Health Care Repeal Act on top of the Agenda

by Eric Dondero

The Republican Libety Caucus was founded in Tallahassee, Florida in June of 1990. The Florida RLC is the oldest of all of the groups' chapters. In many ways it was the FL RLC that launched the nationwide Republican Liberty movement. It took than many years, and a great deal of hard work to gain influence in state politics. But they have now arrived to the point that top elected officials in Tallahasee virtually roll out the red carpet for the yearly visit of Libertarian Republicans.

Lt. Governor Jeff Kottcamp of the Melbourne area, has long identified himself as a "free marketeer" GOPer. The Palm Beach Post even labeled him "libertarian." It was Kottcamp who served as host for visiting RLCers last weekend.

Longtime RLCer Phil Blumel who was actually there at the founding of the organization in 1990, reports:

About 35 RLCers from around the state attended this week the 2010 Liberty Days at the Capitol, the RLC's annual grassroots lobbying trek to Tallahassee, in the midst of the national battle against ObamaCare.

The timing was perfect. The RLC's first event was a hearing before the House Healthcare Regulation Policy Committee, in which Rep. Scott Plakon - sponsor of the Healthcare Freedom Act - made his case for protecting Floridians from the individual mandates included in the national bill. His bill (HJR 37) to do that passed the committee 10-3 amid cheers from the RLCers present.

"It is our duty to step up and reassert the rights of Floridians, in this case protecting our citizen's rights and freedoms to make appropriate decisions as it relates to their own health care," said Plakon.
The next day, RLCers met with more legislators and aides, including Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp who met with both the RLCers as a group and privately with RLCFL Chair Will Pitts.

Several RLCers attended the press conference of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum who announced his intention to be one of the nine or so state attorney generals to sue the federal government as soon as the ObamaCare bill was signed by the president.

"There are two basic principles here," McCollum said. "Number one that Congress has exceeded its powers in terms of its requiring the individual mandate that anybody has to buy a health care policy or suffer a penalty of some sort, a fine or a tax. And number two that it violates the 10th Amendment rights of the states in that it goes far beyond an unfunded mandate and literally would cost the State of Florida alone billions of dollars."

Note - Rep. Plakon is a frequent attendee of libertarian meetings, such as the Florida Liberty Summit sponsored by Campaign For Liberty.

Blumel commented on the success of the trip:

[Sovereignty and Health Care Act repeal] is the primary message the RLC sought to voice in Tallahassee this year and it was gratifying to hear many of our Republican leaders join in the chorus.

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