Free Republic

Contact: Gary Shoemaker Chairman Dr Dan 4 Congress Exploratory Committee Phone 828-335-9517 gm.shoemaker@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WILMINGTON, NC – Former U.S. congressional candidate for North Carolina’s 11th District, Dr. Dan Eichenbaum, will give the keynote address at the 2011 Republican Liberty Caucus Convention. The convention will take place Saturday, June 4, at 11:30am at the Front Street Brewery at 9 N. Front Street in Wilmington. The RLC convention will coincide with the state Republican Party Convention also in Wilmington the same weekend.

Since his narrow primary defeat in 2010 for the seat currently held by Heath Shuler (D-Waynesville), Dr. Dan has been traveling the region to continue being a voice for principled change in North Carolina and Washington D.C. Eichenbaum said, “This is really an important time in our nation’s history. I'm delighted to have been chosen as the keynote speaker for the RLC of North Carolina, a group of Republicans who have been at the forefront of the most important issues facing our nation and who are dedicated to keeping the Republican Party grounded in Constitutionally limited government."

Dr. Dan has continued to champion limited government, individual freedom, personal responsibility, fiscal restraint, and free market economy through a variety of activities and events, including his television show and blog, Dr. Dan's Freedom Forum, tea party functions, opinion articles and commentary, and other local community events.

RLC members will need to register prior to their convention in order to vote on agenda items. Dr. Dan’s address will begin at approximately 12:00pm.

Dr. Dan will also attend the NCGOP Convention as a voting delegate from Cherokee County where he was recently integral in re-establishing their Republican organization.

For more information about Dr. Dan Eichenbaum or the Republican Liberty Caucus of North Carolina please visit www.drdansfreedomforum.com and www.rlc.org (click the “Chapters” link). You may also find details about the convention on Facebook by searching ‘Republican Liberty Caucus of North Carolina.’

Like Nero who fiddled while Rome burned, our Republican and Democrat congressional leadership, aided and abetted by the often-absent leadership of President Obama, continue to argue about politics and pennies instead of making an honest attempt to reduce the size, scope, and cost of the federal government. Last November, the American people sent a clear message to Congress – get serious about reducing government spending and the deficit, but inside the beltway it is business as usual.

We expect Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid to drag out the usual horror show scenarios of riots in the cities, children without school, people dying in the streets, and grandma eating cat food. What is outrageous and indefensible, however, is John Boehner seeking to compromise on the sound economic principles that grassroots activists expected him and the GOP majority to promote and champion in Congress.

Congress must stop enabling our addiction to spending and debt both in the private and public sectors. We cannot continue to waste taxpayer money and ignore the natural “cleansing” action of the free market by bailing out failing federal agencies, flawed programs, and dead private sector companies. Shutting down non-essential government services and refusing to raise the debt ceiling are two necessary initial steps on the road to financial solvency and economic recovery.

Most of us know that if we only have $8 in our pocket, we cannot spend $12. As parents, it is our obligation to teach this to our children. As citizens, it is our obligation to demand it of our government.

For the past eight years, we have been listening to his opponents castigate George Bush for the war in Iraq. According to them, the Iraq war was an undeclared, unconstitutional military action based on a false premise -WMD- and an intrusion into a sovereign nation’s civil war with no apparent planning or exit strategy. Eight years later with the hostilities finally winding down, many Americans would agree that this costly adventure in nation-building was ill-advised and not worth the loss of blood and treasure. Now, as we initiate new military action in another Arab country (Libya), we must question and demand answers from this administration about the goals of the mission. How realistic are the chances for success? What is the true risk to our military personnel and what exit strategy is in place?

The most important question, however, is, “Mr. President, where specifically in the Constitution do you find your authority to unilaterally declare and instigate a war against a sovereign foreign nation that did not attack us without the consent of Congress as required in Article I, Section 8?”

Another question of no less importance, “Mr. President, what article in the Constitution allows you to transfer the power to declare war, constitutionally reserved for Congress, to the United Nations?”

And lastly, “Mr. President, from where do you derive the moral authority to justify an invasion into a sovereign nation to promote the advantage of one side in an already-ongoing civil war?”

Over the past seventy years, it has been necessary to ask these questions repeatedly, in multiple eras and to multiple presidents. As a Senator, President Obama said, “The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.” Mr. Obama got it right in 2007 but has apparently abandoned constitutional principle for current political and foreign policy expediency.

Declaring and waging war is a serious event. It was the clear intent of our founders to create and maintain checks and balances between the branch that declares war and the branch that executes the battle plan. The fact that the President sought approval from the UN instead of Congress is reason to question his commitment and adherence to the constitutional limits placed on his authority, not only in this instance, but in all other future issues as well.

At this crucial time, our national focus must be on our catastrophic national debt, the crippling and demoralizing unemployment, and a failing economy burdened by onerous governmental regulation. We cannot afford to be distracted by another unconstitutional war or, worse yet, a prolonged, expensive, and likely futile exercise in nation-building in the Middle East. In addition, it has become all too obvious that we are unwelcome intruders in the Arab world and, having little understanding of their intricate internal politics, we often end up choosing the wrong partners for our own long term interests.

Ultimately, we show our best honor and respect for the rights and safety of our brave men and women in the military when we ensure that their deployment for the defense of our nation is consistent with constitutional requirements.

For the past eight years, we have been listening to his opponents castigate George Bush for the war in Iraq. According to them, the Iraq war was an undeclared, unconstitutional military action based on a false premise -WMD- and an intrusion into a sovereign nation’s civil war with no apparent planning or exit strategy. Eight years later with the hostilities finally winding down, many Americans would agree that this costly adventure in nation-building was ill-advised and not worth the loss of blood and treasure. Now, as we initiate new military action in another Arab country (Libya), we must question and demand answers from this administration about the goals of the mission. How realistic are the chances for success? What is the true risk to our military personnel and what exit strategy is in place?

The most important question, however, is, “Mr. President, where specifically in the Constitution do you find your authority to unilaterally declare and instigate a war against a sovereign foreign nation that did not attack us without the consent of Congress as required in Article I, Section 8?”

Another question of no less significance, “Mr. President, what article in the Constitution allows you to transfer the power to declare war, constitutionally reserved for Congress, to the United Nations?”

And lastly, “Mr. President, from where do you derive the moral authority to justify an invasion into a sovereign nation to promote the advantage of one side in an already-ongoing civil war?”

Over the past seventy years, it has been necessary to ask these questions repeatedly, in multiple eras and to multiple presidents. As a Senator, President Obama said, “The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.” Mr. Obama got it right in 2007 but has apparently abandoned constitutional principle for current political and foreign policy expediency.

Declaring and waging war is a serious event. It was the clear intent of our founders to create and maintain checks and balances between the branch that declares war and the branch that executes the battle plan. The fact that the President sought approval from the UN instead of Congress is reason to question his commitment to adhere to the constitutional limits placed on his authority, not only in this instance, but in all other future issues as well.

At this crucial time, our national focus must be on our catastrophic national debt, the crippling and demoralizing unemployment, and a failing economy burdened by onerous governmental regulation. We cannot afford to be distracted by another unconstitutional war or, worse yet, a prolonged, expensive, and likely futile exercise in nation-building in the Middle East. In addition, it has become all too obvious that we are unwelcome intruders in the Arab world and, having little understanding of their intricate internal politics, we often end up on choosing the wrong partners for our own long term interests.

Ultimately, we show our best honor and respect for the rights and safety of our brave men and women in the military when we ensure that their deployment for the defense of our nation is consistent with constitutional requirements.

Dr. Dan Eichenbaum is standing for election to Congress in NC 11 as a constitutionally based, principled Republican. He is running a truly grassroots campaign with no ties to special interests or party politics. As such, when he gets to Washington, he will have no favors to repay. Dr. Dan will be beholden to no one but the United States Constitution and his constituents.