New York State Republican Liberty Caucus

Another election gone by, and it turned out quite well for the Republican Party overall and the Republican Liberty Caucus in specific.

Republicans elected new Governors in New Jersey and Virginia. Neither of the candidates, Chris Christie or Bob McDonnell, was endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus, but we believe they will provide a better vision for their states than their respective opponents.

In Virginia, voters elected State Senator Ken Cuccinelli to the post of Attorney General. Cuccinelli is a social and fiscal conservative, and some RLC members have been offended by his social conservatism. Still, he seems to be one of the few politicians in the state that understands the concept of limited government, and has a voting record consistent with the RLC’s goals. His new position elevates Cuccinelli to one of the most high-level advocates of limited government in the country.

RLC members in Virginia worked hard to help Cuccinelli win the nomination for Attorney General, and many contributed to his campaign directly. Cuccinelli has said that he will not enforce laws he deems unconstitutional. In 2007, Cuccinelli took the time to drive several hours to address a small group of RLC members. View his speech to RLC members at YouTube.

In the RLC’s biggest victory of the night, RLC National Committeeman Dan Halloran was elected to the New York City Council in a Queens district that leans heavily Democrat. Halloran is also the state Chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus in New York. He worked tirelessly to become elected and will join just four other Republicans on the 51-member City Council.

The RLC also had some other significant victories in New Jersey and New Hampshire. Incumbent Michael Patrick Carroll, who the RLC discovered earlier in the year, was re-elected to his New Jersey House seat. Perhaps the most successful liberty-oriented politician in the state, Michael Doherty, was elected to an open seat in the New Jersey State Senate. The RLC profiled Doherty in an earlier edition of our newsletter.

In the Granite State, Jim Forsythe led a team of liberty-loving Republicans that successfully helped three candidates obtain victory. Political newcomer Lynne Blankenbeker was elected in a special election to the New Hampshire House, and RLC members Phil Greazzo and Cameron DeJong were elected to Alderman and Selectman positions in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Several non-endorsed candidates with strong libertarian leanings were also successful on Election night, including Kim Rafferty, who was elected to the Birmingham City Council in Alabama, and Shaun Kenney, who was elected to a County Supervisor in Fluvanna County, Virginia. Additionally, Lisa Marie Coppoletta has advanced to a run-off in a race for San Marcos City Council in Texas.

Unfortunately, TABOR ballot initiatives — which would tie revenue increases to population and inflation growth to keep spending in check — were defeated by voters in Washington state and Maine. The gay marriage ballot initiative in Maine passed, overturning gay marriage in the state, while voters in Washington state chose to extend rights for gays and lesbians.

The nine victories for RLC-endorsed candidates this fall combined with the five spring victories (in Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Texas) have resulted in a very successful off-year election for liberty-focused Republicans.

Congratulations are extended to all of the above candidates, our other endorsed candidates, our supporters, and the folks that helped our endorsed candidates succeed.

Complete RLC election results are available here.

Republican Liberty Caucus of New York Chairman and National RLC Committeeman Dan Halloran was elected to the New York City Council yesterday — 53 percent to 47 percent over Democrat Kevin Kim.

Halloran ran a tremendous race and was incredibly focused on winning. Dan will represent District 19, the communities of Queens.

Congratulations, Dan!

On Saturday, October 10, RLC members reached out at conferences in New York and Wisconsin.

In New York City, the Students for Liberty held its first of seven regional conferences taking place this fall. Several Republican Liberty Caucus representatives brought literature and the RLC banner to the conference to educate students about the Republican Liberty Caucus message and strategy.

Former RLC Board member, Ramapo College Professor of Finance, and former New Jersey Senate candidate Murray Sabrin addressed the audience, as did New York RLC Chair and City Council candidate Dan Halloran (pictured below).

Paul Sanchez of the soon-to-form Wisconsin RLC affiliate attended the Future Wisconsin Conference on October 10, too, to reach out to interested parties there. Future Wisconsin is an annual gathering of conservatives in Wisconsin.

Said Sanchez, “I was able to meet a number of allies to liberty throughout the day and we received a positive reception.”

“After [we charter our chapter], [we should] hit the ground running [to] network as [much as] possible,” he said. “This should then help us gain experience in other tasks such as supporting candidates on a local and state level. I think the next year should be pretty exciting and look forward to moving on to the next step.”

The RLC hopes to have a presence at upcoming Students for Liberty conferences in Boston, Chicago, Austin, Winston-Salem, and Philadelphia.

Obama has been meeting with top officials to map out a strategy for a new health regime for the Nation, much of it mandatory.

According to CBSNews.com, any health care reform plan that Obama signs is almost certain to call for nutrition counseling, obesity screenings and wellness programs at workplaces and community centers. He wants more time in the school day for physical fitness, more nutritious school lunches and more bike paths, walking paths and grocery stores in underserved areas.”

“The president is filling top posts at Health and Human Services with officials who, in their previous jobs, outlawed trans fats, banned public smoking or required restaurants to provide a calorie count with that slice of banana cream pie.”

The whole situation has libertarians craving a basket of onion rings and a beer.

“If you care about the sorts of things I do, then you are going to be losing big-time for the next four to eight years,” said David Harsanyi, a Denver Post columnist and author of the book “Nanny State: How Food Fascists, Teetotaling Do-Gooders, Priggish Moralists and Other Boneheaded Bureaucrats Are Turning America Into a Nation of Children.”

Don’t get them wrong, critics such as Harsanyi say — they like broccoli and they lift barbells and they have no particular beef with a healthy president who was once described by his physician as having “no excess body fat.”

Says the paper, “They just don’t like it when government becomes the messenger and the enforcer.”

You can say that again.