Ron Johnson, candidate for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin, claims he is a Tea Party candidate.

But why did it take Mr. Johnson until mid-June, after he received the endorsement of the Republican Party establishment, to put up his issue position statements at his website?

Perhaps the Republican establishment had to craft the perfect issue position statements for him.

Unfortunately for Mr. Johnson, his issue position statement includes meddling in the affairs of law-abiding American citizens — something the Republican Liberty Caucus is vocal in its opposition to. Says Mr. Johnson’s website,

“Ron also supports REAL ID, requiring employers to verify the Social Security numbers of potential employees. Ron supports providing law enforcement the necessary tools, such as the Patriot Act, to protect our country.”

Ron Johnson wants to empower the federal government to snoop in the lives of ordinary private citizens, tap phone lines, and spy on Wisconsinites.

That’s not a respectable Republican position, which is another reason why the Republican Liberty Caucus is vocal in its support of Dave Westlake for U.S. Senate.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the RLC.

You’re in for a real treat if you haven’t yet watched Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin Adviser Dr. Yuri Maltsev discussing his background, personal and economic liberty, and The Road to Serfdom on The Glenn Beck program yesterday.

Glenn Beck discusses how Dr. Maltsev risked his life to read The Road to Serfdom by the famous libertarian economist F.A. Hayek. Please view this clip. We are so fortunate to have Dr. Maltsev teaching here in Wisconsin at Carthage College.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the RLC.

There have been quite a few inquiries from interested folks about why the Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin has endorsed Mark Neumann for Governor and Dave Westlake for U.S. Senate. Here is a brief explanation.

In order to understand it fully, you have to learn about the Republican Liberty Caucus. We’re interested in downsizing the scope of state government involvement in every aspect of your life.  Here is our statement of principles and positions. In short, we think Mark Neumann and Dave Westlake will work to get government off the backs of Wisconsinites and restore economic competition to our state.

Rigged Process

First, in principle we oppose the Republican Party of Wisconsin making pre-emptive endorsements prior to the primary. They did so in both the Gubernatorial race and the U.S. Senate race. The Wisconsin Republican Party’s pre-primary endorsements were inappropriate for several reasons:

• They are directing money and resources to candidates prior to allowing primary voters to weigh in;

• The state GOP clearly picked its favorites and was working to help their favorites even before the state GOP Convention;

• Winning is not as important as vigorously protecting free and fair elections. Selling out on principle to win has not yielded positive results for the Republican Party in the past;

• Pre-primary endorsements discourage Republicans from donating to the Republican Party of Wisconsin; after all, if you donated to them to help build the Republican Party and they are funding the candidate you did not want them to fund, it doesn’t appear that your money is being put to good use.

Review of Candidates

After considering how rigged the Republican Party of Wisconsin process has been from the beginning, our Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin Board members sent the RLC candidate questionnaire to each of the candidates running. Dave Westlake and Mark Neumann were willing and able to respond to the questions in our questionnaire (see right side of page). Several of their opponents did not reply.

Additionally, we feel that Mark Neumann has the type of experience that a Governor needs. Scott Walker has served in government his entire adult life. His record of service is exceptional and we respect him for his efforts. However, Mr. Neumann has government service and a career of private sector experience. Neumann also kept his term limits pledge and worked diligently for balanced budgets while he was in Congress.

To be candid, we endorsed Dave Westlake prior to sending the questionnaire to Ron Johnson because we did not even know Johnson was a candidate. However, it is now early June and Johnson still does not have an issues page up at his website, which clearly demonstrates that he is either not comfortable putting his true views up for voters to read or that the Wisconsin Republican establishment is working diligently to change his platform to suite their interests.

Dave Westlake would be a very good Senator. He listens to people’s concerns and is interested in hearing ideas from them. His campaign is grassroots, not driven by the media or fueled by large donors. This people-focused approach to politics will allow Westlake to serve the people of Wisconsin rather than the special interests.

In any case, it is possible we can endorse Ron Johnson in the future (we can endorse more than one candidate per race), and that will depend on whether Johnson bothers to respond to our survey (which has been sent to the Johnson campaign) and whether he has clear positions that correspond with our statement of principles.

Candidate Issue Positions

The main criteria for the Republican Liberty Caucus in endorsing candidates is how they will work to change public policy in the direction of individual liberty, limited government, and free enterprise.

Mark Neumann’s issues page indicates that he is a strong supporter of the Tenth Amendment, is in favor of ethics changes that will make government work better for Wisconsinites, and will work to slash government spending and bureaucracy. Some (though certainly not all) of our members disagree with Mr. Neumann on hot button social issues such as immigration and equal rights for gays and lesbians. We’re convinced Neumann will cut government in the state and will work to balance the budget. He also scored well in the Republican Liberty Caucus Liberty Index when he was in Congress, scoring inside the Libertarian quadrant in three of the four years he was scored.

Dave Westlake’s issues page discusses the importance of state sovereignty (Tenth Amendment), the limited role of the federal government, term limits, and simplifying the tax code. Some of our members have disagreements with Westlake on his view of foreign policy and his position on immigration.

In our view, neither of these two candidates is perfect. In fact, neither would likely be comfortable calling themselves libertarian Republicans. Perhaps they would consider themselves Constitutionalists. In any case, these are the best candidates Wisconsin has to offer for U.S. Senate and for Governor in 2010. We think our slate of candidates will radically reduce government waste and increase freedom in the state of Wisconsin. If you agree, please consider becoming a member of the Republican Liberty Caucus.

–Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin,
Board of Directors | June 4, 2010

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the RLC.

Where is Wisconsin’s Lee Sherman Dreyfus of the 21st Century?

After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II and completing his graduate studies, Lee Sherman Dreyfus continued to communicate with, and inspire, many people while teaching and managing student radio and television stations at Wayne State University (Michigan) and the University of Wisconsin.

By the time he became Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Dreyfus had mastered the art of public speaking. His skills as an orator and educator combined with the signature red vest he wore to identify himself to students as he walked the campus during the challenging Vietnam era earned him the designation of the students’ Chancellor.

As Dreyfus campaigned for Governor in 1978, it was his ability to communicate that drove his underestimated, underfunded and unorthodox team to victory. He dismissed the traditional political strategies of allying with interest groups and pursuing large contributions. Instead he hopped onto his transformed school bus with the rag-tag band, taking his message to every corner of Wisconsin to let the people decide.

Dreyfus came out of nowhere to win the Republican Party nomination for Governor in September, 1978.  The Republican Party worked to defeat Dreyfus, but he ultimately won the Republican primary and then was elected Governor.  Lee Sherman Dreyfus served as Wisconsin Governor from 1979 to 1983.

Dreyfus believed government’s role should be limited to only three things: “defending our shores, delivering our mail and staying the hell out of our lives.”  He was a fiscal conservative who worked to downsize government intervention in Wisconsin’s economy.  At the same time, he was a social moderate — believing “there are some questions the government has no business asking.”  In 1982, Governor Dreyfus signed the nation’s first civil rights legislation barring discrimination for gays and lesbians in jobs and housing.

He later served as Interim State Superintendent of Public Instruction and on the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, before his death in 2008.

Lee Sherman Dreyfus wasn’t concerned about political parties or special interest groups. His focus was on people and on the policies that would improve their lives.

Wisconsin desperately needs a leader like Lee S. Dreyfus in 2010.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the RLC.