Republican Liberty Caucus
 |
|
| Founded | 1991 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Key people |
Dave Nalle, Chairman |
The Republican Liberty Caucus is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party in the United States.[1] It is part of the libertarian wing of the Republican Party.[2] It also operates a political action committee, the RLC-USA PAC.[3]
The organization was founded in 1991 and has chapters in many states.[4] In 2011, the organization hosted its National Convention in Arlington, Virginia.[5]
Contents |
[edit] Issues
The RLC works within the Republican Party to influence the party to adopt the RLC's agenda.[6] As one activist put it, "We're trying to reintroduce the Republican platform to the Republican Party."[7]
The RLC favors individual freedom and limited government.[8] Specifically, the RLC favors reduced government intrusion, lower taxes, elimination of federal agencies, less regulation, a strong national defense with fewer military bases abroad, and no foreign aid.[9]
In 2010, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas denounced the new state Republican Party platform that supported criminalization of sodomy and making same-sex marriage a felony.[10]
[edit] Leadership
National Officers [11]
- National Chairman: Dave Nalle (Texas)
- National Vice Chairman: Eduardo J. Lopez-Reyes (New Hampshire)
- Secretary: Corie C. Whalen (Texas)
- Treasurer: Matthew Nye (Florida)
Chairmen
| # | Chairman | Term | State[12] | Notes[13] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barbara Rittberg | 1991-1992 | Florida | |
| 2 | Roger MacBride | 1992–1995 | Florida | |
| 3 | Ron Paul | 1995–2000 | Texas | |
| 4 | Chuck Muth | 2000-2001 | Nevada | |
| 5 | Ron Paul | 2001–2002 | Texas | (Honorary) |
| 6 | Douglas Lorenz | 2002–2004 | California | |
| 7 | Bill Westmiller | 2004–2009 | California | |
| 8 | Dave Nalle | 2009–Present | Texas |
[edit] Endorsements
[edit] Presidential endorsements
The Republican Liberty Caucus' process for endorsing presidential candidates is described in the organization's Bylaws and Rules:
A candidate for President of the United States may be endorsed by the Caucus by a 2/3 vote of the active and voting Chartered state’s executive committees. The national Secretary shall notify all Chartered states of a favorable national board proposal for endorsement and state executive officers shall inform the Secretary of the approval or denial by their executive committee within 60 days. [14]
Since the Caucus' founding in 1991, only two candidates have been able to galvanize this level of support: Steve Forbes 1996 and Ron Paul in 2012. Although Forbes ran again in 2000, the organization remained neutral in that primary and has not endorsed a specific Republican candidate in any primary since. In a press release published December 30, 2011, the RLC endorsed Ron Paul for President.[15]
[edit] 2012 Endorsements[16][17]
On November 2, 2011, the Republican Liberty Caucus announced its first two endorsements in the 2012 election: Barry Hinckley, running in the Republican primary in Rhode Island, and Brian K. Hill, running in the Republican primary in Connecticut. The Republican nominee in Rhode Island will be challenging Democratic United States Senator Sheldon Whitehouse while the Republican nominee in Connecticut will be running for an open seat being vacated by independent United States Senator Joseph Lieberman.[18]
- Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul from Texas
- U.S. Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky
- U.S. Senator Mike Lee from Utah
- U.S. Senator Jim DeMint from South Carolina
- U.S. Senator Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania
- Governor Paul LePage of Maine
- Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina
- U.S. Representative Ron Paul from Texas
- U.S. Representative Roscoe Bartlett from Maryland
- U.S. Representative Tom McClintock from California
- U.S. Representative Justin Amash from Michigan
- U.S. Representative Jeff Flake from Arizona
- U.S. Representative Scott Garrett from New Jersey
- U.S. Representative Jimmy Duncan from Tennessee
- U.S. Representative Steve Chabot from Ohio
- U.S. Representative Jim Jordan from Ohio
- U.S. Representative Adrian M. Smith from Nebraska
- U.S. Representative Chip Cravaack from Minnesota
- U.S. Representative Mick Mulvaney from South Carolina
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Republican Liberty Caucus - Home
- ^ Hallow, Ralph (21 May 2001). "GOP will court its libertarian wing New group forms amid fears of splitting party strength". Washington Times: p. A4. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WT&p_theme=wt&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EC2F4AEADB74144&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM/.
- ^ RLC-USA PAC
- ^ History of the Republican Liberty Caucus. 2-20-2011. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
- ^ Republican Liberty Caucus Celebrates Twenty Years. 2-15-2011. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
- ^ Guinta, Peter. GOP warns dissident wing. Quoting William Westmiller, former RLC National Chair. Palm Beach Post, 7-2-2008. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ^ Scott, Sam. Ron Paul Cured Their Apathy. Star News, 5-3-2008. Quoting Tom Heitman, Cape Fear RLC. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ^ Moffett gets support of Republican Liberty Caucus. Lexington Herald-Leader, 4-14-2011. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ^ Guinta, Peter. GOP warns dissident wing. Palm Beach Post, 7-2-2008. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ^ Mataconis, Doug. Texas RLC Denounces Anti-Gay Planks in Party Platform. UnitedLiberty.org, 6-26-2010. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ^ Massachusetts | Republican Liberty Caucus
- ^ The Republican Liberty Caucus Library, Republican Liberty Caucus: Background and Early History, accessed November 24, 2011.
- ^ The Republican Liberty Caucus, History of our Movement, accessed November 24, 2011.
- ^ Bylaws and Rules of the Republican Liberty Caucus
- ^ Republican Liberty Caucus endorses Ron Paul
- ^ Elected Officials | Republican Liberty Caucus
- ^ 2010 Endorsed Candidates | Republican Liberty Caucus
- ^ Republican Liberty Caucus Announces First Endorsements for 2012
