The Campaign for Liberty (C4L) is a political organization founded by twelve-term

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...

. Campaign for Liberty focuses on educating elected officials and the general public about

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

issues, and currently provides a membership program. Its legal status is that of a

501(c)(4) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the Law of the United States#Federal law, federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)). Such organizations are exempt from some Taxation in the Un ...

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

. The Campaign for Liberty was announced on June 12, 2008, as a way of continuing the grassroots support involved in Ron Paul's 2008 presidential run, and corresponded with the suspension of that campaign. Paul formally announced during the Texas Republican Convention that he had created this new organization known as the "Campaign for Liberty". On August 5, 2015, C4L Chairman John Tate was indicted by a federal grand jury for felony charges arising from an alleged cover-up. Tate, and colleagues on the 2012 Ron Paul presidential campaign, conducted to conceal the expenditure of campaign money to buy the endorsement of an Iowa politician. In October 2015, Tate was acquitted of all charges.

Purpose

According to Ron Paul, the purpose of the Campaign for Liberty is to continue the principles that invoked the grassroots support of his campaign, and to also be able to continue the message that he promoted during the course of his bid, without having a presidential campaign, and is also intended to "lay the groundwork for a different America." Paul also noted, It was also established as a reporting agency for news involved with the principles of the organization.

Political advocacy

Audit the Federal Reserve

Campaign for Liberty's first major policy initiative involves pushing support for HR 1207, a bill that calls for more transparency of the

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

. Also called the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009, HR 1207 was introduced in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

of the

111th United States Congress The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with t ...

by Campaign For Liberty's Honorary Chairman, Congressman Ron Paul (

TX-14 Texas's 14th congressional district for the United States House of Representatives stretches from Freeport to Orange, Texas. It formerly covered the area south and southwest of the Greater Houston region, including Galveston, in the state of T ...

). The bill proposed a full

audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...

of the

Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

(the "Fed") before the end of 2010. As of May 25, 2010, it had 319 cosponsors and has been referred to the

Committee on Financial Services The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the United States congressional committee, committee of the United States ...

. The bill was reintroduced in the 112th Congress by Congressman Ron Paul. The Federal Reserve Transparency Act passed the House of Representatives on July 25, 2012, by a margin of 327–98. At the time of passage, the bill had 274 co-sponsors. Harry Reid refused to bring the Senate version, S.202, introduced by Senator Rand Paul, up for a vote. H.R 24, "Ron Paul's Audit the Fed" was introduced in the House on January 3, 2013 by Congressman Paul Broun of Georgia. As of April 15, 2013, the bill has 142 co-sponsors. An identical bill, S.209, was introduced in the Senate by Senator Rand Paul. As of April 15, 2013, the bill has 24 co-sponsors.

Internet freedom

Campaign for Liberty has lobbied against CISPA and

SOPA The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) was a proposed United States congressional bill to expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement to combat online copyright infringement and online trafficking in counterfeit goods. Introduced on October 26, 20 ...

PIPA The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets rangi ...

. Campaign for Liberty is opposed to the Marketplace Fairness Act and has urged its members to lobby against it.

Liberty Political Action Conference

The Liberty Political Action Conference (LPAC) is a conference held by Campaign for Liberty once a year. At the event, Campaign for Liberty trains its members with the newest campaign and political activism techniques.

Past events

Rally for the Republic

On June 10, 2008, the Ron Paul Campaign announced the first promotional event for the organization, a "

Rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

for the

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

". After not being offered a speaking slot at the Republican convention, Ron Paul, who did not support GOP nominee

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

, decided to stage his own parallel convention in Minneapolis. This event occurred at the

Target Center Target Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Minneapolis that opened in 1990. It hosts major family shows, concerts, sporting events, graduations and private events. Target Corporation, founded and headquartered in Minneapolis since 1902, h ...

on September 2, 2008, which was the second day of the GOP Convention. On July 22, 2008, the event's official website launched, which provided details of the Rally, and of other events which were to occur in the same week including a leadership

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

book signing Book signing is the affixing of a signature to the title page or flyleaf of a book by its author. Book signings are events, usually at a bookstore or library, where an author sits and signs books for a period. Book signing Book signing is popu ...

, and free

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

. Notable attendees were announced, including the Rally's emcee,

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

Tucker Carlson Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American conservative political commentator who hosted the nightly political talk show '' Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News from 2016 to 2023. Since his contract with Fox News was term ...

, former

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, political commentator, actor, media personality, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), he ...

, Governor

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th List of governors of New Mexico, governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...

, Barry Goldwater Jr.,

Bruce Fein Bruce Fein (born March 12, 1947) is an American lawyer who specializes in constitutional and international law. Fein has written numerous articles on constitutional issues for ''The Washington Times'', ''Slate.com'', ''The New York Times'', ''T ...

, Howard Phillips,

Thomas Woods Thomas Ernest Woods Jr. (born August 1, 1972) is an American author, podcast host, and libertarian commentator who is currently a senior fellow at the Mises Institute.Naji FilaliInterview with Thomas E. Woods, Jr., Harvard Political Review, A ...

, Bill Kauffman, Erik Vendt,

Grover Norquist Grover Glenn Norquist (born October 19, 1956) is an American political activist and anti-tax advocate who is founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, an organization that opposes all tax increases. A Republican, he is the primary pro ...

Lew Rockwell Llewellyn Harrison Rockwell Jr. (born July 1, 1944) is an American author, editor, and political consultant. A libertarian and a self-professed anarcho-capitalist, he founded and is the chairman of the Mises Institute, a non-profit promoting the ...

, Barb Davis White and Doug Wead.

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

star

Sara Evans Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboar ...

and singer/songwriter Aimee Allen headlined the musical portion of the event. On September 1, more than 10,000 tickets were sold out. Most of the rally was broadcast live on C-SPAN 2 and a live stream was set up on the Campaign for Liberty website. According to the Rally's official website, its purpose was to "be a celebration of our movement and our

supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the Escutcheon (heraldry), shield and depicted holding it up. Historically, supporters were left to an individual's fr ...

, a launch party for the Campaign for Liberty, and a clear call to the Republican Party to return to its roots of

limited government In political philosophy, limited government is the concept of a government limited in power. It is a key concept in the history of liberalism.Amy Gutmann, "How Limited Is Liberal Government" in Liberalism Without Illusions: Essays on Liberal ...

, personal responsibility, and protection of our

natural rights Some philosophers distinguish two types of rights, natural rights and legal rights. * Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and so are ''universal'', ''fundamental rights ...

. The event ran in conjunction with the first two days of the Republican National Convention and featured top conservative speakers, musicians, and organizations. It also had an organizational and training function for the Campaign for Liberty and the Freedom Movement." Much of the press of the event referred to the rally as a "counter-convention".

Regional conferences

On October 26, 2008, Don Rasmussen, the former Director of Operations for Campaign for Liberty said the organization was planning a series of regional summits throughout 2009. Matt Hawes, Vice President of Programs, later announced that the C4L would hold these events throughout the country. The first of these regional conferences was held on March 27–29, 2009, in St. Louis, Missouri. Ron Paul, Judge Andrew Napolitano, and staff members from C4L and

Young Americans for Liberty Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) is a Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian student activism organization headquartered in Austin, Texas. Formed in 2008 in the aftermath of the Ron Paul 2008 presidential campaign, YAL establishes ch ...

spoke. Other activities included grassroots training sessions in addition to a lecture by historian and author Thomas E. Woods, Jr. Campaign for Liberty held another conference on May 22–24, 2009, at the Doubletree Hotel in Seattle, Washington. On July 10–12, 2009 Campaign for Liberty members gathered at Bally's in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the next regional conference where they were able to "network, learn, and build their local organizations as our grassroots Revolution to reclaim our Republic and restore our Constitution continues." This event ran in conjunction with the annua
Freedom Fest
which features over 100 libertarian-minded speakers. Thomas E. Woods, Jr. and Ron Paul were joined by economist

Mark Skousen Mark Andrew Skousen (; born October 19, 1947) is an American economist and writer. He currently teaches at Chapman University, where he has been the Doti- Spogli chair in free enterprise at the Argyros School of Business and Economics since 2 ...

for the C4L event. On September 17–19, C4L held its next regional conference right outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Valley Forge Convention Center. This event included two rallies, each attended by several hundred activists. On opening night, the "Freedom Celebration" featured Dr. Ron Paul, the American Conservative Defense Alliance's Phil Giraldi, New Jersey State Assemblyman Mike Doherty, and Ron Paul's son and C4L board member, Ronnie Paul. On Friday, attendees received political training, and then Judge Andrew Napolitano delivered speech about the problems with the PATRIOT Act. The conference concluded on Saturday with an "Economic Liberty Symposium", which featured author Thomas E. Woods, Jr., broker and Senate Candidate Peter Schiff, and British MEP

Daniel Hannan Daniel John Hannan, Baron Hannan of Kingsclere (born 1 September 1971) is a British writer, journalist and politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 1999 to 2 ...

. C4L held the next regional conference in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, on January 15–17, 2010. It was held at the Sheraton in Atlanta and brought supporters from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, and many more states. Speakers included Congressman Ron Paul,

, and Thomas DiLorenzo.

References

External links

Official website

Campaign for Liberty Foundation, Inc. (Springfield, VA): Organizational Profile
–

National Center for Charitable Statistics The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) is a clearing house for information about the U.S. economy as it relates to nonprofit organizations. The National Center for Charitable Statistics builds national, state, and regional databases ...

(

Urban Institute The Urban Institute is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that conducts economic and social policy research to "open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions". The institute receives funding from government contracts, foundations, and p ...

)
Campaign for Liberty (Lake Jackson, TX): Organizational Profile
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(

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Young Americans for Liberty
{{Coord, 38.8106, -77.2217, display=title Organizations established in 2008 2008 United States presidential election Ron Paul Libertarian organizations based in the United States Internet-based activism United States political action committees 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations 2008 establishments in the United States