TheRepublican Leadership Council (RLC orRLC-PAC) was founded in 1993 as theCommittee for Responsible Government. It was aUnited States politicaladvocacy group andpolitical action committee that promotedRepublican candidates who choose a platform that the organization characterized as "fiscally conservative, socially inclusive." Issues championed by the RLC includesmall government, lower taxes,balanced budgets,environmental protection and school choice, often includingschool vouchers.
The organization was chaired by formerMissouri SenatorJohn Danforth and formerNew Jersey GovernorChristine Todd Whitman and tended to be critical of what it considered to be the disproportionate role ofconservative Christians in the Republican Party.[1]
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.
The Committee for Responsible Government (CRG) was founded by a group ofmoderate Republicans in 1992 as a response to the1992 Republican National Convention inHouston, Texas wherePat Buchanan, an unsuccessful challenger to former PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush, gave a controversial address which has become known as the "culture war" speech.
Founding members of the CRG included financier Lewis M. Eisenberg, New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, RepresentativeSusan Molinari (NY-14), RepresentativeRichard A. Zimmer (NJ-12), Massachusetts GovernorWilliam F. Weld, andConnecticut GovernorJohn G. Rowland. The organization departed notably from the Republican Party platform by including apro-choice position onabortion in its "guiding principles."
In 1997, the organization renamed itself the Republican Leadership Council in a nod to itsDemocratic counterpart, the centristDemocratic Leadership Council. 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." GovernorJohn Engler ofMichigan and SenatorJon Kyl ofArizona, Republicans who oppose abortion were recruited to model a more inclusive position on that issue. FinancierHenry Kravis and John A. Moran, formerKansas Senator and presidential candidateBob Dole, 1996 campaign finance chairman, were named as the organization's co-chairs.
In the Republican Partyprimary ofCalifornia's 2002 gubernatorial election, the RLC endorsedLos Angeles MayorRichard Riordan overBill Simon, sponsoringattack ads blaming Simon for the 1993 failure of Western Federal Savings and Loan. RLC board members and Senators Jon Kyl andFrank Murkowski condemned the ads and issued statements distancing themselves from the RLC.[2]
The RLC was inactive for several years after 2003, but was revived after the2006 midterm elections by Whitman, former Missouri Senator John Danforth and former Maryland Lieutenant GovernorMichael Steele. 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.[3][4]
In 2011, the RLC national organization was dissolved when GovernorChristine Todd Whitman retired from politics. However, a new RLC political action committee was founded shortly before inCalifornia. 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 ofAbraham Lincoln andTheodore Roosevelt. 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.