The Republican Liberty Caucus of Virginia Board of Directors have been meeting on a regular basis to discuss how to grow our organization and move forward.

We are looking for someone to help us with communications and e-mail fundraising. If interested, please contact us today.

We hope you’ll join our new Facebook fan page.

Stay tuned for future updates from the Virginia RLC as we head toward the 2011 state elections.

Virginians are lucky to have a candidate like Michael McPadden in Congressional District 5, a conservative rural district currently represented by Thomas Perriello (D). Mr. McPadden is locked in an 8-way primary which will end when Republican primary voters decide who to nominate to face Perriello in November.

McPadden is a leader, a military veteran, and a father. He has been married for 30 years and has a distinguished career.

He is also an expert on the Constitution. At his website, he explains, “Our campaign has a few core principles that we will never compromise on … Our vision is liberty; Our philosophy is the Declaration of Independence; and our model for government is the Constitution.”

McPadden’s issues page explains that he supports individual liberty, limited government, sound money, and the rule of law. How refreshing!

Virgil Goode would be proud of a candidate like Michael McPadden. The Virginia RLC is, too, so we’re supporting his bid to win the June 8 primary.

This Senate seat victor will fill the seat Ken Cuccinelli vacated.  Republican Liberty Caucus of Virginia Chairman Matthew Gagnon said, “Ken Cuccinelli was an important advocate for liberty in the Virginia Senate, and it is vitally important that his replacement continue to champion those same values–specifically limited government, free enterprise, low taxes and personal freedom.  Steve Hunt is such a person, and the Republican Liberty Caucus of Virginia strongly believes in his candidacy.  We enthusiastically endorse Mr. Hunt, and will work hard to see him elected.”

Steve Hunt will now face off against Delegate Dave Marsden, a Democrat. The special election will occur on January 12.

A Republican Liberty Caucus member, Shaun Kenney, won the Columbia District Supervisor seat in Fluvanna County with a margin of 51-48%.

While there were two victories for RLCVA, we would also like to congratulate D.J. McGuire, who ran for Lee Hill Supervisor in Spotsylvania County, and Eric Brescia, who ran in the 47th Delegate District. While McGuire and Brescia did not win the general election bid, both candidates ran solid campaigns on promoting fiscal responsibility at the local and state levels while upholding solid liberty principles.

Other RLC election results can be found at http://www.RLC.org/blog/.

The audience looks on and listens in.

Speakers at the event included two former Congressional candidates, both endorsed by the RLC: Vern McKinley and Amit Singh. Additionally, RLC-endorsed candidate for Delegate in District 47 (Arlington) attended.

McKinley discussed how the Loudon County Republican Party worked to oppose his challenge to longtime Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA 10). Singh introduced Brescia. Both discussed the need for bipartisan representation in northern Virginia. If elected, Brescia would be the only Republican delegate from the suburbs of DC.

The northern Virginia RLC affiliate has a group on Facebook.  We hope you’ll join!

“I have written a bunch about the role of Ron Paul supporters in the party and the impact that John McCain’s military supporters may have. Yesterday, I went to the convention of the Republican Party of Virginia. The only seriously contested race was for the nomination for Attorney General.”

“State Senator Ken Cuccinnelli, the candidate of grassroots conservatives, was the most likely winner, given who normally attends a state party convention. And indeed he won.”

“However, many people were shocked that he won on the first ballot over John Brownlee, former U.S. Attorney, and Dave Foster, a Republican who sits on the Arlington County School Board. When I drove down to Richmond for the convention, I certainly did not expect that result either.”

“But when I got to the convention floor on Saturday, it was clear what was going on. The Virginia chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus had endorsed Cuccinelli. They were out in force. From eyeballing, people identified with either the Republican Liberty Caucus or the Campaign for Liberty seemed to be about 10-15% of the convention. They pushed Cuccinelli over the top. I think that this marks a pattern for the future of the GOP in smaller caucuses and conventions.”

“State Senator Ken Cuccinnelli, the candidate of grassroots conservatives, was the most likely winner, given who normally attends a state party convention. And indeed he won.”

“However, many people were shocked that he won on the first ballot over John Brownlee, former U.S. Attorney, and Dave Foster, a Republican who sits on the Arlington County School Board. When I drove down to Richmond for the convention, I certainly did not expect that result either.”

“But when I got to the convention floor on Saturday, it was clear what was going on. The Virginia chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus had endorsed Cuccinelli. They were out in force. From eyeballing, people identified with either the Republican Liberty Caucus or the Campaign for Liberty seemed to be about 10-15% of the convention. They pushed Cuccinelli over the top. I think that this marks a pattern for the future of the GOP in smaller caucuses and conventions.”

Why did the RLC endorse Senator Cuccinelli?

To begin, Senator Cuccinelli was the only candidate who had previously addressed our group — in 2007:

See part II and part III and part IV of Ken’s speech, too.

At his website, Ken Cuccinelli discussed the importance of property rights, open/accountable government, and fighting taxes.  Perhaps most important of all is that Cuccinelli truly understands the disconnect between Republican Party leaders and the grassroots. He knows why Republicans have been losing in Virginia and nationwide. And he is a longtime former activist for limited government.

Now he will be the next Attorney General.

And, according to Mr. Dayton (who was not supporting Ken for the nomination), our members put him over the top.  Says Mr. Dayton: “RLC/CfL/Ron Paul supporters are likely to continue to hold an important swing role in party contests like this.”

RLC member photos from the Convention are available here and here. A report on our success at the Convention is available here.

On Friday and Saturday, over 10,000 Republican Party delegates from across Virginia came together at the Richmond Convention Center to select their nominees for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and state GOP Chair. The winning candidates for those races included Bob McDonnell for Governor, Bill Bolling for Lt. Governor, Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General, and Pat Mullins f or GOP Chair.

Although not delegates, Matt Gagnon and I spent all day Saturday (starting very early in the morning and going until the Convention concluded) reaching out to prospective RLC members at the state GOP Convention.

The RLC booth at the RPV Convention, sponsored by RLC member Lisa Miller of Alexandria, was a massive success, with:

· Nearly 100 Convention-goers signing up to receive e-mail alerts from the RLC;

· The World’s Smallest Political Quiz at our booth was able to identify many new liberty-lovers;

· The Virginia RLC meeting after the Convention, attended by 35 liberty-loving Republicans from across the state, was a huge success;

· The Virginia RLC solidifying its new Board of Directors;

· The RLC gained a dozen new members on the spot;

· The RLC’s endorsed Attorney General nominee (Ken Cuccinelli) won on the first ballot.

Our quiz results were as follows:

This was the first time the World’s Smallest Political Quiz was used at Virginia GOP Convention. I was surprised to see how many folks who took the quiz landed in the ‘libertarian’ quadrant. There were even some RPV delegates that joined me at 100-100, the far top of the chart.

The response to the booth was overwhelmingly positive. Virginians were proud to see the quiz providing a diamond view of the political spectrum and several teachers commented that they would be presenting the chart to their students.

At certain points, the booth was so busy it was very hard to keep up with the demand:

After the Convention, RLC members in Virginia held the Annual RLCVA Meeting at the Hard Shell restaurant in Richmond. The venue was perfect for our meeting. The food was great, the company excellent, and the quality of the individuals who attended our meeting was extremely impressive.

Some photos from the Republican Liberty Caucus of Virginia Annual Meeting are below.

RLC members gather after the Convention.

Newly elected RLC Virginia Board members include: Matt Gagnon (Chair), Steven Latimer (Vice-Chair), Krystle Weeks (Secretary), and Cliff Dunn (Treasurer); as well as At-Large Board members Rick Sincere, Leonard T. Harris, and Matt DeLeon.

Look for more activity from the Virginia RLC affiliate on Facebook or at http://www.RLCVA.org/.

Cote, a recent college graduate, debated the merits of libertarianism and the value of the Republican Party working to preserve individual rights.

The event was sponsored by the Campaign for Liberty and was very well attended.

Nick Cote debates Anne Lee.

A packed audience looks on.

At the Convention, the Republican Liberty Caucus will be reaching out to liberty-minded Republican delegates from throughout the state of Virginia.

For many Convention attendees, using the World’s Smallest Political Quiz may the first time they had seen political ideology as a two-dimensional space instead of the usual one-dimensional left/right line.

Over the years, RLC activists across the country have recruited new members by using the World’s Smallest Political Quiz.  Look for the Quiz at the RPV Convention coming up shortly!

A California RLC member uses the World's Smallest Political Quiz at the Republican Party of California Convention in February. Virginia RLC'ers will do the same.

You can also listen to part ii, part iii, and part iv of Senator Cuccinelli’s talk.