The race among top Republicans in the House to replace Tom DeLay as Majority Leader just got alot more interesting, especially to persons such as myself interested in seeing the GOP move in a more libertarian direction. This morning, John Shadegg of Arizona declared his candidacy for the leadership position.
Why is this a big deal ? It took me awhile to figure it out myself; I knew I’d heard Shadegg’s name before, and I was right. Along with Ron Paul, J.D. Hayworth, Mark Foley and others, Shadegg is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Republican Liberty Caucus, which defines itself as:
The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) is a grassroots, nationwide organization affiliated with the Republican Party (GOP). The goal of the RLC is to elect pro-liberty individuals to office.
To be honest, I’d somewhat forgotten about the RLC in recent years. I am glad they are still around and Shadegg’s affiliation with them makes the possibility of his becoming Majority Leader very interesting to say the least.
There’s more on Shadegg’s entry into the race at Outside The Beltway.
Also, Stephen Littau at Fearless Philosophy for Free Minds has a post up detailing the reasons why Shadegg deserves the support of libertarian-oriented Republicans. I like what I read there alot, especially news of Shadegg’s sponsorship of The Enumerated Powers Act, which would require all new bills before congress to ?include a statement setting forth the specific constitutional authority under which the law is being enacted.?
Update: Here are a few excerpts from Shadegg’s letter announcing his candidacy that make me even more optimistic:
Ten years ago, we took control of the House of Representatives for the first time in half a century. It was a historic achievement, and it was possible because we stood for the principles the American people believe in: a smaller federal government, returning power to the states, lower taxes, greater individual freedom, and ? above all ? reform. I am running for Majority Leader, and I ask for your support. In addition, in order to make clear my commitment to this race and my goal of leading a reinvigorated Republican majority, I am resigning my position as Policy Chairman. I personally believe it is not appropriate to try to retain one position in our elected leadership while running for another. My campaign is based on reform, and reform should begin with an open process In the past decade, particularly recently, we seem to have lost sight of our ideals. I believe that in order to reconnect with the American people, and retain and grow our Republican Majority in the House, we need to recommit ourselves to our principles.
(….)
I grew up watching the example of Barry Goldwater, who worked closely with my father. He taught me that, ?a government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away.? That is the philosophy that guided me when I ran for Congress in 1994. I was thrilled to be part of the Revolutionary Class of ?94, and the sense of hope and mission of the early days after Republicans took back the House is still with me.
(….)
I do not need a poll or questionnaire to tell me what Republicans stand for. The party of Reagan exists not to expand government, but to protect the American people from government?s excesses. Reagan once said, ?If you?re afraid of the future, then get out of the way, stand aside. The people of this country are ready to move again.? I think this Conference is ready to move again, and move toward the reforms the American people deserve.
I’ve let the GOP get my hopes up before only to be sorely disappointed, but this sounds good to me.
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