues sharing does not commence until the first of the month following the date the petition is approved. All national and state members are concurrently members of the other entity. Bylaw provisions require the reporting of all dues receipts by either entity to the other.
Upon approval of a Charter, state officers should make arrangements for the Treasurer to establish a state RLC bank account under a TIN/EIN issued by the IRS for a “political membership organization.” All RLC Charters are non-profit divisions of the National RLC under the provisions of IRS Code, Section 527. No IRS filing is required until chapter receipts exceed $50,000, but chapters should check their state laws for any unique reporting requirements. The RLC and its charters are not Political Action Committees [PACs] under federal law and are not obliged to report or file with the Federal Elections Committee [FEC].
Charter applications may be mailed to:
Republican Liberty Caucus
State Charter Application
44 Summerfield Street
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
Fax: (805) 493-4332
eMail: Chapters@rlc.org
