American Majority will be coming to Winchester, Virginia on May 19th, for a training event that is geared toward helping the people in the Northern Shenandoah Valley take their defense of liberty and fight for limited government to the next level. Community groups across the nation are realizing the need for accountability at the local level, and American Majority welcomes the opportunity to work with the Apple Valley Tea Party and surrounding groups to provide the tools and information that will help them be most effective in their communities.

The training will be held at 1080 Coverstone Drive, in Winchester from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Registration is $5.00 per person, and is available online or at the door. The topics* include:

• The System (A look at the Progressive movement and our current political system)
• Community Organizer for Freedom (Practical ways to increase government transparency and hold local officials accountable)
• Grassroots Action (How to connect with like-minded groups and people, find new leadership, and get the word out into your community)
 

If you have any questions or would like additional information, call Jaoni Wood at 540-338-1251 or e-mail at Jaoni@americanmajority.org.

American Majority is a non-profit and non-partisan political training organization whose mission is to train and equip a national network of leaders committed to individual freedom through limited government and the free market.

* Topics are subject to change.

1.) They Don’t Like Being Watched: They say a watched pot never boils, but boy is that not the case here. Just ask former Senator George Allen. Or former Congressman Bob Etheridge. Or even Congressman Chris Lee (what a hunk, huh?) I can go on. A hundred dollars and a trip to the Wal-Mart camera aisle could be the best investment in changing the status quo an activist ever makes.

2.) Watching Them Matters: And those are just the most public cases, the ones on YouTube. How about blogging to monitor the two things every elected official has? I call these “votes and quotes”. Whether filing FOIA requests, sifting through hours of legislative session coverage, or just showing up at public meetings and hearings for your three minutes of open mike time, you will eventually strike gold.

3.) Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain: This is probably the hardest one for newcomers to politics to grasp. After all, endless handlers, gatekeepers and “body” people strive to maintain a certain mystique about actually meeting your representative. I hate to tell you this, but there is no Great And Powerful Oz. Just the man (or woman) behind the curtain. And they put their pants on one leg at a time, just like you.

4.) Effectively Challenging Them is Not Rocket Science: There are two words in Webster’s dictionary you should never confuse: simple and easy. Winning a political race is a pretty non-complex idea. He with the most votes WINS. Yet every year great, talented people stay out of elections or misapply their energies over the long haul.

5.) The Path to Victory is a Straight Line: I say this because you can draw it on that most basic of all campaign tools: a calendar. Most banks give them out for free. Get yourself one. Then circle the election date (primary or general) and work backwards from it, filling in all the various, labor-intensive, time-consuming things you’ll have to do to get from Point A to Point B. Time flies when you’re walking doors!

6.) Politics is a Game of Musical Chairs: Which is why it’s so vital to have solid, competent conservatives ready to run at all levels—from local to state to federal. There is rarely a year that goes by without an elected official being caught in a scandal, resigning, being appointed to a different office, or just plain keeling over. Somebody’s going to sit in that empty seat—it might as well be you!

7.) Good Old Boys and Gentlemen’s Agreements: Challengers or new blood threaten business-as-usual. Cronyism–crossing the political aisles–secret agreements not to back same-party candidates because one representative has “good working relationships” with bi-partisan colleagues, I’ve seen it all. It’s part of the problem. And us rooting it out is one of the things most terrifying to anyone up for re-election.

8.) Some of Them Hate Their Jobs: Really, you’ll be doing some of them a favor by retiring them. So many elected officials have been “phoning it in” for years. Many don’t even have it in them to campaign with any heart even one last time. Help these poor souls out by letting them know early (and loudly) that they won’t be getting a pass when the next convention or primary takes place.

9.) Entourage Is Not Just a Show on HBO: This is one of the most insidious parts of elected office. How many of us (besides Kramer on Seinfeld) have personal assistants? Schedulers? A muted chorus around us at all times, giving what I call the “golf clap” (a hushed applause at the politician’s brilliance)? Probably one of the most important services you can render a representative is to proclaim that the emperor has no clothes!

10.) Carrots AND Sticks: With all due respect, politicians can be mule-headed much of the time. And all too often, we don’t mind taking them to the woodshed only. But what was it Dale Carnegie wrote? “How to Win Friends and Influence People”? Praising an official when they do something right (preferably publicly) can stick in a politico’s mind just as much as a beating with a switch.

Today is the first day Nomination Papers can be circulated in Wisconsin.  The filing deadline for submitting these Nomination Papers is Tuesday, January 4, 2011 by 5 pm.  It is imperative conservatives across this great state step up and run for local office.

In order to get on the ballot, you first need to register, then collect signatures, and submit your Declaration of Candidacy and Nomination Papers before the January 4^th deadline.   Visit the Government Accountability Board’s website for more information. A winning campaign begins with taking these steps to get your name on the ballot.

My colleagues have posted recently about the importance of the upcoming city council and school board elections; here in Kansas, we’ll be voting on those local individuals representing us in April and now is the time to start thinking about solid, conservative candidates who can carry the people’s voices.

Changing the world starts in our own backyard, and I firmly believe that one of the most important things that you can do tackle your own backyard.  To understand the issues that you’re facing, what your city council, school board, or county commission is doing can take a lot of time to research though.  Often the news media fails to cover their actions in any real depth, and that can leave a true information void that damages our ability to hold our elected representatives accountable, whether for a job well done, or for a vote cast poorly.

Here in Kansas, though, we have a new, unique tool to help us.  We always say at American Majority that we give away so much because we believe that knowledge is power, and we want to take the power out of the hands of the elite, the bureaucracy, and place it in the hands of the people.   A great partner in this effort is the Kansas Policy Institute, which is daily conducting research and monitoring issues within our state.  And this week, they’re giving all of us an entirely new, free tool to help us hold government accountable.

It’s called KansasOpenGov.org and on the site, you can easily find such information as the state checkbook, school districts revenue and spending per pupil (including a comparison tool, where you can see how your district ranks against others in the state), state pay and benefits for employees, state union and non-union employee contracts, even detailed property tax information listed by county, so you can see exactly what your area looks like against other like areas in the state.

What’s the value of all this?  If knowledge is power, then easily-obtained knowledge is worth gold.  In my time at American Majority, I have spent countless hours searching for information which was previously very difficult to find, compile and understand- now, I can easily and quickly access it online, see it broken down and analyzed for me as well as have access to the raw data.

Check it out.  Know what’s happening in your backyard.  And let’s get actively involved in changing the game in our own communities- whether it’s holding your school board accountable for their spending, standing up to a county commission that wants to increase your taxes, or stepping up to put your name on the ballot for city council or school board.  Ronald Reagan once said that all great change in America begins at the dinner table.  He was right.  And today, all great change begins in our own backyard.

With the end of mid-term election season quickly approaching, nearly every poll, blog post, and even MSM news story has come to a similar conclusion: at least one house in Congress (and possibly both) is almost guaranteed to flip from one party to another.  And on a larger scale conservative and center/right candidates should also make rather significant gains in statehouses and governorships from sea to shining sea.

Frankly, much good will hopefully come out of this election cycle.

But is our work done on November 2^nd?  Have we truly changed our country after the election results are all tallied?  Are we to sit back and simply revel in what we have done before focusing on 2012?

The answer to each of these questions is clearly NO.  The unavoidable truth is that there is MUCH more work to be done.

However, I don’t mean just on a national scale – I mean in our own backyards.

The state I live in, Oklahoma, does something very interesting each fall when people are thinking about holiday plans, the end of the school semester, and anything other than politics: they have school board candidates in every district across the state file to run for office…during the first Monday through Wednesday in December.

Yep, if you want to run for school board in Oklahoma, you have to file at the most random time possible.

What this also means is that a month after the election season finally “ends” for 2010, a new one starts right back up.  And most people don’t even know it.

In fact, a majority of people probably have no clue that people are filing for an office that directly impacts their kids and their communities in some very dramatic ways.  And it is only natural that if they don’t know about school board filings, they surely do not know about the school board elections.

And we wonder why school board elections on the second Tuesday in February across Oklahoma typically see voter turnout anywhere between 3%-5% in each community.

Thus, for many school board candidates ignorance is bliss at the ballot box.

But so what?  Who cares about school boards anyway?  You should.  Why?

Because think about this:

The President of the United States chooses and thus advises the Secretary of Education, who heads the Education Department.  The Education Department is pressured by the National Education Association (a powerful and liberal teachers union) in a variety of ways to impact education legislation in Congress.  Then the same issues being pushed by the NEA at the national level are then also pushed by local chapters – the Oklahoma Education Association in my home state – who also lobby and look to persuade state legislators, the state Department of Education, school administrators, and school board members about issues they deem important.  In turn, the state Department of Education and state legislature then set guidelines and mandates for school district administrators and school board members across the state who in turn pass them on directly to the teachers who spend 8 hours a day inside the classroom with our children.

Thus, our last line of defense in this chain of national impact at the local level in education are school board members who are willing to stand up and fight for fiscal responsibility, authentic educational accountability, school choice, unbiased teaching materials, and unheeded transparency within the education system.

So, sure, it is great that the House is going to change hands in a few weeks, and I am excited as anyone to see folks from across the country stand up in defense of our freedom and liberty over the coming years.

But if you really want to impact your community and the future of your kids, don’t stop after November.  Don’t allow your natural inclination to rest and relax after your victory so that you lose sight of your local community.  Don’t let the strides we have made on the national level get overlooked at the local level – especially with school boards.  Don’t cease working to save and change the country you love so much.

The time is coming to transition from a national mindset to a local one.  The time is coming for conservatives to run for these local and vitally important offices or energetically support those who do run.  The time is coming to get off the sidelines in local elections just like we have in the national ones.

Simply put, the time is coming when we will continue to work for freedom and liberty in our local educational systems.

My colleague told me about this interesting turn of events in Benton County regarding one of the election commissioners chartering a flight to pick up an election machine part.  Sure, it was necessary, but couldn’t folks in charge planned a little better?  You be the judge. 

http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2010/oct/15/charter-flight-raises-questions/

In the middle of October, 2008, when I still had my own personal blog (never again) I predicted that Barack Obama would win the Presidential election.  Though the poll numbers were still pretty tight at that point, the writing was on the wall as far as I was concerned.  Thus I conceded a month early and wrote a post about what conservatives should do next after the November elections.

The purpose of the post (entitled “The Conservative Reaction: A Call to Action”) was to ask the question:

“What should we as Conservatives do after the election we face of an overwhelming Democratic House and Senate and a newly elected Democratic President?”

Now, two years later, I wanted to go back and see how conservatives have done.  Thus, here is what I wrote as the “Five Things I am Going to Try to do During LUPO – Life Under President Obama”.  Check them out along with my new comments underneath.

Number 1: As a conservative, Barack Obama’s election means I must stand firm in my convictions and be ready to defend my positions…

First off, I know of many folks who immediately started reading up on the free market system, the constitution, and the history of the founding fathers in order to begin educating themselves.  Additionally, conservatives have been challenged by prominent conservatives to know where they stand and why.  And overall, conservatives have started going on the offensive more and more as the country has been taken down the road to even more massive government and less individual freedom.

Because people have embraced this responsibility, it has truly been incredible to see how many folks are now openly touting their conservative beliefs and their love for liberty.  Well done, American public.

Number 2: As a conservative, Barack Obama’s election means I must be creative in how I get my message to the masses…

When I wrote this post two years ago I was really curious how this was going to play out.  But two years later, I see how conservatives are using tools like Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and conservative websites to truly spread the message of conservatism effectively and strategically.  Heck, even conservative candidates are (finally) eschewing traditional media sources and taking their message straight to the people.

It is truly amazing to know that our better ideas and principled positions are finally starting to reach the average citizen – and it is humbling to know that American Majority has been at the forefront of this movement through our trainings, outreach, and education of a new generation of concerned Americans.

Score another one for the good guys.

Number 3: As a conservative, Barack Obama’s election means I must unite with those around me who believe as I do…

The implications of this advice are obvious two years later – The Tea Party Movement.  Not only has the movement grown exponentially since the spring of 2009, but it has also become a political force in all parts of the country.  And while the MSM mocked it, misunderstood it, and tried its best to kill it, the Tea Party folks have continually gotten more and more excited about cleaning house in Washington.  Thanks for that, President Obama; in reality, we owe you big time.

Oh, and just to channel my inner Al Gore, since I wrote about the need to unite and come together about 6 months before the Tea Parties started, I will take full and complete credit for them.  Yea for me.

Number 4: As a conservative, Barack Obama’s election means I must not give into the lie that conservatism is dying…

Well, obviously this is not the case.  Even though the pundits declared a new era in politics and the death of the conservative movement, we’ll see just how dead we are on November 2.

However, as a side note, if the (hopefully) decisive election results don’t clearly state the case for the country’s desire for smaller government, less spending, more accountability, and decidedly more transparency, then maybe Chris Christie can get in someone’s face and explain it to them nice and plain-like.

Number 5: Lastly, as a conservative, Barack Obama’s election means I must embrace the hope that even though things look dark now, there is a light upon the dawn…

Ah, yes, hope.  Not a false hope or a government-built hope, but a genuine and authentic “clean-out-the-halls-of-Congress-kind-of-hope” is what I feel when I look around the country and see people working hard to change our country for the better.  It truly is a blessing to see that apathy is slowly being replaced once again by the American desire for freedom, liberty, and prosperity.

Thus, before we battle for the next 20+ days for the future of this country, take a second to enjoy the fact that the horizon is breaking forth through the morning dark.  Relish the thought that soon our anger, our disgust, and our weariness will soon be replaced by a steadfast resolve to hold a new batch of elected representatives responsible for their actions and their votes.

For it is nearing the time to go from educated and informed voter to become educated and informed constituents once again – this time with a new focus and a renewed strength to see the American Dream make its comeback.

And be sure that while our days have been dark for the past two years, the light of freedom will show itself very bright very soon.  For this reason, I am thankful and encouraged by what has transpired within this movement during the past two years and what will happen many years into the future.

Fight on, fellow Americans, fight on!