Subject: Re: Republican Liberty Caucus in New York State Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 14:16:57 -0500 To: , From: jak Dear Stuart and friends of Liberty, As much as we agree in principle "believe in smaller government= through tighter governmental accountability as well as limitations on tax= growth to prevent the wasteful enlargement of governmental bureaucracies= which intrude on our liberties and impede economic activity." Unfortunately= that belief cannot be extended to the Republican Party in general, especially= president Bush for he is responsible for enlargement of the government to= proportions unheard of until now - where no Democratic president could have= pulled it off. He is more guilty, for he should know better. So if you want to start the fight in NY, I salute you and I'll be= by your side. As I understood the purpose of RLC is to change the= direction of the Republican Party which has been tilting dangerously in the wrong= direction for a very long time (especially in NY). RLC can accomplish= nothing by letting President Bush off the hook easily. I am not too= interested in rallying around the current administration. In Liberty Jak Jacob Karako 212 314 5640 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Heading into Election Day '03, the Republicans in New York look= set to repeat past performance and make little or no headway against the= Democrats throughout much of our state. While there are still pockets where= Republicans do well, until the party starts to improve its showing more= broadly, it will lag national trends showing Republican gains elsewhere in the= country. The most recent success, replacing a Democratic governor in= California (who had managed to run his state's economy into the ground) with= celebrity Republican candidate Arnold Schwarznegger, is only the latest gain= Republicans can point to. But here in New York, we remain also-rans. Why? The Republican Party in New York is a complacent, machine-run= organization with seemingly little interest in making waves, a party that= seems to be content with the patronage crumbs allotted to it by the dominant= Democratic Party. But passivity in the face of such dominance has its costs,= including a loss of choice for the electorate and complacency on the part of= our elected government officials. Just ask the voters of California! Sure we've got a Republican governor statewide and a Republican= mayor in New York City, but overall politics in New York remain Democratic at= the local level and in national elections. Our high-level Republican= officials today are there largely as a result of voter dissatisfaction with the= dominant Democrats. But this has yet to translate into a forceful and= vocal grassroots organization or a genuine effort to create a Republican voice in= New York, a voice which speaks to Republican concerns. What are those concerns? While Democrats favor a statist approach= to government including larger governmental institutions, more= government intrusion in our lives and higher taxes to support all this,= Republicans believe in a different approach. Republicans place the emphasis= on individual liberty. To maximize this, they believe in smaller government= through tighter governmental accountability as well as limitations on tax growth= to prevent the wasteful enlargement of governmental bureaucracies which= intrude on our liberties and impede economic activity. There is a fundamental= divide today between Republicans and Democrats which needs a voice . . . our= voice. The Republican Party has a long and distinguished history.= Beginning in the middle of the 19th century as the refuge of the anti-slavery= elements in the Democratic and Whig parties, the Republicans eventually went on= to eclipse the older Whigs and became the other pole in the two-party= constellation that defines American politics. Its first important leader was Abraham= Lincoln who ran on a platform opposing the abominable institution of slavery= and whose election as president precipitated the South's break-away and the= onset of the American Civil War. Leading the nation throughout those war= years, Lincoln freed the slaves and preserved the Union, changing the= face of America forever. In the early twentieth century, Republican President Theodore= Roosevelt led the charge of progressivism to rein in the robber barons (who= used capitalism to subvert the democratic process through monopolies and= political influence) and to begin the process of preserving our most precious= heritage, North America's environment and natural resources. Theodore Roosevelt= also followed a policy of assertive engagement on the global stage, refusing to= allow American interests to be trampled on by the old imperialist= nations of Europe. In the late twentieth century, Ronald Reagan brought back= a sense of purpose and a commitment to freedom when he challenged the Soviet= Union's Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down" the Berlin Wall. After removing= statist red tape and cutting taxes to get the U.S. economy moving again in= the early eighties, his bold approach to international relations bore= unmistakable fruit with the break up of the Soviet Union, a nation whose= system was inimical to freedom and peace in the world. Today, George W. Bush has proved once again that Republicans can= be depended on to protect the nation's security, as he has demonstrated= repeatedly since the horrible events of September 11th, 2001. More, his= commitments to tax cuts and reductions in burdensome governmental regulations have= prevented the economic free-fall that might have occurred after the collapse of= the '90's dot.com bubble, enabling us to avoid a deep recession . . . or= worse. Now all indications are that economic activity is reviving and that= employment numbers are starting to come back, precisely as predicted by the= advocates of these policies. But in New York State, the success story of the Republicans'= libertarian- oriented philosophy (limitations on government expansion, lower= taxes, greater focus on individual freedoms) is not heard because, in= fact, it is barely told. The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) wants to change= that. The RLC is a group dedicated to increasing Republican visibility and= political impact at all levels of government while enhancing commitment to= libertarian ideals inside the Republican Party. To accomplish these aims, we= are seeking to re-start the RLC in New York (there was a chapter some years= ago but it's now defunct). Based on previous communications, we think you may= be interested in joining this effort. If you are, I'd like to hear= from you. Each new member (there are no dues except your personal= commitment to help spread the libertarian message) will help us by reaching out to= others in his or her community in order to spread the word, increase membership= and find and support libertarian-oriented candidates who can implement the= policies in government that we believe in. We plan, in the near future, to= convene a meeting of new members and to formalize our ogranization by= appointing officers, drafting and voting on a charter, etc. But, in the= meantime, a quick e-mail of interest from you to me, will represent a good= start. I know some of you personally and have had contact with others,= in one way or another. Still others on this list have been past members of the= RLC or at least interested enough to have had contact with us. That's the= reason I'm sending this to you now. If you're interested, I would be= especially gratified so that we can work together to rebuild an alternative= political voice in New York State and New York City! If you are not, I apologize for troubling you and will amend our= e-list by having your e-mail addresses removed from subsequent mailings at= your request. This is not an automated spam e-mail but a personal= message and I will make any necessary adjustments personally if you advise me= of this. Thanks very much for your patience and, hopefully, your interest.= Sincerely Stuart W. Mirsky RLC Coordinator, New York State