Dave Westlake and Mark Neumann volunteers team up to hand out literature at the Tournament of Chips Parade in Sauk Prairie on September 4, 2010.  The RLC-WI is proud to see endorsed candiates working together in achieving one goal.

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

On the August 27th edition of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”, former Congressman and now cable news talkshow host, Joe Scarborough, called Mark Neumann a “Rockstar” when it came to balancing the budget and reducing spending when Neumann served with Scarborough in the US House of Representatives.

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

To the Editor:

Who sincerely believes GOP Congressional primary candidate Reid Ribble gave up his Lake Winnebago lakeside home in Sherwood and moved into a flophouse apartment complex next to a De Pere quarry?  According to Calumet County online records, he has owned his half-million dollar home for at least the past ten years, and that property is more than four miles away from the nearest inch of the 8th Congressional District.   (Given that these pesky details are available to the public online, I’m curious why the establishment media hasn’t picked up on this?)

I recall Wisconsin Republicans howling at Hillary Clinton for carpetbagging her way into New York in 2000.  However, the GOP Establishment is strangely silent on this current abuse. I guess the sauce isn’t as good on this gander.

Unfortunately for the genuine conservative residents of the 8th Congressional District, the bigger issue is whether Ribble’s carpetbagging belies his past support of amnesty for illegal aliens and the continued migration of cheap labor for the benefit of his industry donors.

Frankly, with his $9,000 property tax bill, he should try lowering ruinous state taxes by running for a state office or even dogcatcher, but stick to his own district.

Brian Heyer
Greenville, Wis.

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

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin has endorsed three more candidates for Assembly in Milwaukee, Fond du Lac, and Appleton.

In the 52nd district primary (Fond du Lac area), the RLC Board of Directors has opted to endorse two candidates: Timothy Lakin and Jeremy Thiesfeldt. The Board felt that both candidates were excellent and would uphold the principles of the Republican Liberty Caucus.

In the 57th district primary (Appleton/Oshkosh), the RLC firmly stands behind Chuck Schmidt, a member of the Outagamie County Board of Supervisors. Mr. Schmidt is a supporter of smaller, less intrusive government and will add a voice of sanity to the legislature if he is elected.

In Assembly District 7 (Milwaukee), the RLC has endorsed Brad Sponholz in his race to defeat longtime incumbent Democrat Peggy Krusik. There is probably no race where the philosophies of the two candidates differ more than this one. Sponholz is a former Libertarian Party activist and Krusik is a crusader for government intervention on almost all issues, almost all of the time.

Please support these candidates.

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

In the last two days, RLC-endorsed candidate Terri McCormick has been attacked at the FoxPolitics, Try2Focus, RhymesWithClown, and “Wisconsin Truth Project” blogs for her vote on the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

Rather than telling the entire truth about why McCormick voted against TABOR, each of these “conservative bloggers” (who are supporting Republican Party establishment-backed candidates for Congress) hope to mislead their readers to believe Terri McCormick voted against TABOR because she doesn’t care about taxpayers.

I asked McCormick the real reason she voted against TABOR.  The answer:

“TABOR was to taxpayers protection what the “Patriot Act” is to constitutional protections. I voted against TABOR because it was a sham.  It was so watered down by the Republican leadership and the dealmakers that it was meaningless to any real spending cuts.”

”I wrote an amendment — several of them as a matter of fact — on that vote because it was such a sham.  The main Amendment I created was to create Zero Based Budgeting so the spending that TABOR did not restrain would actually be restrained.  The leadership voted against my Amendment.”

The full truth is this: Terri McCormick took a principled vote to oppose TABOR (in opposition to the Republican Party leadership) because of backroom deals to appease the Democrats and hurt the taxpayers.

It sounds like we have a genuine Tea Party candidate in Terri McCormick.

That’s why Terri McCormick has been endorsed by Change the Congress in 2010, RightMarch, the American Liberty Coalition, and the Republican Liberty Caucus.

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

WEST ALLIS - In the first of three debates for the Republican Nomination for Governor, RLC Endorsed Candidate, Mark Neumann, took on his Republican Primary Challenger, Scott Walker, at The Wisconsin State Fair hosted by WTMJ-AM 620 host, Jeff Wagner, on Friday, August 6, 2010.

When asked by host Wagner about what type of Judges he would appoint as Governor, Neumann stated without hesitation, “Constitutionalists”.  Judges are elected in Wisconsin, but the governor gets to appoint them when there are vacancies.

“This type of answer makes the RLC so very proud to have endorsed Mark Neumann for Governor”, said RLC-WI Chair, Michael S. Murphy.  “It is about time that politicians start abiding by the Constitution and appointing Judges who obey the Constitution, rather than interpreting it.  The Constitution is in clear plain English, therefore it needs no interpretation”,  Murphy concluded.

Mark Neumann continued in his debate outlining his Property Tax Plan.  “The move would inject billions of dollars into the economy, helping to create jobs”, Neumann said.  Neumann also touched on how he would keep spending below inflation.

Neumann addressed other topics such as instituting more Choice Schools in Wisconsin, giving the Wisconsin Attorney General the chance to sue over the federal health-care reform law, and authorizing the Wisconsin Attorney General to weigh in on Arizona’s side in the federal government’s lawsuit against that state.

Both candidates square-off again in debate on August 14th, which will be hosted by the Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty.

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

Should Paul Ryan run for President?

Increasingly our Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan has become a national media darling. Representative Ryan is consistently being promoted on social media networks and by the Republican Party of Wisconsin and the nationwide “free market” group Americans for Prosperity.

The fact of the matter is that Congressman Ryan voted with George W. Bush 94% of the time. That’s why Ryan’s 2007 Republican Liberty Caucus Liberty Index score, which ranks members of Congress on their voting record from a constitutional perspective, was 91% on economic issues but only 56% on social issues. In 2006, his score on the Liberty Index was 66% on economic issues and 67% on social issues.  He has scored better on the Liberty Index; his 2008 score, for example, was 88 both on social and economic issues — an impressive score.

It appears that when Paul Ryan’s party is doing the spending, raising debt limits, and acting unconstitutionally… Ryan goes with the flow.

Congressman Ryan’s actual record leaves much to be desired.

The issue Ryan is most known for is his interest in cutting the deficit and balancing the budget.

But why did the Congressman vote to bail out the auto industry, to pass the Medicare package to the tune of $400 billion, and to nationalize education via No Child Left Behind?

Paul Ryan on Bailouts and Government Stimuli
-Voted YES on TARP (2008)
-Voted YES on Economic Stimulus HR 5140 (2008)
-Voted YES on $15B bailout for GM and Chrysler. (Dec 2008)
-Voted YES on $192B additional anti-recession stimulus spending. (Jul 2009)

Paul Ryan on Entitlement Programs
-Voted YES on limited prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. (Nov 2003)
-Voted YES on providing $70 million for Section 8 Housing vouchers. (Jun 2006)
-Voted YES on extending unemployment benefits from 39 weeks to 59 weeks. (Oct 2008)
-Voted YES on Head Start Act (2007)

Paul Ryan on Education
Rep. Ryan went along with the Bush Administration in supporting more federal involvement in education. This is contrary to the traditional Republican position, which included support for abolition of the Department of Education and decreasing federal involvement in education.

-Voted YES on No Child Left Behind Act (2001)

Paul Ryan on Civil Liberties
-Voted YES on federalizing rules for driver licenses to hinder terrorists. (Feb 2005)
-Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
-Voted YES on allowing electronic surveillance without a warrant. (Sep 2006)

Paul Ryan on War and Intervention Abroad
-Voted YES on authorizing military force in Iraq. (Oct 2002)
-Voted YES on emergency $78B for war in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Apr 2003)
-Voted YES on declaring Iraq part of War on Terror with no exit date. (Jun 2006)
-Voted NO on redeploying US troops out of Iraq starting in 90 days. (May 2007)

Congressman Ryan supports the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, federal bailouts, increased federal involvement in education, unconstitutional and undeclared wars, Medicare Part D (a multi trillion dollar unfunded liability), stimulus spending, and foreign aid.

According to Michelle Malkin in 2009, “[Paul Ryan] gave one of the most hysterical speeches in the rush to pass TARP last fall; voted for the auto bailout; and voted with the Barney Frank-Nancy Pelosi AIG bonus-bashing stampede. Milwaukee blogger Nick Schweitzer wrote: ‘He ought to be apologizing for his previous votes, not pretending he was being responsible the entire time, but I don’t see one bit of regret for what he did previously. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let him get away with it’.”

Congressman Ryan: if you don’t like debt, stop voting for debt.

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

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin Executive Board recently approved two new endorsements, bringing the total number of endorsed candidates in 2010 to thirteen (13).

The Board approved the endorsements of Evan Wynn, running for Assembly in District 43–Whitewater and Jeremy Thiesfeldt, running for Assembly in District 52–Fond du Lac.

Evan Wynn is a veteran who served in the Iraq war. He is interested in economic issues and is bringing small government solutions to the table in the race.

Jeremy Thiesfeldt serves on the Fond du Lac City Council and is also a high school civics teacher. He brings his belief in transparency and smaller government to the debate in the 52nd district.

Learn more about the RLC’s endorsed candidates at http://wi.rlc.org/endorsements/.

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

For those unaware, the Republican Party of Wisconsin decided — in contrast to its past principles and traditions — to endorse candidates at its state Convention in May.  The endorsed candidates were Ron Johnson for U.S. Senate and Scott Walker for Governor.  I wrote a commentary shortly after the Convention in which I criticize the entire process and explained how it is a slap in the face of Wisconsin primary voters and the Tea Party.

The state party continues to engage in behavior that is not appropriate for a political party. According to Barry Orton, a Professor of Political Science at UW-Madison, the Republican Party of Wisconsin’s pollsters called him on July 18.

When asked which candidate he was supporting in the Governor race, the choices were Scott Walker (R) or Tom Barrett (D).  When asked which candidate he was supporting in the U.S. Senate race, the choices were Ron Johnson (R) or Russ Feingold (D).

Excluded were RLC-endorsed candidates Mark Neumann for Governor and Dave Westlake for U.S. Senate.

Wisconsin voters will not be bullied by Party Bosses to support the candidates they are told to support, so I suggest the Republican Party of Wisconsin end its menacing tactics immediately.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin supports transparency and is opposed to the state Republican Party making pre-primary endorsements.

Please contact the Republican Party of Wisconsin today at at (608) 257-4765 or gop@wisgop.org and ask them why they are excluding Republican ballot-qualified candidates from their polls. Better yet, contact Wisconsin GOP Chairman Reice Priebus at rrpriebus@michaelbest.com or phone him at (414) 225-2746. As the state GOP Chair, I’m sure he will be interested in hearing from Republican voters in Wisconsin.

The level of insider deals and unbalanced powergrabs continue to hurt the Republican Party of Wisconsin, so much so that it’s time to withhold any support from the state Republican Party until their leadership does not permit pre-primary endorsements and treats all candidates the same.

Until that time, please support the Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin as a principled alternative.

Please let the state party know what you think of their desperate efforts to propel Ron Johnson and Scott Walker to victory in September. They realize their candidates are weak and are using all tactics possible to advance their struggling campaigns.

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

The Wausau Daily Herald is one of the largest newspapers in the state of Wisconsin.

In an op-ed published there, Governor candidate Mark Neumann discusses his background, his commitment to limited government, and his endorsement by the Republican Liberty Caucus.  Says Neumann:

“Sue and I are not setting aside our small businesses to run for governor to serve any special interests. That’s why we’ve been endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Right to Life, and have more than 50,000 Facebook fans — the most of any Republican candidate for governor in the country.”

You can become a Facebook fan of Neumann at http://www.facebook.com/strongwisconsin.

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