What is the best path forward electorally for liberty in 2018 and beyond?

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July 24, 2017

This past Saturday I sat in on an interesting session at FreedomFest in Las Vegas. It was entitled “What will it take to win in 2018, 2020 – and beyond?”, and the panel was populated by several notable libertarian figures, one of whom was Nick Sarwark, the Chair of the Libertarian Party (LP).

During the discussion Sarwark scolded members of the audience that voted for Trump, and wondered aloud how they could be so smart when it came to financial concerns and so mistaken on matters of politics. He exhorted them to let the Republican Party die, and to stop sending “jolts of electricity through its dying body”.

I wish I had been invited to participate on the panel, because I believe I would have brought significant value to the discussion. All of the panelists were attacking the problem from the premise the LP is the only vehicle to move the liberty agenda forward in government.

As the National Chairman for the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC), the “libertarian wing” of the Republican Party, I disagree with that premise. I will be the first to admit the Republican Party is a mess, and I have been an incessant critic for many years for reasons too numerous to count. Having said that, I still believe the best chance for liberty to prevail electorally lies within the GOP. Here’s why:

The two-party system is rigged in favor of the major parties. From ballot access to the way states handle primaries, the deck is stacked against ALL third parties. I don’t like it, but this is a fact of reality, and it’s not going to change any time soon. While I applaud Sarwark’s “damn the torpedoes” attitude and ability to pull and perfectly recite great George Bernard Shaw quotes out of thin air, it is highly unlikely that the LP’s track record for getting state or federal candidates elected is going to change any time soon, because the laws aren’t going to change any time soon.

Speaking of track record, the LP has been around for 46 years now, and is indisputably the most successful third party in the history of American politics. While the party has been reasonably successful in getting its message out about free market economics, property rights and the legalization of victimless crimes, it doesn’t have much of a track record when it comes to wins at the ballot box on the state or federal level. As I write this, the highest ranking Libertarian in the country is a Nebraska State Senator named Laura Ebke. Laura is the former National Secretary of the Republican Liberty Caucus, and was elected to office as… a Republican. She then switched her affiliation to Libertarian in an act of defiance after a few dust ups with the state’s overbearing and hyper-partisan Republican Governor.In fact, every notable past libertarian-minded elected official I can recall at the federal level was, in fact, elected as Republican. Bob Barr from Georgia? Republican. Ron Paul from Texas? Republican. There is a reason they ran as Republicans, and it isn’t because they were “selling out”. The founders of our organization were LP members that recognized in 1991, after only 20 years, that the third-party strategy wasn’t working, and that working within the GOP to inject the liberty message was a better use of time and resources.It’s a simple strategy. Think of the movie “Independence Day” – when the earthlings attack the aliens head on, they are decimated because of the alien’s advanced shield technology; they simply can’t get any of their attacks through. Only after infecting the aliens with a virus are they able to take the mother ship down. While you might wince at the notion of liberty as a “virus”, the liberty message really is infectious, and there is demonstrable proof the strategy works.

To wit: the incredible success of former Congressman Ron Paul, a LP member elected to Congress as a Republican in Texas, should be proof positive working inside the Republican Party is a valid and winnable strategy. While he didn’t succeed in his 2008 presidential run, Dr. Paul literally created a movement, and the effects of his tenure as a Republican Congressman and presidential contender are felt to this day.His son, Senator Rand Paul, is currently the most outspoken advocate for liberty in the Senate, and guess what? That’s right – he ran and won as a Republican. Same for Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, and House Reps Justin Amash, Thomas Massie, Mark Sanford and others. Imagine if we had another 100 others like them in the GOP – it would be a whole different ballgame. Alternatively, imagine if they had run as Libertarians and lost – the world would be a much darker place, indeed.As one of the panelists – social media phenom Julie Borowski – pointed out in response to Sarwark belittling the success of the liberty Republican strategy because there are only five good Liberty Republicans in DC: “Five is better than zero.” Indeed, Ms. Borowski, indeed. From the mouths of babes…

During his remarks, Sarwark disagreed with one of the other panelists assertion they should focus on local elections, and insisted that having a presidential candidate was essential to keeping the party vital and relevant.

If I accepted the premise a third party was the solution, on this point, we would agree. Here’s the problem: the Libertarian Party squandered a truly historic opportunity in 2016 by putting up a candidate that didn’t represent core libertarian values, and probably couldn’t effectively articulate them even if he did. What kind of libertarian argues the baker should bake the cake for the gay couple? This is Property Rights 101 for libertarians, for heaven’s sake. Instead the Johnson/Weld ticket seemed hell bent on pursuing a strategy of pandering to the left and engaging in cringe-worthy antics with reporters in the hope of getting more media attention – even if it was bad.

To be fair, neither of the other party’s candidates were good representations of their party’s stated values either, but if you accept the premise a third party simply can’t win (as I do), the entire point of the Libertarian Party running a presidential candidate is to expose the masses to the liberty message, i.e., the principles of limited government, free markets, individual rights, sound money, non-interventionist foreign policy, etc. The power of libertarianism is the ideas. If the LP runs presidential candidates that don’t actually believe in or represent those ideas, what the hell is the point?

Perhaps the most disturbing thing I heard Sarwark say, though, was his boast that the LP now controls the margin between the R’s and D’s in many districts and would run Libertarian candidates as spoilers in those districts. It wasn’t clear which party’s candidates they are trying to spoil, but Libertarians usually tend to pull votes from Republicans, so I’m guessing they’re the intended target.

While I understand this is a valid political strategy, and I can see its use in spoiling a truly rotten RINO candidate (like Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire), I find it disturbing because I have seen too many instances where the LP ran a candidate against a truly solid liberty Republican and the Libertarian pulled just enough votes to put the Democrat in office. This happened right here in my home town of Brevard County in 2008, and we ended up with eight years of a county commission controlled by said Democrat. This should be considered the “nuclear option” in specific races, not the starting point for every race you engage in. If the approach of the LP is to drop context on races where there is a good liberty Republican and go mindlessly partisan by saying all non-LP candidates are “bad”, I submit it has succumbed to the most base of political instincts and balaity and is in no position to criticize other parties about anything.

While defending the third-party strategy and the accusation he was essentially tilting at windmills, Sarwark quoted George Bernard Shaw’s “the reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man”. I like this quote, but I don’t think Shaw would agree with its use in this context.

I really do wish that our electoral system and laws were different, and that third parties had a fighting chance, but if I had been on stage, I would have responded with Ayn Rand’s famous quote: “You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality,” or, perhaps, the Lev Grossman classic: “If there’s a single lesson that life teaches us, it’s that wishing doesn’t make it so.”

In closing, I wish Mr. Sarwark and my brothers in arms in the LP the best in their endeavors. I think we mostly agree on the ideas and solutions that can put this great country back on track, we just disagree on the most effective way to get there in regards to electoral success.

2020 Presidential Straw Poll at Porcfest

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RLC Staff

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July 2, 2017

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On 6/24 at the Free State Project’s 14th Annual Porcupine Freedom Festival (Porcfest), the Republican Liberty Caucus conducted a 2020 Presidential straw poll for all willing attendees.

The straw poll was conducted exactly like it’s predecessor at the 2015 RLC National Convention in Nashua using not only traditional plurality voting, but approval voting and a rating from 1-5 for any of the listed candidates.

All voters were asked the question, “If the U.S. presidential election was held today…”
1. Which one candidate would you vote for?
2. Which candidates would you vote for if you could vote for as many as you wanted?
3. How would you rate each candidate? (not rating a candidate is equivalent to a 0 rating)

The ballot included the following candidates listed in alphabetical order: Congressman Justin Amash, Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, Iraq War Veteran Adam Kokesh, Businessman John McAfee, Congressman Thomas Massie, Judge Andrew Napolitano, Senator Rand Paul, Radio Host Darryl W. Perry, Businessman Austin Petersen, President Donald Trump, Write-In, None of the Above

Official results of 1 (plurality):

Rand Paul with 24.3%, Darryl W. Perry with 13%, Patrick Byrne with 10.4%, Andrew Napolitano, John McAfee and Donald Trump tied with 7.8%, None of the Above with 6.5%, Justin Amash with 5.2%, Adam Kokesh with 3.9%, Austin Petersen, Thomas Massie, and Write-Ins Ron Paul, Roger Paxton and Will Coley tied with 2.6%.

Official results of 2 (approval voting):

Rand Paul with 55.8%, Andrew Napolitano with 50.6%, John McAfee with 41.6%, Justin Amash with 40.3%, Patrick Byrne with 36.4%, Darryl W. Perry and Adam Kokesh tied with 29.9%, Thomas Massie and Austin Petersen tied with 22.1%, None of the Above with 13%, Donald Trump with 9.1%, Write-In Ron Paul with 3.9%, Write-In Will Coley with 2.6% and Write-Ins Roger Paxton, Edward Snowden, Jesse Ventura, Gary Johnson each with 1.3%.

Official results of 3 (rating 1-5):

Rand Paul with 135.5%, Andrew Napolitano with 117%, John McAfee with 99.5%, Patrick Byrne with 94.5%, Darryl W. Perry with 93%, Adam Kokesh with 88.5%, Justin Amash with 81%, Austin Petersen with 80.5%, Thomas Massie with 75%, and Donald Trump with 67%.

*We did not receive sufficient data/votes for None of the Above or any of the Write-In candidates, therefore they were not given a rating on question three (3) or an overall score below.

Overall Score (1-3)
1. Rand Paul
2. Andrew Napolitano
3. John McAfee
4. Patrick Byrne
5. Darryl W. Perry
6. Justin Amash
7. Adam Kokesh
8. Austin Petersen
8. Donald Trump
10. Thomas Massie

To learn more about Approval Voting, please visit: http://approvalvotingusa.org/
To learn more about Porcfest or the Free State Project, please visit: https://freestateproject.org/

Central Florida to host 2017 RLC National Biennial Convention

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System Administrator

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May 9, 2017

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Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) activists from throughout the country will converge Saturday, May 27th in Orlando at the Rosen Centre Hotel for the 2017 Biennial RLC National Convention. The convention will feature activist training, more than a dozen speakers and multiple information packed panels.

Confirmed speakers include Rep. Ted Yoho, FL-CD3; Author & Talk Show Host Tom Woods; Tenth Amendment Center Founder Michael Boldin; Free Market Warrior Loren Spivak; Young Americans for Liberty President Cliff Maloney Jr; and Success Coach Heather Wagenhals of the Unlock You Wealth Foundation. The full convention agenda can be seen here.

All meals are included in the base convention registration, and attendees can also choose to attend only certain meals in an ala carte fashion. Students receive a special 50% discount off convention registration and meals.

The Republican Liberty Caucus is the oldest continuously-operating volunteer organization of liberty Republicans in the country. The national organization was chartered in 1991 here in Florida at a meeting in Naples.

“The RLC has a long tradition of supporting and promoting those brave candidates and individuals who are willing to stand for the principles of less government, lower taxes and more personal freedom,” Nye said. “With Republicans controlling all three houses, the party needs a conscience now more than ever, and that is the role the RLC was designed to play.”

The 2017 Biennial RLC Convention is open to the public, but only dues-paid members who are certified delegates may participate in deliberations or vote. Details and registration options for the convention can be found here.

Stop Ohio’s Medicaid Expansion NOW!

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Don Stephenson

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April 28, 2017

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REPUBLICAN LIBERTY CAUCUS OF OHIO URGES IMMEDIATE ACTION TO DEFUND OBAMACARE MEDICAID EXPANSION IN CURRENT BUDGET DELIBERATIONS

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Ohio (RLCOH) urges Ohio citizens to contact their representatives in Columbus to urge defeat of budget measures aimed at allowing Obamacare Medicaid expansion to continue as-is in Ohio.

The Ohio bi-annual budget is being debated right now in the Ohio House, and sources feel the vote will be tight on whether or not the Republican majority will defund Obamacare Medicaid expansion.

While 447,000 new Medicaid enrollees were projected by 2020, we already have more than 700,000 new enrollees in Ohio as a result of expansion. The Ohio Department of Medicaid released that Medicaid funding is $5 billion over budget in just 3 years.

“We want the poor and vulnerable to get help,” says Bill Yarbrough, RLCOH Chairman. “However, that’s not what is happening here. Expansion of this poverty program beyond the truly needy was supposed to help with the drug epidemic but that is not occurring. Expansion was supposed to curb ER use for Primary Care, but that is not happening either. It’s time we stop pretending the problems with drug abuse and access to medical care can be cured in a broken system by throwing money at able-bodied adults who need better, less costly care — not more taxpayer-funded insurance coverage.”

With Ohio’s budget nearly $800 million in the hole, legislators need to be held to account. Find out the name of your State Rep at http://www.ohiohouse.gov/index and call them today.

Contact: Don Stephenson, PR Chair

Republican Liberty Caucus of Ohio

PO Box 486

New Albany, Ohio 43054

Phone: (614) 962-6062

Email: info@RLCOH.org

Make the GOP reflect YOUR principles

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System Administrator

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April 28, 2017

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A political party is made up of people. Change the people, change the party.

As we build the liberty-minded political climate in Ohio, we need to organize. Many have been doing this for years and now it is time to take it to the next level. One way to level up on liberty outreach is through the Republican Liberty Caucus of Ohio. This organization was founded in Ohio in 2015, nationally in 1991.

What is the Ohio Republican Liberty Caucus?
The Ohio Republican Liberty Caucus supports individual rights, limited government, and free enterprise. These are the principles that drive the RLC. The goal is to make those the principles that drive the Ohio Republican Party as a whole. To achieve this goal, we need committed people willing to get involved in politics at the local level to make a change from the bottom up.

The Ohio Republican Liberty Caucus is committed to teaching liberty-minded Republicans how to best to become involved the Republican Party and help guide the change to a political party based on principle. We need people all over the state that agree we should govern by these principles in positions that will make a difference.

One major goal of the Republican Liberty Caucus in Ohio is to organize at the local/county level. This is being done by forming RLC Affiliate groups.

What are RLC Local Affiliates?
Republican Liberty Caucus Local Affiliates are county or regional levels of the Ohio Republican Liberty Caucus. The local affiliates will focus on getting liberty-minded people involved in politics through the County Central Committees, educating voters, influence public policy, elected officials, and candidates for public office at the local level.

If you are interested in learning more about the RLC Affiliate program, join the conference call happening, Thursday, May 18^th at 8:00pm.

This call will teach you about the Republican Liberty Caucus, the steps to start a county affiliate and the support tools that the Republican Liberty Caucus can provide to help you educate, recruit and change your county.

Register for the Republican Liberty Caucus County Affiliate Conference Call here – https://goo.gl/forms/RMpsCDpu92SML3ZH3

OP-ED: Republican Liberty Caucus of Ohio Reviews Key Items on Legislative Agenda

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MathewErickson

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March 31, 2017

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(Columbus, Ohio) March 31, 2017: After a heated presidential race but before the Governor’s race takes shape here in Ohio, it is easy to lose sight of what is happening in state politics. Now that the General Assembly is back in full session, it’s time to see what Ohio’s Republican majority is prioritizing this session. Of interest to the Republican Liberty Caucus of Ohio, and epitomizing the principles we stand for, are two bills dealing with healthcare and one dealing with criminalization of the victim.

HCR6

While our state caucus does not take a stand on federal legislation, there is a House Concurrent Resolution of interest because it urges control of health care be returned to the states. This could possibly be one of the best solutions to our health care needs in both the long and short-term.

The Affordable Care Act and its Republican proposed replacement both sought to put all 50 states on a one-size fits all model, despite the fact that each state’s needs differ. Furthermore, each model doesn’t quite get it right. Even the proponents of ACA’s replacement bill acknowledged this notion in their 3-phase plan. By allowing each state to develop their own systems, we potentially flesh out 50 models simultaneously. Over time, each state could assess the models of other states and adopt what works out of that model. Eventually, the best policies will rise to the top and more states will adopt them. Are some going to get it wrong? Yes, but in this scheme when one state gets it wrong, it’s not wrong for the other 49.

We urge a YES vote on HCR6, introduced by RLCOH endorsee Wes Goodman, to “Urge repeal and replacement of Affordable Care Act” and return power back to the states.

HB101

The second bill to deal with healthcare will help to significantly lower the costs of a specific drug, epinephrine.

Right now, through rebate schemes, doctors are motivated to write prescriptions for the EpiPen by Mylar when they’re really only interested in prescribing epinephrine. Due to various state regulations, when a doctor prescribes an EpiPen, the pharmacist must issue an EpiPen. House Bill 101, introduced by Representative Derek Merrin, will remove that requirement and allow a pharmacist, with the patient’s consent, to substitute a less expensive alternative that will still meet the patient’s needs. Some of these alternatives can cost hundreds of dollars less all because they don’t utilize Mylar’s patented delivery system. If you could take a medicine in pill form at a fraction of the cost of an injection and your needs were still met, would you? This bill allows you that choice.

We urge a YES vote on HB101 to “Improve access to epinephrine.”

HB56

Lastly, House Bill 56 by Representatives Theresa Gavarone and Jonathan Dever will help us fight human trafficking by expunging the records of victims as criminals as a result of their being trafficked. Ohio is one of the states with the most active sex trafficking underground. Many of these victims are children sometimes as young as 13. Because they are sold for sex, they are treated in the courts as prostitutes.

The idea that a 13-year-old child could be a prostitute would be laughable if it weren’t for the fact that their criminal records say as much. This law would allow for victims to petition the court to have those records expunged. It also authorizes intervention in lieu of conviction for a victim.

We not only urge a YES vote on HB56 to “Expunge criminal record if caused by human trafficking,” but we also implore leadership to fast track this bill to the Governor’s desk for signing.

Delegate Deadline: 2/26

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By

RLC Staff

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February 24, 2017

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As we recently announced, our national convention is set to be held this upcoming Memorial Day Weekend at the Rosen Centre in Orlando Florida. Per RLC bylaws, any and all members of the Republican Liberty Caucus are automatically permitted to be delegates representing their respective states (as long as it is already chartered) but must have their dues paid at least 90 days before the convention takes place. That deadline is approaching in just a few days so it is urgent that you join NOW at www.RLC.org/join

Our convention is going to host some of the boldest leaders in the liberty movement, you can’t afford to miss this opportunity to network with the most dedicated volunteer activists in the country and relax in the Florida Sun.

After the Delegate Deadline on 2/26, anyone can still join the RLC and attend our convention, but we want you to have the unique opportunity to participate as a delegate. Delegates will attend our state and national business meeting, vote for RLC leadership and have a chance to put their strategy on the table of how to win.

Last convention, we heard from the likes of Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Peter Schiff, Grover Norquist and many more, so expect nothing short of some of the brightest minds in the movement to be speaking this time around!

SINCE 1991, we’ve sustained ourselves as an all-volunteer organization relying primarily on dues paid members and grassroots donors. PLEASE JOIN NOW BEFORE THE DEADLINE ON SATURDAY!

Regular dues are $45 per person, $30 with a Military or Student discount or please consider becoming a Premium member for $75.

Thank you for helping us continue our fight to return the Republican Party back to its Jeffersonian roots of limited government, individual liberty and free markets. We look forward to seeing you in Orlando delegates!

JOIN THE RLC: www.RLC.org/join

Effect change within the GOP by participating in the Precinct Project!

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System Administrator

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December 23, 2016

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In short, our goal is to “work within the Republican Party to move it in the direction of limited government, respect for individual rights, and a commitment to free market economics”. To achieve that objective, our state charters, local chapters and national organization aggressively seeks to find, support, and elect candidates to public office who share our values. Thus, one way to achieve this objective is to elect liberty movement mayors, city/county councilmen, Governors, State House members, U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives, etc., and finally to put a libertarian Republican in the White House. The support of liberty movement candidates cannot be overstressed and is extremely important if we are to meet our objectives. But, there is a second and equally important activity that has not been given the attention it deserves – that is the Precinct Project.

Let’s look at the hierarchy of the Republican Party. In most states the lowest level of the Republican Party is the local precinct. For example, RLC member Steve Hoffman lives in Horry County, South Carolina and Horry County is divided into 124 precincts. His precinct is Burgess 1 and consists of over 1000 registered Republicans. The next level of the party is the County Executive Committee. The next level is the State Executive Committee. And the final level is the Republican National Committee.

State RLC Charter organizations and local RLC chapters can have significant influence in determining the makeup of local precincts and the county level executive committees. Keep in mind the objective is to fill these entities with proponents of limited government, individual rights and free market economics.

How to begin the process? Let’s use Steve as an example again.

1. Within South Carolina, the Republican Party goes through a reorganization once every 2 years. Local precinct officers are elected first as well as county delegates to a county Republican Party Convention (this is where you as an RLCer want to get involved). Prepare to get yourself elected as either a precinct committeeperson or executive committee member (preferred) at the designated “re-org” meeting. Also, when you attend the re-org meeting, put your name down as a volunteer to be a delegate to your county convention and your state Republican convention. Every precinct is authorized X many delegates to the Republican County Convention. If you volunteer there is a 90% chance you will be selected, since there are often more precinct positions than there are volunteers.

2. At this point, you are now the Committeeperson for your precinct and you will also be attending the County Republican Party Convention (usually held 30 days after the first re-org meeting). As a delegate to the convention you can now vote on the future officers of the County Republican Party. Don’t like the current crop of establishment, crony-capitalist, special interest favoring Republicans that currently run your local party? This is now your chance to “drain the local swamp” and elect officers who will support what? Yes, you are right – limited government, individual rights and free market economics. By the way, if you are so inclined and have experience within your county GOP, go ahead and have your name placed on the ballot as one of the county GOP officers.

3. Next item of agenda at the County convention will be to elect the elect the delegates who will attend the State convention. Make sure you campaign (press a lot of palms at the convention) to get yourself elected as a State convention delegate. If you can’t be a delegate due to work/financial obligations – help one of your allies win because each of us need as much help we can get from one another.

4. Now you’re a county executive committee member, have attended the County Convention, got elected as a state convention delegate and are now attending your state Republican Party Convention. This will be your chance to vote for the State GOP Chairman, and various levels of Vice Chairman, and other state GOP officers. You will also vote on any changes to by-laws or resolutions that are brought up at the State convention. Of course, the objective is to vote for officers who support (by now we hope you have guessed before we print it) – limited government, individual rights and free market economics. By the way, if you are so inclined and have experience within your state GOP, go ahead and have your name placed on the state ballot as one of the state officers.

5. After the conventions you start attending your first county GOP committee meetings. These meetings normally occur on a monthly basis but will vary from county to county. During the first meeting you will be electing your county representative on the State GOP Executive Committee. And of course the objective is to elect a person who shares our values of limited government, individual rights and free market economics.

6. The kicker: If you and your fellow RLC members have successfully grasped the concepts of the Precinct Project, your state GOP executive committee will then appoint or elect one or two members to the Republican National Committee. Outside of electing liberty movement candidates to public office, there is nothing more important than to have members on the Republican National Committee support the concepts of limited government, individual rights and free market economics.

Voila! – And that is Precinct Project in a nut shell!

Together by finding, supporting and electing political candidates who support our objectives and by participating in Precinct Project, we will succeed in moving our country in the direction of limited government, individual rights and free market economics.

POP QUIZ
1. What is the objective of the RLC?
2. What are two ways that RLC members can move the Republican Party and hopefully our country in the direction that is the objective of the RLC?
3.Are you committed to helping the RLC meet its objective?

Today Is Bill of Rights Day

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By

RLC Staff

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December 15, 2016

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Written by Tim Lynch; Director of Criminal Justice, Cato Institute

Today is Bill of Rights Day. So it’s an appropriate time to consider the state of our constitutional safeguards.

Let’s consider each amendment in turn.

The First Amendment says that “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech.” Government officials, however, have insisted that they can gag recipients of “national security letters” and censor broadcast ads in the name of campaign finance reform and arrest people for simply distributing pamphlets on a sidewalk.

The Second Amendment says the people have the right “to keep and bear arms.” Government officials, however, make it difficult to keep a gun in the home and make it a crime for a citizen to carry a gun for self-protection.

The Third Amendment says soldiers may not be quartered in our homes without the consent of the owners. This safeguard is one of the few that is in fine shape – so we can pause here for a laugh.

The Fourth Amendment says the people have the right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures. Government officials, however, insist that they can conduct commando-style raids on our homes and treat airline travelers like prison inmates by conducting virtual strip searches.

The Fifth Amendment says that private property shall not be taken “for public use without just compensation.” Government officials, however, insist that they can use eminent domain to take away our property and give it to other private parties who covet it. The Fifth Amendment also protects our right against self-incrimination, but government officials tell us lies and trick many people into waiving that right while they warn their own families to “lawyer up” immediately.

The Sixth Amendment says that in criminal prosecutions, the person accused is guaranteed a right to trial by jury. Government officials, however, insist that they can punish people who want to have a trial—“throwing the book” at those who refuse to plead guilty—which explains why 95 percent of the criminal cases never go to trial.

The Seventh Amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil cases where the controversy “shall exceed twenty dollars.” Government officials, however, insist that they can impose draconian fines on people without jury trials.

The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishments. Government officials, however, insist that a life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense is not cruel.

The Ninth Amendment says that the enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights should not be construed to deny or disparage others “retained by the people.” Government officials, however, insist that they will decide for themselves what rights, if any, will be retained by the people.

The Tenth Amendment says that the powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states, or to the people. Government officials, however, insist that they will decide for themselves what powers they possess, and have extended federal control over health care, crime, education, and other matters the Constitution reserves to the states and the people.

It’s a disturbing snapshot, to be sure, but not one the Framers of the Constitution would have found altogether surprising. They would sometimes refer to written constitutions as mere “parchment barriers,” or what we call “paper tigers.” They nevertheless concluded that having a written constitution was better than having nothing at all.

The key point is this: A free society does not just “happen.” It has to be deliberately created and deliberately maintained. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. To remind our fellow citizens of their responsibility in that regard, the Cato Institute has distributed more than six million copies of our pocket Constitution. At this time of year, it’ll make a great stocking stuffer.

Let’s enjoy the holidays (and remember many of the positive trends that are underway) but let’s also resolve to be more vigilant about defending our Constitution.

This article was originally published at https://www.cato.org/blog/today-bill-rights-day-5

Congratulations to the RLCOH Supported and Endorsed Candidates

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By

MathewErickson

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November 9, 2016

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The Republican Liberty Caucus of Ohio (RLCOH) congratulates their supported candidates and members who have won election to the Ohio House of Representatives.

The RLCOH calls itself the “Conscience of the Ohio GOP.” Says RLCOH Chairman Bill Yarbrough, “Our role is critical to the success of the Republican brand. Ohio GOP leadership is tasked with winning elections and the RLCOH complements this effort. The RLCOH helps to ensure those most likely to win are also those who best exhibit the values and around which the party is organized.”

In February of this year, the Candidate Review Committee released a list of candidates for Ohio House and Senate that were endorsed and recommended for the primary elections, and Committee Chairman Scott Jerzyk would like to congratulate the following individuals for their general election victories:

Thomas Brinkman (HD27) Recommended and Endorsed in the March Primary, and recipient of the 2016 Champion of Liberty Award.
Wes Goodman (HD87) Recommended and Endorsed in the March Primary
Bill Seitz (HD30) Recommended in the March Primary
Candace Keller (HD53) Recommended in the March Primary, member of the RLCOH
Dick Stein (HD57) Recommended in the March Primary
John Becker (HD65) Recommended in the March Primary, member of the RLCOH
Andrew Brenner (HD67) Recommended in the March Primary
Ron Hood (HD78) Recommended in the March Primary
Nino Vitale (HD85) Recommended in the March Primary

“We look forward to working with our new legislators to move Ohio forward to a more free state, and especially congratulate our own RLCOH members Candace Keller on her win and John Becker on his re-election,” said Committee Chairman Scott Jerzyk. “We are very proud of them, and look forward to continued success for them in years to come.”