I have constantly commented both here, on Twitter, and on my (formerly) #dontgo radio show about comparisons between the Italian fascists of Mussolini and Barack Obama with his advisors. Each and every day, they have proved me correct. Each day, another major conservative or libertarian advocate comes out with the same conclusion.

I predicted that the egos of certain individuals would get in the way of one another in the attempts to rebuild the Republican party back to being one of fiscal and social conservatism. Again, I was proven correct with the recent spat between the national organizers of the Tea Party. For what it is worth, I support the position of Eric Odom wanting things to remain at the grassroots level and not controlled by an overarching directive from above. But, both sides have merit and have to work together in order to succeed, or else we’ll end up exactly like the above. Mussolini used the same tactics to divide his right-wing opposition as Obama is currently using. The Colin Powell vs Rush Limbaugh flap is all the same tactic – divide the opposition so they cannot stop you.

Other News:

If you have not heard, #dontgo Movement has renamed itself the American Liberty Alliance, and is refocusing back on its original goal of state and local empowerment. Whether I continue my involvement with the organization directly is still up in the air, though I support its goals. I do know I am no longer Northwest Regional coordinator for the News Platoon project (whether that continues in some form is one of the questions I have had yet answered.) However, I resigned that position weeks ago after I gave over the Omaha Tea Party to Dawn Klein at the 912 Project.

I have a major project of my own in mind that is going to take about a dozen dedicated people to implement. I will not start on this project until after I return from a trip in August, however, so stay tuned. All I will say right now is it will fill a major gaping void that I see in the fight against the fascists running our government and news media.

I have now joined with Andrew Kretchmar in co-hosting the Blog Talk Radio show that for now is still under the #dontgomovement banner. http://blogtalkradio.com/dontgomovement is where you can go to listen in to the various shows, or else you can download them from either BTR or from the iTunes store for free.

Tom Becka of KFAB has been constantly referring to the Tea Parties as ‘political masterbation’ because he does not seem to think there is a goal for the parties. Thus, all we are doing is just venting our anger and not willing to do more.

We need to prove him wrong.

First and foremost, the http://nebraskateaparties.com will continue. As events are planned supporting the conservative cause in Nebraska and Iowa, please let me know. I will be putting up a contact form here shortly to communicate to me when events are happening so I can get them up and posted on this website. This includes things from the 9:12 Project, Minutemen, Nebraskan Advisory Group, Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom and other organizations.

Second, we have a mayoral race in three weeks between a liberal Obama supporter in Jim Suttle and Hal Daub. Even though you may not like his personality, or you may not like some of his politics, but Hal Daub is who needs to be supported in this two horse race.

Third, more nationwide events are planned. July 4th is the next major nationwide event. I hope the 9:12 Project and other organizations step up to the plate to improve on what we just saw on April 15th and join Don’t Go Movement, Top Conservatives on Twitter, Smart Girl Politics, and other national organizations that worked hard, including helping to send press releases to our own local press, and who set up groups such as netcot.ning.com and dontgo.ning.com.

Fourth, become more involved individually. Join Twitter, where much of the national planning took place. Listen to conservatives on Blog Talk Radio, including myself, who talk about the issues beyond just the major radio networks. As the ‘fairness doctrine’ comes into being, it is the Internet that will become the place to listen to the conservative voices such as Pajamas TV, the BCast, and the like.

Lastly, we need to look to 2010 and Ben Nelson. Senator Nelson attacked our tea party on the Lincoln television station website article. His statement was filled with lies about where the organization came from, and repeated the liberal lie that we were not upset at Bush. Nelson needs to be sent a very nice message that reads ‘Sit Down. You are no longer our Senator.’

Fiscal responsibility does not need to be ‘Left’ or ‘Right’, it is a moral imperative. It is populist in scope. If the spenders claim to be ‘progressive’, how is destroying the economy for our children and grandchildren anywhere close to being ‘progress’?

Whatever you may think of people like Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, or Joe the Plumber, they have been born out of this populist sentiment, what some call the center-right origins of our country, and all three appeal to those of us not sitting at cocktail parties in Washington DC on Wednesday nights. All three are attacked by those we can label as ‘country club’ politicians and pundits because they aren’t highbrow in origin or attitude. So, instead of attacking them on their substance, they are instead attacked on their style.

Well, for me, the country has been led by the country clubbers in Congress and in the Presidency for a number of years now, and look where we are. With the overreaching by the new President, and frustration at being locked into our party designation prior that caused us to not be vocal, the people have decided enough is enough.

I’m glad Glenn Beck is sponsoring the We Surround Them meeting today. I am glad organizations like the Dont Go Movement, Smart Girl Politics, Top Conservatives on Twitter, Michelle Malkin, and other groups are joining together to hold Tea Parties.

We will not be silent any longer.

–
David West
Northwest Regional Coordinator
#dontgo Movement/News Platoon

On Friday, few if any Congressmen took part in the various tea parties around the country. No Senators participated that I am aware of in the protests against Obama’s tax and spend policies.

 Of course, neither group nor the chairman of the RNC at the time (Mike Duncan) ever said a word about the wasteful spending underneath the Bush administration, either.

This is why the Republican party is in so much trouble, and why the three organizations planning the tea parties: Top Conservatives on Twitter, Smart Girl Politics, and DontGo Movement are poised to do the the Republicans like what MoveOn.org did to the Democrats. For a number of years, now, we fiscal conservatives have been blatantly ignored and taken for granted. As the tea parties have shown, taking us for granted is at the Republican party’s peril. 

For years, the Republicans have spent their way into a hole, and then the Democrats led by Obama, Pelosi, and Reid have decided to not only drill that hole deeper, but all the way through the world. Suddenly, the Republicans start talking about fiscal responsiblity. Yet, over 40% of the earmarks in the proposed boondoggle of a budget are Republican. You can’t have it both ways.

Over the next few years, Republicans as well as Democrats in power and allowing this garbage to happen are going to be forced to answer to a rising tide of opposition from the center-right fiscal conservatives. We may not be successful at first, but then neither was MoveOn. We don’t have millionaire backers like MoveOn has, but what we have is conviction and the moral high ground the Republican party sacrificed through the Bush administration.

We were told to shut up during the Bush administration, and some have told us to shut up this time.

That won’t happen ever again.

“President Obama, Are You Listening?”

Nebraska DontGo Followers to Host a Tea Party

Nebraskans, following the lead of CNBC’s Rick Santelli’s call for a Chicago Tea Party, are hosting their own at the Douglas County Courthouse in Omaha. The Nebraska Tea Party will take place at 11:00am on February 27^th.

Nebraskans are outraged with President Obama’s Stimulus Bill and the proposed Mortgage Bailout and are encouraging all who agree to band together and attend the Tea Party. The Stimulus Bill which will be giving away $1 trillion is the largest giveaway in American History and only the beginning. The proposed Mortgage bailout will cause tax money to be taken from Nebraskan tax payers and property owners and sent to California and Florida to help owners of multiple homes who don’t even bother to pay their own mortgages. The mandates in the bills will cost millions of dollars to Nebraska and Omaha residents in local taxes imposed upon the city.

DontGo National Communications Director Juliana Johnson states, “With all the displeasure we have seen with President Obama so far we are encouraging everyone to attend Tea Parties in their respective states and let the President hear our message.”

WHAT: Nationwide Chicago Tea Party in Omaha

WHEN: February 27, 2008 – 11:00 A.M. CST

WHERE:Douglas County Courthouse: 1819 Farnam St, Omaha, Nebraska 68102

I wanted to respond to Mr. Moran there, but decided my own blog would be better as I could write a lot longer, and edit as needed.

I think there is a lot of confusion in Mr. Moran’s mind as to what CPAC is, what it isn’t, and what really caused the problems that resulted in the United States electing Mussolini Jr. 

Let us first be honest with ourselves. There were three reasons the Republicans lost this last election: George W Bush, John McCain, and Barack Obama. You notice who I am not including on this list. The fact she was on this list was the reason McCain got as close as he did. I know many, many people who voted McCain because he chose Sarah Palin as his running mate. That always seems to be overlooked by the Palin bashers out there.

George W Bush – In 2000, GWB expoused conservative values, fiscal responsibility, and having charities do more of the job in helping people. In the end, we had people asleep at the wheel, increasing government spending to astronomical values beyond what was needed to root out terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan. Did we need the Medicare reform backed by Bush? No. Not at all. What has No Child Left Behind got us but more bloat in education and more stupidity? While the Left may blame the military for the deficit, reality is Bush became as much a wanton spender as any president has ever gotten until Obama’s numbers put him to shame. Point is, Bush started us down the path of Socialism by emulating Europe’s ‘compassion’. Republicans in the House and Senate did not oppose him. They were either complacent, or else were ordered to shut up. That’s why a purge was needed, and is still needed, in much of the upper echelon of the Republican party leaders. Yes, Peggy Noonan and the others may have gotten caught up unfairly in this, but they were the ones forcefully advocating what Bush was doing, so now they are saddled with the burden.

FYI, I supported Bush until the Medicare garbage came about. I still supported him to the end on the war on terror, but then I’ve been particularly keen on that issue for many years prior. 

John McCain – Thank you New Hampshire and Iowa for giving us the wrong candidate at the right time. If John had run after Reagan was president, instead of George Sr., he would have won easily. Instead, he got in when the country wanted a younger, more energetic candidate that related to a younger demographic. McCain lost the day he mentioned he did not use a computer. I realize there is a medical issue that prevents him from doing so, but that was not the answer the public was wanting, at least the younger public. By implying he was out of touch with the 21st century, he lost a lot of votes. I honestly think he did not lose votes on any of his stands on issues, and I know he gained votes with people on the right who were shaky on him by picking Palin. 

Barack Obama – In this day, looks count more than substance. Obama’s election proved that, as many who voted for Obama still do not realize the fact he was fingered as the most liberal member of the Senate. Now, his hope and change rhetoric is being put into action, and the hope is we all hope he gets a clue and the change is how much we’re going to have in our pockets to pay for food when we’re in the Soviet-style food lines. However, he was the slick media candidate, supported by the sycophants who wanted to report on the first black president. People wanted a change from Bush, and McCain did nothing to differentiate himself from Bush’s policies of spending like he should have. So, we got the candidate that I keep comparing to Mussolini. We are plebes, serfs, proletariat, or slaves to Obama’s ‘enlightened’ government that, as per my last blog post, is leading us into a new Dark Age.

People cheered for Odoacer too after removing Romulus Augustus from the throne of Rome.

So, conservatives need to get back to their roots in order to formulate a plan to reverse what is happening. I believe the conferences and the like at CPAC are a first step towards that. We’re still only a few months out from being defeated, and Rome was not built in a day. Bashing Saul Anuzis, the most adept at social media of all the RNC state chairs, and Michelle Malkin, who is the most adept conservative media pundit at social media shows either a bias by Mr. Moran, or just plain lack of knowledge as to the contributions both are making even as I type this.

If Mr. Moran wants a conference that will be more ‘meaty’ towards using social media to take back this country, I would suggest he attend RootsHQ 2009 in September. http://rootshq2009.com is the URL, and will focus completely and how to use technology to right the ship.

But in righting the ship, people are going to get tossed overboard. If the Noonan’s, Frum’s, and Brooks’ of the world want to get back on the deck, they are going to have to swim back towards fiscal responsibility and help us, not just whine about not being included, or whine about Palin, or compliment the man dedicated to destroying capitalism who was elected president.

We have a number of organizations planning and executing things right now in order to push the more reluctant members of the Republican party back to fiscal conservatism, social conservatism, and to communicate with the grassroots and the masses more effectively. Many of these groups are stumbling upon one another and thus cutting down the effectiveness of each group as they rush to duplicate things already being done by others, when they should be focused into a narrower area to better allocate resources.

 I understand the want to be in charge of everything, or to have your fingers into every cookie jar, but let’s be honest…you don’t see Media Matters running MoveOn. They have their distinct areas. By having those distinctions, more can be accomplished and the numbers game where we on the right are behind can be alleviated somewhat.

Here is my proposal – take it as you will.

 Rebuild the Party – Was originally set up to help fix the party structure and apparatus, to force communication with the grassroots, and to bring the RNC at least to equality, if not superiority, in technology. The focus was originally, and should remain, the RNC, the Senate, and the House reelection committees, etc. It is Rebuild the Party who should approach Chairman Steele and work closely to fix the party.

DontGo Movement – Was originally set up to get news and information via local bloggers to the states and local parties, and to work on getting people elected that are conservative on the lowest rungs of politics. Again, this should remain DontGo’s focus, as they have News Platoon and other resources to use towards this endeavor. DontGo works from the grassroots side, while Rebuild the Party works from the RNC side of the equation.

 SmartGirlPolitics – SGP focuses on all issues from a women’s perspective, something needed to combat the National Organization for Women and their liberal agenda. I have been impressed with SGP and their ability to keep on target with what they are doing.

Top Conservatives on Twitter/Facebook – TCOT was formed originally just to get everyone up and working together that had Twitter accounts and were conservative. It has expanded by leaps and bounds, but honestly, to me, it is shotgunning its approach way too much and as such, it loses focus. I feel, though, that recently TCOT has found its focus, and needs to devote energy towards that end. That focus is the progressive side of the aisle – MoveOn. TCOT, I believe, is where the focus against MoveOn can be directed, bringing people into our side to talk and fight. To that end, TCOT I feel can also expand development of the TCOT Report into this realm. 

Blogivists – I am so glad this site appeared. Let’s be honest, folks, Townhall’s blogs are really hurting. Most are not being used, if at all, and are archaic for the most part. We needed a hosting solution that catered to our side of the aisle. 

Media Matters has its counterbalance in NewsBusters and Media Research Center. Daily Kos has as its opposition Free Republic and in some ways Red State. 

What does this leave?

1) I still feel a ‘shadow government’ site would be helpful. Maybe I’m a bit strange or old fashioned, but a site dedicated to smacking down each and every regulation and crap pork sandwich handed out and developed along the lines of the cabinet would help people to better combat the Obama-blinded.

2) We need a conservative portal (Hello TCOT – this is up your alley). We need a one-stop spot like iGoogle where you can subscribe to the various feeds, and give people easier access to all of our pundits.

3) We have a number of sites out there that are good sites, but need to be focused into this plan across the board. Free Republic, Red State, and Townhall come to mind.

4) I know I’ve missed certain things. What do you envision?

1. Internal infrastructures and planning – #rebuild
2. Communication between conservatives internally and externally – #tcot
3. News and information gathering on a local and state level – #dontgo via News Platoon and #diggcons
4. Grassroots organization and infrastructure assistance – #dontgo

(Please note I am not including what the Republican party itself as built with Republican For A Reason, as it is not clearly defined in my eyes as to its purpose beyond making us on the local level ‘feel good’ about ourselves)

So, what else are we missing in order to get moving forward towards taking back the country? I’d like to actually get some comments on this at some point as to your opinions as to what is missing, but here are a couple of things I am seeing.

First, we need a site dedicated to policy debates amongst ourselves in order to define what conservatism really means. Right now, we’re working on the ‘I know it when I see it’ philosophy, but that does not cut it when you are attempting to recruit people into at least voting for you, let alone get them into the party. This site should be were we go tooth and nail at each other behind closed doors instead of taking it out on each other in the open on mediums such as Twitter. I know a few of you may be irritated by the grumpiness of @CharlieProfit over #tcot, but I believe this is what he is trying to get at in the end. He wants a place where we can do things away from being disrupted by those who do not have our best interests in heart. I have to agree this site is needed, so the policy debates can be pushed away from #rebuild and #tcot where they are currently tainting those efforts.

Second, and this is solely my idea but inspired by a comment over Twitter by Michael Leahy, is I feel we need a ‘Shadow government’ site dedicated to monitoring the Obama administration. This isn’t a news site like #dontgo is doing on a state and local level, but a site dedicated to the policy decisions coming out of Obama’s cabinet posts, and criticism thereof. This site would be organized in ‘Shadow’ fashion, which would mean there would be dedicated pages to each Cabinet/department of the Federal Government, White House, and Congress. This could be a number of sites easily – White House/Cabinet, Senate, House, and Supreme Court.  A site, or sites, like this similar to how Newsbusters monitors the news media would help focus our attention better on Obama’s policy decisions.

Third, we need a way to better engage not only non-traditional avenues of communication, but traditional ones as well. As much as we may be enamored by the Internet, we cannot forget those who are not Internet savvy in our zeal to reform. Most Americans get their news now from the television than from the newspapers, and though the Internet is growing, it still is not to television’s level. This is, unfortunately,  the most expensive of all the propositions listed, as it means commercials. It means radio ads, and it means newspaper ads. But we have got to let people know our organizations exist once we are up and going, otherwise all we will be doing is preaching to the choir which will garner us no new votes.

What other things can you think of to help? Please, nothing like ‘Recruit Ron Paul followers’ – that, to me, is a policy decision and falls under the site mentioned first above. Other things I was thinking of include engaging major media figures like what #tcot has with Hugh Hewitt and Michelle Malkin, secured meetups (Meetup.com is riddled with MoveOn-types there to disrupt our organizations I have found), monitoring like I proposed for the Obama administration for other aspects such as the UN, etc.

I applaud Michael Leahy’s energy and motivation for getting that list started, and I am liking a lot of the direction that he wants to push those on the list towards. But, I feel a number of members are being blinded by the tool a bit too much and are not addressing the core problems we need to solve if we are going to take back the Republican Party from its trend towards Socialism-Lite.

 The number 1 problem is communication between the Republican party and those of us in the grassroots. Right now, the situation is the fact the Republican National Committee, as well as many Senators, Representatives, and state parties do not communicate at all. They dictate. Even when these individuals come onto social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, all they are really offering are glorified RSS feeds with their pronouncements from on high.

That is not communication. Communication requires a two-way street. To summize, instead of saying ‘Do this’, communication requires it to be ‘Should I do this’. Twitter is a great medium to allow two-way communication, but it is only one way to do so. Forums that are responded to, chat rooms via irc or Facebook chat, call-in shows like that are sponsored by Blog Talk Radio are all ways to also communicate. Even email, phone calls, and in person visits are ways that communication can be fostered.

The problem is it is not happening with the national party. When we try, we are dismissed as irrelevant because the tool is focused upon, and not the underlying issue. Our opponents have drug their party leaders kicking and screaming into this communication, and we are going to be forced to do the same. 

There are ways for us to start down this path. First and foremost is #tcot hashtag on Twitter at the moment. It is the most friendly two way communications method I know of (though I’m sure I’ll be pointed towards others) to talk with one another. Leahy’s #tcot’s outreach projects are going to help in this immensely, as is the http://tcotreport.com site.

Another facet of communication is knowledge: knowing what is happening out there allows us all to communicate better and focus our efforts. This is where #dontgo is beginning to shine as the prime motivator. With News Platoon, and now the Diggcons project to Digg conservative blogs and news items, getting the truth out to those who are missing out on the issues is critical not only to communication within the party, but also to drawing in those people who are being misinformed about conservatism.

It is a few months later, but those of us who have joined up with #DontGo in a more official capacity continue to move forward.

I was given the task of the Northwest Coordinator for News Platoon, a project of #DontGo. News Platoon wants to go down to the grassroots, the real grassroots, and report on the issues that you care about locally. Bloggers from the various states are being asked to contribute to the News Platoon sites being developed, in order to get the real story out there beyond what the mainstream commentators and media report. In the Northwest, this means I have the following states: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming. I will be acting as a regional editor for these states, pushing stories up to the national site as well as doing the normal editor thing.

Each of those states, however, also are going to have an editor, reaching out to the bloggers of a conservative and libertarian persuasion, in order to get their stories. This is where we need, and I specificially could use, your help. I would like for all of you reading this to take a look at http://tennessee.newsplatoon.com and see an example of what we are planning for every state. Then, please go to http://dontgomovement.com or contact Eric J Odom or myself if you can commit an hour a week or so in either editing for your state, or writing an article a week for your state on the issues that concern you within your state. After the beginning of the new year, we will also schedule a regional conference call so we can talk about what is going on in our region of the country.

Liberals have made gains in many of the states of this region, so we need to unite to get the word out about those issues that concern you at a more local level. With the knowledge of these issues, and a number of other bloggers available to give backing to your voice, we can all benefit. 

Take, for instance, the controversy mentioned in my previous post. If we had the resources that you can help contribute towards, those in the Republican National Committee would be innundated with reasons why Rebuild the Party, #TCOT, and other initiatives are important to the future of the Republican party. By reporting liberal initiatives towards global warming and other boondoggles, we can shine the light of truth upon them, and in many cases stop them in their tracks. Using this platform, we can get out the truth about people such as Sarah Palin and her policies in Alaska, and stop the liberal lies slandering her.

Please look into joining us at #DontGo and NewsPlatoon.com.