Category → Organizational
Senator Shelby caught in the act
The Senate version of The Federal Reserve Transparency Act (HR1207) is being watered down. Not by Democrats, but by two ranking Republicans. One of them is from Alabama. The Huffington Post reports:
Thanks to an overlooked document posted on the website of Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the top ranking Republican on the Finance Committee, voters can virtually watch the water being dumped into the brew that Grassley had hoped to force the Fed to drink. (See the document at the bottom of this story.)
On page five of Grassley’s amendment, he intends to give the Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office power to audit “any action taken by the Board under…the third undesignated paragraph of section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act” — which would be almost everything that it has done on an emergency basis to address the financial crisis, encompassing its massive expansion of opaque buying and lending.
Handwritten into the margins, however, is the amendment that watered it down: “with respect to a single and specific partnership or corporation.” With that qualification, the Senate severely limited the scope of the oversight.
On the Senate floor, Grassley named the top Republican on the banking committee, Richard Shelby of Alabama, as the man pouring the water.
“Although I would have preferred to include all of the Fed’s emergency actions under 13(3), in consultation with Senator Shelby I agreed to limit my amendment to actions aimed at specific companies,” said Grassley.
The Federal Reserve has a considerable amount of influence over our fiscal status, but there is no tranparency of their actions. It’s so vital that a full audit be conducted that 186 House members have co-sponsored the bill already.
Please contact Senator Shelby and Senator Grassley and let them know we demand a full audit of the Federal Reserve.
Senator Grassley
(202) 224-3744
E-mail
Senator Shelby
(202) 224-5744
E-mail
Birmingham/Shelby County “Tea Party – A Celebration of Freedom”
Description: The Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus is pleased to announce our support for the upcoming Birmingham/Shelby County Tea Party. “Tea Party -A Celebration of Freedom” will be held on July 4th at the Verizon Wireless Music Center.
Title: Birmingham/Shelby County “Tea Party – A Celebration of Freedom”
Location: Verizon Wireless Music Center (formerly Oak Mountain Amphitheater), Pelham, AL
Link out: Click here
We’ll be announcing additional details soon, but we’re trying to get the word out now so you can place the date on your calendar. Also, the event is in need of volunteers and vendors/sponsors.
Start Time: 5:30
Date: 2009-07-04
Resolution regarding HB1207
Last night at our May meeting, with unanimous consent, the Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus passed a resolution, commending Congressmen Spencer Bacchus, Robert Aderholt, and Mike Rogers for co-sponsoring Dr. Ron Paul’s House Bill 1207, known as the Audit the Fed bill. The resolution also encouraged the remaining Alabama Congressmen to join their names to the growing bi-partisan list of co-sponsors.
Please help us get a regular nationally televised slot for Judge Andrew Napolitano
A bunch of us are trying to get Judge Andrew Napolitano’s online program Freedom Watch into a televised slot at Fox News. According to an e-mail I received from Judge Napolitano’s colleague Shelly Roche, the Fox producers are telling her the two most important things we can do are “flooding Fox with emails and showing high view counts on the videos.”
If you don’t blog, but would like to see more libertarians on national television, please quickly e-mail Fox and let them know you’d like to see the Judge get his own TV slot.
If you’ve got a blog, you can help out even more. The details are here.
Liberty on the Rocks
Title: Liberty on the Rocks
Location: Birmingham
Link out: Click here
Description: What do you get when you mix alcohol with the politics of freedom? An argument can be made that we owe our Republic not only to a lot of bright and brave people, but also to a lot of booze.
In order to bring out freedom fighter in all of us, as well as to provide some networking opportunities and just plain fun, we\’ve now opened the Birmingham branch of Liberty on the Rocks.
The first scheduled Birmingham Liberty on the Rocks event will be held on Tuesday, May 19
Start Time: 19:00
Date: 2009-05-19
End Time: 23:45
ALRLC is looking for a few good conservatives
The Club for Growth has just released their 2008 congressional ratings. While Alabama’s Senators scored in a marginally acceptable manner, our Representatives had embarrassing results. Steve Gordon makes the following observation:
The Club for Growth has posted both their House and Senate ratings online. They also note that the “moderate” (or squishy, as I prefer) lawmakers “are not supportive of economic liberty.”
“So when you hear someone praise a lawmaker for being a ‘centrist’ or a ‘moderate’, think twice before assigning them any real merit on economic issues,” writes Andrew Roth at the Club for Growth blog.
In one recent test of how people currently feel about squishy Republicans, Rasmussen is reporting that Pat Toomey currently outpolls Senator Arlen Specter by 21 points in the much more liberal state of Pennsylvania. “If these numbers are right, Specter has a tough road to renomination ahead of him,” noted James Antle at the American Spectator.
In neighboring Florida, Governor Crist could be facing similar problems. “There may be a Tea Party conservative rebellion brewing against ‘me too’ Republicans like Crist,” notes journalist Robert Stacy McCain on his personal blog.
If the current Tea Party hostility regarding taxation and deficit spending continues, each Republican member of Alabama’s House delegation will be very susceptible to a primary challenge — especially Everett and Rogers. Additionally, the nine percent scored by Artur Davis may make it very difficult for him to pick up enough independent votes to satisfy his gubernatorial ambitions.
The Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus is looking for candidates to run against any of the “squishy” Republicans in Alabama. If you are interested in running for public office, please contact Shana at shanajk@gmail.com.
Conservative stewardship outperforms partisan sniping
As there has been a lot of conversation about the framing of conservative messaging and how to deal with with race issues on this site, I thought I’d bring up two articles I wrote for another website today.
The first article deals directly with the first issue I’d like to raise. A host of elected Republican officials are rightfully calling for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to submit her letter of resignation. While I’m sure someone has, I’ve yet to see someone provide a politically viable suggestion to replace the DHS Secretary, though.
It’s one thing to take political swipes at the opposition. It takes leadership to find a solution which might be acceptable to the Obama administration, Republicans and a general public that is generally more concerned with good government than with the latest political barbs.
My solution to this situation may not be the best one, but at least I’ve offered a host of reasons as to why Judge Andrew Napolitano could be a very suitable replacement for Janet Napolitano. The American public has been crying for solutions, not partisan bickering. The GOP could have easily stepped up to the plate on this one, but didn’t.
The other issue I’d like to cover is race. On rare occasions, there is an element of truth to cries from the left about racism on the right. Most of the time these allegations couldn’t be farther from the truth.
However, assuaging one’s conscience by casting a vote for Michael Steele and then disregarding the black community for the next several years will not win Republicans votes from the African-American community. Like any other votes, these have to be earned.
In Alabama, two Republicans are making a difference in the African-American community on a solidly conservative issue: property rights. If you aren’t aware, in the land of Rosa Parks, black people are frequently taken advantage of when it comes to eminent domain abuse. A few years back, nationally syndicated talk show host Neal Boortz heavily publicized one such case in nearby Alabaster, Alabama.
I’d like to quickly highlight these two Republicans who aren’t afraid to step out of their own comfortable communities to help those with fewer political or financial resources. The first is Alabama State Senator Scott Beason, who will sit on a panel next week at an Alabama Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights panel entitled “Civil Rights Implications of Eminent Domain Policies and Practices in Alabama.” Senator Beason is highly respected throughout the state, and it’s easy to see why.
A key driving force behind this panel is Shana Kluck. Shana is not only a member of the Alabama Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, but she also serves on her state GOP executive committee, is president of the Alabama Republican Assemby and serves as Secretary of the Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus. When she’s not busy homeshcooling her four children, consulting on Web 2.0 projects, engaged in Eagle Forum activities, attending various political meetings around the state and working behind the scenes on a variety of conservative and libertarian causes, she is busy helping me on campaigns.
Considering Shana’s schedule, very few of us have grounds to offer the excuse that we are too busy to become more involved in the African-American community.
Instead of sitting around complaining about how black people voted in previous election cycles, Senator Beason and Ms. Kluck are taking leadership roles in providing justice for members of the African-American community.
If I may be so bold as to provide two solutions for the conservative movement, they are:
- Instead of merely attacking the opposition with nuisance fire (appropriately called sniping) to exploit a weak spot in their battle line, maximize your attack by actually providing a viable politcal solution.
- If you aren’t active in your local African-American community, you’ve no right to complain if you receive very few of their votes on Election Day.
Personal responsibility is a key component of conservativism and just stewardship should be a part of conservative leadership. Hopefully, Republican Party leaders will take these sorts of messages to heart. Otherwise, one can expect the GOP to walk through the wilderness for another 38 years.
Cross-posted from The Next Right
Worth requoting
Maybe you see a pattern there and maybe you don’t. But of the roughly four different pathways the Republicans could take in the post-Obama universe — toward Ron Paulesque libertarianism, toward Sarah Palinesque cultural populism, toward Mike Huckabeesque big-government conservatism, or toward Olympia Snowesque moderation/ good-governmentism — the libertarian side would seem to have had the best go of things in the First 100 Days.
The Montgomery Tax Day Tea Party
Along with Cindy Wright, longtime RLC supporter Matthew Givens coordinated the Montgomery/Tri-County Tea Party on April 15th. According to Givens, approximately 2,500 people attended the event.
- Here is Matthew’s report of the event.
- Here is an interview of Givens before the event.
- Here is some news coverage of the event.
- Here are some pictures of the event.
Also, we’ve been told that Maytown pastor Dr. John Killian either just has, or is about to, join the newly formed Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus. Many of you will recall Dr. Killian delivering this fiery speech in support of Ron Paul at the Western Alabama Republican Assembly straw poll last year.
Dr. Killian provides the text of the speech he delivered in Montgomery on his personal blog.
Congratulations to everyone in the Montgomery area who contributed to make this activity a great success.
Birmingham and Tuscaloosa Tax Day Tea Party reports
Two Ron Paul supporters at the Tuscaloosa Tea Party (photo credit: Forward Focus Media)
In both the Tuscaloosa and the Shelby County/Birmingham Tea Parties held on April 15th, Alabama RLC members played vital roles in the successes of these events. In Tuscaloosa, 500 to 600 people were reported in attendance. Crowd estimates ranged between 5,000 and 10,000 for the Birmingham event. Because of extreme event-related traffic congestion, it is very difficult to determine the actual total amount of people who showed at this event.
One contribution to Tea Party success provided by our RLC members led to certainly the funniest and perhaps one of the best speeches delivered at any Tea Party event across the country.
In Tuscaloosa, ALRLC Secretary Shana Kluck secured a speaking spot for former Washington Times assistant national editor and current freelance journalist Robert Stacy McCain. In Birmingham, ALRLC Media Director Stephen Gordon did the same. Poking fun at the Department of Homeland Security report we helped make available to the public, McCain wowed the crowd with his Jeff Foxworthy-like rendition of “You might be a right-wing extremist, if…”
Here’s the video of the speech McCain delivered in Hoover:
Shana Kluck, Robert Stacy McCain and Stephen Gordon have all provided reports from both the Tuscaloosa and Birmingham Tea Parties. Additional reports and photographs come from Ken Pritchett, Cathy Reisenwitz, Rhoda, Ed, and WYDE. Birmingham News coverage is here and dominant front page Tuscaloosa News coverage is here. For a special treat, here’s a YouTube of Rick and Bubba on Sean Hannity’s nationally televised feed from Birmingham.
ALRLC media director credited with breaking DHS “rightwing extremist” report
Our very own Stephen Gordon has been credited by a significant portion of the Internet for his key role in disclosing the recently publicized Department of Homeland Security report entitled: “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Environment Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.”
The report contains the following definition:
Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.
Also targeted in the report are veterans, folks anticipating additional restrictions to their Second Amendment rights, and those concerned about the loss of U.S. sovereignty. In short, this report identifies an overwhelming majority of Alabamians.
Not only has news of this report dominated the Internet for the last few days, the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano have also been forced to respond (not satisfactorily, to date) to the situation.
Congratulations to Stephen for his fine work in shedding some sunlight upon this most disturbing document.
Obamanomics
H/T: MattChancey.com
April RLC Monthly Meeting
Title: April RLC Monthly Meeting
Location: Dr. Ken Varley\’s Office
Link out: Click here
Description: Monthly state-wide planning meeting for the ALRLC.
Start Time: 19:00
Date: 2009-04-28
Welcome to the Brand New Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus Website
The Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus has just formed. Here’s our initial press release. Our mission is to “is to recruit and endorse candidates who support the RLC’s agenda, elect limited-government Republicans to political office, and change the direction of the Republican Party to reflect our vision of peace and prosperity.”
Please stay tuned as we expect to be expanding our Internet presence over the next few days. Also, we beg your patience while we work out a few remaining technical details.
Here’s a summary of what happened at the national RLC Convention
The RLC National Convention was held in Jacksonville, FL from March 27 to 29, 2009 at the Embassy Suites hotel. The Convention was hosted by the RLC of Northeast Florida. We began the National Business Session on Saturday morning with the Pledge of Allegiance and an introduction from RLC Florida Chair Mark Cross. Parliamentarian and RLC member Louis Rose gave a helpful instructional lesson on Parliamentary Procedures and Dave Nalle, Convention Chair, provided introductory remarks to delegates.
Alabama RLC Meeting
Title: Alabama RLC Meeting
Location: Southern Pain Specialists of Hwy 280 in Birmingham
Link out: Click here
Description: RLC Meeting at Dr. Varley’s office.
Southern Pain Specialists are in the “One Nineteen Health & Wellness Center”, on the Second Floor, Suite 204.
Southern Pain Specialists
7191 Cahaba Valley Rd, Suite 204 • Birmingham, AL 35242-6042
Start Time: 19:00
Date: 2009-03-31
Seats Available for Eagle Forum Dinner
We have a few seats available at the RLC table for the Alabama Eagle Forum dinner to be held this Frinday (March 27, 2009) in the Birmingham Metro area. If you are interested in one of these seats, please contact Shana Kluck as soon as possible.
RLC National Convention 2009
Title: RLC National Convention 2009
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Link out: Click here
Description: Dear Friend of Liberty,
You are cordially invited to attend the RLC National Convention from March 27-29, 2009 at the Embassy Suites (9300 Baymeadows Road; phone 904.731.3555) in Jacksonville, Florida. The Convention will be held in conjunction with the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida Convention.
We are expecting upwards of 75 RLC Delegates from our chartered affiliates across the country. It is important that as many of our state chapters as possible have a representative at the Convention. Thus far, we have confirmed delegates from Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia and also expect delegates from California and Indiana.
Key links for the Convention:
* Convention Agenda
* Convention Business
* REGISTER to Attend ($100 registration fee)
* Book Your Hotel Room ($84/night with mention of the RLC).
We expect well over 100 attendees from all across the country and hope you will be among those attending. We want to meet you in Jacksonville!
RLC Convention 2009 will mark the RLC’s eighth biennial Convention. The Convention Committee has invited prominent liberty stars to participate in panels, debates, and seminars. Many RLC Advisors and state legislators are expected to be in attendance. Business that will occur at the Convention includes elections of new national officers and by-laws revisions and updates, however you must be a dues-paying RLC member (with dues paid by Feb. 27, 2009) to vote.
The Convention Agenda is now final. Our featured guests are former Reagan White House Aide Dan Quiggle and Lawrence W. Reed of America’s oldest libertarian organization, the Foundation on Economic Education. Mr. Reed will address the federal reserve.
Most important of all, this Convention will provide an opportunity for fun and fellowship with other libertarian Republican activists across the country. Expect to have a GREAT time.
The total Convention cost is $100 for all RLC members or non-members. The total fee ($100) include the a banquet, a dinner, room rental fees, technology and equipment fees, and costs for speakers. The cost for those wishing to attend the Saturday evening banquet only is $65. (Note: There are no member discounts and those unable to attend the Friday night events still must pay the full price if they want to attend all Saturday sessions. Those RLC members who wish to only attend the RLC Business Sessions may do so free of charge.)
To register for RLC Convention 2009, simply use our secure PayPal online system. If you do not have a PayPal account, you can fill out this form (pdf) and send it to the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida, P.O. Box 3322, Kissimmee, FL 34745-3322. Checks must be made out to the Republican Liberty Caucus.
Interested parties may also RSVP at our Facebook page (Facebook subscription required) and confirm your registration (optional) via this form. Don’t forget to book a hotel room and arrange transportation to and from the airport.
We look forward to seeing you in Jacksonville!
Warm Regards,
Bill Westmiller
Chair, Republican Liberty Caucus
Start Date: 2009-03-27
End Date: 2009-03-29
Welcome to the Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus Website
If you are serious about limiting the size of government and returning our country to it’s constitutional roots, then you should consider joining the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC). The Alabama affiliate of the RLC has just formed, and we intend to become an active and vibrant part of Alabama politics.
The RLC exists to promote individual liberty, limited government, and free enterprise within the Republican Party by promoting these ideals among Party officials and its various organizations, identifying and supporting candidates sympathetic with these ideals, and promoting Caucus membership among Republican Party registrants, officials, and officeholders.
Whether you are a member, considering joining the RLC or just stopping by to check us out, we’d like to welcome you and encourage you to visit this site often.