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The Grassroots Spectator

After the Tea Parties

By from the June 2009 issue

Even before anybody dreamed of the Tea Parties, a number of conservative grassroots organizations were mobilizing. From our June issue.

What do conservatives do after the Tea Parties? What do you do when the protests are over? How do you harness all that energy? How do you turn it into a permanent force?

When hundreds of thousands of people— by some counts, well over a half million—protested nationwide against big-government-gone-wild on April 15, the near-spontaneous passion of the “Tea Party” demonstrators gave a major boost to the spirits of more seasoned conservative activists. And even bigger, more organized Tea Parties are reportedly on tap for July 4. But it’s one thing to get people to voice their frustrations; it’s a much more difficult thing to channel those frustrations into something long-lastingly positive.

The good news is that even before anybody dreamed of the Tea Parties, a number of conservative grassroots organizations, almost completely divorced from Washington/New York direction, were mobilizing in the far-flung towns and cyberspace wikis of this great nation. Candidate recruitment and training, media and Internet entrepreneurial efforts, intellectual stimulation and policy innovation, all are getting jolts of energy and talent from new organizations. Even better, many of those organizations were well positioned to build directly on the Tea Party momentum while working to create the next generation of conservative political infrastructure. Indeed, one such organization, American Majority, almost immediately posted a new website called, yes, AfterTheTeaParty.com. “Run for local office,” says one sub-link at the site. “Be an activist,” says another. “Support Freedom!” says a third. American Majority’s main objective is to recruit and train candidates for local and state offices such as town councils, school boards, county commissions, and state legislators—or, if people just don’t want to run for office, to at least train them to be effective activists. “You have to move from protesting to becoming ‘implementers,’” said American Majority President Ned Ryun. “We are saying to people: We will empower you. If you want to be involved, we will give you the tools.”

Ryun continued: “We’re trying to stay very much on the cutting edge, to teach things like: How do you use Twitter, how do you use Facebook, Plurk, and Ning? How do you use social networking tools in campaigns or in building coalitions or in building communities of like-minded citizens? We’re really trying to stay on the cutting edge—and trying to professionalize as much as possible.”

OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, OF COURSE, offer candidate training among their options—including the venerable Leadership Institute, which in its training of potential candidates, campaign managers, youth leaders, student journalists, campus organizers, and others remains one of conservatism’s greatest resources.

But what American Majority does is to focus specifically at the grassroots, at the local level—and locates full-time staff in those local areas to build relationships, actively search for political talent, and convince activists that they may have a calling in local public office. In short, rather than waiting for potential leaders to self-select, American Majority goes out into the local communities and finds those leaders—and then teaches them not only how to run and win campaigns, but how to navigate the politics and policies of their new offices after they win.

“We’re trying to create that broad deep bench of future leaders who have a good perspective on the proper role of government and then give them the tools to implement those policy ideas,” Ryun said. To do that, American Majority unofficially partners with state-level conservative think tanks to create site-specific manuals about how to serve in office—what the jobs entail, what policies are at issue, how the system works. And its local staff stays in touch after their training sessions and serves as a sounding board and knowledge resource, as well as providing continued encouragement and “moral support.”

American Majority has chapters in six states so far—Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Minnesota, Arkansas, and Texas—and expects to expand into two or three more by year’s end. On April 7, its training was put to the test in both Oklahoma and Kansas, with city council races in the former and school board and city council races in Kansas. In Kansas, candidates it trained won 23 of 54 races, and in Oklahoma the record was even better: 17 of 27. Of those 17, 16 were first-time candidates.

“What the American Majority people helped me to do was to define how I can give back by showing me that my unique perspective will matter and does matter,” said one of those winning candidates, new school board member Todd Biggs of Pittsburg, Kansas. “The American Majority let me know that I wasn’t alone and that my opinion counts.”

Not only that, he said, but when he faced a last-minute choice about whether to run for the four-year term he had intended, or to switch and run for an open two-year term against “a big-wig from the local university,” as he called him, it was to American Majority’s local chief, Dennis Wilson, that he turned for unofficial advice. Biggs ran for the two-year term, and endured his opponent bragging at a key public forum about how many people the opponent could call in Washington to get things done for the local schools.

Biggs, who runs a landscaping business and “gets [his] hands dirty every day,” said his American Majority training helped him keep his wits when he would otherwise have felt outclassed. “Folks,” he told the audience, “I can’t call a single person in Washington, D.C., for you, but the people of Pittsburg, Kansas, have my phone number and when you call, I’ll listen, and that’s what’s really important here.” Biggs won with 55 percent of the vote.

AMERICAN MAJORITY’S PRESIDENT, Ned Ryun, and his identical twin Drew, age 36, are both longtime conservative activists. Drew just left a top job at the conservative American Center for Law and Justice to return to oversee the American Majority efforts in Oklahoma and Texas; Ned was a co-founder of the Generation Joshua program that provides character- and civic-education for youths aged 11-19. (The Ryuns are sons of former international track world-record holder and later five-term U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun.) Their American Majority originally was conceived (but is organizationally independent from) the Sam Adams Alliance, which is another key, fairly new player on the grassroots conservative scene. Sam Adams, founded in December 2006, is particularly focused on training people how to use new media tools, especially “wikis” (as in Wikipedia), and using them as tools to “advance economic and individual liberty.”

“Our political system is dysfunctional,” said Eric O’Keefe, chairman of the Chicago-based Sam Adams Alliance. “Congress is unrepresentative; government is out of control and the political parties are part of the system, both of them. So I am working on supporting independent infrastructure so that citizens can be heard and be effective and support mission- based, principled organizations.”

Perhaps the best known of the Alliance’s projects is “Ballotpedia,” a wiki that keeps tabs on ballot initiatives across the country. In the four days immediately before last year’s elections, Ballotpedia received some 5 million page views as people tried to follow the progress of initiatives on gay marriage, crime, tax hikes, and other subjects. Newer and less well known—but already with more than a million page views each—are Sunshine Review, a wiki hotline for government accountability and transparency, and Judgepedia, which already features articles on each of the nation’s 338 state Supreme Court justices and that by the end of the year will feature every state appeals court judge in the country. (By early may it already contained more than 12,000 total entries.) Also, by the end of the summer, Judgepedia expects to feature an article on every federal judge from the time of George Washington up to the present. In short, it’s a great way for voters to keep tabs on these officials whose jobs are all too often a bit mysterious to the general public.

O’Keefe says that like American Majority, the Sam Adams group is “close allies” with yet another key player in grassroots conservative revival, the conservative state policy think tanks that now exist in all 50 states. (Think of state-level Heritage Foundations or American Enterprise Institutes.) They will surely play a key role in helping Tea Partiers focus and direct their complaints about excessive, invasive government.

Page: 1 2  

topics:
American Majority, Ned Ryun

About the Author

Quin Hillyer is a senior editor of The American Spectator and a senior fellow at the Center for Individual Freedom. Follow him on Twitter @QuinHillyer.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (75) |

Pete| 6.15.09 @ 11:17AM

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to tap into the same funding that ACORN is getting...after all, this sounds like "community organizing" to me.

Laurence | 6.15.09 @ 1:06PM

ACORN mobilized at full strength to get Ray Nagin re-elected in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. After Nagin delivered his rousing "Chocolate City" speech, he essentially vanished as a politcal figure, ceding that role in the city to Governor Jindal. Although the crime rate in inner-city neighborhoods is completely out of control here, the viability of the NOLA metro area has returned to its pre-storm strength and viability post-Katrina due to the stability of leadership provided by Louisiana's Governor and the conservative governments of outlying parishes (what we call our Counties in La.) in administering federal relief funds. The accomplishments of this state's conservative leadership, cleaning up the mess of a failed liberal scheme in the city, should be taught nationwide! The Pelican Institute is well placed to network with other conservative groups to provide the material for this "teachable moment"...

Pingback| 6.15.09 @ 2:53PM

Instapundit » Blog Archive » TEA PARTIES: What comes next?… links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

About FAQ Other Writings PDA Terms of Use Backup RSS « MARTIN PERETZ: Dennis Ross, Out As Special Envoy To Iran; Was He Ousted Because He’s A Jew Or A Bit… June 15, 2009 TEA PARTIES: What comes next? Posted at by Glenn Reynolds at 2:53 pm Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc! Making even the dumbest sh** interesting! -- Oxblog "Glenn also has a rather dry sense of humour, which I'm guessing not…

JCD| 6.15.09 @ 3:07PM

Starve. The. Government.

Stop Paying Taxes. That's the only way they will get the message. They can't put us all in jail. They can't shoot all of us. Someone has to be their piggy bank, and they can't keep using the Fed as an ATM machine forever. We CAN stop this nonsense, we just have to have the sack to do it collectively.

ZZMike | 6.15.09 @ 3:40PM

Running for office is a good start. Demonstrations may get a few minutes of public attention, but afterward, the ripples fade and nothing changes.

Another thing to look into is recall movements. Recall from the bottom up: mayors, councilmen, governors, state congressmen, state senators. Hold them accountable.

JDC: The problem with not paying taxes is that they have no sense of humor about that. They convict everybody they go after. And they don't have to go after everybody - pick a few high-profile cases, make an example of them, and nobody's going to want to be next.

You'd have to get almost everybody to agree - when was the last time we managed to get almost everybody to agree on anything?

Oldefarte| 6.15.09 @ 3:46PM

Again, these tea parties, organizations,etc are fine; but I think that the solution is more simple than that. American voters [moderates and conservatives, certainly not liberal] have to WAKE UP and realize what Obama and the Democrats represent long term for them and their children. The current regime is in power because American voters were brainwashed by the MSM into voting for this liberal trojun-horse collection of borderline domestic terrorists. Unless and until American voters WAKE UP,ther will be no hope. All it takes is for these American moderates and conservatives to consistantly and completely vote for anti-Obama/Democrat candidates. Hopefully Americans are now realizing WHAT they voted for in November of 2008; and that they're only hope is to begin voting intelligently going forward!!!!!!!!

Big J| 6.15.09 @ 3:55PM

JCD:

I am doing my part: starving the beast. Not 100% by choice, mostly necessity. We had an exceptional year in business last year. In spite of making all quarterly tax notes, our remaining bill was rather large (by my standards, not that bad by others). We simply can't pay it.

Meanwhile, the government chooses who wins and loses in the business world, doling our tax dollars out as they see fit. It disgusts me.

We filed for an extension, and will eventually pay what "we owe".

I'm thinking of setting up a payment plan to the tune of $25 a month, just in protest. Not quite sure how it's going to go over.

Vik Rubenfeld | 6.15.09 @ 5:28PM

TCOT Report (tcotreport.com) linked my article on this (http://tinyurl.com/pq2bbp):

> .....The counter strategy may be to reach out to Republicans and
> Democrats who are less active in the party.  On a grass
> roots level, Americans are approachable and interested in
> separating sense from nonsense. We have to cut into the
> communication channels between the liberal leadership and
> the American people - providing the people with all the good
> info and documentation that the conservative blogosphere
> produces; revealing to them what is being hidden from them
> by the MSM; and offering them a choice between logic and
> illogic, between fact and fiction, between what strengthens
> the economy and what weakens it, between what keeps America
> safe and strong and what endangers it.
>
> This can be a grass roots action, conducted in every city.
>
> I propose that the winning approach is to organize
> cross-party events focused on key issues like the economy,
> big government, national security, health care - events that
> welcome people regardless of party affiliation, and just
> seek to examine the facts. Small rooms in houses and
> restaurants can be used to bring in guest speakers.  Larger
> political issues should not be discussed - only the facts of
> the issues at hand - with the goal of making Americans
> safer, stronger, healthier, and more prosperous. Like Obama
> or dislike him? Leave that at the door. These days
> Republican leadership is also not acceptable on many of
> these issues. E Pluribus Unum should be the motto - out of
> many, one. It can all be hooked up with, and perhaps even
> organized by, the burgeoning Tea Party movement, which also
> rejects current Republican leaders in many instances.
>
> This strategy can separate the illogic of liberal leaders,
> from the support of the people.

JD Sherman| 6.15.09 @ 5:51PM

I'm going to suggest pitchforks, torches, tar and feathers and many politicians up against a wall somewhere.

Old Texican| 6.15.09 @ 5:52PM

Big J
There are going to be a lot of people like you. Be careful.
Hell, I'm on every other list the communists are putting together, but I gotta' protect the hundreds of kids we take care of the best I can.

There WILL be a tipping point, I believe.

...When Americans who earn a living look around and simply say "no".
I cannot even venture a guess as to what will provoke that "no".
One thing...At least the dorks in DC won't have to worry about the jihadists blowing up DC. Hell, the DC dorks are blowing up America faster than any jihadist could.

Someone recently wrote that Bin Laden better get off his arse if he wants the credit for destroying America. Our own idiots elected a bunch that can do it more effectively, and more quickly.

My goodness! I feel like the guy in every western movie we have ever watched. The local "law" was on the side of the bad guys...and the good guys had to take the "law" into their own hands...with all of the attendent pain to them and theirs.

But you know, J, in each of those western movies, someone came along to sort of level the playing field.
If the "law" should prevent us from watching after our patients, then crippled up as I am, I WILL be that "field leveler".
I have a sneaky suspicion that there are a lot of folks just like me...and probably you...who will do some leveling.
I do think that it is a shame that for the first time in my life I FEAR our federal government. I am not a coward or a fearful person. I simply fear for the people that depend upon me...and dammit...the barsteads (sic) know that. They are counting on it...and it burns my buttt.

You know, it is sorta' like 9-11. It must have absolutely freaked out the Bin Laden types, when, instead of being "terrified"...Americans got pithed off.
Americans, (self sufficient), Americans are now getting pithed off again.

Please, stay out of jail until the "Day of The Lord".

JayDee| 6.15.09 @ 5:54PM

Hopefully, the next step is the Tea Party PAC, a one issue, non-partisan, political action committee that focusses on getting financially responsible candidates elected. Essentially, we'd become our own 'special interest', with the clout associated with that position. For the first time, politicians who figured they could buy more votes with our tax dollars than giving our money away would cost them would have to come to terms with the fact that giving our money away would put funds into their opponent's coffers.

No getting mixed up in party politics, no diffusing our unity, just a one-note pressure group whose wrath would hurt them in the pocketbook. It works for all those tiny little interest groups, we have the potential to be a big, mean, interest group.

Al Reasin| 6.15.09 @ 5:57PM

Following the lead of early union organizers and MLK to achieve change, I have started by own civil grass roots war by picketing the Annapolis office of Maryland's U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski in regard to her votes on the 2008-9 authorizations to recklessly spend public funds. I have been encouraged by my participation in six TEA Party events and by meetings of the 912 Project and the Campaign for Liberty to move to a more direct confrontation of those who believe in taxing and spending American's tax money beyond any resemblance to budgetary responsibility.

This effort was in the best traditions of American peaceful and civil reactions to unwarranted government actions. I would hope that my individual effort will not be in vain; that other Americans will see the necessity to show directly those in congress that we believe they are in the process of destroying our over two century old economic system that has weathered past challenges and recovered without such unprecedented government intrusion into private companies and excessive spending.

Just as the Greatest Generation defeated the threat of fascism to preserve our economic freedoms and civil liberties, I ask the following generations to begin a civil grass roots war to stop and rescind this unparalleled, fast paced growth of government control over our citizens' liberties and economic freedoms before it is beyond reversal.

Old Texican| 6.15.09 @ 6:05PM

Al Reasin:
We are workin' at it. Thank you.

Funny you should ask... | 6.15.09 @ 7:59PM

...Action, of course. Like this:
www.gipperslist.com
a craig's list for us tea-partiers...

Al Viggiani| 6.15.09 @ 8:15PM

Thank you Old Texan, i feel time is short, if you are wise you should be prepared.

24AheadDotCom | 6.15.09 @ 9:15PM

How many of the groups discussed in this article are better described as libertarian and are part of or linked to the Kochtopus? (Do a search if you aren't familiar with that term.) Could some of them be trying to mainstream some rather extreme ideas?

Anyway, in case there is even just one smart and sane tea partier, here's something that's far more effective than ACORN-style street protests and far easier than running for office:

http://24ahead.com/s/question-authority

Bob| 6.15.09 @ 9:15PM

I think the tea parties can provide a nucleus of resistance against the stuffed-and-mounted elephants in charge of the GOP. Tap that anger. Start pooling funding in accounts that are separate from Republican funding, and release it only to candidates who sign pledges to abide by a set of constitutionally-based conservative principles. (The idea behind signing a pledge is to have a legally binding instrument hold over their heads. If they stray, they gotta repay).

If we can get enough money flowing into Tea Party-controlled coffers, vice Republican coffers, then We The People have some clout. Money is life to these snotweasels. Money talks. If you can’t appeal to principle, grab ‘em by their wallets.

Keep Tea Party-affiliated folks as a splinter group within the GOP, and hold the threat of a breakaway party if the GOP sours. That might be necessary anyway, eventually.

goy | 6.15.09 @ 10:48PM

I scanned both pages of this article and all the comments.

I didn't find the word 'boycott' anywhere.

The brouhaha over the Letterman dust-up points us to a golden opportunity we are foolishly squandering.

With the economy doing poorly and likely to get worse as unemployment skyrockets and BHO prepares to torpedo industry through cap-and-tax, the entrenched, Fifth Column media are certainly counting on every dime they can get from advertising.

Letterman was forced to genuinely apologize for his adolescent remarks when Embassy Suites yanked their advertising to pressure CBS on the issue "because of complaints".

The Fifth Column media currently enjoys almost total lack of accountability for their endless lies of omission and the propaganda they spew daily in support of our new marxist overlords.

If a brief campaign against Letterman can force him to recant a sick joke, think what an extended, focused, national boycott of mainstream media advertisers might do - especially if it's made crystal clear that the reason is simple: media lies must end - stop spinning the facts, fire Lauer, Couric, Williams, et al. and start telling the truth.

Tea Party organizations are ideally situated to orchestrate such a program. Need something to do after the 4th of July? Start writing letters, emailing, Skypeing, FAXing and putting mainstream media advertisers on notice: pull your support from lying media or we pull support for your products.

Seymour Kleerly| 6.16.09 @ 2:36AM

Grass roots? I thought I saw the Tea Parties promoted constantly on Fox. Oh yeah, facts don't matter.

Lee W. Dodson| 6.16.09 @ 2:55AM

I attended the tea party in Van Nuys CA. Well attended, lots of curious and concerned folks, and interesting. Lotsa griping. Lots, and judging from this article, apparently nobody gets it yet.

Anyone want to make a guess on what was missing there, and here in this article?

Okay, pencils down.

Everything is here. Upset people, common interest, probably money. What's missing is a concrete idea as to how to approach the problem.

I suggest that the tea parties cast around for a few good people to speak. One topic, five minutes. Next.

Our problem has been pre packaged campaigns with p/p candidates.

Let's get out there and mix it up, and see what happens, see who emerges. Then we can get to election mechanics.

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Pingback| 6.18.09 @ 10:15AM

The American Spectator : After the Tea Parties « Taxes Tools links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…id­eas­,” R­yun s­aid­. … Se­e­ th­e­ re­st h­e­re­: T­he Amer­i­c­an­ Spec­t­at­o­r­ : Af­t­er­ t­he T­ea Par­t­i­es Tags: earnings, entertainment, entries, money-through, orderly, scale, the-future, world-the-same This entry was posted on Monday,…

Pingback| 6.18.09 @ 11:06PM

Lucky Luck » The American Spectator : After the Tea Parties links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…Spectator : After the Tea Parties The American Spectator : After the Tea Parties « Taxes Tools links to this page. Here’s an excerpt: …ideas,” Ryun said. Go here to read the rest: The American Spectator : After the Tea Parties This entry is filed under Taxes, Taxes Tools. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Prev/Next…

Carl| 6.19.09 @ 2:53PM

Seymour - I never heard anyone on Fox telling people to go to the Tea Parties. That's what "promoting" means. Thank goodness Fox "covered" them, unlike most of the MSM that did not. Get your facts straight. I did not hear about the parties on Fox. I was informed by local organizers. You can pretend all you want that this was not grassroots, but you're dead wrong. I talked to many other protesters which said this was the first time they ever went out on a protest. They were looking for an outlet for their frustration, as was I. They were seeking out a way to do it, as was I. Grass roots is exactly what this is.

Patrick Henry| 6.19.09 @ 2:56PM

Well, if you want to know what to do now, just read this and share it with everyone you know, and help make it happen:

Citizens Action Plan of America
(CAPOA Plan)

To achieve the maximum impact, a citizens’ election action plan must target the group that controls the existing system. Since the Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 2006 election, they have controlled both houses of Congress. Then, Barack Obama’s election as President in November 2008 resulted in even larger Democrat majorities in both houses of Congress.
Because the Democrats have full control of both houses of Congress and the White House, they are responsible for the present state of affairs in our nation, and we must now hold them accountable for the on-going failures. However, they have refused to act responsibly and have, instead, ruled with unprecedented arrogance and disregard for the American people.
When confronted with their misrepresentations, New York Democrat Senator Charles Schumer just sneered at a reporter and proclaimed “the American people don’t care!”; and Wisconsin Democrat Representative David Obey, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, just sneered and said “so what?” Nevada Democrat Senator Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, and California Democrat Representative Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, run Congress like their own little fiefdoms. While the American people increasingly express their outrage at the arrogant imperious behavior of the government, Democrat President Barack Obama ignores the growing Iranian and North Korean nuclear weapons programs and, instead, tours around the talk-show circuit and laughs it up with celebrities.
This is the “Hope” and “Change” that the Democrats promised in the 2008 election? The American people now know better, and they demand that the government return our nation to its core values and beliefs. But the Democrats just sneer at us and demand that we submit and obey as they continue their destructive demolition of our nation, values and traditions.
The American people are getting increasingly angry and willing to actively demonstrate their disgust with government at all levels. Americans who have, until now, been able to concentrate on providing for their families and focusing on their futures now find themselves having to speak out and openly demonstrate against the government, and look for additional ways and means to express their outrage. Unless and until government officials at all levels understand the extent of this unrest and start responding affirmatively to the American people, this growing seed of anger is in danger of blossoming into something that all of us would regret.
But our government officials just continue to ignore us, mock us, ridicule us, and resist our demands for responsibility and accountability. Therefore, our government has ceded its right to guide the course of our nation, and it is now the responsibility of the American people to take charge- it is time for us to reassert our control of our government and our nation.
Now, there are two ways that we can do this: 1) the path our forefathers took in the late 1700s, or 2) a more simple, but profoundly effective, constitutional and peaceful approach. We suggest the latter. The terms of the members of the U.S. House of Representatives are two years, so all 435 House seats will be up for election in November 2010. Because U.S. Senate terms are six years, one-third of the Senate will be up for election in 2010 as well. In addition, in state elections across the country, a great many governors, state legislators and officers will also be on the ballot. In 2010 there will also be many local elections for mayor and city council, county offices and others as well. So we will have a terrific opportunity to do some badly-needed “house cleaning” in 2010, and we better take full advantage of that to send a strong, clear and unmistakable message to the politicians. And let’s start with those who are currently in control.

The Plan.

We now have for our implementation the two-phase Citizens Action Plan of America (CAPOA), with a three-step first phase. To achieve maximum effectiveness, the first phase of CAPOA must, by necessity, target the ruling party: the Democrats. Therefore, CAPOA (I) consists of the following steps:
1) In 2010, we will not contribute any money whatsoever to the Democrat party or to any Democrat candidate for public office at any level of government (federal, state or local);
2) In 2010, we will not vote for any Democrat candidate for any office at any level of government on any ballot in any state or territorial possession of the United States; and
3) Beginning immediately, the American people will demand implementation of term limits for every publicly-elected office at every level of government (federal, state and local). In addition to demanding implementation of such term limits, we will financially support organizations that promote implementation of term limits, and we will directly and personally become involved in assisting such groups to successfully enact such term limits.
A successful CAPOA (I) will cripple Democrats all across America and send a very strong signal that abuse of the American people and the American system will no longer be tolerated. Now, to remind the Republicans that they should not consider CAPOA to be a partisan program to give them free license to similarly ignore us, if necessary, the second phase of CAPOA will target the Republican Party in the 2012 elections with the first two elements of CAPOA (I) listed above. Hopefully, the third element of CAPOA (I) will be well under way by 2012, but if not, then that third element will be added to CAPOA (II) as well.

The Specifics.

The first element of the CAPOA Plan is self-explanatory. Politicians need money to achieve and hold office. Therefore, if we withhold contributions to their campaigns, we will strangle their ability to win elections. So it is essential that no money- not one nickel- be given to the Party targeted by CAPOA phase I in 2010 or phase II in 2012.
The second element- withholding our vote from the targeted party- requires a bit more analysis. Using CAPOA (I) in 2010 as the initial example, as voters, we will have two main options at the polls as we examine each office on the ballot: 1) vote for anyone but a Democrat, or 2) if, for whatever reason, you are not inclined to vote for one of the other candidates for any particular office, just don’t vote for anyone for that office- but, whatever you do, do NOT vote for a Democrat. Either way, it is essential for everyone to go to the election polls to vote at each election in 2010, because the total number of voters compared to the number of votes received by the targeted party will then demonstrate the effectiveness of the CAPOA Plan. In other words, when the targeted party sees how many votes they DIDN’T get out of the total number of votes cast in any election, they will then understand how powerful the American people have become.
Now, there will be extenuating circumstances in some cases for some voters. For example, in 2010, a good friend, relative or associate of yours may be a Democrat candidate or office-holder seeking re-election, and you may find it difficult to vote for someone else. Fine- then don’t vote for someone else, just don’t vote at all for that particular office. Yes, it’s true- that would mean that you didn’t vote FOR that friend, relative or associate, and that may be hard for you. But, by not voting for someone else, at least you didn’t vote AGAINST your friend, relative or associate either. Remember- the control of legislative committees is determined by which party holds the most seats, and leadership and committee chair assignments are then made accordingly. So, for example, you may have a “nice” Democrat Congressional Representative or Senator, but if you vote for them, you are also voting to re-elect Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker or Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader- that’s just how the system works.
Many folks are life-long Democrats who will be uneasy with the idea of Republicans possibly benefitting from CAPOA (I). Well, keep in mind that, if CAPOA (I) has not achieved the changes we want in our governmental system, we will then target the Republicans with CAPOA (II) in 2012. In fact, CAPOA (II) may actually hurt the Republicans more, because 2012 is also a Presidential election year, and CAPOA (II), if necessary, could doom the Republican candidate for President as well as decimate the party’s congressional ranks and their officeholders at the state and local levels. So, the CAPOA Plan is an equal opportunity “in your face” message to both major parties.
Finally, remember- as voters, we do not necessarily HAVE to choose only between Democrat and Republican candidates. In recent years we have had an increasing number of “third-party” choices available to us, especially for state and federal offices. Such “minor” parties as the Libertarians and the Greens may be desirable options for you to consider for several offices on the ballot, and votes for those parties would help to encourage a broadening of our political system.
But, again, using CAPOA (I) as an example, this requires that, in 2010, American citizens NOT vote for any Democrat for any office at any level of government in any election that year. In addition to the national election in November of 2010, several other state and local elections will be held in many states at other times during the year. Several local elections are held in Spring, for example. The point is, in any election in 2010, do NOT vote for any Democrat for anything- not for U.S. Senator or Representative, for state representative, for mayor, for dogcatcher- none, nada, zilch, zero. And remember, if necessary- if CAPOA (I) doesn’t sufficiently catch the attention of the politicians, CAPOA (II) will subject the Republicans to similar treatment in 2012.
Now, another point- in many local elections, candidates are elected on a non-partisan basis, meaning that they are not running as a Democrat or Republican or some other party affiliation. But many candidates in those elections actually are members of some political party- so try to find out candidates’ affiliations, and don’t vote for any who may (in 2010) be Democrats. If you just can’t determine if a candidate has a particular political affiliation, then just use your best judgment and do what you feel is right. Or just don’t vote for anyone for that particular office.

Summary.

There is nothing- absolutely nothing- that elected officials fear more than defeat at the polls. Depriving them of the money to run their campaigns will cripple their election efforts, and the boycotting of votes for everyone in their party will go a long way to assure that their people won’t win. And even if those two elements are not completely successful, implementation of term limits will eventually involuntarily remove arrogant officials from their cherished thrones against their wills.
The real beauty of the CAPOA Plan is its remarkable simplicity. To make the CAPOA Plan work, all that you need to do is commit yourself to it, and forward this CAPOA Plan outline to everyone you know, to any websites and blogs that you think may be interested in reviewing and discussing it, and to any news services that may be instrumental in spreading the word about it. That’s it- no muss, no fuss, and it doesn’t cost you a penny.
The politicians have ignored us long enough- now it’s our turn to ignore them. For one year- 2010- we will refuse to give them our money or give them our votes, and we will immediately begin devoting ourselves to establishing term limits to stop them from entrenching themselves in public office. Our so-called “leaders” have forgotten what democracy, and America, are all about. This is our opportunity to remind them- it will be a rude awakening for them, and a lesson that they will never, ever, forget.
That, folks, is our best, simplest, and most effective revenge against the ruling aristocracy that has ignored, mocked and ridiculed us for far too long. The CAPOA Plan will implement a new American Revolution and return control of our nation, our economy and our legal system to its rightful owners- us. And it will be done peacefully, simply and constitutionally. All we have to do is commit to the CAPOA (I) Plan in 2010, and, if necessary, CAPOA (II) in 2012. All you have to do is save your money by not contributing any to politicians, and go to the polls on any election day in 2010 and vote accordingly. That’s it- nobody gets arrested, nobody gets hurt, we restore political responsibility and accountability, and we return America to its greatness.
The Citizens Action Plan of America (CAPOA Plan) is truly a citizens’ plan. There is no group, no organization or any political party sponsoring it. There is no headquarters, no website, no phone number, no dues, no membership forms, no spokesperson. It is a true grass-roots democratic movement in the truest and fullest sense of the word. It is you, and me, the millions of other Americans who are joining us, and anyone and everyone else we get committed to it. It is our movement, and it can achieve the maximum benefit at the lowest possible cost: change- true change- in our political system.
Now, if you support the CAPOA Plan but you just cannot resist the urge to speak out and be more pro-active in registering your discontent about the current state of affairs, fine. If you feel compelled, for example, to attend one of the many growing “tea party” demonstrations across the country, fine- just make sure you take along a protest sign that says “Enact CAPOA Now!”, “CAPOA Now!” or even just “CAPOA!”.
Thanks for your attention and interest in restoring America. Now let’s get to work and make this happen.

Arturo| 12.15.09 @ 2:16PM

Your anti-Democrat approach may ensure that Republicans will be elected. As a Republican myself I fear your solution is inadequate. The Republicans controlled the House, Senate, and presidency and mucked it up as bad as if they had been Democrats.

Pingback| 6.20.09 @ 5:46AM

ø Alliance Leveling Guide - Brian Kopp wotlk paragraph destruction to the test | Worl links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. … My WoW Leveling Story - http://www.mywowstory.com/ The American Spectator : After the Tea Parties 15 Jun 2009 by Quin Hillyer Their American Majority originally was conceived (but is organizationally independent from) the Sam Adams Alliance, which is another key, fairly new player on…

Sandy Jack| 6.21.09 @ 12:08AM

What is the difference between American Majority, Tea Party Patroits and American Liberty Alliance?
I'm a Planninning Commissioner and I'm running for city council, joining American Liberty Alliance and pushing back against the Left any and everyway I can. We're out of time so let's get moving to prevent any lock on congress in 2010. I've worked to put on one Tea Party and will help with others on the 4th. We need to develop grass roots support and that requires people laying down their plowshares and getting personally involved. It is time to get mad and do something to preserve the freedoms we have left and to start taking back some of those we've lost. Be careful about what information you give the Acorn Census Takers. If we stay true to our belief in the Constitution and Bill of Rights we can only win. God Bless each of you in this quest to take back our country, The United States of America!

Tea | 7.6.09 @ 2:50AM

I like and will donate, I am awaiting more news.

marsha| 7.11.09 @ 12:56PM

How can I become an activist? I live in Alabama. Where can I go for training?

Pingback| 2.9.10 @ 9:36PM

Www.fightbackwisconsin.com Blogs links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…the Republicans are trying to do is put some political organization behind the mean wing of their party. They ought to put a jersey on that says ‘R’ on it.” Tea Party Involvement: American Spectator writes, “They will surely play a key role in helping Tea Partiers focus and direct their complaints about excessive, invasive government.” At The Helm: Headed by Ned Ryun, son of former…

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