One of the fastest growing political movements in Washington State is the Republican Liberty Caucus.  The RLCWA chartered in December of 2012, shortly after the Washington State Republican Party had suffered a crushing defeat.  In the five short months since chartering, the RLCWA has grown to over 250 members (it shows no signs of stopping there!) and is the largest state chapter of the RLC in the country.

This coming weekend the RLCWA will hold its first state convention in Yakima.  We will be adopting bylaws and electing delegates to attend the National Convention in Austin, Texas.  We will also be voting on several resolutions.  As the largest charted State Chapter, the RLCWA has the largest number of delegates to the national convention, and a unique opportunity to shape this growing caucus of Republicans.

One resolution that will be considered was recently passed by the Snohomish County Chapter of the RLC and could move the RLC into a position in which its call for liberty may finally be consistent.  The full text of the resolution reads as follows:

“Whereas, the Declaration of Independence States “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness;” and

Whereas, it is the sole duty of government to secure these rights for the people of the United States of America; and

Whereas, without the right to life, all other rights which the government should properly secure become meaningless; and

Whereas, the right to life for pre-born humans is currently not secured; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the Snohomish County Republican Liberty Caucus (this will be replaced with “Republican Liberty Caucus of Washington” via a motion to amend from the floor) opposes any act of aggression against an innocent individual and his inherent right to life.  This includes such acts against any human whether born or unborn”

The members of the RLCWA have a choice to make: Will we truly stand for liberty, or simply give the word lip service?  Thomas Jefferson said “The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time: the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them.”  In order to begin to protect liberty, the right to life must be affirmed and fought for.  The fight for liberty is incomplete and wholly irrelevant if the right to life is not protected or if it is deemed non-existent.  It is simply not enough to say that the subject of brutally tearing pre-born human persons into pieces is a “critical life and death choice for every pregnant woman.” (Sure, the “life and death” bit is accurate, but the rest misses the point!)  It’s wildly insufficient to simply say that the Caucus opposes “any allocation of government funds or resources to facilitate abortion.”  No!  Killing innocent humans must be opposed by all who claim to love liberty!  Our Declaration of Independence does not say “All men are created equal, and entitled to protection, excepting those who are unborn or unwanted, or, to prevent mistake, excepting those who are poor or with some physical or mental defect.”  (H/T Abolish Human Abortion)  No, the founders agreed that “all men are created equal.” No conditions, no exceptions.  Just equal.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for the liberty activists in Washington State.  I believe that when presented with the choice between liberty for all and embracing selective tyranny, we will make the right the only choice.  We will stand firmly on the principles of liberty and justice for all that once defined our nation and our Grand Old Party.