Update on the Liberty Movement

Update on the Liberty Movement

Here in Washington, we make up roughly 44% of the State Central Committee. That, of course, means that Kirby Wilbur was re-elected as chair, but he did not win until the second ballot.

Mitch Short lost in the first round, and his votes were then split in the second round between Kirby and David Eichner. “We came within nine votes of electing David Ike Eichner, modern-day James Madison, as the Chairman of the Washington State Party. We also came within four votes of electing a liberty Vice Chair.”  There are enough independents on the state board that they hold the balance of power on any future vote. We need to cultivate their support!

In a relatively short time, we have come out of nowhere and made ourselves a serious contender in the balance of GOP partisan politics in Washington State. As we continue to grow and mature as a movement and as individuals, we are winning more and more people to our views. We have the opportunity to convince people of the need for a change of leadership and direction in the party. “The first annual meeting of the Republican Liberty Caucus was held in Yakima on January 26. The Washington chapter was formed only six months ago, yet we had nearly two hundred in attendance, representing 26 counties.” If you are interested in joining the Caucus and attending future meetings, send an email to Secretary: Tony Stephens (tony@stephens4statehouse.com) or visit the website at rlc.org/about/chapters/wa/

I predict that a majority of the Washington State Republican party going into the next presidential cycle will be Liberty minded. I also believe that we may represent close to half of the Republican Party members by that time. Please remember that there is a tipping point. While there are certain individuals whose names I will not mention (many of you can think of a few I am sure), most Republicans just want to see Republicans win and they are going to go along with the leadership and momentum of the party and conservative rhetoric. Once we control the organization and can issue press releases and grant endorsements, many of these people who we thought were opponents will become supporters.

There Phases to Taking our County Back

Phase One: We have to change the political tone and dialog in our communities. We need to educate others about our principles and our cause and reach out to others to build coalitions based on the principles on which we can agree. Most importantly, we have to show up: PCOs must attend all of the Central Committee meetings, supporters of liberty have to join the other Republican organizations in the party (such as the Republican Women’s organization) to extend our influence. All of us have to show up at caucus meetings. We need to participate in the county committees, such as Rules, Credentials, and Platform. We need people to volunteer to be appointed to vacant PCO slots and run for reelection in 2014.

Phase Two: We have succeeded in running as many Liberty minded people as possible for PCO. To that end, we were very successful in those areas where we organized and pushed for people to get more involved and sign up as PCO’s. This battle is long from over, and in just over a year from now, we will again need patriots, like you, to step up and run again for the office of PCO. This is crucial to maintaining and restore the integrity of our local party structure and further our State and then National Party.

Phase Three: Coming up in May 2013, there will be over 50 positions for local offices on the ballot across Thurston County. They range from ‘fire commissioners, cemetery districts, conservation districts, Park & Recreation District Commissioners, to city councils, a mayor, and judicial seat. If we fail to find good people to step up and run for office, what hope can there be in getting quality representation? “Good people” mean not only that they are liberty-minded, but they have the background and experience – the “credentials” – necessary to get independent voters to vote for them.

Most of these positions require a minimal amount of time and provide a great opportunity to get to know people in your community and serve your community. These positions also serve two other purposes:
1.      They look good on a resume and may contribute to seeking a higher office
2.      They prevent someone less desirable from getting political experience to further themselves

We will be having a Potluck Barbeque on May 11th at the Tumwater Historical Park, but I would like to talk to anyone who might be willing to run for one of these positions, ASAP. There will be training and support for anyone willing to step up. Even if you are not interested and especially for those of you who don’t think you have time, please at least be open-minded enough to be willing to talk with me about this. I can’t tell you how important this is to the future of our community and our county.

In Liberty Matthew Hayward