After serving honorably in the armed forces for decades to uphold the U.S. Constitution, including four tours of duty in Afghanistan, retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Darin Gaub realized he could not sit idly by and watch his country's constitutional freedoms disappear. So he pulled together a team of experts in several critical areas, including data analysis, political strategy, public relations, and administration, and founded an organization called Restore Liberty.

Based in Helena, Montana, Gaub's organization has several goals, the first of which is designed to encourage American citizens to affirm their support of the principles on which our country was founded. Gaub's team created a Declaration of Constitutional Consent, which is simply a written affirmation of our founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

"We started off with the consent declaration and the Sanctuary Status map, which shows the network of grassroots contacts we have built in counties across the nation," Gaub explains. "These are people we've identified who pledge their commitment to our constitutional freedoms and way of life."

"The intent is to have individuals sign the declaration, either digitally or by printing the document and then emailing or snail mailing it to their elected officials, starting with the president and their state governor, at a minimum. The hope is that they will send it to their state reps and local officials as well. It sends a clear message that they are not happy with the direction our country is headed and that they are committed to America as it was founded under our constitution."

The Restore Liberty website has a printable document listing what it calls "Practical Tacticals," a collection of recommended actions citizens can take to help restore our republic. Suggestions include both the obvious and not so obvious:

• Run for city and county commissions or councils.
• Volunteer to serve on local citizen advisory boards.
• Volunteer as a poll watcher.
• Run for your local school board, even if you don't have children in the school system.
• Speak out at local council meetings and testify before state and local commissions to hold local officials accountable.
• Establish a civic group independent of political entities to discuss local concerns and issues.
• Support constitutionally minded student groups, and demand that school boards allow equal access and treatment.

The more than two dozen suggestions encourage citizen participation in local political and civic arenas to advance constitutional government and America's founding principles. "We focus on judicial races and school board races," Gaub says. "We work with local groups across the country to help them identify good candidates in their areas for endorsement and support. The idea is to establish a network of citizens with similar aims and help each other advance the cause of constitutional government by electing good people to local offices, such as the county sheriff's office, for example."

Gaub says Restore Liberty is not interested in membership numbers or in reinventing the wheel. "Each local organization we work with reaches its own group of people to promote a candidate. We advise them on how to get their candidates elected, but fundraising is always an issue."

Restore Liberty works with a number of conservative organizations across the country. They recommend iVoterGuide for help with identifying good candidates, and the Patriot Academy for educational assistance.

"It's really about encouraging freedom and building strong networks one citizen at a time," Gaub says. "We have to focus on educating the public and our elected representatives about America's original intent, the role of our constitution, and the philosophy of natural rights. Once we get people elected who are willing to represent those values, we have to keep them in office and hold them accountable."

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