Republican Liberty Caucus
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The Republican Liberty Caucus is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of individual rights, limited government and free enterprise within the Republican Party in the United States by:
A. Promoting these ideals among Party officials and its various organizations;
B. Identifying and supporting candidates sympathetic with these ideals; and
C. Promoting Caucus membership among Party registrants, officials, and officeholders.
It can be considered the "libertarian" wing of the Republican Party. It also operates a political action committee, RLCUSA-PAC.
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[edit] History
The roots of the Republican Liberty Caucus can be traced to three precursor organizations from which it derived most of its early memberships: the Libertarian Republican Alliance [LRA], the "Radical Caucus" of the Libertarian Party [LP], and the Libertarian Republican Organizing Committee [LROC]. Joe Gentili, Larry Penner and Gerry O'Brien founded the LRA in Brooklyn in 1972. The organization disbanded in 1981 in light of the growing successes of the LP during the same period. The "Radical Caucus" split from the LP, but failed to develop into a viable organization. The LROC, founded in 1988 by Justin Raimondo, Eric Garris and Colin Hunter, developed a large mailing list and supported several Republican federal campaigns in California, but its efforts to expand into a national organization were not successful. Although the LROC was active for seven years, publishing "The Libertarian Republican" newsletter, participation in the organization dwindled and they eventually lost their financial support.
The organization "Republican Liberty Caucus" was first founded by Vernon Robinson and used in the 1976 gubernatorial campaign of Art Pope of North Carolina by a group of libertarians supporting his campaign. Later in the 1980s, the North Carolina RLC was listed for a time as a state chapter of the Libertarian Republican Organizing Committee (LROC). Initially, the organization was listed as a state chapter of the North Carolina LROC. The NC Chapter first disaffiliated from LROC in 1988, but then became inactive after the elections in 1988.
The organization as it exists today however was expanded in 1990. During a Young Republicans Convention, in 1990 Eric Dondero Rittberg called a meeting with a group of Florida Libertarian Republicans, including Phil Blumel, Tom Walls and Rex Curry, to break with LROC and form the Florida Republican Liberty Caucus. The organization was expanded by Eric Dondero Rittberg on a national level in Tallahassee, Florida in May of 1990. Other existing LROC affiliates, most notably New Jersey and Virginia, quickly disaffiliated with LROC and joined with the FL RLC to form a coalition. In 1991 LROC went defunct. Dondero-Rittberg was elected First National Chairman. A year later former Libertarian Party Presidential candidate Roger MacBride joined the group.
On April 6, 1991, at the Naples, Florida estate of Roger MacBride, a meeting was held to formally organize the national RLC and plan for a July 1991 "coming out party" at the National Young Republicans Convention. Amongst other things it was decided at this meeting to start the RLC newsletter "Republican Liberty" publication funded by MacBride, as well create the RLC "Council of Trustees". Today the RLC is a national organization with 12 chartered state organizations and members in every state.
In 2004, the Republican Liberty Caucus endorsed the Free State Project, saying: "The Republican Liberty Caucus endorses and supports the objective of the Free State Project (FSP), to gather together liberty-lovers in a single political subdivision of the United States, specifically New Hampshire, in order to 'exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of civil government is the protection of life, liberty, and property.'
We urge RLC members to support the FSP effort and work within the Republican Party of New Hampshire to reduce government power by promoting the ideals of individual rights, limited government and free enterprise."[1]
[edit] Principles
The following is the published list of the RLC guiding principles
The Republican Liberty Caucus supports individual rights, limited government and free enterprise.
We believe every human being is endowed by nature with inherent rights to life, liberty and property that are properly secured by law. We support a strict construction of the Bill of Rights as a defense against tyranny; the expansion of those rights to all voluntary consensual conduct under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments; and the requirements of equal protection and due process under the Fourteenth Amendment.
We support the Constitutional restrictions on federal government powers enumerated in Article I, Section 8 as an absolute limit on all government functions and programs. We oppose the adoption of broad and vague powers under the guise of general welfare or interstate commerce.
We oppose all restrictions on the voluntary and honest exchange of value in a free market. We favor minimal, equitable, and fair taxation for the essential functions of government. We oppose all legislation that concedes Congressional power to any regulatory agency, executive department, or international body.
We support the Constitution as the supreme law of the land, the republican form of government it requires, and the right of all citizens to fair and equitable representation.
We believe these are also the proper positions of the Republican Party.
[edit] Purpose
The following is the purpose or goal of the RLC in every state.
After decades of New Deal and Great Society social activism ... combined with the rapid decline in civics and American history education in the United States 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. Republican Liberty Caucus candidates focus 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 the Republican party, the Republican Liberty Caucus helps avoid a potential exodus to Libertarian, Constitutional, and other third parties, which would open the door to big-government victories from leftist candidates. The Republican Liberty Caucus is proud to promote the GOP's smaller-government message. Limited government, individual liberty and free market ideas will win by inclusion.
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.
[edit] Advisory board
Advisory Board members include some members of the US House of Representatives and Senate. Included are: Ron Paul, John Shadegg, and Jeff Flake. Mark Foley was a member prior to his resignation. Other Advisory Board members include Robert Poole, Jennifer Roback-Morse, and Mark Skousen.
[edit] Officers
Officers of the RLC include Bill Westmiller, Chairman; Phil Blumel, Vice-Chairman; Thomas Sewell, Secretary and Jeff Palmer, Treasurer.
[edit] State Affiliates
The RLC has state contacts or state affiliates in most states. Activists are connected via state RLC YahooGroups.
[edit] Candidates
The RLC PAC endorses candidates based on these criteria. Past endorsed candidates include Governors Butch Otter, Mark Sanford, Gary E. Johnson, and William Weld, U.S. Senators George Allen, John Ensign, and Jim DeMint, and U.S. Congressmen Roscoe Bartlett, Helen Chenoweth, Jeff Flake, Ron Paul, Dana Rohrabacher, and Paul Ryan. Prominent RLC-endorsed state legislators include Tom Brinkman of Ohio, Frank Lasee of Wisconsin, Mike Haridopolos of Florida, and David Shafer of Georgia.
[edit] Liberty Index
The Liberty Index rates members of Congress on their official roll call votes during each session of the House and Senate. For each Chamber, twenty votes on economic issues and twenty votes on personal liberty are selected to rank members for their support of individual liberties.
These forty votes are chosen and tallied by Professor Clifford F. Thies to create an index from 0% to 100% measuring how much the member has voted in favor of economic and personal liberty.
Thies is a Professor of Economics and Finance at Shenandoah University (Virginia) and a past Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus.
