Liberty Wins at the Ballot Box

Here is an update from Carolyn McKinney, Chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus of NH, one of the most active and supportive liberty groups in New Hampshire.

Liberty Wins at the Ballot Box and at the NHGOP Convention

Dear Friends,
It has been an amazing few weeks for liberty here in New Hampshire! First, if you hadn’t already seen, the results of the primary were very encouraging. As we pointed out in our recent press release, not only did 124 of our 145 endorsed candidates win their primary elections (an 86% success rate!), but also we were successful in defeating half of the Big Government Republicans that we had targeted in the primary. Thanks to an aggressive online effort, a series of literature drops in key districts, and a targeted primary day effort, we were able to inform the voters in these districts about the anti-liberty voting record of these politicians.

Second, this past weekend was the NHGOP convention, and liberty delegates led New Hampshire to a big win. You see, I was following the controversy at the Republican National Convention closely (click here for more information). I was very concerned about the new rules that were put in place to reduce the power of the grassroots and increase the power of the Republican National Committee, and I knew that the grassroots of the party needed to speak out. So with the help of RLC Chairman Dave Nalle, I drafted a resolution to introduce at the NHGOP convention that read:

Resolution to Restore the Power of the GOP Grassroots

Whereas, the new party rules at the Republican National Convention in Tampa were adopted under questionable circumstances with disregard for convention rules;

Whereas, the new rules impose a top-down structure of governance in place of the party’s traditional bottom-up structure and reduce the power and autonomy of state and local party organizations;

Whereas, the changes to Rule 12 give unprecedented power to the national committee to change party rules without the input and approval of state parties and their members;

Whereas, it is to the benefit of the New Hampshire Republican Party that First in the Nation rules not be open to change between conventions;

Therefore, be it resolved that:

We condemn Rule 12 as antithetical to Republican values and assert the primacy of the delegates to the Republican National Convention in setting party rules;

We reject the new top-down structure of governance as detrimental to the long-term success of the Republican Party.

I worked alongside other liberty delegates in the days before the convention and at the convention to build support among the NHGOP delegates for this resolution. And at the end of the day, all the delegates at the convention overwhelmingly supported the resolution—making New Hampshire the first state in the nation to send a message that we must stay a party of the grassroots.

What’s more, since this resolution was passed just a few days ago, I have already received word that a GOP county committee in South Carolina has passed the same language and activists in South Carolina are working within their state party to pass a similar state-level resolution. Not to mention that a similar resolution is being introduced in Nevada and is likely to be passed. I hope that New Hampshire Republicans have ignited a grassfire!

Despite these successes, we are heading into a critical time for our liberty candidates. Many of them have challenging districts and are working hard to get elected (or re-elected). But they can’t do it alone. Between now and the election, we need to use every spare minute that we have to support these good candidates. In fact, today I’m setting aside an hour to write letters to the editor in support of my favorite RLCNH endorsed candidates—will you do the same? For the full list of RLCNH endorsed and recommended candidates on the general election ballot, visit RLCNH.org.

And for those of you who would like to get the most recent RLCNH updates and volunteer opportunities, please join our Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/RLCNH.

Thanks for all you do each day to further the cause of liberty in New Hampshire!

Carolyn McKinney
Chairman, RLCNH