RLC Videos: Peter Schiff and Gary Johnson

The Republican Liberty Caucus (www.rlc.org) held its biennial national convention in Arlington, Virginia, on February 12, coincident with the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which was being held across the Potomac in Washington, D.C., that same weekend.

The day was full of policy discussions and speeches, punctuated by a business session at which new officers were elected to lead the RLC for the next two years.  Dave Nalle of Texas was re-elected as chairman, Aaron Biterman of Virginia was re-elected as vice chairman, Jason Jeff Hellenberg of Florida was re-elected as secretary, and Matt Nye (also of Florida) was elected treasurer, defeating longtime RLC activist Bill Westmiller, who in turn was elected an at-large member of the board of directors.

The evening banquet featured two prominent speakers:  investment analyst and 2010 candidate for the GOP Senate nomination in Connecticut, Peter Schiff, and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, who is a potential candidate for President in 2012.

Schiff is the co-author of How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes (with Andrew J. Schiff) and of Crash Proof 2.0: How to Profit From the Economic Collapse (with John Downes), as well as author of The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets: How to Keep Your Portfolio Up When the Market is Down. He is widely credited with predicting the dramatic economic downturn of 2008 when other economists were caught with their pants around their ankles.

Schiff spoke briefly and was well-received by the RLC members, many of whom subscribe to the theories of the Austrian school of economics that are consonant with much of Schiff's analysis.

With apologies for the dim lighting (something customary in hotel banquet rooms at dinnertime), here is the video of Peter Schiff's remarks:

Schiff was followed by Governor Johnson, who the day before had spoken at CPAC and, we learned earlier on Saturday afternoon, had placed third in the CPAC presidential straw poll (with Ron Paul and Mitt Romney placing one and two and virtually tied with Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, who says he lacks the arrogance to run for President after only one year in office).

The Republican Liberty Caucus also sponsored a straw poll that day, and Johnson took first place in that instance, with more than double the votes received by Texas Congressman Ron Paul (who is still a favorite among libertarian Republicans) and six times the number of votes received by the third-place finisher, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Johnson has been traveling across the country -- including numerous visits to New Hampshire and Iowa -- delivering his message, which is largely autobiographical. He talks about his experience as governor of New Mexico, where the registered voters have a 2 to 1 ratio of Democrats to Republicans, and how he was able to reduce the size and scope of government while vetoing 750 bills, some of which were passed unanimously in the state legislature. Yet only two of his vetoes were overturned. During his eight years in office, he vetoed more bills than all of the other 49 governors put together.

In his remarks, Johnson also pointed out how he had come to believe, during his term as governor, that the criminalization of marijuana is wrong-headed, that it is a waste of money and other resources, and that we need to rethink the drug war. Johnson was one of the few incumbent politicians to come out in favor of legalizing marijuana and he has not backed down from his position despite criticism.

Here is part one of Governor Johnson's dinner speech, which begins after a short introduction by RLC national chairman Dave Nalle:

Here is part two of Gary Johnson's RLC speech:

Early in this segment, Johnson salutes Peter Schiff for his on-target analysis of our economic situation -- more than a polite gesture, the former New Mexico governor shows a great deal of passion about how the federal government needs to cut spending, including in entitlements like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, as well as defense and so-called "discretionary" spending.

Johnson also talks about his opposition to the Iraq War from the outset, and how he thinks the United States should get out of Afghanistan "tomorrow."

More RLC videos will be posted here later.

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Gary Johnson Speaks at CPAC 2010

Although he did not share the stage in the main ballroom with such conservative heavyweights as Glenn Beck, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Ann Coulter, or Ryan Sorba, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson did take his turn at a microphone provided by the Campaign for Liberty, a youth-oriented outgrowth of Representative Ron Paul's bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.

Widely rumored to be considering his own run for the White House in 2012, the two-term GOP governor from a Democratic-leaning state spoke for about 20 minutes on a range of topics including the need to decriminalize marijuana and other drugs, the net economic gain for New Mexico due to immigrants (even undocumented immigrants), and the necessity for fixing our broken political system in Washington.

In fact, those were his first words when he took to the podium, in front of a crowd of 175-200 CPAC attendees and other interested political activists:

Our politics have failed us in America.  Our leaders on both sides of the aisle are making things worse for us every year, not better.  And the proof is all around us.  Take a look at our America today, take a look at the brink of economic collapse that our government has led us to, and tell me that we're busy living the dream.  We're not.  We're busy getting deeper into debt.  We're busy losing the freedom that so many have given their lives to achieve.

Thomas Jefferson said that it was our patriotic duty to stage a revolution every generation just to kick out the riff-raff.  He was right.  He understood politicians and politics perfectly.  We do need a revolution in America in this generation, an armed rebellion.  Let's arm ourselves with common sense.  Let's stop spending money we don't have.  Let's live within our means.  This is our America.  How can we justify borrowing money for our retirement and health care and hand the bill to future generations?

Our country is about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Let every Member of Congress and the President of the United States take an oath to take on these difficult spending issues that we face and vow that they're not going to be re-elected:  understand that they won't be re-elected.

Here's the video of part one:

About nine minutes after he began his remarks, Johnson stated:

Leadership on both sides of the aisle have to cut Medicare.

Look, we've made commitments to individuals who are on Social Security. I think it would be wrong to back away from those commitments, so ... this has to be a commitment that we keep.

But these entitlement programs for the rest of us, they have to be reviewed. Cuts need to be made because the very viability of this country is at stake.

Here is the video for part two of Johnson's speech:

Not backing away from one of his more controversial positions, about 18 minutes into his speech, Johnson said straightforwardly:

Let's deal from reality. I think marijuana should be legalized.

It's never, never going to be legal to smoke pot, become impaired, and get behind the wheel of a car. It's never going to be legal to smoke pot and do harm to others. It's never going to be legal to get kids to smoke pot.

Here is part three of Governor Johnson's speech, which ends with a question by Alex Knepper, who has been making a name for himself since CPAC. The recording ends abruptly because my camera's battery died at that point.

Gary Johnson is honorary chairman of the OUR America Initiative. More information can be found on that organization's web site.

Trivia tidbit:  If Gary Johnson is elected President, he will be the first person to do so and also to have climbed Mount Everest.

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