First of all I want to thank Jim Johnson of the blog State of Sunshine that I contribute to, for making today happen. Without his help I wouldn't have been able to have the experience of being a member of the press corps for Sen. John McCain's visit to Panama City August 1st. When I checked my email this morning Jim had sent me a copy of the press logistics summary. I had to be at the airport by 2:00 to be checked out by the Secret Service before the Senator's plane arrived. After getting my credentials and passing security we were led out to the tarmac by Gate 3 where a flatbed trailer was set up. There were 4 of us in the local media pool there and we were all pretty excited because none of us had covered a Presidential candidate before. I was there for good pictures but I had camera issues, unfortunately. The delegation of local community leaders including State Reps. Jimmy Patronis and Marti Coley and GOP State Committeewoman Melissa Hagan waited on the tarmac with us when Straight Talk Air landed around 2:20 p.m. The Senator and his wife were accompanied by Governor Crist and his fiancee Carol Rome. After greeting the local delegation Gov. Crist and Ms. Rome joined the Senator and his wife on the Straight Talk Express. The motorcade of 12 SUVs followed them and the press bus to the press conference at the Bay Point Marriott scheduled. By 2:30 the entourage was loaded up and moved out very efficiently by the Secret Service, who do their job very well. I was amazed by the level of precision.

I followed the motorcade to the press conference and walked with them into the Marriott but when I moved toward the part of the hotel where it was being held I was informed by the Secret Service that I just missed the window to be swept and I would not be allowed to enter. I accepted my fate and went home to get my other camera. Lesson learned. I wanted to ask Sen. McCain one question. Either "If there was one government program that you could eliminate what would it be?" or "If there was one law you could repeal, what would it be?". Next time I would go straight to the press conference instead.

My name is  Eric Wall and I am running for the State Committeeman
 position. I would like to take this
 opportunity to tell you more about myself, what I stand
 for, and how I can help the GOP win this November and in
 the future election cycles to come.   
 
 I have been involved in politics in one way or another
 since being a member of the Bay County Young Republicans in
 1988 after moving to Panama City, FL. Both of my parents
 have been conservative for most of my adult life. Being a
 9th-generation American on my father's side, I am an
 heir to our proud family tradition of serving our country
 since before the Revolutionary War. I am an Army veteran as
 well and I have always been concerned about veteran's
 issues.
 
 I consider myself first and foremost a fiscal conservative.
 Government spending is out of control. As a member of the
 Republican Liberty Caucus Florida state executive
 committee, the RNC, as well as the Tax Cap Coalition,
 working with Americans for Prosperity, Florida Taxpayers
 Union and the James Madison Institute, I have met with
 legislators in the Florida House, Senate and the
 Governor's office regarding property taxes and enacting
 spending caps,including the GOP House leadership this past
 session. As your State Committeeman I intend to organize
 privately-funded trips to Tallahassee to make legislators
 aware of our concerns during the Legislative session. The
 Capitol halls are filled with large groups asking for more
 government handouts during the average session. We need to
 make our voice heard as Republicans, and to do it in person
 is much more effective.
 
 I was a field coordinator, precinct leader and Bay county
 treasurer for the Ron Paul 2008 presidential campaign, with
 responsibilities in Washington, Jackson, Holmes, Gulf,
 Calhoun, Liberty, Bay and Wakulla counties that involved a
 lot of travel during the primary season. We raised over
 $2000 for the primary. Now that the primaries are over I
 intend to work hard to get all Republicans elected. All
 debate regarding the future of the Party is pointless
 unless we work to that end. We are the underdogs this
 cycle, and with the stakes so high, quite frankly I feel we
 must win.
 
 I am 36, I have attended Gulf Coast C.C. and Florida State
 in  Tallahassee. I have spent most of my life in the private
 sector, including UPS, retail,restaurants, you name it. I
 consider myself working-class, which is a key constituency
 for the GOP to reach this election cycle. I have done work
 in market research,including creating and taking polls,
 oppositional research, outreach,fund raising, get out the
 vote efforts, have supervised volunteers, set-up for
 events, canvassed as well as whatever has been asked of me.
 Every job I have ever had I have learned every aspect of
 that job.
 
 I am the Precinct 26 Committeeman, representing over 1,500
 Republicans through November 2012. I have the fifth-largest
 precinct, and my goal is to be number 1 in voter turnout.
 
 I am a member of the GOP Platform Committee. This is a new
 effort launched by the RNC to encourage more voter
 participation in our platform. I support this endeavor and
 I encourage you to join me.
 http://www.gopplatform2008.com/intro.aspx
 
 I believe that our leaders should be more accessible to the
 average voter,and as your State Committeeman I intend to be. I
 have accounts on MySpace, Facebook, Purple Florida,and
 Twitter.
 The links are as follows:
 MySpace:http://www.myspace.com/your_local_candidate
 
 Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=1361681546
 
 Purple Florida:http://purpleflorida.ning.com/profile/ELWall
 
 Twitter:http://twitter.com/E_Wall
 
 I have formed a Yahoo! group for all Republicans to
 exchange ideas:
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baycoflgop/
 
 I am a contributor to the blog State of Sunshine:
 http://www.stateofsunshine.com/
 I recommend the Sayfie Review as a great source on Florida
 politics.
 http://www.sayfiereview.com/
 
 In conclusion,I ask for your vote as a candidate for State
 Committeeman August 26, so I can represent Bay County and
 help the Republican Party of Florida return to its
 conservative roots.
 
 Thank you for your consideration,
 Eric Wall

Well, thanks to Mr Eric Wall (RLC FL At-Large ExCom member), we now have a NW Florida RLC Chapter. Starting with a Yahoo eGroup (Click here) Eric is doing a fantastic job of building the infrastructure.

For those of you who might not know, Eric is also a candidate for Republican State Committeeman. Visit Eric's MySpace page for all the latest news and events.

Congratulations, Eric, and thank you for all your hard work for liberty!

Hey, since you landed here, you must want a local Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida chapter. Well, you are in luck because so do we!

It is easy to do: All that is needed is a group of like-minded individuals who support the concepts of Individual Liberty, Limited Government and Free Markets. From there, you join the RLC (our national organization) and the RLC FL by clicking here. You do NOT have to be a Republican! You just need to want to support Individual Liberty, Limited Government and Free Markets. The Republican Party used to support those concepts, but has lost its way. We want to get it back on track. So join us, won't you?

Next, you can start a Meetup to advertise in your local area for other like-minded individuals. It is not really advertising; just makes the group available for others to join in on the fun. Meetups are not required! Whatever method you think is best to grow the organization is just fine (Republican Liberty Caucus, remember?) by us. Get all your freedom loving friends to join, too.

If you do want to start a meetup, click here. Please include in the name somewhere the 'Republican Liberty Caucus.' The current regional groups are named as follows:

Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida

Tallahassee Republican Liberty Caucus

Palm Beach County Republican Liberty Caucus

Miami-Dade Republican Liberty Caucus

Space & Treasure Coast Republican Liberty Caucus

Orange County Republican Liberty Caucus

Lee County Republican Liberty Caucus

Tampa Bay Area Republican Liberty Caucus

So you can see there are several different approaches one can take. It is up to you and your local group.

By the way, some of our existing local groups do have dues, and some do not. It is again up to you. Make it easy to join. Remember, what our main goal is: the reestablishment of freedom and liberty in Florida and these united States.

If you want more information, need some help, or just want to join in on the fun, drop us a line so we can help! Click here to send a note.