[868] in libertarians
Welcome Message
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Robert Reinhardt)
Wed Apr 5 12:38:05 1995
From: breinhar@tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu (Robert Reinhardt)
To: RLC-Announce@tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 12:30:33 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: breinhar@tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu
Resent-From: RLC-Announce@tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu
Hello,
I operate the Internet Email Lists for the Republican Liberty Caucus.
In addition to that I operate a moderated special list called "RLC-Announce"
(this list) for the expressed use by Eric Rittberg, National Director of
the RLC. Eric has asked me to add you to this list so that you can
receive the "press releases" and "announcements" that he sends from time
to time regarding "Republican libertarianism."---If you don't want to be
on this RLC-Announce list please just reply to me and let me know. If you
receive this via another local list which happens to be on our distribution
you will need to contact the person who runs your local list to ask them
to have me unsubscribe their whole list from this one.---Keep in mind that
this is not a "discussion" list and is intended for use only by RLC H.Q.
to give widest possible distribution to their releases. If you receive
this it is because Eric recommended you be placed on the distribution.
Any questions or comments to this announcement, please contact Eric Rittberg
at: Internet Email Address "71562.120@compuserve.com"
While I'm taking up your time, I will add this FYI...
We also operate the RLC-NEWS list which is also "moderated" and has only
slightly more traffic than RLC-Announce; this is used for coordinating
RLC internal initiatives, etc. Plus, we have RLC-DISCUSS which is an
"open" forum for RLCers to discuss the issues and their opinions, etc. So,
if you're interested in receiving/participating in RLC-NEWS or
RLC-DISCUSS, reply and let me know.---You can also check out our WWW and
FTP server noted in my signature below.
Now, back to the topic at hand, as an example of what is usually seen on
RLC-Announce, I include the most recent message sent by Eric, below:
---START OF MESSAGE
Date: 03 Apr 95 09:51:36 EDT
From: "Eric J. Rittberg" <71562.120@compuserve.com>
To: All Forums <RLC-Announce@tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu>
Subject: Ending Selective Service
Members of the Republican Liberty Caucus and the Libertarian Party have
joined forces to seek repeal of the Selective Service Administration.
The SS is a $25 million Agency located in Rosslyn, Virginia which
registers young men ages 18 to 25, for the military draft. (Women are
not required to register).
In the past three years, Congressman Peter Defazio, a liberal Democrat
from Oregon, has introduced legislation to abolish the Agency. Last year
it passed the House by a firm majority with the support of 30 Republicans,
but was killed in the Senate when President Bill Clinton expressed his
desire to continue funding for SS.
This year, a major effort has been launched on the Republican side to
lobby for its abolishment. So far, arch-conservative Cong. Dana
Rohrbacher who led Republican opponents of the draft last year has agreed
to sign on as a co-sponsor. Also, Cong. Jack Metcalf, a libertarian
Republican from Washington State has also agreed to co-sponsor the
Defazio Bill. Other Republicans who have expressed their support include
Liberty Caucus members Reps. J.D. Hayworth, John Shadegg, Matt Salmon and
Steve Stockman. VFA lobbyists have also met with Georgia Senator Paul
Coverdell's staff and staffers of other libertarian-leaning Congressman
on the Hill seeking their support.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Ron Dellums of California is expected to
co-sign, as is Rep. Pete Peterson of Florida who was the longest serving
POW in North Vietnam (7 years).
It is expected that strong opposition will come from Republican Rep.
Gerald Solomon of New York and Southern Democrat Rep. Sonny Montgomery of
Mississippi. Solomon and Montgomery each year lead the effort to block
the repeal of Selective Service on "patriotic" grounds.
However, this year's legislation is slightly different. It concentrates
on defunding and sending SS into "deep standby" rather than abolishing the
Agency right out. Thus in the era of budget cuts it has a very fiscally
conservative appeal. Simply put, it is an easy $25 million which can be
cut from the budget.
The Defazio/Rohrbacher Bill is expected to be introduced within the next
couple weeks. Meanwhile volunteer lobbying efforts on the Hill have been
undertaken by Volunteers For America, an anti-draft group led by
libertarians, both LP and RLC, who support the All-Volunteer Armed
Forces. But the group also includes conservatives who oppose SS on
fiscal grounds and liberals such as Conscientious Objectors who oppose
the military draft on moral grounds, viewing the draft as nothing less
than involuntary servitude.
VFA is headquartered out of Washington. Board Members include: Don
Ernsberger, Alan Lindsay, Jim Turney, Paul Jacob and Walter Winfield.
Scott Kolhaas serves as Executive Director.
If you would like further information on VFA and the effort to defund
Selective Service write Volunteers For America, 301 'G' Street SW #825,
Washington, DC 20024 or call Scott Kolhaas at (202) 484-5161.
Supporters of Selective Service defunding are strongly urged to contact
their Congressman to urge them to support Defazio/Rohrbacher.
---END OF MESSAGE
Regards/Bob
-------------------------URL is "http://tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu:1080/"
-------------------FTP is "ftp://tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu/pub/politics"
-------------breinhar@tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu (Robert Bryan Reinhardt)
With explicit reservation of all rights, Without Prejudice, UCC 1-207
