And this individual should feel even more lucky considering the fact that it was the one and ONLY job created in his/her congressional district!

Speaking of congressional districts… I wonder if Illinois is the only state with a 00 district? Who represents IL-00 and is it an open seat for 2010?

Inquiring minds want to know.

I’ve been a Cubs fan for sometime now, well before I actually moved to Chicago. But I only just started following the Bears last season.

In short, being a Chicago sports fan provides a perfect blend of exhilaration and rage. I mean, there is nothing like a July night game at Wrigley Field. And you can find Bears fan in every city in the country.

But what a baffling experience. We had two rock solid teams this year in the Cubs and Bears. Both teams were stacked so well that the entire sports world expected great things this season. Yet, both teams did nothing short of embarrass Chicago fans.

They say we have a curse here in Chicago, and with the passing of each game I inch closer to accepting that notion.

As all Chicago sports fans are so used to saying… maybe next year.

As mentioned in my previous post, I believe that a third party fight is good long term strategy, but it cannot be our short term goal. In my opinion, if it is the short term goal… we lose.

Several friends and people who I admire in the movement have suggested that we need to force the GOP to come to us. The reality is… this will never happen. The GOP establishment has no interest in becoming a movement minded Party. It has no interest in embracing our ideas and mentality.

So if the strategy is to force the GOP to come our way… we will lose.

This is something I’ve pondered for quite some time. In my letter to the GOP earlier this year, I even laid out what I thought at the time was necessary to get me back into the party.

I sent that letter to every state chair in the country. Can you guess how many responses I got?

I’ll give you a hint… it’s less than one.

My point here is that the establishment is not going to change on its own. And we don’t have the votes to beat two establishments.

I’m not suggesting we embrace the Republican Party as it currently functions, but I am suggesting we’re going to have to stop acting as if we’ll never have anything to do with the vessel itself again. And we’re going to have to accept the fact that Democrats would love nothing more than to see our movement split the opposing vote, giving them their only chance at survival in 2010.

-Eric Odom

Let’s face it. The passage of Pelosicare last weekend was the equivalent to the modern day “Stamp Act.” You see, when the stamp act was put in to action back in 1765, the folks began realizing that their government was asserting significant authority over their lives, even though the people had not found the action permissible.

We the people will accept certain levels of authority to exist, but only to the extent we deem acceptable and only as long as we have the ultimate control over the outcome.

What Nancy Pelosi and her Democrat thugs did to us last weekend is exactly what the King of England did back in 1765. Democrats ignored the will of the people and passed a dangerous bill that threatens the freedom and liberty we cherish.

Let’s be clear. Democrats are responsible for this gross abuse of power. Democrats crafted the legislation, ignored our will, and jammed it through with applause and cheers.

As a libertarian who voted for Bob Barr in 2008, I find it very difficult to state this in a public manner, but I will now be joining the Republican Party. Not because I trust Republicans or believe the existing establishment properly represents me. Not because I think the Republican Party has brought upon us the full protection of our individual rights and liberties.

No, it’s because I believe the Democrats are literally trying to destroy the free-market fabric of this country. And I believe that if we spend even another week working towards a third party for 2010 and 2012, we commit ourselves to certain doom.

I’m in no way advocating that we as a movement stand behind the existing Republican establishment. I am, rather, suggesting that we become the establishment.

As Erick Erickson and so many others have rightfully pointed out… we have the numbers. We have the people, we have the passion, and we have the organization. What we don’t have is unity.

I know many of us in the movement have different goals. Some are to weaken the two party stronghold. This is understandable and a good long term goal.

But look, if we screw around and let dangerous Democrats walk all over us in 2010 and 2012, we’ll never again get the opportunity to do ANYTHING as free Americans.

Love or hate the Republican Party… it’s our only vessel in the short term. We either unify through it and make a stand strong enough to stop this madness in government, or we fracture over third party efforts and meet uncertain political demise.

This choice is ours to make. I’m making my choice now.

-Eric Odom

Regarding the New York 23 race, Allahpundit has this to say.

But look. As gratifying as it would be to see Hoffman win, the guy didn’t become a conservative grassroots cause celebre because people are dying to see Doug Hoffman in Congress.

Having just spent a week in NY23, and having published emails to more than 100,000 free market activists over the past ten days, I can say with a level of certainty that AP just doesn’t get it.

Doug Hoffman is a “twofer”. Yes, as AP mentions, it’s an opportunity for the movement to make a statement to the GOP and the beltway establishment. But Hoffman also finally provides us with a true conservative candidate to rally behind.

I spoke with Hoffman last week. I interviewed him and I went to several of his events. Doug Hoffman is the real deal. He’s not a career politician, he openly supports things such as the flat tax, and he isn’t at all afraid to specifically address his personal positions on policy, both social and fiscal.

I also spoke with many voters, activists, tea party folks, 9/12 members and Republicans. They were ALL excited about the candidacy of Doug Hoffman.

Look, I donated to Doug Hoffman. I support Doug Hoffman. Not just because to do so is a slap in the face for the machine, but because I would sincerely appreciate being represented by him.

Does Allahpundit have a better person in mind to go to Washington? Does he not think Doug Hoffman will properly represent NY23?

Inquiring minds wanna know.

Watch this video to listen to the clip.

Newt seems to be stating that he supports more of the same in order to get real change. The more he preaches this message, the more he distances himself from the true liberty movement.

In my opinion, of course.

-Eric Odom

As mentioned in my previous post, I think this election represents what could be a new political powerhouse coming out of the Tea Party Movement. Doug Hoffman is a true conservative running against a liberal Democrat and an even more liberal Republican.

The liberty movement is swarming to the assistance of Doug Hoffman, who is running on the Conservative Party Ticket, and the GOP establishment is supporting the far left Republican nominee.

Being a political junkie and part of the original group that launched the Tax Day Tea Party, I’ve taken intense interest in this election. So much so that I might actually travel up to New York next week to cover the race from the scene.

But until I decide on whether or not to go, I’ll at least provide some coverage here on the blog. Please subscribe to my RSS feed and follow me on Twitter for updates.

-Eric Odom

If you haven’t been watching the political brawl happening in New York’s 23rd Congressional District… you should be.

The race has all the qualities needed to make it highly entertaining to track as a political junkie. But more importantly, as so many others have mentioned, the race represents a clear message being sent to the RNC.

And the message is simple… the liberty movement is not going to tolerate liberal Republicans anymore.

So here’s the background on the race.

This is a special election in place for November of 2009 to replace former GOP Rep. John McHugh. The special congressional election is happening because McHugh accepted President Obama’s Army Secretary position.

My understanding is that the district was a safe bet for a fresh GOP win. Or, at least, it was until far left liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava got the nod over conservative Doug Hoffman. Add the fact that there is Democrat, Bill Owens, in the race (with a lot of outside help and influence) and you suddenly have a problem.

Michelle Malkin has a great rundown about Dede Scozzafava and her dirty political record.

Scozzafava is an abortion rights advocate who favors gay marriage. It would be one thing if Scozzafava balanced that social liberalism with fiscal conservatism. But as a state assemblywoman, she voted for massive tax increases, Democratic budgets and a $180 million state bank bailout. She also supported the trillion-dollar federal stimulus package — which every House Republican voted against.

More troubling, Scozzafava in past elections has embraced the ballot line of the Working Families Party — a socialist outfit whose political DNA is intertwined with scandal-ridden ACORN. ACORN and the WFP have shared office space in New York City, Arkansas and Illinois. ACORN head Bertha Lewis, a close Scozzafava friend and political supporter, wears a second hat as vice chairman of the WFP. The WFP has been listed in ACORN documents dating back to 2000 as an “affiliate.”

Not only did the beltway establishment ally itself with Scozzafava, they basically threw Hoffman under the bus. In fact, the NRCC began setting up an attack machine to combat Hoffman’s conservative credentials.

Many others have mentioned this, but as a national tea party organizer, I feel the need to stress the point even further. This special election in New York should be highlighted as one of the best examples to date of how the establishment doesn’t get the sentiment boiling thanks to the Tea Party Movement.

We’re now seeing some ugly true colors float to the top. Take Newt Gingrich, for example… remember when Newt Gingrich joined in with the Tea Party Movement and openly endorsed our website at TaxDayTeaParty.com?

Here’s the video.

How typical. So Newt Gingrich, a beltway politician who once championed the ideas that fueled the Tea party Movement, is now betraying the movement by endorsing liberal Republican Scozzafava as opposed to helping out the guy who stands for what is right.

Fantastic.

I wonder what most of the hundreds of thousands of tea party activists who received Newt’s emails back in April would think if they knew he had joined Daily KOS, Nancy Pelosi and others on the left to try and help elect a big government thug get elected to Congress?

Let’s get back to the race for a moment…

It didn’t take more than a week or so for Scozzafava to begin spiraling out of control. Doug Hoffman penned a piece for Michelle Malkin that explains the events as they began to unfold.

It looks like Dede Scozzafava was feeling good about her chances in mid August. But then Hoffman ran on his conservative credentials and Dede was caught flat footed.

As the campaign rolled into October, Scozzafava began plummeting in polls and support was bailing at every corner. After that it jumped from failing to downright bizarre.

Micheal Patrick Leahy, an original founder and one of the key national organizers behind the Tax Day Tea Party, posted the details of the latest Dede campaign blunder on TCOT Report.

The campaign to win the special election for the 23rd Congressional District in upstate New York just got a little bit weirder this morning, if that’s possible. Liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava, feeling the heat from the surge in the polls of Conservative Doug Hoffman, held a press conference this morning outside his Watertown headquarters to challenge him to a debate.

This bizarre behavior came on a day when her highly controverisal campaign manager, Matt Burns, sent out a flurry of press releases on a wide range of topics. The entire country is focused on this election, and Burns appears to be a man completely undisciplined and out of control.

This incident follows an even more bizarre event where cops were called on a reporter who simply asked Scozzafava a couple of questions.

All of this madness even provoked the Washington Times to call out Newt Gingrich, John Boehner, and the NRCC over their pitiful endorsement of Scozzafava.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, House Minority Leader John Boehner and the National Republican Congressional Committee are now in the position of endorsing thugocracy. Unless they withdraw their endorsements and financial support for left-wing Republican Dede Scozzafava, they will effectively condone a blatant, unwarranted and somewhat frightening attack on a free press.

Oh… and have a listen to this… Newt Gingrich continues to defend his endorsement.

The problem with Newt’s statement is two fold.

1) He seems to have missed what the Tea Party Movement is all about
2) He doesn’t get that Dede might be worse than the Democrat in Congress

Why would he not just work with the Hoffman campaign to get a true conservative elected?

It’s simple. Newt Gingrich chose Party over principle. Which is exactly the kind of thinking that has the potential to destroy this country.

It’s time to draw the line in the sand. It’s time for tea party activists within the liberty movement to refuse to tolerate fakes within the movement.

And more importantly on the short term, I think it’s time we make our voices heard and show our support for Doug Hoffman.

UPDATE: According to Wikipedia, Dede Scozzafava was chosen by the eleven Republican Party county chairs of the 23rd congressional district. A reader pointed this out and suggested we might consider looking into these county chairs to find out who they are. The beltway heads certainly deserve criticism, but let’s not forget the gatekeepers who caused this problem to begin with.

UPDATE: Even Michigan “conservative” Rep Thaddeus McCotter has now endorsed the liberal candidate. This just keeps getting worse.

Additional Note: Several readers have brought to my attention a speech by John McManus of the John Birch Society. The half hour video puts forth some revealing arguments against Newt Gingrich and his conservative credentials. I’m not suggesting we go after Newt Gingrich, but I do think we need to take a new look at many of our self proclaimed “conservative leaders” and begin questioning their real motives.

Links:
-Failure of the local GOP base
-The GOP’s New York Fiasco
-Fred Thompson says vote for principles, not party

It looks like there will be constant coverage over at Dump Dede and The Other McCain.

Republican elected officials, members of the Republican Party and RNC leadership,

My name is Eric Odom. I currently serve as Executive Director for the American Liberty Alliance. I helped start what used to be called the “DontGo Movement”, the organization that helped drive the “Drill here Drill Now” campaign and ultimately played a significant role in the expiration of the offshore drilling ban. I was also one of the three key individuals who worked on the Nationwide Tax Day Tea Party effort and I built most of the online infrastructure that made mass collaboration possible for the campaign.

I’m also a small business owner who has several contracted employees. I do not have health insurance because I can’t afford it at the moment. Like everyone else in this economy, it’s a constant struggle to make sure the bills are paid end everyone is taken care of.

In 2006 I was a registered Republican in Nevada. I was a part of several state wide campaigns and a good friend of mine ran for state legislature. Two years prior to this I volunteered a jaw dropping amount of my time for the Bush campaign.

From 2004 to 2006, I found myself at constant battle with “leadership” within the Republican Party. I was laughed at and mocked in meetings because I warned of consequences to come if the GOP did not get on online and get there early.

As a free-market activist in his 20’s, I found it extremely frustrating to utilize my talents for the party while at the same time remaining independent from the old school politics the structure seemed addicted to.

In the 2006 primary, I watched the state party throw its weight behind the “anointed” candidates and all but ignore the true fiscal conservatives who would be all out warriors for the movement. Bob Beers, perhaps one of the smartest and most fiscally conservative state Senators Nevada has ever seen, was brushed aside in favor of the establishment favorite Jim Gibbons. How many Nevadans can now look back and think a vote for Governor Jim Gibbons was the best choice? Or how about Senator John Ensign? Or even the previous “Republican” Governor Kenny Guinn?

Didn’t think so.

In 2007-2008, I threw my full support behind Fred Thompson for President. I know most of my big “L” libertarian friends mocked that decision, but I liked Fred Thompson and believed him to be a true “outsider” compared to the rest of the crowd. As a libertarian minded activists myself, there were a couple small issues I had with Thompson’s platform, but for the most part he was a guy I felt I could trust and he wasn’t a part of the machine.

But the “establishment” side of the Republican Party had a different idea. It was clear the establishment within the GOP didn’t want an outsider. You didn’t want to try something different, and instead you chose liberal Republican John McCain as your guy.

The same John McCain who worked against conservatives for years across a huge range of issues. The same John McCain who has made the political action environment so complex that only the wealthy liberal elite can afford to cut through the red tape. The same John McCain who helped author one of the biggest attacks on political free speech in History of our nation!

In other words, a tired old white guy with nothing new to say and an apparent disregard for most everything I’m passionate about.

On top of this, you constantly carried water for George Bush and his declaration of war on the free-market system. Granted, I strongly supported Bush in 2004, but mainly because John Kerry and ilk were a flying circus of elite yuppies and bumbling yahoos.

When George Bush starting pushing through socialist programs, I wanted to see a strong party that would confront him on it. Instead I watched his party do backflips to try and change the subject, refusing to address the problem.

In 2008, after watching the GOP establishment bless John McCain as its nominee, I left the party. I registered as a Libertarian and began supporting Bob Barr. I might have taken a different approach if I wasn’t voting in Illinois where it didn’t really matter, but I’ll be damned if someone like John McCain ever gets the nod from my direction.

Sarah Palin came along and gave me some hope. I wanted to believe and support the ticket once she joined, but even then it was tough because the McCain camp had seemingly all but written off my kind in a mad rush for the middle.

So here we are in 2009

I believe you have a chance right now. A chance to redeem yourself and step up to the plate.

Several Republicans failed us on the Stimulus vote. The Stimulus legislation was a total and complete declaration of war on the free-market system. This was followed by several Republican votes for the Cap and Trade nightmare (and by the way, Congressman Kirk, I will ACTIVELY work to defeat you in the primary for Senate in 2010. In fact, I’ll donate to the first viable candidate who opposes you.) that once again reconfirmed the declaration of war against the free-markets and taxpayers.

I’m willing, for the first time in a long time, to rejoin the Republican ranks and do everything I can to advance the Republican party and its fiscally conservative candidates. But I’ll do so if, and only if, the following conditions are met.

1) I operate as an independent fiscally conservative activist, but do so with the nod and blessing of the party structure
2) Every Republican in the House and Senate that votes against Socialized Healthcare is applauded and supported, and every one of them who votes for it is expelled from any type of party support or praise. And I want it to be made VERY clear that this type of vote WILL NOT be tolerated by Republicans.
3) Republican leadership must start acting like true leaders regardless of whether or not a camera is present. Case in point: Chairman Steele requested to speak at the Chicago Tea Party. Our response was an invitation for him to gather with us, but not speak on stage. He declined and was not present. Not acceptable.
4) I want correspondence that does not ask me for money. I honestly can’t remember the last email or mailer I read that didn’t beg for money. Look, I’ll give you money, but not until you stop asking and actually start leading.
5) I want to see an aggressive outreach campaign to bring new activists, leaders and coalitions into the fold. When I go to a state GOP website, I don’t want to just see links to Republican branded groups. Give me access to Tea Party Organizations, Taxpayer coalitions and independent free-market activist groups.
6) Stop hiring six figure worthy “professionals” to run outreach and online operations. Yes, I know you have some very talented people working for you. But most of us out here in the trenches have no clue who they are and have no reason to help them because of it. Start hiring real activists from the trenches and get some internet faces that activists are actually familiar with.
7) Speaking of internet activists, get more of us involved and give us ownership of how we’re involved. Don’t hold stupid “idea camps” where you make us share with the world our ideas and never follow up with us again afterwords. Plus, why in the world would we OPENLY give the other side our ideas and strategy?

And don’t expect us to make our ideas… RNC ideas. Look at the idea, find a way to help us implement it, then work with us to make it mutually beneficial. Don’t listen to the idea and demand that you own it.
8 ) For the love of God… take the damn gloves off! The Democrats are giving us a WEALTH of things to go after them on. We should be running full scale campaigns to expose them for what/who they really are. We should be out there every single hour, every single day with a total blitz hitting them on all fronts.

I can probably think of more over the next few days, but these eight points are my biggest. I’m writing you as someone with a fairly good amount of influence online, a very big list of contacts in the activist ranks, and someone who could somewhat be seen as a “movement leader.”

I understand the dangers our country is facing. I understand that 2010 could be a pivotal year for freedom and I understand what needs to happen for unity within the movement.

The question is… do you?

Contact me, ignore me, work with me, work against me… it’s up to you.

-Eric Odom

Those who spoke at the Midwest Tea Party included Ken Marrero of the American Liberty Alliance, Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit, Kevin Jackson of Black Sphere (who is probably the BEST MC I’ve ever seen in action!), and several others.

I spoke for about 5 or so minutes to the crowd of about 1,000. I spoke about the importance of the Tea Party Effort and what it did for the movement. I also got a chance to talk a little about the need for unity across the free-market movement, and much of what I had to say was well received by the crowd.

After I spoke, I met with a plethora of activists, organizers and coalition leaders from across the state of Missouri. There are a ton of Americans out here just craving some action. This was encouraging and I look forward to talking more with some of these folks this week.

I think one of the most important notes I picked up while at the rally is the fact that probably 99% of the folks at the rally had no idea who the “beltway crowd” is. You know, the people who get all the credit for the free-market movement, yet won’t lift a finger to get out in the trenches and fight side by side with every day Americans?

Several people mentioned the leadership vacuum that currently plagues our movement. It was made abundantly clear that the regular folks are tired of the same old beltway voices. They’re tired of being preached by those who are only in it for personal political gain. They’re tired of giving time and money to broken organizations and politicians who provide no return on investment.

I know many on our side already know this, but my conversations in Columbia reinforced the idea that the right is currently floating along without a rudder. The good news is that we’re still rowing the boats forward… the bad news is the direction is a little sloppy.

That said, it appears that new leaders are emerging and everyday Americans are beginning to organize in a huge way.

I was very encouraged and delighted to have been invited as a speaker at the event. We need more of this… lot’s more.

Me speaking at the Midwest Fairtax Rally…