REPUBLICAN LIBERTY CAUCUS NEWS

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.

I sincerely believe that it is feasible to move the entire party to the right if enough Liberty-minded people would join the RLC and get active in their local committees.

I can't help but wholeheartedly agree with you, Jim. Except, isn't the Constitution the center of our political spectrum?

Picky, picky, picky . . . I know. :-) But, therein seems to be a problem we are having. The words Right, Left, Conservative and Liberal mean different things to different people around the country. Consequently, it is not always that easy to accurately define exactly where most of the folks in the Republican Liberty Caucus fit in.

So, I prefer to say we are the center of the political spectrum -- where the Constitution is -- defending where the original intent of the Funding Fathers intended our central government to be. From there, we have both the Right and the Left. Both are groups who deviate from the Constitution, just usually in different ways.

This sounds almost like a silly little argument, but there's a method to my foolishness. As we went around talking with people about the RLC, I soon noticed that there were not really good words with which to describe our primary position. That's because the socialist propagandists have corrupted words like liberal and conservative to such an extent that they actually have reverse meanings in this country today.

So, it came down to just asking people to read the name of the group. Our middle name is "Liberty". That's the short description of what we support. The longer version takes a little longer to explain.

But, shortening the explanation for the moment, most RLC members are strong Constitutionalists and believe government should be operated as intended by the authors of our Constitution. Therefore, we are neither on the right or the left, neither liberals or conservatives. We do not support politicians who deviate from the Constitution in either direction. Therefore, we must be political centrists. Another problem is that the socialist propagandists have also corrupted the political term "centrist" somewhat. Yet, they still use it favorably once in a while. So, we can take it out and shine it up enough for our own use. It will confuse the liberals for some time, but that's fine with me.

In fact, when we define the term by stating that the Constitution is our political center and the political camps on the right and left are deviants from the Constitution, a great number of disenfranchised Americans start taking notice. That's because it's a simple truth that is very easy to understand. It's the socialist propagandists among us who want to make everything so complicated. That's because, by keeping all these political terms indefinite, they know it makes it much more difficult for us to define and talk about them.

Not on this end, though. I support and defend the Constitution as written and originally explained in The Federalist Papers and in other writings of the Founding Fathers. I shall not deviate to the right or the left. Which means, I am a centrist. I am not a political moderate. That's different. I am a centrist.

Silly, eh? But, doesn?t that more correctly define where many of us are really coming from?

The RLC sounds like what I'm looking for, it just hasn't found my state yet.

Well . . . then cause something. :-)

Get a few like-minded friends together and start a chapter. Contact RightOnTheLeftCoast, The Irate Magistrate or Doug Lorenz -- even me, for that matter -- via e-mail and join in.

We have materials and suggestions to share with other chapters and there is absolutely no reason anymore for a fledgling group to have to feel their way around while starting up.

Recruiting new members is easy. Many Americans know the Constitution and see that it is not obeyed. And, really, there are not many people around who are not interested in protecting their own personal Liberty.

Still, it is suggested that you have a small core group and some organization set up before you start recruiting and get growing pains. But, again, that is easy. For instance, you will soon find that many active Republicans are active simply because they are interested in protecting Liberty. Which means, they will immediately be interested in an RLC chapter.

I would also suggest that you closely check the RLC.org web site and read the national by-laws and whatever is still suggested for State and local chapters. Then, either design your own or copy what is suggested or Kentucky's. Again, there is not a lot to this, but it takes a couple hours to become familiar with it all. And, it's best to have some things well settled and in place when the doors open up to newcomers.

Heck, someplace we even have a little tri-fold to hand out advertising the group. That has attracted quite a few new members over the past couple years.

In short, among Republicans, the RLC is an easy sell because there are many of them who tend to have libertarian leanings. You will quickly learn that many of the Republican benefactors do, too. So, that tends to make things easier as you grow.

Anyway, plenty of help is available.

LIBERTY-WATCH
Republican Liberty Caucus eNEWSLETTER
JULY 17, 2002

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National Republican Liberty Caucus 2002 Convention:

August 10, 2002 - San Antonio, Texas

The National RLC Executive Committee has decided to meet in the same city and day as the Texas RLC Convention in order to take advantage of the growth and activity that the Texas Chapter has experienced. Any and all members of the RLC, Texas and National, are welcome to attend the National RLC Convention, so if you're a member, please attend. Our special luncheon speakers will be Jerry Patterson, Republican Candidate for Texas Land Commissioner and Suzanna Gratia Hupp, Republican State Representative. Jerry Patterson is the former Texas Senator that lead the cause for getting the Texas Concealed Handgun Law passed. Suzanna Gratia Hupp is also a well known leader and spokesperson for 2nd amendment rights; she has made many appearances on radio and tv shows such as Politically Incorrect.

WHAT: 2002 National Republican Liberty Caucus Convention
WHEN: Saturday, August 10, 2002, 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM
WHERE:
- ROOM: Bolero Room
  HOTEL: Holiday Inn
  217 N Saint Marys St
  San Antonio, TX
  210-224-2500
  Get Maps & Directions
- The Holiday Inn Riverwalk is Located on the Riverwalk and a short walking distance to Fat Tuesdays restaurant, where the RLC of Texas Convention is being held. We will be joining the RLC of Texas Luncheon, at 1PM, with Suzanna Gratia Hupp, Republican State Representative, and Jerry Patterson, Republican Candidate for Texas Land Commissioner.
- RLC of Texas Convention
  Fat Tuesday
  111 W. Crockett St.
  San Antonio, TX
  210-212-7886
  Get Maps & Directions
AGENDA:
- 9:00 AM - Bylaws and misc.
- 10:00 AM - Election of officers
- 11:00 AM - Formation of Sub-Committees
- 12:30 PM - End of meeting (Walk over to RLC of Texas meeting for luncheon)
COST: $15 for members (Includes luncheon.)
SPECIAL AUDIENCE MEMBERS:
- Doug Lorenz, Chairman, National RLC, California
- Murray Sabrin, Vice-Chairman, National RLC, New Jersey
- Richard Relph, Treasurer, National RLC, Texas
- William Westmiller, Secretary, National RLC, California
- Penny Langford, Rep. Ron Paul's Political Director, Texas
LOCAL HOTEL ARRANGEMENTS,
- Holiday Inn, 217 N Saint Marys St, San Antonio, TX
- Rooms: 20 rooms have an "RLC bloc" for Friday/Saturday nights. The rate is $109+tax (better than their "lowest" rate), with 16.75% hotel tax (gak), the total w/ tax is $127.26/night. Check in is 3:00 pm, departure is noon. Self parking charge is $10/day plus tax; valet parking is $15/day plus tax.
- Reservations: 1-800-445-8475
OTHER NEARBY HOTELS:
- Hyatt Regency Hotel, 123 Losoya St, 210-222-1234,
- La Mansion del Rio, 112 College St, 210-518-1000.
- Both of these hotels are likely more expensive than the Holiday Inn. There are other hotels on the Riverwalk and all are in reasonable walking distance of the Holiday Inn.
TRANSPORTATION:
- There is a Star Shuttle service available at the airport luggage pick up area which delivers to the hotel for a nominal fee.
- Unless you want to do additional sightseeing in the area, there is no need to rent a car since the Riverwalk area contains many shops, restaurants and other entertainment options within walking distance.
DRESS:
- It is hot in August in San Antonio. The Riverwalk area is somewhat cooler but shorts will be commonly seen. All shops and stores, etc are airconditioned.
- It can rain quite heavily due to summer tropical storms so an umbrella can come in handy.

RSVP to Mr. Mike Holmes
National RLC Alternate
Michael_E_Holmes@compuserve.com
(281) 492-6608

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Our Purpose:

After decades of New Deal and Great Society social activism ... combined with the rapid decline in civics and American history education in our government-run public schools ... mixed with a growing population of ill-informed and apathetic voters ... government at every level in this country continues to be too big, too intrusive and too expensive.

Founded in 1990, the Republican Liberty Caucus works to advance the principles of limited government, individual liberty and free markets within the Republican Party and throughout the United States. Our focus is on a broad range of issues, including education, taxation, property rights, gun rights, free speech, federalism and the proper role of government.

In addition to giving disenfranchised smaller-government Republicans a home by creating incentive to stay in our party, the Republican Liberty Caucus helps avoid a potential exodus to Libertarian, Constitutional, and other third parties, which would end up weakening our thin margin over the Democrats, thus opening the door to big-government victories from leftist candidates. The Republican Liberty Caucus is proud to promote the GOP's smaller-government message. Our limited government, individual liberty and free market ideas will win by inclusion. There is strength in numbers.

While rolling back decades of government "nannyism" will require a great deal of public education and grassroots lobbying, the most important means of changing public policy is to change public officials. Therefore, the Republican Liberty Caucus works to elect pro-liberty Republicans to offices at all levels, partisan and non-partisan, in both primary and general elections.

The Republican Liberty Caucus is committed not to just electing more Republicans ... but better ones, as well.

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Committee:

Chairman:
Doug Lorenz
Doug@Lorenz.net
California

Vice-Chairman:
Murray Sabrin
ViceChair@rlc.org
Leonia, NJ
(201) 947-7449

Treasurer:
Richard Relph
Treasurer@rlc.org
Austin, TX

Secretary:
William Westmiller
Thousand Oaks, CA
(805) 493-4332

At-Large:
Thomas Walls
Hallandale, FL

Mike Ostrolenk
Rockville, MD

Brian Kelley
Fairfax, VA

John Reed
Austin, TX

Jennifer Brower
Naperville, IL

Alternates:

Michael Holmes
Houston, TX

***********************************

Become a Dues Paying Member:

Option A:
Join online via our Secure
Connection:
Secure Online Membership Section
http://www.rlc.org/
Option B:
Write $30 check out to:
The Republican Liberty Caucus
Mail to:
Republican Liberty Caucus
201 W. Stassney Lane 181-B
Austin, TX 78745

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