The national Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) has officially recognized the Alabama Republican Liberty as their newest state chapter. The RLC’s organizational mission “is to recruit and endorse candidates who support the RLC’s agenda, elect limited government Republicans to political office, and change the direction of the Republican Party to reflect our vision of peace and prosperity.”
Some current officeholders endorsed by the RLC include congressmen Jeff Flake, John Shadegg, Tom McClintock, Dana Rohrabacher, Ed Royce, Mike Pence, Roscoe Bartlett, Jim Jordan, Adrian Smith, Jimmy Duncan and Ron Paul. This list also includes Nevada Senator John Ensign and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. As the Alabama RLC begins operations, two founding members are Madison City Councilman Tim Cowles and former Birmingham City Councilman Jimmy Blake.
The Alabama Chapter of the RLC is chaired by Birmingham attorney Scott Boykin. Boykin is a member of the Jefferson County Republican Party Executive Committee. He received his B.A. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and his Ph.D. in Political Science from Tulane University. He taught political science for the Department of Government at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and has published scholarly papers in the fields of political philosophy and law. He earned his J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Alabama School of Law. Following law school, he served as a Judicial Clerk to The Honorable Patrick E. Higginbotham, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Today, Boykin has a litigation practice in Birmingham. He resides with his family in Birmingham and serves on the Vestry of Christ Anglican Church there.
“We are here to return the Republican party to the principles of limited government that made our country great,” said Chair Boykin. “We’
Other key players in the Alabama RLC are Secretary Shana Kluck and Media Director Stephen Gordon. Not only is Kluck a homeschooling mother of four, but she’s the President of the Alabama Republican Assembly, served as National Homeschooling Coordinator and Alabama Field Coordinator for Ron Paul’s presidential campaign, and works from her home as a Web 2.0 consultant. Kluck resides in Vance and serves both on the Tuscaloosa County and state Republican Party executive committees.
Gordon is a veteran of many political activities in both the Republican and Libertarian Parties. He’s worked as national Communications Director and Political Director for the LP. A short list of the candidates for whom he’s worked includes Oliver North, Bob Barr, Joel Montgomery and Ron Paul. Gordon lives in Hartselle and works a political consultant.
Founding and initial members of the Alabama RLC include attorney and RLC treasurer Leon Story, attorney Ted Pearson, political consultant George Oldroyd, physician Ken Varley, business consultant Tom Byars, noted organist Charles Kennedy, attorney Carolynn Moore, private investigator Rick Needham, Madison councilman Tim Cowles, physician Deborah Gordon, businessman George Barry and physician Jimmy Blake.
Members of the organization are actively promoting several pieces of legislation facing the Alabama Legislature this year, including two eminent domain reform bills, REAL-ID reform, and a State Sovereignty Resolution. Quite a few RLC members are active in the planning of “Tea Party” rallies to be held across Alabama (and the nation) on April 15th.
“As the legislative season winds down and election season kicks in, we’ll be focusing more of our efforts on candidates,”
Additional information about the Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus may be found at www.ALRLC.org.
