From right to left:Ernie Harris of Oldham Co.
Dick Roeding of Kenton Co.
Virgil Moore of Grayson Co.
Dan Seum of Jefferson Co.
...The Republican Liberty Caucus ("Liberty is our middle name"): Making a difference, one office at a time!
Posted on 07/20/2002 2:11:31 PM PDT by forest
By: Douglas Lorenz, RLC National Chairman (1)
There have recently been a number of significant changes in the national Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC). Among the more obvious changes, the National Committee picked a new chairman. Of course, most people haven't heard about this recent change yet, and that is largely because, over time, the national RLC has lost contact with some of its state and local activists. Starting now, that is changing.
The most important function of the Republican Liberty Caucus is to build an organization that helps Liberty-minded Republicans get active in politics. Our goal is to encourage Liberty minded folks to band together within their communities and their states to form RLC chapters. Which means, of course, that we need to make tools available to help people build an organization, recruit members, and get involved in their local campaigns. Towards that end, we plan to establish a communication network that will allow RLC members and chapters to discuss their successes and failures so that we can reach a future where success is commonplace.
The National Board of Directors of the Republican Liberty Caucus recognizes that the real work is done at the state and local levels. It is at the state and local levels where individuals work closely with campaigns, getting votes, influencing policy, and getting Liberty minded Republicans elected to office. Our members need to be involved closely and actively with current campaigns, and we will be encouraging some members to run for office themselves whenever possible. From our point of view, all elected political offices are significant because all elected offices can impact on our Liberty. A lot can be accomplished running for a school board or a city council seat. And, let's face it, today's local leaders are often tomorrow's state and national legislators.
Therefore, we must also be actively involved in Republican Party activities at the state and local level. Republican Party policy needs to be influenced by individuals who hold the real Reagan beliefs that "Government is not the solution to our problems, Government is the problem". In some states we actually have individuals who claim to be Republican who are fighting to implement state income taxes and other anti-Liberty laws. We have some of these "Republicans in Name Only" or "RINO's" who see nothing wrong in curtailing the very freedoms that make America great. Simply put, the Republican Liberty Caucus does not think that these individuals should be the standard bearers for the party of Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater.
Simply by making it possible for Liberty minded people to get involved, the Republican Liberty Caucus can and should become the standard bearer of the Republican Party. And, that is where the organization of the national Republican Liberty Caucus becomes important.
While the state organizations are best at battling in the trenches and winning individual campaigns, the national organization can sometimes be better at getting recognition for our efforts. The national Board of the Republican Liberty Caucus can reach out to the media in ways that state chapters often cannot. And the national organization can connect with other Republican groups, issue groups and think tanks in ways that would be inefficient for 50 individual state organizations. With such recognition, other groups and individuals will see our quest to have Liberty minded candidates elected to office as a winning cause, and they will be willing to help us at the state level.
The primary goal of the Republican Liberty Caucus is to help Liberty minded candidates -- those who will "support and defend the Constitution of the United States" -- get elected to office. Our secondary goal is to provide a viable organization that will help Liberty minded Republicans join together to succeed in our primary goal.
Douglas Lorenz is the National Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus, which was formed in 1990 to promote the principles of free enterprise, limited government and individual liberty within the Republican Party. He can be reached by e-mail at Doug@Lorenz.Net.
NOTE: The RLC is active in a few States. Most notably are Texas(2), California(3) and Kentucky(4).
According to Scott Jordan, the newly proposed California State Chairman, their chapter is quite active:
"In this election cycle, for example, California's Reagan-style Bill Simon was the come-from-behind landslide winner against the establishment-supported mainstream RINO favorite. This was no surprise to the RLC, which was the first national organization to endorse Simon's campaign -- about a year before the primary! And the RLC worked hard to ensure Simon's nomination, including telephone-bank efforts mounted in the Bay Area(3), which Simon amazingly carried, despite the region's well-known liberalism.
"Under its new leadership, the RLC is coming out swinging to ensure that Liberty principles and Constitutional fidelity prevail in this and future elections. These are the most exciting days yet for the RLC -- check it out."
Texas, of course, has the RLC's first Chairman, Rep. Ron Paul, and other office holders. They already have a slate of candidates ready for this election cycle.
Kentucky RLC helped six out of seven RLC candidates get elected in the last election cycle and is already working on a very impressive slate for this and the next cycle.
4. Mike Moreland at: mrm.bluegill1@insightbb.com
The above article mentions and links to the RLC.
True. Read how they sent a rep to the libertarian Karl Hess Club
Doesn't he support the war on drugs, and oppose abortion rights? Doesn't he support US foreign aid, and foreign invervention?
If so, just how "libertarian" is Simon? And how "libertarian" is the RLC?
Ron Paul, yes. But Simon?
Today I attended a local GOP rally in Northern Kentucky.
While looking around the room I saw most of those new liberty minded politicians, (the RLC members in attendance that were elected in the last election).
In the crowded room I observed another phenomonem: There in the hall, I saw three of seven RLC Ky state senators, one of those is running for governor in next year's primary. One RLC member is the President Pro Tem of the Ky Senate.
I also recruited two more RLC members from the Ky House of Reps who have scored at least 80% on Rand Paul's Ky Taxpayers United score card as "Friends of the Taxpayer".
Also in attendance was another RLC member that will compete against the RLC State Senator in the primary for Ky governor 2003. That being a House of Representatives member of wide popular appeal.
Also the last Republican governor (retired), an RLC member, was in attendance, as well as candidates for at least 15 various local offices in the Northern Ky counties who are RLC members.
All of these people are committed libertarian thinkers.
(another side note) The RLC favorite candidate of 2000 for Congress was in attendance today....FReeper Don Bell, the retired Secret Service agent.
What happened to that July 4th digital photo that I sent to you and Doug Fiedor of the four RLC Ky state Senators?
Maybe JimRob can post the picture on this thread, for all to see, our RLC contribution to liberty here in Kentucky.
From right to left: Back in 1988, I attended a Ron Paul fundraiser in California (Ed Clark was there too). When Paul announced his position on abortion, there were gasps in the audience.
I have trouble accepting that as a possibility. In addition to the history of the RLC as a powerless sub group within the Republican Party I have the further input of my current environment.
I live in Johnson County, Kansas. Here the Republican Party is paramount but is divided into two groups that literally hate each other more than they do the Dems.
We have one group that is generally conservative and call themselves that. The other group calls themselves Moderate. The position of the moderates would be appropriate for the Democrats anywhere else.
The MODs are for gun control, love to raise taxes, support abortion including public financing-in other words, they are quasi-Democrats.
There are several primary races brewing here that are MODs vs conservatives. Mostly there is no general election opposition so the primary winner is it. (Kind of reminds you of the old south, doesn't it?)
For state legislative seats, there will be precious few elections in November. Just a few challenged by Libertarians and Democrats. All the interest will be at the higher level seats-Govenor, Senator and Congress.
If the RLC is to be useful, they must be here supporting or being part of the conservative faction. The moderate faction is over the top liberal and not moveable. It certainly doesn't seem like a libertarian should be joining the Republican Party hoping to change them when there is already such a battle going on.
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