Could a group of like-minded conservative state lawmakers form their own voting bloc, similar to the House Freedom Caucus on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.?
Over the years, the House Freedom Caucus has been a thorn in the side of Republican leadership, especially with Republicans holding a narrow majority in the House. That gives the House Freedom Caucus leverage to force moderate Republicans to back more conservative options.
While the Alabama Legislature boasts a healthy Republican supermajority, many conservative issues still fall by the wayside despite popular public support.
This has led some officials to consider forming a Freedom Caucus in Montgomery to push a more conservative agenda on fiscal policy issues, including budget growth, taxes and so-called economic development handouts.
Such an effort has been resisted by the current power structure over the years. But also preventing this from taking shape in Alabama is the political infrastructure needed to support potential "Freedom Caucus" members.
Recently, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise), a former Alabama House member, current U.S. House Freedom Caucus member and U.S. Senate candidate, expressed hope that the Alabama Legislature will form its own version of the Freedom Caucus, especially given the likely victory of current U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) in the gubernatorial election later this year.
Former U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville), also a former member of the Alabama House and the House Freedom Caucus, is seeking to unseat incumbent State Rep. James Lomax (R-Huntsville), prompting further speculation.
The efforts of the House Freedom Caucus led to the launch of the State Freedom Caucus Network, which was founded in 2021 by Andrew Roth to bring the House Freedom Caucus' cause to state legislatures.
The Freedom Caucus Network's website quotes House Freedom Caucus founding member and former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows as saying, "The reason I helped launch the House Freedom Caucus in the U.S. Congress is because I knew it would be a game-changer in advance of limited government and conservative values. And it was. Now it's time to take it to the states and the State Freedom Caucus Network is going to help make it happen."
According to Roth, the Freedom Caucus Network was launched independently of the House Caucus, but "with their blessing and under their auspices."
"There are 50 swamps in the 50 state capitals, and I firmly believe that they are more corrupt than D.C.," Roth told 1819 News. "Which is a very bold claim, but I believe it to be true. And what happens is that when a voter turns on the TV or opens up their phone, they hear plenty about what's going on in D.C., whether it's Trump or Kamala Harris or the war in Ukraine or Iran or inflation, but they don't hear a lot about what's going on in their state capital. And these various state swamps like it that way."
Thus far, 15 Freedom Caucuses are operating across the country. Roth says he wants that number to be 50. However, that depends on state lawmakers' conservative voting records, and Alabama has not left him impressed.
"I can say with 100% certainty that the current crop of lawmakers are not remotely qualified for an Alabama Freedom Caucus," Roth said. "Now, if you have your primaries, and you're able to elect more than a handful of just based conservative lawmakers, then we're definitely interested."
He continued, "There is always a desire on our part to go into any and all states, and that includes Alabama, but also California, Vermont, New Jersey. Our stated public goal is that we want to have 50 state freedom caucuses. So, the desire's there on our part. The problem is that Alabama is thoroughly corrupt and is arguably one of the most corrupt state legislatures that we've looked at. And starting a freedom caucus there is much more difficult than a lot of other places."
While the Freedom Caucus Network does not have a minimum number of lawmakers needed to found a caucus, Roth says it would take a number of "really hard-nosed conservatives that have the skills to get elected and reelected."
"How vocal are they when things happen? "Roth continued, "When the governor gives their state of the state address, does anybody comment about what's good and bad in there? Do they publicly declare what their red lines are on supporting a budget? What's their track record or their level of engagement on social media? How do they behave in committee?"
Despite the reputation some may have of the Freedom Caucus, Roth boasts massive success in some states, where members have been elected and reelected, enabling them to pass bills that had previously been stonewalled.
"They effectively took control of the Wyoming House," Roth said. "So, the speaker is a Wyoming Freedom Caucus member. The Pro Tem is a Freedom Caucus member. The Budget Chair is the Freedom Caucus member. And that basically is the goal."
Calling a large swath of state lawmakers "Southern Democrats that just have an R after their name," Roth contends that the largest black mark for the state lies primarily in its budgetary process.
"Even though Alabama is a supermajority Republican state, their budgets keep growing, either single or double-digit, and with unanimous or near unanimous support," Roth stated. "And when Democrats and Republicans are all supporting the budget, you know that the taxpayers are getting fleeced."
He continued, "Alabama is [in the] top-five most corrupt states. Like, I don't know the ins and outs of all 50 state legislatures. But I'm confident that Alabama's pretty high up there because of all the tricks that they play on the taxpayer."
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