When I was growing up, my grandma always displayed a refrigerator magnet that read “I’m spending my children’s inheritance.”

I’m a big fan of inheriting things.  In fact, my husband and I kept our last names when we married specifically to pass down to future children the inheritance of our respective family legacies.  One can inherit jewelry, possessions or money- but one can also inherit bad habits, problems or pain.

It turns out that I have good company: our founding fathers and mothers happened to believe in passing on a strong inheritance as well.  In Joseph Story’s Commentaries on the Constitution, he wrote, “Let the American youth never forget, that they possess a noble inheritance, bought by the toils, and sufferings, and blood of their ancestors; and capacity, if wisely improved, and faithfully guarded, of transmitting to their latest posterity all the substantial blessings of life, the peaceful enjoyment of liberty, property, religion, and independence.”

But today, our government is spending our inheritance.  My home state of Kansas recently joined the ranks of states whose unemployment insurance funds have run dry.  Our state legislature currently faces millions of dollars in deficits as members try to hammer out a balanced budget- and they’re looking to raise taxes every chance they get.  From increasing taxes on gasoline to alcohol to soft drinks, everything appears to be on the table this year.  Meanwhile, how will KS fund unemployment claims when the insurance well has run dry?  By borrowing from the federal government of course.  A national government which is so mired in debt that I honestly can’t even calculate what our total is.  Go here; you’ll see what I mean.  The government I support with my tax dollars is spending my inheritance- at an increasingly alarming rate.  Legislators are gambling on the productivity of future generations, and saddling the backs of my parents’ great-grandchildren with a burden that will become too heavy to pay.

Despite these issues, I feel hopeful about the future, both for our state and our nation, after last Saturday’s training session in Salina, KS.  The training specifically focused on the structures, duties and electoral calendars of local, state and federal government.  Of the 40 people who attended the training, 11 were under the age of 18.  I won’t lie- several of them were there to earn extra credit for a Government 101 class.  But as I talked with them and read their evaluations, I grew more and more impressed.  Not only did they pay attention during the training, but several of the individuals who weren’t there for the extra credit were actually taking notes.  They nodded as I explained the importance of monitoring your county commissioners and local school board members; the day after the training, I had new twitter followers as they went home and signed up to tweet.

I feel more hopeful because of those 11 students- and I feel more compelled than ever to fight, not just for my inheritance, but for theirs too.  Because this nation that we live in is great because it is good, and that’s an inheritance worth passing on.  Remember that- and follow Josh, one of the 11 students who’s brand new to twitter.

Ralph Benko, Washington Examiner Op-Ed Contributor and author of the book The Websters’ Dictionary: How to Use the Web to Transform the World, talked about his efforts to increase on-line activism with conservatives.

He makes some very interesting points about changing Rule 20 and returning representation to the states. What do you think? Is this a good idea?

We are very excited to announce the Post Party Summits. These regional trainings have been put together to provide the grassroots with the tools and strategies needed to win both locally and nationally. Teaming up with some great organizations, American Majority will be working with The John Hancock Committee for the States, RedState.com and SmartGirl Politics to bring you these events this April and May.

I’ve been saying for some time that the moment has come to move from protesting to implementing, from talking to purposeful, meaningful action. I’m excited that these trainings will give people real tools to make the change this country needs, that they will be empowered to become even more effective:

• If someone is interested in becoming more effective online, they will learn how.
• If they want to learn how to hardwire their precincts, they can learn that too.
• If anyone is interested in running for office, there will be multiple sessions on handling media, campaign strategy, fundraising, and GOTV.

We are working with local 9.12 and Tea Party groups to establish a curriculum that is beneficial. We are going to pack a lot of information into each regional training in our hope that each attendee will leave feeling empowered and wanting to educate other activists in the community.

While the website is still under construction, we encourage you to learn more about the upcoming Post Party Summits. Registration is now open and we hope you will consider attending a summit near you.

We thank you for all you do and look forward to training and empowering the grassroots in 2010.

Oh Twitter, how I love thee. Let me count the ways…

I first became interested in Twitter a bit over a year ago while reading Seth Godin’s book, Tribes (for my full blog review of the book click here). Before I even finished the book I had to log online and get my account set up (@razshafer). Since then it’s been a non-stop ride on the twitter train for over a year. Here I sit, 6248 tweets and 3834 followers later, more fascinated by it than ever!

While I’ve been active with social media since the advent of Web 2.0 I had never aspired to use that medium for political ends. After reading Tribes and a few blog articles about the political uses of Twitter I began to see how powerful Twitter could be when used for a specific purpose.

Twitter.com was created in March of 2006 and went live for the world to use on July 13th, 2006. Since that time it’s membership has swelled to well over and its ranked among the most popular social media sites online. For in-depth information about Twitter’s history, check out the Twitter page on Wikipedia.com. You can even see The Story of Twitter in Picture Form if you so desire.

Because Twitter has released no official estimate of its membership, we are left to guess or estimate likely membership. In my own search of an estimate I took a few factors into account: 1, Twitter.com has received between 23 and 24 million unique visitors per month over the last several months. 2, Only 45% of Twitter users use the website. While many users no doubt visit the site at least once per month, a rough estimation, given these two statistics, is about 50 million users. Considering that 21% of twitter users have never actually tweeted, our estimate of active accounts comes to: 41 million. Regardless of the exact number of active members, Twitter has a huge audience which is heavily engaged. It’s an incredibly powerful venue for broadcasting information, digesting news, debating viewpoints and building relationships.

I believe that in the “David vs. Goliath” battle we are engaged in we must approach the fight much like asymmetric warfare. There was a phenomenal article written by Malcom Gladwell in the New Yorker last May titled “How David Beats Goliath: When Underdogs Break the Rules.” The thesis of Gladwell’s article is that when Davids write their own rules, rather than fight by the conventions that their opponent tries to impose then they will win more often than not. He supports this with a study conducted by Political Scientist Ivan Arreguín-Toft. In the study Arreguín-Toft studied every war within two hundred years in which there was significant imbalance (10 to 1 based on military power and population) between combatants. He found that when the weaker power (David) fought by the rules and conventions imposed by the stronger power (Goliath) that David lost 71.5% of the time. This is still quite impressive considering the 10 to 1 power imbalance but when he focused on wars where David wrote his own rules, like in the Biblical account, David won an incredible 63.6% of the time.

Right now we are faced with a David vs. Goliath fight. Conservatism is riding a populist wave but the principles which we advocate and the policy proposals we promote are far from being understood by the majority of our elected officials. While conservatives are indeed a majority, we still fail to demonstrate our size and power at the ballot box. In this fight we need to look to unconventional tools, such as new media, to promote the principles we champion.

I’m convinced that, in this new era of political communication, discovering and utilizing tools like Twitter is not an option. It is a necessity. The question of where we fight the battle is not up to us but if we leave tools un-utilized or under-utilized then we set our movement up for failure. For those of us at American Majority, failure is not an option.

In support of your efforts to become more active online, our Staff has created a Guide to Twitter and Activism: The Twittivism Guide. It is a 40 page document (free to view or download) which will guide you from being a non-user to a Twitter Power-User. American Majority trainings also offer in-depth new media training as part of  our Activist and Candidate Political Training sessions.

If you remain unconvinced of the power of social media, check out this video. It was created by Erik Qualman (@equalman) and blows my mind every time I see it.

With the historic advances made by the American grassroots last year, it became clear that we have been faced with an opportunity that comes once in a generation, one in which we the people have the opportunity to fundamentally change government in this country. To do that, we quickly realized American Majority will need to step up its efforts in 2010. With hopes of training, organizing, and networking even more of the grassroots, American Majority is pleased to announce that we will be launching the American Majority Mechanics program. We are looking for activist trainers to go into local communities and train as many of the grassroots as possible in 2010. The name “Mechanic” comes from both the ability to fix the problems this country is facing and from its historic roots:

In the days before the Revolutionary War, Paul Revere organized the Mechanics, a group of determined patriots that grew out of the Sons of Liberty. The group established an intelligence network that monitored the actions of the British army in Boston, and then sent news of the movements to patriot leaders. It was the Mechanics who discovered that British troops were planning to march on Lexington and Concord on the evening of April 18, 1775, which led to Revere’s famous midnight ride to warn Samuel Adams, John Hancock and other colonists that the British were coming.

To be considered for the American Majority Mechanics program, there will be a screening and training process through which potential trainers will be selected. Those who are interested in becoming an authorized American Majority Mechanic must send a current resume, a one minute video clip of themselves speaking to the camera about who they are and why they would be a good trainer, and fill out the questionnaire below. Those who do make the selection process will be invited to a three day training session in the Washington, DC area, March 24-26th, 2010, with American Majority covering the cost of travel, hotel rooms and training. Only the top 35 applicants will be accepted. Those accepted will be trained to become well acquainted with American Majority, its principles and goals, proficient in new presentation software, communication skills, how to organize and run a training event, and how to maximize attendance.

Those who become authorized American Majority Mechanics will be compensated through registration fees and have access to a variety of new materials through American Majority and the John Hancock Committee for the States. Eventually, as American Majority expands into states will full time offices and staff, the best trainers will be strongly considered for full-time employment with American Majority.

A Brief Overview:

1. American Majority Mechanics will be trained to organize and lead American Majority’s four hour activist training program, which covers online activism and offline grassroots organizing, which the national American Majority staff will compile and put into our presentation software.

2. AM Mechanics will receive 75% of the net from their trainings.

3. Authorized trainers will also receive a certificate that authenticates them as American Majority Mechanics, a web banner that will identify them as such, American Majority logoed shirts, American Majority business cards, the ability to buy all eStore materials at cost (in which they may make any profit at resale), and access to the John Hancock Committee for the States online resources. Authorized trainers will also be able to show their training sessions on the American Majority training calendar on the website – and people who want to attend trainers’ sessions will be able to register and pay online through the website.

4. Authorized AM Mechanics will be expected to perform at least one training with a minimum of 30 trainees each month through the end of 2010.

The application deadline for the AM Mechanics’ program is the close of business, February 26th, and all submissions should be submitted to team@americanmajority.org. Those accepted into the program will be notified by March 5th.

Download the questionnaire here.

Thank you for all you do.

Please Note: This event was originally scheduled for Sunday, March 28 but has been expanded and moved to Saturday, April 10.

Our nation was founded by ordinary citizen activists desiring a government that was accountable to the people.  Today, ordinary citizens across our nation are tired of the status quo and ready to engage for the betterment of their communities.

American Majority Kansas is pleased to announce an Activist Training will be conducted on Saturday April^10th in Manhattan, KS to provide citizens with the tools necessary to become effective activists

The training will take place at the Manhattan Public Library Auditorium located at 629 Poyntz Avenue in Manhattan from 10:00 am to 3:00pm.  Registration opens at 9:40 am.  The cost is $20 if you pre-register online by April 9th and $30 at the door. Lunch will be provided.  Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.

Topics to be covered during the Training include:

• Building Coalitions and Reaching Your Community (ideas and practical steps to engage your community and organize a coalition of volunteers)
• Holding Government Accountable (how to hold leaders accountable once they are in office)
• Precinct Power and Volunteering in Campaigns (how to be an effective volunteer and affect change in your community)
• Effectively Communicating Your Views (how to write effective letters to the editor, opinion editorials and blogs, using social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook, and wiki projects)

Full training materials, samples and supplements will be provided to help you apply what you learn to your organization, candidate, cause or community.  Refreshments will be provided.

Political Training Registration

If you have any questions or would like additional information, call Beka Romm at 913-940-7369 or e-mail Rebekah@AmericanMajority.org.

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

Our nation was founded by ordinary citizen activists desiring a government that was accountable to the people.  Today, ordinary citizens across our nation are tired of the status quo and ready to engage for the betterment of their communities.

American Majority Arkansas is pleased to announce an Activist Training will be conducted on Saturday,  February 20th in Conway, AR to provide citizens with the tools necessary to become effective activists

The training will take place in Conway at Nabholz Construction located at 612 Garland in Conway, AR from 9:30 am to 1:30pm.  Registration opens at 9:00 am.  The cost is $5.00 if you pre-register online by February 17th and $10.00 at the door.  Space is limited.  Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.

Topics* to be covered during the Training include:

• Building Coalitions and Reaching Your Community (ideas and practical steps to engage your community and organize a coalition of volunteers)
• Government 101 (how government operates, how legislative and executive bodies work, how to get involved)
• Holding Government Accountable (how to hold leaders accountable once they are in office)
• Effectively Communicating Your Views (how to write effective letters to the editor, opinion editorials and blogs, using social networking tools and wiki projects)

Full training materials, samples and supplements will be provided to help you apply what you learn to your organization, candidate, cause or community.  Refreshments will be provided.

Political Training Registration

If you have any questions or would like additional information, call Laurie Masterson at 501-258-6353 or e-mail laurie@americanmajority.org.

American Majority is a non-profit and non-partisan 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.

WATCH THE TRAINING HIGHLIGHT REEL FROM THE RAZ ‘N REBA TOUR

One of the downsides to a widespread, national organization can be lack of “unit cohesion.” At American Majority we work to foster friendships and camaraderie among our staff through a variety of channels but my new favorite is the inter-state training tour.

Last week, Beka “Reba” Romm and I traveled from our respective states of Kansas and Texas to Charlotte, NC. There we teamed up with Douglas Price to begin “Raz & Reba’s Excellent Adventure.” This was no simple training tour, my friends...It was history in the making.

Through our five day, four training tour, we equipped nearly 140 conservative activists with the tools necessary to make a difference in their community. Our goal was to fan brushfires of freedom across the Carolinas and that’s exactly what we did.

Day 1: Douglas Price picked Reba and I up at the airport, uniting our cohort. After being served dinner by a waitress that looked remarkably like a taller Monica Lewinsky, we sallied on to Doug’s house to watch the State of The Union. This event resulted in voracious tweeting and severe heartburn for all involved.

Day 2: Summerville, SC was the location of our first training so after picking up the rental car and Reba from the hotel, our crew headed south. At Reba’s request we’d built enough time into our travel so that we could make it down to the shore for a few minutes before our training. It was absolutely beautiful and only my second time to the Atlantic shore.

That evening we kicked off the training portion of our tour with an energetic group of 45 Summerville conservatives. We couldn’t have asked for a better crowd to start the training. These folks were fired up and ready to learn. Reba and I hit our stride early and discovered that we work really well as a team!

Day 3: We awoke to dire weather reports forecasting freezing rain, snow and apocalypse on our trip to Greenville but refused to be cowed by such prognostication. We made record time during our trip for our Day Three training in Myrtle Beach, SC and lamented the fact that we didn’t bring our golf clubs along for the ride.

That afternoon we trained in a historic train depot which has been curated in Myrtle Beach as a type of community center. The crowd was dynamic and their passion for liberty was clear. I can’t wait to hear more great things about their accomplishments!

Following the training we headed up to Greenville, SC for the evening. Along the way we decided that considering the weather forecast that we would push back the start time of our training in order to allow people more time in transit, for safety. The evening rounded out with some hang-out time back at the hotel.

Day 4: We knew that the weather would have a negative impact on turnout for the training but had no idea how many people would stay at home. As it turned out, the Greenvillians surprised us with remarkable fortitude. We had a nice turnout and I think that it was personally my best training experience of the trip.

Following the training, Doug and I chipped an inch thick sheet of ice off of the rental car and we began the trek north to Charlotte. Somehow, Doug managed to keep us on the road and safe in spite of the obstacles which were presented.

Upon arrival in Charlotte it became apparent that the city shuts down when ice or snow are encountered. Reba and I tried to eat at several different restaurants only to find them closed down. We were, however, able to finally secure sustenance.

Day 5: All good things must come to an end and our tour was no exception. We wrapped things up with a bang at the training in Charlotte. Not only did we have a packed house but the local Fox TV affiliate came out to do interviews and record some of the training. You can see the clip they aired below! As it turned out, we were actually also covered on Fox & Friends the next morning as well!

Raz & Reba’s Excellent adventure was on the whole a huge success: We trained a fantastic corp of conservatives, braved storms, and tightened relationships between the three American Majority offices represented. I look forward to getting to train with Doug and Reba in the very near future. Watch out America, there’s no telling where we’ll go next!

Our nation was founded by ordinary citizen activists desiring a government that was accountable to the people.  Today, ordinary citizens across our nation are tired of the status quo and ready to engage for the betterment of their communities.

American Majority Texas is pleased to announce an Activist Training will be conducted on Saturday, February 20 in Austin, TX to provide citizens with the tools necessary to become effective activists

The training will take place at the Texas Capitol Extension Auditorium in room E1.004 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Public parking is available. Registration opens at 9:30 am.  The cost is $10 per person if you pre-register online $20 per person at the door.  Space is limited.  Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.  Lunch will NOT be provided for this training.  Participants are encouraged to bring their own.

Topics* to be covered during the Training include:

• Building Coalitions and Reaching Your Community
• Utilizing New Media to Promote Freedom
• Hardwiring Your Precinct
• Building an Effective Candidacy.

Full training materials, samples and supplements will be provided to help you apply what you learn to your organization, candidate, cause or community.

If you have any questions or would like additional information, call Andrew Kerr at 512-771-2355 or e-mail akerr@americanmajority.org.

American Majority is a non-profit and non-partisan 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.

Due to a winter storm that hit the Fayetteville area, this event has been postponed.  The American Majority Arkansas office will notify attendees of rescheduling information.

Our nation was founded by ordinary citizen activists desiring a government that was accountable to the people.  Today, ordinary citizens across our nation are tired of the status quo and ready to engage for the betterment of their communities.

American Majority Arkansas is pleased to announce an Activist Training will be conducted on Monday the 8^th of February in Fayetteville, AR to provide citizens with the tools necessary to become effective activists

The training will take place at the Ozarks Electric Building (Community Room) located at 3641 Wedington Drive in Fayetteville from 6:00 to 9:00pm.   Registration opens at 5:30pm.  The cost is $5.00 if you pre-register online by February 4th and $10.00 at the door.  Space is limited.  Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.

Topics* to be covered during the Training include:

• Building Coalitions and Reaching Your Community (ideas and practical steps to engage your community and organize a coalition of volunteers)
• Government 101 (how government operates, how legislative and executive bodies work, how to get involved)
• Holding Government Accountable (how to hold leaders accountable once they are in office)
• Effectively Communicating Your Views (how to write effective letters to the editor, opinion editorials and blogs, using social networking tools and wiki projects)

Full training materials, samples and supplements will be provided to help you apply what you learn to your organization, candidate, cause or community.  Refreshments and dinner will be provided.

Registration is available online by clicking here.  If you have any questions or would like additional information, call Laurie Masterson at 501-258-6353or e-mail laurie@americanmajority.org.

American Majority is a non-profit and non-partisan 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.

Due to a winter storm that hit the Rogers area, this event has been postponed.  The American Majority Arkansas office will notify attendees of rescheduling information.

Our nation was founded by ordinary citizen activists desiring a government that was accountable to the people.  Today, ordinary citizens across our nation are tired of the status quo and ready to engage for the betterment of their communities.

American Majority Arkansas is pleased to announce an Activist Training will be conducted on Monday, February 8 in Rogers, AR to provide citizens with the tools necessary to become effective activists

The training will take place at the Coke Building located at 1800 S 52^nd Street  in Rogers from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm.   Registration opens at 11:00 am.  The cost is $5.00 if you pre-register online by February 4 and $10.00 at the door.  Space is limited.  Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.

Topics* to be covered during the Training include:

• Building Coalitions and Reaching Your Community (ideas and practical steps to engage your community and organize a coalition of volunteers)
• Government 101 (how government operates, how legislative and executive bodies work, how to get involved)
• Holding Government Accountable (how to hold leaders accountable once they are in office)
• Effectively Communicating Your Views (how to write effective letters to the editor, opinion editorials and blogs, using social networking tools and wiki projects)

Full training materials, samples and supplements will be provided to help you apply what you learn to your organization, candidate, cause or community.  Refreshments and Lunch will be provided.

Registration is available online by clicking here.  If you have any questions or would like additional information, call Laurie Masterson at 501-258-6353 or e-mail laurie@americanmajority.org.

American Majority is a non-profit and non-partisan 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.