The Riders of Rohan and their Future King: The Outlaws of the RLC

[Editor's note: By the time of the War of the Ring, Théoden, King of the Rohan, was becoming weak with age. He was controlled by  Wormtongue, his chief advisor, (in the secret employ of Isengaard).  Rohan was being overrun by enemies. His adopted son Éomer  and soon to be Théoden's heir, is banished by Wormtongue, in service to Isengaard's corrupt ruler, Sauruman. Éomer, along with  riders loyal to him,  track and destroy the Uruk-hai, who are on their way to Sauuman with captives Merry & Pippin.]

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Cancelling the Grass Roots 2014: Cameras in the coffin, interviewing worms

ACT I  SCENE I         A desert place. Thunder and lightning.

Fair is foul, and foul is fair:

Hover through the fog and filthy air.

The irony was palpable, the debate pressed with “War is Peace” and “up is down” arguments.

Kirby in email: “This isn’t a conspiracy.”

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RLC NATIONAL CONVENTION NEWS RELEASE

National Convention Welcomes Gay Romney Activist Speaker

Excerpts, below are from a News Release from the Chairman of the RLC immediately prior to the  RLC National Convention in Austin, Texas.

AUSTIN, TX – The Republican Liberty Caucus joins grassroots Republicans across the state in expressing concern and dismay over the negative example being set by the Harris County Republican Party in their recent rejection of Christopher Busby as an applicant for Precinct Chair. At a time when the party nationwide is working to clean a tarnished image and embrace inclusiveness, for the second largest county party in the nation to reject a qualified applicant solely because he is openly gay sends exactly the wrong message to the constituencies the party needs to reach…

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Lord of the RLC #8: Flotsam and Jetsam

In the few days and weeks BEFORE the RLCWA Convention but AFTER we knew that RLC (National)’s structure was in danger of aborting (you’ll pardon the expression) the Washington State liberty movement, a bunch of stuff happened. 

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Lord of the RLC #7: Many Meetings

Last December  liberty activists from Snohomish County gathered to form the Snohomish County charter of the Republican Liberty Caucus.

There was just one problem: the “Abortion” section of the Statement of Principles (SoP) of the national RLC. (http://www.rlc.org/about/statement-of-principles/)

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The problem with RLC National (Leadership 2004-2012)

[Ed Note: This is part two of Kit's series on the dark side of the RLC. Part one was cross published at the Reagan Wing here. Kit Lange writes for the conservative blog Victory Girls.]

Exposing the Republican “Liberty” Caucus, Part II:

Fetuses are Just Like Dandruff

by Kit on May 12, 2013

 

Bill Westmiller

In 2004, Bill Westmiller became the national chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus.  Westmiller’s main claim to fame in the Republican Liberty Caucus is his authoring of the current language of the RLC Statement of Principles.  In 2004, Westmiller submitted modified language to the National Convention that would put what they called a ”neutral” position on abortion.  At the time, Westmiller stated that “The neutral abortion plank is intended to avoid conflicting statements from state organizations and describe our motives.”  Unfortunately for pro-life conservatives, Westmiller left out part of the story—and why not?  The other founders of the RLC were die-hard libertarians, and as such were pro-abortion themselves.  They already knew about the RLC’s pro-abortion roots because they designed them.  The knowledge that Westmiller once compared an unborn baby to a flake of dandruff was no big deal.  That’s how they felt too.

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Lord of the RLC #6b: A Journey in the Dark (Bylaws)

The Problem with National: (CATCH 22 Bylaws)

As I described in  Lord of the RLC #6a: A Journey in the Dark (Principles), when Sandra “Sandi” “the Belz”  Belzer Brendale, in the summer of 2012, laid the foundation for the Washington State RLC, by little more than the heat, light, and sincerity of her own personality, we listened.

When we looked at the National RLC Statement of Principles and instinctively understood that a grand confrontation between its “classical Libertarians” and the “true conservatives”  was inevitable… somewhere on the horizon… we were deeply concerned, but we had faith in Sandi and believed her when she said  she had a plan to “fix it,” and we joined.

Sandi Belzer Brendale had begun to call the patriots from the hills to battle to save the nation.

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The problem with RLC National (Leadership 1990-2003)

[Ed Note:   This is the first of  three articles by Kit Lange of Victory Girls.  At the time of the RLCWA Convention Kit and Clayton had not yet completed this research. It would be possible to hypothesize that the glaring errors in the  RLC's Statement of Principles (that we pointed out here)  were an accident or an oversight unless you knew the facts Kit  exposes in these articles.]

Exposing The Republican “Liberty” Caucus Part

I: Pro-Abortion, Pro-Illegal, Anti-Liberty History

by Kit Lange and R. Clayton Strang

The Republican Party is broken.  This is undeniable fact.   It is no longer the effective machine for liberty and freedom that we grew up with.  The party of Ronald Reagan, who stood and fought for the right things, seems to no longer exist.  Grassroots conservatives, however, refuse to give up.  For some time, we have been trying to find something — anything, that can restore the national GOP to a party of integrity and values, and it is a national restoration that is necessary.

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Lord of the RLC #6a: A Journey in the Dark (Principles)

The tomb of Durin I; legendary first King of Libertopia

The problem with National (Principles)

It was glaring.

But who would notice? The problem with the RLC, I mean.

When “the Belz” began to barnstorm, in the summer of 2012, on the stump for the Washington Chapter of the RLC, I specifically attended a Ron Paul reunion event at Lil’ Erickson’s to listen to her and ask what “the program” would be. Not what the RLC would stand for, but what it would DO. Sandi Belzer Brendale was articulate about a “two pronged” approach: 1, “education” for which she would tap the John Birch Society and 2, “literature distribution” for which she would tap the John Birch Society. So far, so good. Sandi was – like Lil’ – a member of the John Birch Society.

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Lord of the RLC #5: Journey to the Crossroads

[Ed. note: We are aware that Doug Parris spent many hours distilling the text of his speech (below) from his experience,  for what he believed was a rare opportunity in the Washington State RLC (as we have already published). Following that conference, the expressions of the outstanding legislators (Five is Company) and his own speech, Doug sensed, in both the theme of Matt Dubin’s presentation and the rising participation of one of the GOP Establishment’s key operatives (Dani Bolyard) that the RLC’s opportunity was in danger. (Those concerns have been echoed recently by many over the news that Lori Sotelo is a member of the RLC.) 

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Lord of the RLC #4: The Voice of Saruman

“After Frodo and Gandalf are reunited at Rivendell midway through The Fellowship of the Ring, the wizard explains why he failed to join Frodo: he had been summoned to consult with Saruman, who proposed that the wizards ally themselves with the rising power of Sauron in order to eventually control him for their own ends.”

The January 27 Kickoff of the Washington State RLC Charter, in the persons of valiant State Legislators,  presented a single vision of political idealism: Constitutionally protected Inalienable Rights. But the Most Significant thing that took place at that Kickoff went, perhaps, unnoticed at the time by many attendees. It was, in fact, a conflict of operational visions between two of its speakers, Matt Dubin, attorney and former Ron Paul figurehead, (who had been recruited for RLC Vice Chair by Sandi Belzer Brendale) and myself. The conflict is rooted in our radically different understandings of the nature of the Republican Party.

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Lord of the RLC #2: The Shadow of the Past

The Republican Liberty Caucus Kicked Off in Middle Washington the same weekend that the Roanoke Conference was washed up on our Left Coast. The two conferences were held on opposite ends of the philosophical spectrum within the Republican Party and incorporated within them every possible immediate future of the Republican Party.

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Lord of the RLC #1: A Long-Expected Party

Editor’s note: The following reflections on the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC)  were penned in the 48 hours following the kickoff event for the Washington chapter of the RLC, held in Yakima January 27.  We  intended   to  incorporate this material into  the series we were publishing on the contrasting conventions that weekend in Olympia (The Roanoke Conference) and Yakima (where many from the liberty wing of the Republican party gathered, including significant members of the Washington state legislature). We have been working with this material for several months.   We were held back from completing that series by Something.

 

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Sotelo First Anniversary Party!

[Ed. note: Readers of the The Reagan Wing know we regularly publish events of note in the Republican Party.]

April 21, 2013 is the first anniversary of one of the most significant events in  the history of King County Republican Caucuses.  Yes, those of you who follow these events  well remember the 37LD basketball court caucus where the curtain of secrecy  was finally drawn aside, and the resultant national YouTube and Fox News debut of King County’s own Lori Sotelo!

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Washington RLC State Convention: Deadlines

Middle Washington. Again. A Council. For Liberty. 

The Howard Johnson convention room rates are guaranteed through April 12.

The RLC early registration fee is guaranteed through April 11th, after which rates rise (see flyer below).

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Don’t Attend

By: Stephen Pidgeon

The Washington State Republican Party’s 31st Annual Gala Dinner and Auction will be on Saturday, April 13, 2013 at the Hilton Bellevue.  This is an event you should skip.

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The way we ARE ~ Quote of the week

1. McCain was to the left of Bush in 2000 and moved further left for the following 8 years.
2. Romney is to the left, even, of McCain in vision, variable in rhetoric.

“Bush-like” would be an improvement over these two. “W” exhibited a tangible, mind-dead sincerity they both lack. George, I believe, actually thought he was doing “the best thing” as his epistemologically-challenged mindset conceived it.

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Where’s a Republican to Go!?!

This coming weekend …

Rob McKenna (from an email blast paid for by  Friends of Rob McKenna) wants to see you in Ocean Shores…”at the 4th annual  … [Midstream] Roanoke Conference … Washington State’s premier gathering of Republicans…”

We are told some who were headed to Ocean Shores to hear such “premier” Republicans as Slade Gorton, have in the wake of Kirby’s coronation last Saturday, cancelled their plans and are headed for Yakima instead, for the first statewide event of the Republican Liberty Caucus to

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Notes from the Dark Side: Kirby’s Sith credentials showing

When Kirby Wilbur ran for Chair of the Washington State Republican Party, there were two possibilities. The Reagan Wing began to consider them each here.

Kirby had the choice to become the reformer the Party desperately needs, as he implied to conservatives when he campaigned for that office, or become the most dangerous counterfeit and predator to hold the chairmanship since Jennifer Dunn, using the power of the chair to advance the cause of Republican Liberalism.  We have, in the correspondence below, more of what is now a conclusive case that the question has been answered.

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We want Squishes! The story of the 2012 KCGOP Organization Meeting, Part II

?Squishing?

The willful act of re-electing Lori Sotelo to Chair the King County Republican Party may be of astonishing significance.

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We want a King! The real story of the 2012 KCGOP Organization Meeting Part I

King County is larger than 13 States, is the most liberal county in Washington, and regularly imposes, on the rest of the State, thinly disguised Marxist Politicians who go largely unchallenged by the King County Republicans (KCGOP).

The County has 2499 precincts. There are 2499 Republican Precinct Committee Offices established by Washington State Law. Only 1149 of those precincts are represented on the Republican Central Committee by officers elected on November 6, 2012 and certified by King County Elections.

On Saturday, December 8, only 457 of the 1149 showed up for the biannual Organization Meeting that is defined and mandated by State Law (RCW29A.80.030).

No such meeting was held.

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Part V: Republican Suicide

We threw it all away.

For as long as we have been a nation, there has always existed a remnant of patriots, willing, anxious, to defend Constitutional Government– freedom as conceived by our founders. 

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Part III: The Power of Image

The following spiritual factors, published in January, refined, and corrected here for tense,  remain an accurate, current diagnosis of the life-threatening Republican malady. ~ Doug

If the Rain comes
They run and hide their heads
They might as well be dead
If the Rain comes.

When the sun shines
They slip into the shade
And sip their lemonade
When the sun shines
When the sun shines

~John Lennon, lyrics from the 1966 single “Rain” on the “B” side of “Paperback Writer”

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How Perot defeated BOTH Bush and Clinton

In 1992, President George HW Bush was hoping for an easy re-election against Governor Bill Clinton. The cold war was over and the United States had just won a quick and decisive war against a brutal middle-east tyrant.

Then out of the blue appeared Ross Perot, an outspoken Texas billionaire who had a clear message: Balance the budget. He recognized the need to reduce the size of our bloated federal government. His ability to  finance his own campaign and his numerous television appearances, especially on Larry King’s show, helped him eventually earn 19% of the vote that November. Clearly, this cost the election for the Republican party, allowing Bill Clinton to take the presidency with only 43% of the vote.

The GOP was punished for straying from one of their core principles. President Bush had abandoned one of the major factions of the party. That faction was the fiscal conservatives.

In an earlier post I mentioned that the 2 major parties are each made up of factions. President Reagan defined the Republican party as a “three legged stool“. The three legs being social conservatives, national security conservatives, and fiscal conservatives. When Republican politicians ignore any one of those factions, they lose.

By 1994, the party had learned its lesson. It wanted, moreover needed those Perot voters back. Newt Gingrich and other leaders in Congress formulated the Contract With America. The contract contained 10 major acts:

• The Fiscal Responsibility Act
• The Taking Back Our Streets Act
• The Personal Responsibility Act
• The American Dream Restoration Act
• The National Security Restoration Act
• The “Common Sense” Legal Reform Act
• The Job Creation and Wage Enhancement Act
• The Citizen Legislature Act
• The Family Reinforcement Act
• The Senior Citizens Fairness Act

Each of these acts appealed to at least one of the party’s major factions. The voters were convinced that they were serious about these reforms. The Republicans won…big time. After over 40 years as a minority party, they were finally in charge of Congress.

Once in office, they went to work and actually passed those bills. Many were vetoed by President Clinton, but when it came to spending, Congress dug in its heels. They would not let Clinton grow government beyond its means. By the end of the decade, the federal budget deficit, which had been $203B in 1994, had been slashed to a $236B surplus!!

So, in 1992 an independent candidate appears on the scene carrying the banner of fiscal conservatism, and loses. But did he really lose? In my opinion, he lost the battle, but won the war.

I am proud to have voted for Ross Perot in 1992. At the time, many people called it a wasted vote. History has proven otherwise.

Bruce Morton and his wife (Lake Stevens, Washington)  have four children.  A conservative activist, Bruce didn’t give up or go away after 2008. He is an electrical engineer and holds degrees from Brigham Young University and the University of Florida. He spent two years as a missionary in Guatemala. He blogs occasionally at  Bruce Morton
contrarianconformist.blogspot.com

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The Shaft heard ’round the World

What was at stake (in the following video from yesterdays National Convention proceedings) was the rule to end all rules – giving the National GOP Establishment the right to change rules in the middle of a contest… like the Washington State GOP Establishment has been doing. You know – the way Obama governs.

What you will see in the video is, on the first level, John Boehner serial-cheating in the adoption of National Convention Rules… by refusing to hold a standing vote despite calls for “division,”  then ignoring points of order shouted at high volume because the mics had been turned off.

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