The RLC rarely endorses a presidential candidate. In order to preserve the integrity of the organization, an endorsement requires near unanimity among all its active state affiliates. In fact, the last time the RLC has endorsed a presidential candidate was Steve Forbes in 1996.

But the national RLC announced on the eve of the Iowa primary, after the required consultation with the state RLCs including Florida, that the RLC is officially endorsing Ron Paul for president of the United States.

“Paul has often been a lone vote against big government and big spending in the wilderness of the House of Representatives, but as president that lone vote would become a veto and stop government abuses dead in their tracks,” observed Earl Bandy, Chairman of the RLC of Colorado. “That alone is a great reason to put Ron Paul in the White House and give him that power.” 

To get involved with the Ron Paul campaign in Florida, join your local Meetup group. You can find a list of Meetups and links to other resources here.

In support of the Palm Beach County 8-year county commission term limits law, the Palm Beach County Republican Executive Committee approved a pro-term limits resolution 170-0 at their Aug. 10 meeting.  The resolution was written by Philip Blumel, a Florida RLCer and president of the Fairfax, VA, based U.S. Term Limits.

Half of Florida's 20 "home rule" charter counties have adopted term limits via a direct vote of the people, as you can see on this chart. A gaggle of politicians in Broward County challenged their term limits law -- passed in 2000 with 80% of the vote -- and found a local judge to strike down the law. The decision was written by Judge Carol Lisa Phillips, wife of the term limited former mayor of Ft. Lauderdale, who couldn't resist editorializing against term limits in her decision. An appellate court overturned the flawed Phillips decision, unanimously and unequivocably, on Aug. 10.  But the politicians have appealed and the case is going to the Supreme Court. You can follow the case on Blumel's  statewide term limits blog.

To read the Palm Beach County resolution in its entirety, go here.

If any RLCers are members of their local REC in a county with term limits, you are encouraged to submit a similar resolution in your county. If you would like help drafting it, contact Philip Blumel at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

In preparation for the 2012 election cycle, the Miami-Dade RLC is kicking into gear after reforming last year. Finishing up the affiliation process for official recognition by the state RLC, the group on Sept. 6 held elections and made plans for running candidates for public and party officies and participation in the upcoming Presidency 5 straw poll.

The Southernmost RLC club has some pedigree to live up to, as prior to statewide revival of the RLC in 2004, the Miami RLC was the flagship Florida RLC organization.

At the Tuesday meeting, at The Bar in Miami, it was determined that the following members present would form the pro-tempore executive committee:

Marcus Rivchin, chair (pictured)
Emmanuel "Manny" Roman, vice-chair
Alex Stauber, secretary
Ira Paul, treasurer

It was determined that the following members present would form the by-laws committee:

Hector Roos
Channie Kahan
Alden Dominguez

The next meeting will be at 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18 at Sushi Cafe & Shilla Korean Restaurant, 7917 NW 2nd St., Miami, FL 33126, (305) 261-4266. To be alerted of future Miami-Dade RLC activities, join the Miami-Dade RLC online Meetup here.