The Republican Leadership Council (RLC or RLC-PAC) was founded in 1993 as the Committee for Responsible Government. It was a

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 ...

political

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

and

political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...

that promoted Republican candidates who choose a platform that the organization characterized as " fiscally conservative, socially inclusive." Issues championed by the RLC include small government, lower taxes, balanced budgets,

environmental protection Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. ...

and school choice, often including

school vouchers A school voucher, also called an education voucher in a voucher system, is a certificate of government funding for students at schools chosen by themselves or their parents. Funding is usually for a particular year, term, or semester. In some cou ...

. The organization was chaired by former

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Senator

John Danforth John Claggett Danforth (born September 5, 1936) is an American politician, attorney, diplomat, and Episcopal priest who served as the Attorney General of Missouri from 1969 to 1976 and as a United States Senator from 1976 to 1995. A member of the ...

and former

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Governor

Christine Todd Whitman Christine Temple Whitman (; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush ...

and tended to be critical of what it considered to be the disproportionate role of conservative Christians in the Republican Party. In 2011, the RLC was dissolved. However, a new Republican Leadership Council of California has been formed to support moderate Republican policies, starting in California.

History

The Committee for Responsible Government (CRG) was founded by a group of

moderate Moderate is an ideological category which entails centrist views on a liberal-conservative spectrum. It may also designate a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. Political position Canad ...

Republicans in 1992 as a response to the 1992 Republican National Convention in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

where

Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan ( ; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative author, political commentator, and politician. He was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. He ...

, an unsuccessful challenger to former President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, gave a controversial address which has become known as the "

culture war A culture war is a form of cultural conflict (metaphorical " war") between different social groups who struggle to politically impose their own ideology (moral beliefs, humane virtues, and religious practices) upon mainstream society, or upon ...

" speech. Founding members of the CRG included financier Lewis M. Eisenberg, New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, Representative Susan Molinari ( NY-14), Representative Richard A. Zimmer ( NJ-12), Massachusetts Governor William F. Weld, and

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Governor John G. Rowland. The organization departed notably from the Republican Party platform by including a

pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their ...

position on

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

in its "guiding principles." In 1997, the organization renamed itself the Republican Leadership Council in a nod to its Democratic counterpart, the centrist

Democratic Leadership Council The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) was a non-profit 501(c)(4) corporation that was active from 1985 to 2011. Founded and directed by Al From, it argued that the United States Democratic Party should shift away from the leftward turn it had ...

. The RLC dropped its embattled stance on abortion in favor of a neutral affirmation of the importance of "protecting individual rights" and "promoting strong families." Governor John Engler of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and Senator

Jon Kyl Jon Llewellyn Kyl ( ; born April 25, 1942) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator for Arizona from 1995 to 2013. Following the death of John McCain in 2018, Kyl briefly returned to the Senate; his resignatio ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, Republicans who oppose abortion were recruited to model a more inclusive position on that issue. Financier

Henry Kravis Henry Roberts Kravis (born January 6, 1944) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist.Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Senator and presidential candidate

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Party leaders of the United States Senate, Republican Leader of th ...

, 1996 campaign finance chairman, were named as the organization's co-chairs. In the Republican Party

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

of California's 2002 gubernatorial election, the RLC endorsed

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Mayor

Richard Riordan Richard Joseph Riordan (May 1, 1930 – April 19, 2023) was an American businessman, investor, military commander, philanthropist, and politician. A decorated Korean War veteran and a member of the Republican Party, Riordan served as the 39th ...

over Bill Simon, sponsoring attack ads blaming Simon for the 1993 failure of Western Federal Savings and Loan. RLC board members and Senators Jon Kyl and Frank Murkowski condemned the ads and issued statements distancing themselves from the RLC. The RLC was inactive for several years after 2003, but was revived after the 2006 midterm elections by Whitman, former Missouri Senator John Danforth and former Maryland Lieutenant Governor

Michael Steele Michael Stephen Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator who served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007 and as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) f ...

. Whitman said that the Republicans' loss of control of Congress signaled a need for the party to return to its "fiscally conservative roots" and to be "less judgmental." In March 2007, Whitman's political action committee, "It's My Party, Too" (IMP-PAC), was merged into RLC-PAC. In 2008, Michael Steele left the RLC, of which he was a founding member, citing disagreements over endorsing primary candidates. Some contend that his departure was an effort to boost his chances of becoming the RNC chair. He contends that he withdrew from the group in early 2008, while the RLC listed him as a member until his campaign for chair of the GOP began in December 2008.

Board members

, co-chair (former senator, MO) *

, co-chair (former governor, NJ) *

Trammell Crow Fred Trammell Crow (June 10, 1914 – January 14, 2009) was an American real estate developer from Dallas, Texas. He is credited with the creation of several major real estate projects, including the Dallas Market Center, Peachtree Center in Atlan ...

Nancy Johnson Nancy Elizabeth Johnson (née Lee; born January 5, 1935) is an American lobbyist and politics in the United States, politician from the U.S. state, state of Connecticut. Johnson was a United States Republican Party, Republican member of the Un ...

(former representative, CT-5) * David Lack * James B. Nicholson *

Tom Ridge Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician and author who served in the Presidency of George W. Bush, George W. Bush administration as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security from 2001 to 2003 and as the U ...

(former governor, PA) * Joe Schwarz (former representative, MI-7) * Rob Simmons (former representative,

CT-2 Connecticut's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in the eastern part of the state, the district includes all of New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Tolland County, Con ...

) * Candace Straight * Jane Swift (former governor, MA)

Former members

(former RNC chair and original cofounder of RLC; left in 2008 over the endorsement of candidates in primaries) * Frank Murkowski (former Alaska senator and governor; left over attack ads) *

(former Arizona senator; left over attack ads)

Disbandment and rebirth in California

In 2011, the RLC national organization was dissolved when Governor

retired from politics. However, a new RLC political action committee was founded shortly before in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Known as the Republican Leadership Council of California (RLCC), it is philosophically aligned with the original RLC organization; was chaired by RLC's former California state coordinator; and was granted permission to continue using the same name/brand. RLCC describes its supporters and candidates as practical, "traditional Republicans", in the manner of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

and

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

. RLCC's strategy is heavily focused on achieving long-term electoral gains for moderate Republicans for legislative, congressional, and other high offices by building a strong bench of moderate Republicans elected to local offices in the bluest parts of California.

References

;General * * * * ;Specific {{refend

External links