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RLC Condemns McConnell’s Attempt to Extend Patriot Act Phone Surveillance

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WASHINGTON, DC – The Republican Liberty Caucus has urged Senate Republicans to oppose a bill introduced by Senator Mitch McConnell Tuesday night to extend through 2020 Section 215 of the Patriot Act which governs the NSA’s authority to surveil Americans’ phone records. The current bill governing NSA phone record surveillance expires on June 1st.

“Americans were stunned when Edward Snowden came forward and showed the extent to which the United States government is spying on its own citizenry,” said RLC National Chair Matt Nye of Florida. “The NSA surveillance program as it currently exists is something right out of the book ‘1984’; it is an abomination, a clear violation of the fourth amendment, and all Americans should be deeply troubled by its very existence.”

Congress attempted to reign in the NSA’s spying powers last year with the introduction of the USA Freedom Act sponsored by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The House passed a gutted version of the bill, but the Senate companion, which was opposed by McConnell, stalled.

“The Republican Party is supposed to be the party of less government, lower taxes and more freedom,” Nye said. “Yet once again we have Republicans in leadership – who are completely out of touch with the American people that put them in office – advocating for the exact opposite of those principles.”

McConnell and Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC), the bill’s co-sponsor, invoked a special rule to bring the bill to the floor without the usual committee vetting process. “You have to marvel at how the Republican controlled Senate can’t use the same rules the Democrats used to pass Obama Care, to repeal Obamacare, but it can pull out all the stops to avoid having a debate in committee when it comes to spying on the American people.” Nye said. “McConnell is an embarrassment to Republicans, and an enemy of the Constitution of the United States and the principles upon which this country was founded.”

Many pundits and Republican leaders were surprised by the lack of Republican voter turnout in 2012, but Nye says it’s no mystery to him.

“In a presidential election where the signature issue was Obamacare, the Republicans put up the only candidate that had socialized medicine in his home state,” Nye said. “Rather than vote for ‘socialist-lite’, Republican voters simply stayed home.”

In spite of being given control of the Senate in 2014, Nye says the Republicans still didn’t get the message. “The Republicans were given the Senate because the American people clearly wanted to put an end to the Obama agenda,” Nye said. “Yet time and again the Republicans behave just like those they were elected to stop, and at some point the voters who have been repeatedly betrayed will simply cease to turn out for them.”

When the American people finally ask the question, “With Republicans like these, who needs Democrats?,” the Republican Party is finished, Nye said.

RLC National Board Appoints Nathan Fatal as Massachusetts State Coordinator

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BOSTON, MA – The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) has appointed Nathan Fatal of Amesbury, Massachusetts as its Massachusetts State Coordinator. Fatal will work on recruiting members and raising the organization’s profile in the state as it prepares to petition the national organization for recognition as an official state charter. Once chartered, the organization will hold elections for officer positions and board members.

A graduate of University of Massachusetts Amherst, Fatal currently serves as the Western Regional Director at Young Americans for Liberty in Washington DC. In 2014 he served as Deputy Field Director in Massachusetts’ Sixth Congressional District for the Massachusetts Republican Party. He currently divides his time between Massachusetts and Washington DC.

“Fatal brings a great combination of local, regional, and national experience to the table and has been an incredible asset and leader among liberty activists and Republicans in Massachusetts,” said RLC National Chairman Matt Nye. “We are incredibly pleased to have him on board and look forward to the energy and excitement he brings with him.”

Fatal stated he would like to help “redefine what it means to be a Massachusetts Republican by uniting the various pro-liberty organizations and factions of the Massachusetts GOP behind a unified front: it will advance liberty at the local, county, regional, and state level, and invigorate the party by attracting youthful energy, advancing fiscal responsibility, and embracing social tolerance.”

“It is a true honor to be appointed this role and to be able to work with people of principle from all over the country,” Fatal said. “I appreciate everything the RLC is doing to advance liberty in New England and Massachusetts is the next battleground.”

With a federal PAC and members across the country, the RLC is known for its vigorous support of liberty candidates and grassroots activism. Founded in 1991, it is the oldest continuously operating organization within the liberty Republican movement. The RLC will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year and will commemorate the occasion at its upcoming Biennial National Convention in Nashua, New Hampshire October 8th and October 11th.

RLCMA State Coordinator Nathan Fatal may be reached at nfatal@rlcma.com. RLC National Chairman Matthew D. Nye can be reached at chair@rlc.org.

Americans for Prosperity Attacks Solar Free Market Initiative

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Joe Jordan
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Americans for Prosperity held a confused press conference today slamming the free market solar initiative the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida is a founding supporter of. Members of the RLC  and its lobbying firm Liberty First Network have thoroughly analyzed the ballot initiative and found it to be free of any subsidies or government favoritism.

The Floridians for Solar Choice Amendment simply expands customer choice by removing government-imposed regulations that currently make it illegal for anyone other than the power companies (Duke, FPL, etc.) to buy and sell solar energy.

According to the Floiridians for Solar Choice web site, “this ballot initiative has nothing to do with subsidies or handouts for the solar industry. This initiative will not create any subsidies, incentives, mandates, or tax breaks for solar companies, solar customers, or anyone else. There is nothing in the language to suggest otherwise. The initiative doesn’t require the State of Florida to spend any taxpayer dollars to prop up solar energy. AFP is confusing this initiative with other issues that aren’t relevant to this ballot initiative.”

You can read Liberty First Network​’s new in-depth analysis of the proposed Amendment here. Read Floridians for Solar Choice’s Fact vs. Fiction page here. For more information visit flsolarchoice.org or print and sign the petition below.

Florida Constitutional Amendment Petition Form

Republican Liberty Caucus Announces Wayne Allyn Root as Chairman of National Campaign Committee and Advisory Board

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The National Board of the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) has voted to name Wayne Allyn Root as Chairman of its National Campaign Committee, as well as Chairman of the RLC Advisory Board. Root, now back to his lifelong Republican roots, was the Libertarian Vice Presidential nominee in 2008, as well as an elected Board member of the Libertarian National Committee, and Chairman of the Libertarian National Campaign Committee.

One of America’s most vocal critics of the Obama administration, Root is a frequent radio and TV guest, political commentator, syndicated political columnist, and the author of the national bestselling books, “The Ultimate Obama Survival Guide” and “The Murder of the Middle Class.”

“We are very excited to have Wayne on board,” said Matt Nye, RLC National Chairman. “Wayne is an extremely talented, charismatic and dynamic media personality; he’s an outspoken advocate for liberty, but he is particularly fierce on economic freedom and the U.S. Constitution.”

At the time Root joined the Libertarian Presidential ticket in 2008, the Bob Barr-Wayne Root presidential ticket was the 2nd most successful vote-getter in the party’s history. Root says that experience showed him just how heavily the scales are tilted in favor of the two-party system.

“As the Libertarian Party’s vice presidential nominee, I called myself a ‘REAGAN libertarian,’ in honor of my heroes Ronald Reagan and his mentor Barry Goldwater,” Root said. “I will forever be a libertarian leaning Republican-conservative, and I am grateful for my start in national politics with the Libertarian Party.”

Root says the grassroots uprising in 2010 and 2014 has given him hope the Republican Party can be returned to its roots.

“Given the popularity of the Tea Party message it makes sense to work within the Republican Party to return the GOP to the ideology of Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater and Jack Kemp,” Root said. “That is exactly the mission of the Republican Liberty Caucus, and I’m here to inject a dose of world-class energy and enthusiasm!”

RLC Chairman Matt Nye agrees, but says the Republicans apparently didn’t get the memo. He hopes high profile individuals like Root joining with grassroots organizations like the RLC will help them see the light.

“In spite of the clear message the grassroots sent with massive, record-setting landslides in both the 2010 and 2014 elections, GOP party leadership doesn’t appear to have gotten the message,” Nye said. “Republicans were given a clear mandate to stop Obama’s agenda, but they’ve done nothing of substance to do so.”

Root agrees.

“We’re stuck with leadership in both houses that is either spineless, incompetent or sympathetic to the president’s big government agenda; that, or the GOP’s leaders have simply been bought off by lawyers, lobbyists, big corporate donations and the famous DC culture of corruption,” Root said. “This is simply unacceptable. We are watching the greatest country, and the greatest middle class, in world history being systematically destroyed, and that is something I cannot stand by idly and watch.”

In his best-selling books Root blames the partnership of big government, big media and big corporations.

“Republicans must stand firm, cut spending and debt, balance the budget, repeal Obamacare, audit and reform the Fed, re-establish the Gold Standard and roll back out-of control federal agencies like the EPA, IRS, and the NSA program spying on US citizens,” Root said. “Most of all, Republican leaders must stand up and fight for capitalism and American Exceptionalism.”

Root says Republicans must offer a clear alternative.

“The GOP controls Congress, and Congress controls spending,” Root said. “It’s time the GOP withdraws from this president’s agenda that is destroying capitalism, small business and America. If they can’t do that, then Americans have no reason to vote Republican.”

Nye concurs.

“With Wayne’s help, we at the RLC intend to hold their feet to the fire,” he said.

Root’s web site is www.ROOTforAmerica.com. His new business book, entitled “The Power of RELENTLESS!”  will be out August 10th. You can follow Wayne on Twitter here. 

An open letter to RNC Chairman Reince Priebus regarding his comments at CPAC

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Attendees at CPAC Friday were treated to 13 minutes of vacuous remarks and awkward one-liners by RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, the highlight of which was his announcement that the RNC was now in control of how the presidential debates will be handled in the media during the 2016 presidential cycle. Matt Nye, National Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus, wrote this open letter to Chairman Priebus in response:

Dear Chairman Priebus,

First of all, I commend you on appearing at CPAC to speak to the conservative activists in attendance there. It took guts to appear in front of the same conservative activists who have been repeatedly insulted and betrayed by the Republican Party under your leadership the last few years.

I also appreciate the fact the RNC has finally decided to take control of the debates after decades of letting the liberal media drive the bus, although I expect the rules adopted probably don’t bode well for candidates who don’t have the blessing of the consultant/donor class. Regardless, the change in policy is progress in the right direction, and I applaud you for it.

One of the criticisms most often leveled against Republicans is that we have become the party of “no”. At an event with 11,000 grassroots activists in attendance from all over the country, you had the opportunity to set the tone for the 2016 cycle by stating, for once, not what Republicans are against, but what we are for.

Sadly, instead of talking about how the principles that made this country great can solve all our problems – how cutting spending, lowering taxes, reducing regulations and eliminating wasteful government agencies would result in great economic prosperity for both the country as a whole and individual households nationwide – you spent almost all of your time poking fun at Hillary’s decadent lifestyle and painting her as another Barack Obama.

Chairman Priebus, I don’t disagree that Hillary is out of touch with the average American, and would make a terrible Commander In Chief. However, the same case was easily made against Obama in 2012, yet the Republicans failed to capture the White House that year.

I’ve got some bad news for you Mr. Chairman – the “we’re not the Democrats” strategy that seemed to work so well for the Republicans in 2014 isn’t going to work again in 2016, and the reason is actually quite ironic. The reason is the leadership of the Republican Party is almost as out of touch with the average Republican voter as Hillary is with the average American.

The American people gave Republicans the House in 2010, and the Senate in 2014. The clear message was “stop the Obama agenda!” The Republicans who won campaigned on things like repealing Obamacare, reigning in out of control spending, fighting the Executive Branch’s over-reaches in regards to things like amnesty for illegals, and getting justice for scandals like Fast and Furious, Benghazi and the IRS targeting conservatives. And it worked. They got elected.

Unfortunately, even with control of both houses, the Republicans have failed to do any of those things, and still behave as though they are in the minority. They have failed to take a principled stand on a single issue when there was a chance it would be more than symbolic.

At one point in your CPAC address you made the statement “we know what we stand for.” What you should have said is: “we know what to campaign on.” Because so far the Republicans have done nothing but pay lip service to the issues and voters that put them in office in 2010 and 2014. And therein lies the problem for the Republican Party in 2016 and beyond.

Activists will walk over hot coals for candidates if they believe them to be people of principle who offer a genuine alternative to the opposition and will follow through on their promises. Likewise, voters will reward candidates who keep their promises and follow through by electing them to office again and again. The key words in the prior sentences are “follow through” and “keep their promises”; unfortunately those are precisely the two things the Republicans haven’t done.

Mr. Chairman, if the Republicans fail to follow through on their promises now that they control both houses, they will fail to take the White House in 2016. Why am I so sure of this? Because we’ve already seen a slightly different version of that movie in the 2012 elections.

While activists and voters will turn out en masse for a candidate who both espouses the same principles they believe in and acts on them, they won’t get out of bed for a candidate who shares the same basic philosophy of the opposition and differs only in regards to how to implement the plan. As proof of this phenomenon I offer the 2012 defeat of Mitt Romney by President Obama.

The primary reason the Republicans failed to capture the White House in 2012 was because the signature issue was socialized medicine (Obamacare), and the Republican establishment put up the only Republican candidate who had socialized medicine in his home state. Rather than choose between full blown government controlled socialized medicine under Obama, and socialized medicine “lite” under a crony capitalism model via a Romney Republican administration, millions of disenchanted Republican voters simply decided to sit it out and stay home.

This, Mr. Chairman, was in spite of the fact many of the same charges you made against Hillary in your speech were as applicable to Obama in 2012 – and more so. This type of apathy exhibited by disillusioned Republican voters is exactly what the Republicans can look forward to in 2016 if the latter doesn’t follow through on the promises they made to the voters in 2014. The House controls spending, and the Republicans now control both houses, so the only possible explanation for the fact the outrageous spending continues can be is: the Republicans want it that way. Unfortunately for the Republicans, the American people don’t want it that way.

Given that we have the exact same Republican leadership in place at the National level now that we had after the 2010 elections, I don’t expect we will see any change, and given what we’ve seen in regards to the Republicans folding on the Cromnibus spending bill a couple months ago and the current sell-out on Obama’s executive action on amnesty, I think it’s safe to say leadership has learned nothing from Romney’s loss in 2012, and is tone deaf to the message just sent in 2014.

In closing, you mentioned you were in charge of “the boring stuff” like databases and the ground game. If that is all you are in charge of, this letter may be misguided, but if you have any sway or voice with those who control the direction of the party – and as Chairman I would expect you to have some – I urge you to listen to the voters that gave you the seats you now have, and follow through on the commitments that were made to win them. Failure to do so makes the party as a whole look like a fraud, and that could prove fatal to both the party and our Republic.

Sincerely,

Matt Nye
Chair 
Republican Liberty Caucus

RLC National Board Votes To Rescind Poliquin Endorsement After Obamacare Vote

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WASHINGTON, DC – The National Board of the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) voted Thursday to rescind its endorsement of Representative Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine 2nd CD, after he voted against the repeal of Obamacare.

Poliquin was one of only three Republicans to vote against the repeal because, he claimed, “more than 60,000 Mainers have invested their time and energy in choosing health care plans that work for their families.” Poliquin said he would only vote to repeal Obamacare if Republicans had a replacement bill ready to vote on at the same time.

“We were both stunned and disappointed by Rep. Poliquin’s vote,” said Matt Nye, National Chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus. “Obamacare is an abomination that is steadily destroying the best health care system in the world every day it is in existence, and it will ultimately result in a complete government takeover of health care and a lower standard of care for all Americans. While it is true that health care in the United States had issues prior to Obamacare, Americans were definitely better off before Obamacare was passed.”

Nye said RLC took its position because, “For our organization it is a litmus test issue, and there is simply no excuse for a ‘No’ vote to repeal it.”
Nye said Poliquin’s justification about replacing Obamacare with a free market alternative, which included a statement that “if Congress fully repeals Obamacare it just be fully prepared to replace it with a free market alternative” fell on deaf ears with the RLC Board.

“The notion that the free market requires Congress to pass a bill in order for it to function is absurd on its face,” Nye said. “Free market economics does not need the hand of government to give its imprimatur to what is acceptable and what it not. Consumers should be free to make their own personal choices and providers should supply plans which the market can accept. If they cannot, consumers will vote with their purchasing decisions without government collusion.”

“Poliquin’s reasoning is analogous to cutting off your arm at work and saying you’re not going to stanch the bleeding until you’ve worked out a new safety policy with management,” said Nye.

The Republican Liberty Caucus Board took its position against Poliquin because he applied voluntarily to seek the RLC endorsement and signed The Liberty Compact which reads, “I pledge to the citizens of this state, and to the American people, that as their elected representative I will work to: restore liberty, not restrict it; shrink government, not expand it; reduce taxes, not raise them; abolish programs, not create them; promote the freedom and independence of citizens, not the interference of government in their lives; and observe the limited, enumerated powers of the Constitution, not ignore them.”

Nye said Poliquin either does not believe in what he signed or he was duplicitous in asking for the RLC endorsement by claiming to be what he is not.

“Either way, we can no longer stand by him nor include him in our honorable list of endorsed elected officials which includes Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Justin Amash and many others who still stand on principles in their votes,” Nye said.

The Republican Party Deserves a New Speaker; Contact Your Representative Now!

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At it’s last board meeting, the RLC National Board voted unanimously to encourage its members to contact their representatives to support anyone other than Speaker John Boehner in the upcoming House Speaker vote.

“In 2010 voters returned control of the House to the Republicans to help rein in President Obama and the Democrat agenda; in 2014 they returned control of the Senate to the Republicans for the same reason, yet somehow Speaker Boehner thought the message being sent was business as usual,” said RLC Chairman Matt Nye. “The passage of the ‘CRomnibus’ spending bill last month was a complete betrayal of those voters by House leadership, and must not go unanswered.”

“Even the most politically inept individual could see that all Republicans had to do to run the board was pass a short term continuing resolution funding government at the exact same levels until Republicans took control of the Senate in the new year. That Speaker Boehner chose to pass a spending bill for the entire year instead of waiting to control both chambers is illustrative of either a) complete alignment with the Democrats and President Obama or b) incompetence of an almost unimaginable magnitude,” Nye said. “Neither of those are qualities you want in an individual who holds the third most powerful position in the United States government.”

“We encourage our members in every state to contact their representatives and ask them to vote for anyone other than Speaker Boehner for the position of Speaker,” Nye said. “Boehner has proven time after time he is as out of touch with the average Republican voter as President Obama is out of touch with the average American.”

The House switchboard phone number is 202-224-3121.

RLC Urges Congress to Block Obama Proposed ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules

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The Republican Liberty Caucus has urged Congress to intervene to prevent the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from adopting President Obama’s so-called “Net Neutrality” rules, which would stifle free speech, technological innovation and competition in the marketplace.

“Handing the keys to Internet access to corporate cronies in cahoots with government bureaucrats is anything but ‘neutral’,” said RLC National Chair Matt Nye of Florida. “This move will logically culminate with the free and open exchange of ideas being impeded by government agents presuming to deem what constitutes proper Internet content and at what speed you will be able to access it. It will violate First Amendment free speech as well as the free market competition that has made the Internet and all of the companies that thrive there the tremendous successes they are.”

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are currently classified as information services under Title I of the Communications Act of 1934, but President Obama proposes that ISPs be reclassified as “information providers” under Title II, which would convert them to government-controlled public utilities. This would give the FCC power to regulate pricing and earnings as well as determine who could build digital networks.

“These rules would bestow inordinate power to appointed government czars to determine the players on the Web down to deciding the so-called fair rate of return on their revenues,” said Nye. “This will result in a small handful of mega-media conglomerates controlling access to Web content, freezing out the entrepreneurial small firms which are the fountainhead of technological innovation and creative content.”

“Once that happens, access pricing will increase which will have a chilling effect of freezing out web sites, blogs and other new media which are the basis of free expression and democratic debate,” Nye explained.

The RLC Statement of Principles includes the clause: “We oppose any restriction of free speech on the internet or in other media. We oppose any program to tax internet commerce or to tax or license website operators. We oppose efforts to limit the definition of journalism.” Nye said he spoke on behalf of the national organization to uphold those principles.

“The public voice must be heard loudly to protest this power grab to give the government control of the free exchange of ideas over the Web,” Nye said. “We urge citizens of all political persuasions to flood Congressional offices, the White House switchboard and the FCC headquarters with a clear message: ‘KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OUR INTERNET ACCESS!’”

RLC PAC Donates $1000.00 to WV 2nd Congressional District Candidate Alex Mooney

By
Stephanie Butcher
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MARTINSBURG, WV – Delegate Larry D. Kump delivered a $1000.00 contribution from the Republican Liberty Caucus PAC to 2nd Congressional District Candidate Alex X. Mooney on Friday. The RLC officially endorsed Mooney in April.

“Having known Alex X. Mooney for many years, it was both a pleasure and a privilege when the West Virginia Republican Liberty Caucus asked me to present a campaign contribution to him,” said Delegate Larry D. Kump.

“The West Virginia Republican Liberty Caucus enthusiastically endorses the election of Alex Mooney as West Virginia’s next Congressman.

“We also endorse and applaud Alex’s principled commitment to individual liberty, personal accountability, and personal empowerment for all Mountaineers,” Kump stated.

The Republican Liberty Caucus is a 527 voluntary grassroots membership organization dedicated to working within the Republican Party to advance the principles of individual rights, limited government and free markets. Founded in 1991, it is the oldest continuously-operating organization within the Liberty Republican movement. Further information and membership to the Caucus may be obtained by visiting www.rlc.org

RLC Endorses Tom McMillin in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District

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Laura Ebke
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EAST LANSING, MI- Today the Republican Liberty Caucus is pleased to announce the endorsement of Tom McMillin for Congress in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District. McMillin has served in the Michigan House of Representatives since 2008 and has a lengthy record of voting for fiscal responsibility and the preservation of individual Liberty.

Dennis Marburger, Michigan Republican and RLC Michigan board member said, “State Representative Tom McMillin has consistently fought for liberty in the Michigan Legislature, even when he was alone in his own party. He has led the fight against asset forfeiture,
NSA warrantless spying, NDAA indefinite detention, Common Core, Obamacare and fiscal recklessness. The good people of Michigan’s Eight District deserve a Defender of Liberty and oath keeper as a change of pace after all these years.”

Currently McMillian serves as Chair of the Oversight Committee in the Michigan House of Representatives. In addition to his outstanding work in that capacity, he also is an active member of the Education, Regulatory Reform and Financial Liability Reform committees.

“Tom McMillin is an outstanding candidate for Congress,” said RLC Chairman Matt Nye. “He has proven himself many times over to be a loyal defender of Liberty in the Michigan House. Residents of Michigan’s 8th Congressional District can vote for Tom with confidence. They know they have a statesman they can depend on to always work for them.”

McMillin earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and economics from the University of Michigan. He is a certified public accountant with the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to tackle our complex budget, tax and national debt issues.

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