Republican Liberty Caucus Votes To Rescind Poliquin Endorsement

The National Board of the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) voted Thursday to rescind its endorsement of Representative Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine 2nd CD, after he voted against the repeal of Obamacare.

Poliquin was one of only three Republicans to vote against the repeal because, he claimed, “more than 60,000 Mainers have invested their time and energy in choosing health care plans that work for their families.” Poliquin said he would only vote to repeal Obamacare if Republicans had a replacement bill ready to vote on at the same time.

“We were both stunned and disappointed by Rep. Poliquin’s vote,” said Matt Nye, National Chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus. “Obamacare is an abomination that is steadily destroying the best health care system in the world every day it is in existence, and it will ultimately result in a complete government takeover of health care and a lower standard of care for all Americans. While it is true that health care in the United States had issues prior to Obamacare, Americans were definitely better off before Obamacare was passed.”

Nye said RLC took its position because, “For our organization it is a litmus test issue, and there is simply no excuse for a ‘No’ vote to repeal it.”

Nye said Poliquin’s justification about replacing Obamacare with a free market alternative, which included a statement that “if Congress fully repeals Obamacare it just be fully prepared to replace it with a free market alternative” fell on deaf ears with the RLC Board.

“The notion that the free market requires Congress to pass a bill in order for it to function is absurd on its face,” Nye said. “Free market economics does not need the hand of government to give its imprimatur to what is acceptable and what is not. Consumers should be free to make their own personal choices and providers should supply plans which the market can accept. If they cannot, consumers will vote with their purchasing decisions without government collusion.”

“Poliquin’s reasoning is analogous to cutting off your arm at work and saying you’re not going to stanch the bleeding until you’ve worked out a new safety policy with management,” said Nye.

The Republican Liberty Caucus Board took its position against Poliquin because he applied voluntarily to seek the RLC endorsement and signed The Liberty Compact which reads, “I pledge to the citizens of this state, and to the American people, that as their elected representative I will work to: restore liberty, not restrict it; shrink government, not expand it; reduce taxes, not raise them; abolish programs, not create them; promote the freedom and independence of citizens, not the interference of government in their lives; and observe the limited, enumerated powers of the Constitution, not ignore them.”

Nye said Poliquin either does not believe in what he signed or he was duplicitous in asking for the RLC endorsement by claiming to be what he is not.

“Either way, we can no longer stand by him nor include him in our honorable list of endorsed elected officials which includes Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Justin Amash and many others who still stand on principles in their votes,” Nye said.

About Republican Liberty Caucus

The Republican Liberty Caucus is an IRS 527 voluntary grassroots membership organization dedicated to working within the Republican Party to advance the principles of individual rights, limited government and free markets. Founded in 1991, it is the oldest continuously-operating organization within the Liberty Republican movement.