Last year was a rough one for the Republican Party of Florida, though, admittedly, it was of their own design.  Scandals rocked the party as the chairman, Jim Greer, was forced out and then arrested, and multiple investigations were launched into corruption within the party structure and members of the legislature.  Florida’s Republican governor, Charlie Crist, saw that he wouldn’t get the Republican nomination and split off to run as an independent, doing everything he could to damage the RPOF along the way.  A split between Crist and Rubio supporters highlighted the first half of the election season; the second half featured an ugly and divisive campaign between McCollum and Scott.  The new chairman, John Thrasher, nearly lost his seat in the State Senate to an unknown.

All of this had been building up for years.  The protection of “safe” (but unprincipled) candidates who were pushed into office and kept there, the “see/hear/speak no evil” mentality that pervaded everything, the grievances launched against those who spoke out the loudest.  It was a culmination of many failed policies that left the RPOF, as a whole, nearly bankrupt, both financially and morally.

Luckily, time marches on and brings with it opportunities to correct the mistakes of the past.  The question on everyone’s mind is: “Will the Republican Party of Florida learn from 2010 and work to improve in 2011?”

While it’s true enough that the RPOF’s primary purpose is to elect Republicans, it should also seek to at least make sure that the Republicans it is electing adhere to basic Republican principles.  One of the easiest ways to do this is to actually pay attention to who is running with the Republican label, and not simply support them because of their party designation.  Once in office, the RPOF needs to carefully watch the legislators it helps to elect, and make sure that they are adhering to the party’s principles.  By protecting the seat of those who work against the principles, the RPOF has lost a number of its grassroots supporters.

The RPOF should also be careful not to drive out people who might help it simply to silence their criticism.  This created some of its staunchest opposition, including the Florida TEA Party, which has a distinct goal of attacking Republican candidates where possible.  It has also created divisions with some grassroots organizations that might have been able to help Republican candidates better.

I don’t believe a “big tent” is necessary.  The problem is that the tent has not just broadened, but moved significantly to the left, such that the people who believe in original core Republican values such as freedom and constitutional government are now left out of the tent while it tries to accommodate statists and socialists in order to garner more votes.  This strategy has always been a failure; you cannot pull the other party’s base from under them, and in the process you will only lose your own base.  (See Charlie Crist for a magnificent example of the successfulness of trying to pander.)

The RPOF also needs to be willing to come after its own, hard, when they have done wrong.  Whether it’s voting against limited government principles, or corrupt financial dealings, the RPOF needs to speak out and, if the offense is harsh enough or repeated, drive out such members.

To accomplish these things and start building a stronger Republican Party of Florida in 2011, we will need leadership, and that leadership starts at the top.  It’s hard to know for sure whether any of the candidates running will bring that kind of leadership.  Some of them can raise money; some of them are strong on a single issue (like education).

The candidate field is interesting, to say the least.  At one end you have Deborah Cox-Roush who was willing to speak against Jim Greer, and suddenly finds a years-old DUI charge being brought up by the same people who would defend a former president against such a charge.  On the other end you have Tony DiMatteo, who helmed the Grievance Committee under Jim Greer as it sought to purge the party of people who spoke against the will of the chairman.  Sid Dinerstein could be brilliant at raising money and pulling in independents, but will he do so while running a principled RPOF?  Joe Gruters and Dave Bitner seem to have nice platforms, but could they put all of it together on a statewide level?

A properly led RPOF is necessary for Republicans in Florida to have a chance to succeed in the 2012 elections.  It is not enough to believe the grassroots and the Tea Party will carry them to victory.  In order to protect those votes, they have to show us that our party is willing to do the right thing, even if it means being critical of other Republicans.  All of the upgrades in technology, GOTV efforts, fundraising, etc. will mean nothing if the party shows that it hasn’t learned a thing in the past few years.

Will 2011 bring us a fresh start with the Republican Party of Florida, or will it be more of the same?

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida is funded and supported entirely on volunteer time, skills, and effort. Our goal to reduce government and return to Constitutional principles is a huge task. Because this goal needs many people to achieve, we have set up a number of committees to help focus on the tasks needed to promote the RLC message of limited, Constitutional government. We have a dedicated, enthusiastic, patriotic group of people who help make it all happen! Wed love to have your support in any of the following capacities:

• Activism
• Events and Fundraising
• Marketing and Outreach
• Membership
• Online Communications

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it If youd like us to contact you about how you can help the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida, or if you would like to offer a special talent or skill, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to volunteer.

Supporting Candidates At the RLC one of our goals is to assist in training and equipping good candidates to run for office on the local, state and federal level. We are always looking for candidates who support Free Enterprise, Individual Rights and Limited Government. If you are a Republican candidate seeking a RLC and/or the RLC-PAC endorsement and support we would like to hear from you.

In order to be recognized as an RLC endorsed candidate, we require the following:

Be a registered Republican seeking office as a Republican. Be legally qualified for the office you are seeking. Complete the "20 Question" Candidate Endorsement Questionnaire. Sign the Liberty Compact. The Candicate Endorsement Questionnaire and the Liberty Compact can be downloaded at www.rlc.org. Liberty Compact: A Candidate's Pledge (The Liberty Compact is a written pledge inspired by the words of the late Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) in his book, Conscience of a Conservative, which promotes the belief that government isn't the solution, but all too often the problem. It is a preliminary requirement to obtain an official RLC endorsement. The objective is to assist and identify candidates, both local and national, who deserve consideration by liberty advocates. It may be used by candidates to promote their campaigns to liberty-minded voters. The pledge reads as follows: "I, (insert name), pledge to the citizens of the State of (insert state) and to the American people, that as their elected representative I will work to: Restore liberty, not restrict it; shrink government, not expand it; reduce taxes, not raise them; abolish programs, not create them; promot the freedom and independence of citizens, not the interference of government in their lives; and observe the limited, enumerated powers of our Constitution, not ignore them." The RLC announced the Pledge project on Independence Day of 2001, to mark the true significance of the 4th of July and the Declaration of Independence. Since then, dozens of incumbents and candidates have signed the RLC pledge.

The Republican Liberty Caucus has a specific mission, which is to restore liberty and Constitutional values in American politics through electing members of the Republican Party who have those values and ideals.  For twenty years this mission has been gaining momentum, and can be seen picking up serious steam in the 2010 elections around the country.

Achieving the mission occurs through a very simple strategy that involves two core concepts:

1. Work within the Republican Party.
2. Make sure that the best candidate gets the party nomination in the primary.

The first step seems to be hard for some people to swallow, as it means narrowing your focus somewhat.  To be most effective, RLC activists are encouraged to join their county’s Republican executive committee (REC).  The REC is where Republican strategy is made and the agenda is set.  It determines who the party will support, what ideas it will back, and generally how the local party is run.  Obviously, this has tremendous strategic value for a caucus that tasks itself with reforming the party from the inside out.

Being a member of your REC isn’t enough by itself, however.  You also have to be willing to work with the local party members and have at the very least a working relationship with them.  To that end, all conflict and strife should be avoided if necessary, as it creates barriers and can lead to negative publicity.  If a situation arises, it’s best for the RLC member(s) to back away from it and make it known that they aren’t interesting in any kind of trouble.

It’s also useful to help with campaigns of candidates (preferably ones you find enjoyable), or to do some other work to help the party on the local level (i.e. making phone calls, knocking on doors, helping organize a voter registration drive, etc.).  There are a number of things you can do to actively help the party without sacrificing your principles.

One of the issues that faces some members is how much they can support candidates outside of the Republican Party.  This becomes a particularly sticky situation when you have a party loyalty oath like that used by the Republican Party of Florida.  Typically, RLC members openly supporting non-Republican candidates against Republicans can cause friction with their relations within the party.  The RPOF loyalty oath actually states that those who sign it are forbidden from openly supporting any candidate running against a Republican in a partisan election, except in a primary.  It’s worth noting that in order to join any of Florida’s RECs, you must sign the loyalty oath.  This is no small matter; signing your name to a document is regarded by most as putting your honor on the line, and to go against an oath you signed your name to can create some serious issues.  If you’re not comfortable with such a restriction, you should probably see about working from outside of your local REC if they have one in place.

In order to prevent RLC members from feeling the urge to vote against the Republican candidate, the RLC needs to win primary elections, getting the liberty candidate into the general election.  Once they are pressed through, the party is typically forced to support them.  Mike Yost is a solid example where a good primary push got a great liberty candidate into the general election, where he has earned the support of many of the Republican Party’s biggest names in his bid to win the Congressional District 3 race in Florida.  Unfortunately, if the primary run fails, the opposing candidate will get the party’s support, and any further actions against them will incur some hard feelings within the party.

It is not the general election where the RLC needs to focus most of its efforts, but rather these primary elections.  In the 10-18 months leading up to a primary election, RLC members need to identify good liberty minded candidates quickly within the Republican Party, and then support them as much as possible, putting all time, effort, and even money into that candidate to get them through the primary.  In many regions this push will give a large boost that could see the candidate win and make it through to the general election.  Once they’re in the general election, the Republican Party will take over, donating far more resources than the RLC could muster for the race.

The RLC has a good strategy, a winning strategy.  Work within the party, and push liberty candidates in the primary elections.  If RLC members can do these things – avoiding strife, breaking oaths, or being sucked into the concept they can “wait” to support a candidate until after the primary – then liberty candidates will win more races in the Republican Party across the nation, bringing the Republican Liberty Caucus’s strategy one step closer to success.

And with that success will come a new age of liberty and Constitutional values in America.