Only one incumbent member of Congress merits the endorsement of the Republican Liberty Caucus and that Congressman is Dr. Paul Broun. From his first vote in the United States House of Representatives, Congressman Broun has shown that he doesn’t fall lock-step with his party’s leadership when they trample on the constitution to score political points with powerful special interest groups.

Alas, Dr. Broun’s opponent is perfectly willing to pander to the prejudices of his district. Broun’s opponent was the primary sponsor of a bill that would lower the number of jurors needed to decide to sentence someone to the death penalty. The act of taking a person’s life is the penultimate punishment that can be meted out by the state, and it is the only one that can not be undone if the person is later exonerated. If anything the threshold for sentencing someone to death should be raised, not lowered.

Based on the records of both candidates, it is clear that Paul Broun is a man of integrity. He is a man who takes his oath of office - to support and defend the Constitution of the United States - with the utmost regard. We encourage all RLC members and supports in the 10th Congressional District to cast their vote for Paul Broun on Tuesday July 15th.

Georgia State Senate:

• Senator Jeff Chapman, 3rd District
• Senator Ralph Hudgens, 47th
• Senator Eric Johnson, 1st, President Pro-Tempe
• Senator Chip Rogers, 21st
• Senator Mitch Seabaugh, 28th
• Senator David Shafer, 48th

Georgia State House:

• Representative Steve Davis, 109th
• Representative Tom Graves, 12th
• Representative Mike Jacobs, 80th
• Representative Jill Chambers, 81st
• Representative Martin Scott, 2nd
• Lee Benedict, 118th

All of these candidates have signed the RLC’s Liberty Compact.

Senator David Shafer, who holds the nonvoting title “Honorary State Chairman” in recognition of his early efforts on behalf of the RLC, has written to us asking that we take note of his disagreement with our endorsement in the race for the 118th House District. Senator Shafer has endorsed Representative Ben Harbin for reelection to this House seat.

President Kennedy once spoke of a rising tide that would lift all boats. Obama wants us to pull into shore and tie them to a dock.

Worse than that, a disturbing pattern of rhetoric indicates he will not only counsel a draconian lifestyle, but also mandate it.

The man who made over $4 million last year, who lives in a $1.65 million house and who probably doesn’t get his great suits off the rack, advised graduates: “You can take your diploma, walk off this stage and chase only after the big house and the nice suits and all the other things that our money culture says you should. But I hope you don’t.” I got mine.

He hopes you don’t walk off the job and do something greedy like finding a way to economically retrieve the 2 trillion barrels of oil locked up in North American shale, lowering fuel and transportation costs, and helping America achieve energy independence.

Don’t be another Bill Gates and amass a fortune making people more productive and, uh, successful in their daily lives and giving your countrymen a standard of living the world will envy. Exchange your cap and gown for sackcloth and ashes. Leave your possessions behind and come follow Obama.

“Fulfilling your immediate wants and needs betrays a poverty of ambition,” he opined….

So far, Obama’s idea of hope and change sounds an awful lot like the Marxian vision of taking from each according to his ability and giving to each according to his needs. Though we’re already the most charitable and giving nation in history, Obama doesn’t seem to think volunteerism is part of it.

In a speech in California, wife Michelle, who has made a small fortune in the “helping industry,” said: “Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zone. . . . Barack Obama will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual — uninvolved, uninformed.”

Frankly, we like our comfort zone, even if Barack Obama doesn’t. Campaigning in Oregon, he said: “We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times . . . and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK.

“That’s not leadership,” Obama added. “That’s not going to happen.”

Not going to happen? Require? Demand? Never allow? If you detect an ominous tone of authoritarianism, so do we. It’s almost enough to make one cling bitterly to one’s guns and Bible. Heck, we write conservative opinion and watch Fox News. We’re uninformed and uninvolved. Obama will make us see the light…..

Barack wants to raise their taxes by letting the Bush tax cuts expire and eliminating the earnings cap on Social Security taxes. But if you don’t want to enlist in the Obama army of change, you will be drafted.

They have ways to make you volunteer. ( From Investors Business Daily)

Media reports of the session focused on the conflicts between the Senate and house leadership and the bitterness between Speaker Glenn Richardson and Lt. Governor Casey Cagle. Those who look to always find fault called it a do-nothing session, but this session was anything but.

SB12, also known as Zero Based Budgeting was sponsored by RLC Honorary Chairman Senator David Shafer (R-Duluth). SB12 would mandate that all government agencies justify every penny of their budget to the legislature once every four years. The current practice is that an agency would automatically get the same dollar amount they had the year prior, and would only have to justify any new spending. This led to spending programs never ending. The state was still funding programs to eradicate “rickets” decades after it was discovered to be a vitamin deficiency and almost completely eliminated throughout the United States.

SB300, The Transparency in Government Act, would require the state to establish a free public website showing all state expenditures that exceed $50,000.

HB296, sponsored by Rep. Jeff May (R-Walton) forces all Local Option Sales Taxes (SPLOTS, etc) to be held on one of three election days: General Election in November, Primary day in July, or the quadrennial Presidential Preference Primary. In the past local governments looking to sneak in a tax hike would set the LOST votes for mid-September, March or some other time designed to maximize turnout of those who would vote _for_ raising taxes. This puts an end to that despicable practice.

Gun Rights
Another big victory is HB 89. HB89 was news last year as the NRA attempted to muscle Republican legislators into voting for this bill, and many of those legislators telling the NRA to take a hike. At issue last year was the NRA wanting to make it illegal for a private property owner to restrict who could bring a firearm onto their own property. The NRA was in favor of the bill. The various Chambers of Commerce and business leaders were opposed. Over the summer and fall the two sides worked out an arrangement. This bill is a major victory for those who wish to carry a gun to protect themselves and others. If you hold a valid license:

• You may now carry into restaurants that serve alcohol, provided you do not consume any alcohol
• You may now carry at historic buildings, state parks and recreation areas
• You may carry on Marta.
• You may keep a firearm locked in your personal vehicle in your employer’s parking lot _if_ that parking lot is open to the general public

HB89 also codifies how quickly the probate court and law enforcement must act with regard to a license application.

Several powerful lobbying groups are encouraging Governor Perdue to veto this measure. Please contact the Governor and tell him to sign HB89 and protect Georgians and their right to carry.

Educational Choice
Educational Choice was also a winner this year. Last year Sen. Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) established a voucher program for special needs students. This year he attempted to expand the program to give vouchers to students at schools that lose their accreditation (Clayton County is facing this issue) or schools that have been labeled “needs improvement” for more than a certain number of years. Also this year, the legislature approved a bill HB 881 that would make approving charter schools easier by giving charter applicants another venue to apply if the local school board refuses to relinquish control. Slowly but surely our Republican Majority is working to improve education my offering more choices to parents.

Nanny-State bills defeated
Not all the bills introduced were good, and quite a few bad ideas were stopped cold in their tracks.

SB 506, also known as the SHAPE Act, would require schools to take kids Body Mass Index scores and forward them on the State Board of Education. All in the name of protecting the children from the scourge of obesity. Beyond the nanny-state nature of this bill, little thought was given to what exactly the local schools would do with the information collected, that the state would do with the information collected, or how any of it would be disposed of properly. This bill passed the Senate, but failed in the House.

Another silly bill, SB 59, would have made it illegal for a social networking site to allow minors to create a profile website without parental permission. How this would have protected minors escapes me since most websites meet this requirement with a checkbox saying “I’m over 18 years of age” and require no further verification. Apparently the Senate Science & Technology Committee agreed, because the bill didn’t get out of committee.

Faux Tax Reform

Another very bad measure that was killed this session was Speaker Glenn Richardson’s Tax Reform Proposal. Normally the Republican Liberty Caucus supports any and all tax-cuts that are broad-based and not targeted at specific individuals or groups. However the Speaker’s plan had several fatal flaws that led us to oppose the measure from nearly the very beginning.

Speaker Richardson’s plan was to do away with all property taxes in the state. The problem is that very little of your property taxes go to fill the state’s coffers. Most of the money is used to fund local government operation - your cities, counties and school boards. So in order for Glenn Richardson to repeal the property taxes he needed a way for those local governments to be funded. His solution was a constitutional amendment that would require the state of Georgia to fund local governments. Gone would be the direct link between voters who live in an area, and the elected officials who are responsible for raising or lowering taxes. Your county commission could raise taxes all it
wants - the State of Georgia would pick up the tab.

Glenn Richardson proposed the biggest entitlement program the State of Georgia has ever seen. And to pay for that he’d expand the state sales tax to include all services - everything from your medical care to your lawn mowing.

Pretty much everyone who studied the plan said it was a bad idea. Even Arthur Laffer, architect of Reagan’s tax cuts in the 80’s and advisor to Glenn Richardson, said that cutting property taxes wouldn’t be as beneficial as a cut to the state income tax.

As the session wore on the Speaker was forced to change is plan over and over. By the time it came up for a vote, gone were the changes to property taxes, gone were the expansion of the sales tax. All that was left was a cut in the car tax and the same constitutional requirement that the state replace those funds through general appropriation. In other words, taxes would go up somewhere else.

The Lieutenant Governor and the Senate came up with their own tax cut late in the session. The Senate plan was to cut the state income tax by 10% over a 5 year period - starting in July of 2008. This plan suffered from two issues - one it was introduced late in the session so where wasn’t much time to analyze it, and two the Speaker had invested too much of his own political capital in his property tax plan to allow a competing plan to make it to the floor for a vote.

The fact that the Senate and House could not come to a resolution on tax reform this year is a good thing. Because with the death of the House and Senate plans came the death of a huge tax increase being pushed by the chambers of commerce, rail proponents, and road builders through out the state. All session various transportation sales tax programs were being pushed by various legislators and lobbyist.

Senate Resolution 845 was a constitutional amendment that would have provided for a regional 1 cent sales tax dedicated to transportation. The amendment, through the enabling legislation (HB 1035 ), would have allowed an unelected entity, a regional development commission (RDC), to “pass a resolution calling for a referendum within the participating counties.” Counties in the region would have 45 days to opt-out and not participate in the tax. The only way a county could opt-out is if its Board of Commissioners voted against it. Even if the voters of our county voted down the referendum, we would still be bound to pay the tax if a majority in the region voted for it. Senate Pro-Tem Eric Johnson found this to be unacceptable, noting that smaller counties in a region would be at the mercy of larger counties. He called it “political suicide” and unfair.

The tax was not limited to a certain period of time. In theory, it could last for 20 years or it could last for 50 years. The length of the tax would be up to the RDC to determine. Also, 20 percent of the funds collected by the tax would have gone back to the state and a whopping 10 percent of that would have been dedicated to mass transit, something less than 4 percent of Georgians actually use.

This measure would have potentially been the largest tax increase in Georgia history. Virginia tried something similar and the Republicans lost control after they voted to raise transporation taxes. Several were ousted by primary challengers for voting to raise taxes so much.

The final transportation bill died in the Senate on the last day. Eight RLC endorsed Senators were among the 14 Republicans and 18 Senators who voted against this tax increase.

Sunday Sales
I leave this for last, because in the grand scheme of things it isn’t that important. Last year I said that the “free market aspects [ of Sunday Sales ] are clear and passage of this measure should be a no-brainer for a party that believes in the free market.” Last year, the Senate Regulated Industries Committee held two days of hearings and voted out a bill but it was held up in the Rules Committee and never voted on by the full Senate. This year, the House Regulated Industries Committee attached a Sunday sales provision to a bill dealing with the technical corrections necessary to allow the new Gwinnett Braves stadium to sell beer on Sunday. It died in the House Rules Committee after Governor Sonny Perdue threatened to veto it.

As long as Sonny Perdue is Governor, I doubt that we will see retail Sunday Sales. The Governor is quite clear that he feels he knows what is best for the people of Georgia, and being able to buy alcohol on one of your two days off isn’t in your best interest.

Election Season
Now that the General Assembly has adjourned for this year, political focus will turn to the primaries in July and general election in November. Since this is a presidential year, the media will be focused on John McCain and either Hillary or Obama as they battle for the presidency. Little notice will be given to state and local elections.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia is currently putting together its 2008 endorsements committee. We’ll be analyzing the results of the 2007 and 2008 legislative sessions to see which representatives and senators have adhered to their commitments to restore liberty, shrink government, reduce taxes, abolish programs and to promote the freedom and independence of the citizens of Georgia.

Last year we established a Political Action Committee to assist candidates who face challenges from big government Republicans and Democrats. This year we ask for your support to help us send a message to those in elected office that there is a silent majority who want to see less government and more freedom here in Georgia. We don’t have well heeled lobbyist who spring for expensive meals. Our influence is felt through the voting booth and by small contributions to well meaning legislators. Please consider Donating to the Freedom Fund of Georgia.

Thank you for all you do for Liberty,

Chris Farris

Chairman - Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia

On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments in District of Columbia v. Heller (known as Parker v. District of Columbia in the lower court), the most important case concerning the Second Amendment to come before the court in nearly 70 years.

Allow me to give a very brief history of this case. A challenge was filed on behalf of six residents of the District of Columbia in February 2003 against a 1976 law that effectively banned firearms inside the city and required that any guns owned before the ban be registered and “unloaded, disassembled, or bound by a trigger lock or similar device” inside the home. The lawsuit was filed in hopes that the courts would throw out the ban and that Second Amendment rights would be restored inside the District.

The District of Columbia has defended the law on grounds of home rule and echoed a familiar notion from the anti-gun crowd, which is that the Second Amendment only applies to militias and there is no individual right to own a firearm for any purpose. Other supporters of the ban have argued that since DC is not a state then the right would not apply there, an argument that is laughable considering the push last year to give DC a vote in Congress.

On March 9, 2007, the DC Court of Appeals determined in an opinion written by Judge Laurence Silberman “that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms,” that the “activities it protects are not limited to militia service” and “that handguns are ‘Arms’ referred to in the Second Amendment, it is not open to the District to ban them.” However, the appellate court also acknowledged that the right is not absolute and is subject to reasonable regulation.

The city asked for a full review of the case by the appellate court. The request was denied, prompting the city to appeal directly to the Supreme Court, which has accepted the case on the question of whether or not a total ban on guns violates the individual rights of gun owners who are not part of any state militia.

In an op-ed to the Washington Post, DC Mayor Adrian Fenty wrote that the “obvious purpose” of the Second Amendment was settled by the Supreme Court in United States v. Miller, a flawed case in which the attorney for Jack Miller did not appear for oral arguments and where Associate Justice James McReynolds focused only on the militia clause of the amendment in his opinion and did not remotely address the explicitly stated “right of the people” to keep and bear arms.

The true purpose of the Second Amendment, as noted by Judge Silberman in his opinion in the appellate court, is to ensure that we the people would have the means to protect our inalienable rights, among those rights are life, liberty and our individual pursuit of happiness, against an oppressive government. And if our government were to violate our social contract, the people would have a moral obligation “to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

Speaking at the Cato Institute on the Heller case, Robert Levy - who is funding the case and is also one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs - debunked the militia view and, ostensibly, the collective rights interpretation, of the Second Amendment.

“Correctly interpreted, the main clause of the Second Amendment, ‘the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,’ that’s what defines and secures the Second Amendment right. The subordinated clause, ‘a well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state,’ helps explain why it is, one reason that we have that right,” said Levy. “So membership in a well regulated militia is a sufficient, but it is not a necessary condition of the exercise of our right to keep and bear arms.”

To emphasize his point, Levy continued, “Imagine if the Second Amendment said in the syntax of this sentence, ‘A well educated electorate, being necessary to self-governance in a free state, the right of the people to keep and read books shall not be infringed.’ No one would suggest that only registered voters, and that is the members of the electorate, would have a right to read. And yet that is precisely the effect that the Second Amendment is interpreted to apply only to members of a militia.”

Mayor Fenty even had the audacity to claim that the gun ban has “saved countless lives,” a notion that is completely contrary to the facts. The evidence shows the reverse is true; violent crime has increased significantly overall. In 1976, the murder rate per 100,000 inhabitants inside the District was 26.8. Since the ban was enacted, the murder rate has only dropped below that rate once, in 1985. It peaked in 1991 at 80.6 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

The National Institute of Justice has estimated that 1.5 million Americans use guns for defensive purposes each year. However, thousands of law-abiding citizens in the District of Columbia have been deprived means to protect themselves or their property and have fallen victim to criminals and thugs making Washington, DC, the poster child of the failed gun control movement.

SR796 will do two things to directly reduce the tax burden of Georgia Citizens. First it will limit the amount a city, county or school board can increase the assessed value of your home. The current way local governments raise revenues is by decided that your $100,000 house is now worth $200,000 and double tax bill. This is perfect for big government Republicans because they can raise revenues without ever voting to raise taxes. SR796 would limit reassesments to 2% for residential and 3% for commercial property. The most a $100,000 house could be reassesed to is $102,000.

The other aspect of SR796 is that it will limit revenue growth without voter approval. If this passed the most a county commission or city council can raise tax is by inflation plus new construction. Any additional increase in taxes would require a voter referendum. And unlike the deficit laden federal budget, local budgets must be balanced. By capping revenue growth, they also cap spending growth - a critical component missing from GOP rhetoric the past few years.

SR796 is a Constitutional Amendment and will go before the voters in November as a ballot question. It passed the Senate with the 2/3rd majority needed. House Democrats, looking to score partisan points are threatening to vote against the measure. That is why EVERY VOTE COUNTS! Please call or email your state representative THIS MORNING and tell them you want property tax relief.

ATLANTA, GA, March 04, 2008 – The Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia, a grassroots organization promoting individual freedom, limited government and fiscal responsibility, urges the House Ways & Means Committee to pass Senate Bill 12 – Zero Based Budgeting.

This bill would require during the mid term of a Governor’s term, all departmental spending be assumed to be zero, and that the entire budget must be approved by the General Assembly - not just the increases. This will lead to cutting wasteful or unnecessary line items saving the taxpayers money.

The highlights of the bill:

* SB 12 calls for budgeting accountability for all state agencies on
a regular rotating basis.
* SB12 requires evaluation of each state agency’s core mission to
eliminate agency overlap.
* SB12 requires agencies to provide at least 3 alternative funding
levels and what they could accomplish with each.
* SB12 requires a prioritized budget of each agency.
* SB 12 avoids the appearance of political punishment or favoritism
by establishing a regular schedule of budget analysis.

Like Ron Paul, Jeff Flake is a member of the RLC and Flake and Paul are both members of the liberty caucus in the U.S. House, the genuinely fiscally conservative complement to the much larger Republican Study Committee.

Graves, Scott, Meadows and Collins were stripped of committee assignments as a result of voting in the interests of their constituents, and ultimately against the wishes of Speaker Richardson. The resolution praises the four members as “fine examples of members of the Georgia General Assembly. Representatives who vote their principles and the interest of their constituents.”

“These members answer to the voters back home. That is their constituency,” said RLC-GA Chairman Chris Farris. “The divisiveness coming from the Speaker is creating tension among the Republican caucus. If the leadership in the House expects to govern effectively, then these tactics must stop.”

Whereas Representatives Tom Graves, Martin Scott, John Meadows and Doug Collins are strong fiscal conservatives and members of the 216 Group, and

Whereas, these Representatives voted in what they believed was the best interest of their constituents in a recent secret DOT election, and

Whereas, in the spirit of open Government, these Representatives announced who they voted for on behalf of their constituents, and

Whereas, The Georgia Speaker of the House has stripped these members of their committee assignments because they did not vote for the speaker’s chosen DOT candidate, and

Whereas, Free and Fair Elections - without fear of retribution - are the hallmark of a healthy and functional Republic, be it

Resolved, that the Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia condemns the actions taken by Speaker Richardson, and be it further

Resolved, that the Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia calls upon the Speaker to reinstate these members to all the positions of power and privilege to which they were appointed at the beginning of this session, and be it further

Resolved, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia praises Representatives Tom Graves, Martin Scott, John Meadows and Doug Collins as fine examples of members of the Georgia General Assembly. Representatives who vote their principles and the interest of their constituents.

Check our site often for legislative updates. If there is a bill that you want the committee to endorse or oppose please contact Jason Shepherd.