The Republican Liberty Caucus

In the 40s and 50s, a movement of communist idealists were discovered attempting to infiltrate their ideology into the American form of Republic government. It was brought out into the open, and sent running.

In the 60s a movement of socialistic idealists decided to try for another attempt at under-cutting our American government and instead of failing, managed to get their toes into the Democratic Party.

In the 70s a movement of libertarian idealists decided to try and return our government to its roots that were based on liberty and freedom. The infiltration simply didn't work, and the two party system is still in control of the election.

Where does this put the Republican Party?

I believe there is a new Republican group sitting right in front of us and I sampled their positions this last weekend at their convention in Atlanta, Georgia. The name of this group is "Republican Liberty Caucus" and they have some of the brightest minds I have ever met or read. I came away from this convention with a positive and enthusiastic attitude that America has a future of freedom and liberty just waiting to be discovered.

My tendency was to take notes and quote each speaker who expressed his opinions clearly and without the usual political spin. I have decided not to do this but give an overview of their opinions and future plans, and instead use the space to give a shortened version of their "Position Statement."

It was approved at the General Membership meeting that libertarian Republicans believe in limited government, individual freedom and personal responsibility; the government has no money nor power not derived from the consent of the people; people have the right to keep the fruits of their labor; and they believe in upholding the US Constitution as the supreme law of the land.

The actual position statement will be found at the end of this article.

I would like to explain that our guests for the 3-day meeting were Congressman Ron Paul of Texas who explained the problem facing the House in 2000 and 2001.

Congress Bob Barr spoke about the problems facing the House and Senate with regard to the privacy issues, such as the attempt of the Federal government to build and maintain a database with information on everybody being included. His actions have kept these systems at a minimum, but there is always more waiting in the wings.

Mike Tanner (Cato) spoke on the problems facing Social Security and how necessary a privatization of this system should be made available to all the American workers as an option or choice. This information can be found in detail on the Cato Institute web site.

The Saturday evening speaker was Lew Rockwell of the von Mises Institute. Lew spoke on the history of the political scene in America. He also stressed the point that viable third parties are not going to be successful and we would all be better off working for the libertarian Republican position described in this article.

His speech was inspiring and I will request he post it on his web site.

These wonderful men were not the only speakers during this convention, but as most of us know their political opinions, it was exciting to see them all aligning with our movement.

ACTION! ACTION! ACTION!

Now for the most exciting report are the new libertarian Republicans who wandered in and out of the entire convention. Each one had one shared agenda, which was to infiltrate the Republican Party and bring it into line with the libertarian Republican Party that is so necessary at this time. Our model is, of course, the success if the collectivists (socialists) to infiltrate into the Democratic Party. We feel the time has come to bring liberty and freedom back to America by searching out good House/Senate representatives and getting them elected.

Note: One new congressman from Idaho was named as a good example of what hard work and a good agenda can do. Keep you eye on Butch Otter! That name can't be easily forgotten.

I met another young man from New Jersey who was a new name to me, but who lost to the New Jersey congressman Bob Franks in the Republican primary, who lost to Corzine in the Senate race. Keep your eye on Murray Sabrin! Murray is a fabulous speaker who has all the right issues under his agenda. Any New Jersey readers please remember his name as he represents a new GOP party.

All Michigan voters let me introduce you to Leon Drolet who is running for Michigan's state legislature.

Website addresses are listed below.

So What Do We Do Now?

We need to get trained on how to make the libertarian changes within our Republican Party. There is a Campaign Newsletter and School available for all candidates or supporters who are determined to sneak into the backdoor of the GOP. If they let us in the front door, all the better!

Chuck Muth is the Political Education Director and has a web site for further information for our use when all these new candidates are discovered. Chuck is a wonderful speaker and would add all the answers to the questions of where to start first. He is in Las Vegas Nevada and I am hoping he will have his Campaign Management School in his city next year.

On my own site, I will keep the RLC Position Statement and any other potential candidates who agree with the Republican Liberty Caucus positions. This is not a platform but just a position statement of the basics of the new libertarian Republican plan of action.

There is another bright young man who is as vital to the movement as any candidate. His name is David Kamioner. is President of Kamioner and Associates in Wyomissing, PA. and he does campaign management, media consulting and staff training. His motto is: "Turning Democrat Fears into Reality."

Web Sites of Members Mentioned Above

• Republican Liberty Caucus
• Congressman Ron Paul
• Congressman Bob Barr
• Cato Institute
• Lew Rockwell
• Murray Sabrin
• Chuck Muth
• David Kamioner
• Sandra Price

REPUBLICAN LIBERTY CAUCUS POSITION STATEMENT

• Federalism: The power of the federal government should be limited, as per the 10th amendment to the U.S. constitution.
• Education: The U.S. Department of Education should be abolished, leaving the education decision making at the state, local or personal level. Parents have the right to spend their money on the school or method of schooling they deem appropriate for their children.
• Health Care: Free market health care alternatives, such as medical savings accounts, should be available to everyone, including seniors. The federal entitlement to Medicare should be abolished leaving health care decision making regarding the elderly at the state, local or personal level.
• Taxation: The tax system of the United States should be overhauled. Taxes should be imposed by legislative bodies, not by the judiciary, and not by regulatory agencies. There should be a national debate discussing various alternative means of taxation including but not limited to a single flat income tax, repealing the income tax and replacing it with a national sales tax, and reducing spending to the point where the income tax can be repealed without the need to replace it with a national sales tax or any other form of taxation. The capital gains tax should be eliminated. The inheritance tax should be eliminated. The new tax system should be implemented promptly.
• Welfare: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services should be abolished, leaving decision making on welfare and related matters at the state, local or personal level. All Americans have the right to keep the fruits of their labor to support themselves, their families and whatever charities they so choose, without interference from the federal government. All able-bodied Americans have the responsibility to support themselves and their family.
• Criminal Justice: Every American has the right to keep and bear arms. All people, regardless of position in the public or private sector, should be held equally accountable under the law. The only litmus test for Supreme Court or other judges should be their determination to accurately interpret, not amend, the Constitution. Judges have no authority to make new law.
• Campaign Finance Reform: Election campaigns should not be subsidized by the taxpayers. No individual should be compelled to support a political candidate he or she does not support. Government should not empower trade unions to collect funds from their members for use as political contributions without their members' expressed consent. All limits on campaign contributions should be eliminated. There should be full and timely public disclosure of all the sources and amounts of all campaign contributions upon their receipt.
• Federal Budget: There should be an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to require a balanced budget, provided it includes a supermajority requirement to raise taxes and provided it does not empower the judiciary to unilaterally raise taxes. Honest accounting dictates that all federal expenditures should be "on budget." Each budget should be derived based upon the justification for and needs of each program, with no program being either budgeted for or increased automatically.
• Government Reform: The following Agencies and Departments should be abolished, per the tenth amendment of the U.S. Constitution: The U.S. Department of Commerce, The National Endowment for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Humanities, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Subsidies to agricultural and other businesses should be eliminated. Corporate taxes should be eliminated simultaneously and proportionally with the elimination of subsidies to businesses. Recommendations by the Grace Commission and the Council for citizens Against Government Waste should be reviewed and implemented, where possible, beginning immediately. Privatization of government assets, management and services should be implemented for cost-effectiveness wherever applicable.
• Trade: The U.S. government should inhibit neither the exportation of U.S. goods and services worldwide, nor the importation of goods and services. The U.S. should not be answerable to any governing body outside the U.S. for its trade policy.
• Defense: U.S. military should be deployed only where there is a clear threat to vital U.S. interests and only with the consent of the U.S. Congress. It is the duty of the federal government to provide a system to defend against missile attacks. No branch of the military should be put in harm's way without a clear entrance and exit strategy and a goal, which when achieved, constitutes victory. U.S. military personnel should always be under U.S. Command. U.S. Armed forces should be all volunteer. Military draft registration should be eliminated. Foreign aid is often more harmful than helpful and should be curtailed.
• Property Rights: The government should not take private property without just compensation. All unconstitutional regulation of private property should be repealed.
• Drugs: While recognizing the harm that drug abuse causes society, we also recognize that government drug policy has been ineffective and has led to frightening abuses of the Bill of Rights which could affect the personal freedom of any American. We, therefore, support alternatives to the "War on Drugs." Per the tenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution, matters such as drugs should be handled at the state or personal level. All laws which give license to violate the Bill of Rights should be repealed.

For further information on this Position Statement, please contact the national RLC office at 1-800-752-9646

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