Conservative-Libertarian Caucus (Belhavia)

Introduction

The Conservative-Libertarian Caucus, also referred to as the Con-Lib Caucus (colloquially), is a caucus within the Conservative Party in Belhavian politics. It is most prominent as a congressional caucus in the Imperial Senate in Provisa. It actively promotes libertarianism and a more "pure" model of minarchism within the right-leaning Tory party and seeks to counter the social conservatism of the Jewish right and what its members call the "corporatist agenda" of large Belhavian corporations by so-called "country club Tories."

History

The Libertarian Party was founded in mid-1972, and grew rapidly in the public opposition to the expansive Just Society legislation being implemented by the Callan administration. The Libertarians agreed with the "movement right" within the Tory party on economics but objected to its firmly-held social conservatism; similarly, the new party agreed with the social liberalism of the Liberal Democrats' far-left-wing but disagreed vehemently with the Lib Dems' left-wing economic policies.

In 1976, the new party made up ground in many local and provincial elections across the Empire, mostly in the rural and long-standing libertarian-leaning South Dakos province. Known as the South Dakos Breakthrough in political circles, the "Libs" were able to win a three-way race for the open Imperial Senate seat in the province against damaged and weak Tory and Lib Dem candidates. Their elected Senator, Harold Zelisman, established the Libertarian Party's official Senate caucus at the start of the 93th session of the Senate in January 1977. However, Zelisman worked often with the opposition Tories to oppose the Liberal Democrats.

The Libertarian Senate caucus grew, until Julian Settas's successful 1980 campaign, when they grew to 4 members. Throughout the 1980s, they fluctuated between 4 and 5 members, often giving the Conservatives the extra votes to overcome a filibuster by the Lib Dems to dismantle the expansive size and scope of the Imperial Government.

In the 1990s, they fumbled when they tried to become a swing bloc to form a governing majority with the Lib Dems during the January 1991 Senate Coups. In its aftermath, they were reduced to one member until the 2000 elections, when they picked up three seats.

They would continue to be a swing bloc of votes in the Senate but took no part in governing in the 2000s.

The rise of the Independent Centrist Caucus, a breakaway faction of conservative Lib Dems, sparked an interest in some Libertarian senators. Libertarians were excited by Eli Goldman's presidential campaign in 2008, and his winning candidacy offered pragmatic-oriented Libertarians a place as regular-line Tories to push the main rightist party towards libertarianism.

Caucus Creation

In mid-2008, the ICC fractured and dissolved. Goldman narrowly won the presidency, running on libertarian-esque economic policies, over Lib Dem rightist Richard Novian, Jr. Meanwhile, the Libertarians entered the 109th Senate (2009 - 2011) with 6 seats, having lost one of their member in the 2008 elections to a Lib Dem challenger. The chamber was narrowly divided, with the Tories' 32 to the Lib Dems' 31 seats.

President Goldman reached out to Senators Shlomo Grier, Jacob Aronov, Ken Axelrod, and Rebecca Slotnick, all considered to be part of the pragmatic wing of the Libertarian party. The quartet had been particularly frustrated by being locked out of the halls of power by being backbenchers in a third-party caucus.

Goldman, eager to shore up the Tory majority in the Senate to strengthen his ability to pass his priorities, offered the four room in his party as Conservatives who espoused a libertarian philosophy, and suggested they could better promote their strain of libertarianism in the "big tent" conservative major party rather than continue to have little influence as members of the official, but third-party Libertarians. They agreed and within days defected and became Conservatives on January 7th, 2009.

The quartet joined Ron Herman, who self-identified as a Tory libertarian conservative.

Expanding Membership (2010 - Present)

The original Con-Lib caucus included the four former Libertarians and libertarian-leaning Tory Ron Herman in early 2009. In 2010, Robert Jzenski was elected to the Senate and joined their ranks. They lost Axelrod in 2012 when he was forced to retire after his primary loss.

In the 2012 elections, Braunstein was elected and opted to join the caucus, though he left in 2014, citing major policy disagreements.

In the 2014 elections, Tory Senate candidate Joshua Gold of Asland is in a competitive tossup race with a weakened Lib Dem incumbent, and if successfully elected, has stated he will join the Con-Lib faction. Following his successful election on November 4th, 2014, Gold joined the caucus after the 112th Senate was seated in January 2015.

Current Members

• Robert Jzenski (C-Vannen) - Chair
• Jacob Aronov (C-South Adrania)
• Rebecca Slotnick (C-New Shelvoy)
• Ronald Herman (C-Weissland Islands)
• Joshua Gold (C-Asland)

Former Members

• Shlomo Grier (C-Vannen) - Declined to seek re-election in 2010 and retired in January 2011 at the end of his term.
• Ken Axelrod (C-East Dakos) - Defeated in his bid to retain his party's nomination in the Conservative Senatorial primary on May 5th, 2012; retired in January 2013 at the end of his term.
• Adam Braunstein (C-Shelvay) - Left the caucus over disagreements about his paleoconservatism, in particular his anti-immigrant and anti-secularism beliefs. He still serves in the Senate and will vote with the Con-Libs on foreign policy and on some social policies.

Ideological Composition

The caucus brands itself as a "big tent libertarian faction" within the Tories, and accepts members who ascribe to some strain of libertarian or libertarian-leaning political philosophy, including movement libertarianism, libertarian conservatism, and paleolibertarianism, as well as paleoconservatism, though this has proved controversial considering paleoconservatives' fierce disagreement with libertarians on key issues such as immigration and culture & national identity.

Grier, Slotnick, and Axelrod consider themselves mainline libertarians philosophically. Jzenski, Aronov, and Gold are libertarian conservatives. Herman refers to himself as a paleolibertarian. Braunstein is a paleoconservative who voluntarily left over broad disagreements with the other Con-Lib members, though his philosophy's opposition to neoconservative foreign policy was a major alignment with the Con-Libs.