Upon arrival here at the hotel in Dallas where about 100 tea party activists are in a training seminar, I learned that the organizers of the Nashville event are apparently trying to point fingers at organizations and groups who stepped away from their event, by sending out emails of excuses.

This is unfortunate, and reconfirms our original suspicions about the nature of those putting the event together.

In the email, the organizers try and go after multiple organizations, including ours. They use the line about ALA not being a non-profit as an attempt to try and justify some of their perceived problems.

The problem with this is that it’s an apples and oranges comparison.

As I discussed with Ed Morrisey of HotAir a few weeks back, the “for-profit” model has its place in the movement. There are many cases where this is obvious, some of which we all take a part in every day.

Take Michelle Malkin or RedState.com for example. Both are excellent at championing the liberty movement through calls to political action and organizing activists for the purpose of political success.

Both examples work within the for-profit realm. Heck, RedState.com even asks for donations and holds donation drives when it needs to.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this model. Provided that people get what they pay for, it is made clear they’re getting what they pay for, and it is made clear that the money they “donate” is being used for what it was intended to be used for.

The American Liberty Alliance is proud of the way it has organized and disseminated content and information over the past year. We have a board of directors who all have access to our records and there is well grounded leadership involved in our structure.

Furthermore, ALA will be lucky if it has more than $300 in donations this month. I don’t personally follow the donations as my involvement is far more direct with “Liberty First PAC” of whom I chair. But my guess is the total “donations” for ALA this month will be no more than a couple hundred bucks… if that.

When we have a need, we explain the need and ask for folks to help pay for it. It’s that simple.

And again, we’re proud of how we’ve operated and we certainly believe others can as well.

For several months now, ALA has been transitioning into a non-profit model. One of our board members filed the non-profit paperwork a few months back, and we’ve just been trying to find the best way to make the move.

That said, just because you’re a for-profit does not mean you’re profiting. In fact, many “not for profits” have leadership that is paid more in a year than you or I might be paid in ten.

The difference here is clear for us, but it isn’t clear for Tea Party Nation. And THAT has been the problem.

-Eric Odom

There are three major stories today that represent significant victories for advocates of small government, especially those within the tea party movement. The first is probably the most obvious… the fact that Scott Brown landed a knock out blow in defeating far left candidate Martha Coakley in the MA special election. The second is news that Nancy Pelosi is now suggesting she doesn’t have the votes needed to pass government control of the healthcare industry. Last but not least is news that the Supreme Court struck down legislation that prevented Corporations from practicing free speech through campaign dollars.

I’d like to briefly discuss the three, and then ask for your thoughts and opinions on each.

1) The Supreme Court Decision on Campaign Dollars and Corporations
If you missed it today, the Supreme Court made a highly controversial ruling that is certain to spark debate across all sides of the political spectrum. The ruling says the following:

The Supreme Court has ruled that corporations may spend freely to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, easing decades-old limits on their participation in federal campaigns.

By a 5-4 vote, the court on Thursday overturned a 20-year-old ruling that said corporations can be prohibited from using money from their general treasuries to pay for their own campaign ads. The decision, which almost certainly will also allow labor unions to participate more freely in campaigns, threatens similar limits imposed by 24 states.

It leaves in place a prohibition on direct contributions to candidates from corporations and unions.

Critics of the stricter limits have argued that they amount to an unconstitutional restraint of free speech, and the court majority apparently agreed.

This news, in my opinion, is going to cause a split within the movement. Not one of competition, but one of ideology. To put it simply, this ruling will paint a clear divide between small government advocates and those who are OK with federal government intervention when it comes to this sort of free speech activity.

I say this because my inbox has been lit up all day with emails from all sides of the debate. Some claim it presents a significant danger because of corrupt unions and special interest, progressive corporations, other cheer that it finally gets the federal government out of the way of free speech in the election realm.

Personally, I believe this ruling is long over due, and I believe anyone who advocates against it cannot claim to also advocate for smaller federal government.

Either you want the federal government to be involved in this sort of thing or you don’t. We as liberty minded activists need to stop “picking and choosing” where we wish for the fed to intervene. Our argument should be against virtually every intrusion with the exception of the following:

-Protection of borders (Defense)
-Regulation of inter-state commerce (Keep it “regular”)

The federal government has failed at both. But in my view, this is all the fed needs to be concerned with. Nothing more. Not the regulation of pot plants, not the regulation of speed limits, not education, not national ID cards… not any of it.

These are things the STATES should control. Not the federal government.

Again, you’re either for less federal government or you aren’t.

With regards to free speech in political funding… we might not like that unions can put private dollars into the process. But in a free America, they have every right to do so. The federal government should never, EVER have the authority to come in and tell a private company or individual what it/he/she can and can’t spend money on.

Period.

2) Did we kill government run healthcare?
A few weeks ago we announced that if Scott Brown won in MA, we believed it would be the death of federal government mandated healthcare. It looks like we were right.

Though reeling from a seismic political loss, House Democrats rejected the quickest fix to their health care dilemma Thursday and signaled that any agreement on President Barack Obama’s signature issue will come slowly, if at all.

Democrats weighed a handful of difficult options as they continued to absorb Republican Scott Brown’s election to the Massachusetts Senate seat long held by Edward M. Kennedy. Several said Obama must forcefully help them find a way to avoid the humiliation of enacting no bill, and they urged him to do so quickly, to put the painful process behind them.

House leaders said they could not pass a Senate-approved bill, standing by itself, because of objections from liberals and moderates alike. Such a move could have settled the matter, because it would not have required further Senate action. Brown’s stunning victory restored the GOP’s power to block bills with Senate filibusters.

This by no means should be viewed as a reason to stop fighting the bill, but it certainly suggests we’re slowly starting to get a competitive edge in the battle to keep government out of our lives.

In fact, I would argue that this is the time to step up our efforts and push back even harder. In this particular case, we certainly want to kick them while they’re down to ensure they can’t get back up.

3) Scott Brown and what his wins means for us
A lot of you have lashed out at us for helping Scott Brown win in MA. This is understandable as Scott Brown might not be the most libertarian Senator of the bunch, but a lot of you seem to miss the larger point and strategy in doing so.

First of all, we needed a candidate who had a chance. The movement never would have been able to unify behind a candidate that didn’t have a viable chance with enough time to pull off a win.

Kennedy, the independent candidate for the race, never had a chance. He never came anywhere close to having a chance. I know, many of you will say “we could have given him a chance if we wanted to,” but that doesn’t fly with me. We “could have” won many races in the past, but we didn’t. We “could” have won with Doug Hoffman in NY23, but we lost.

We need to be thinking strategically, not just emotionally. As I told the New York Times over the weekend…

“For us, this is not so much about Scott Brown as it is about the idea that if we really collaborate as a mass movement, we can take any seat in the country.”

If we would have tried to support Kennedy in MA, we would have lost. Government healthcare would still be alive, and we would have a much more difficult fight ahead of us in 2010 because we would still need to prove to ourselves what we can accomplish through unity.

But think about it, we defeated the machine in MA. We defeated the liberal pick for Senator. We defeated the winning vote for government healthcare.

That was the goal for us in the MA special election. It wasn’t to get a libertarian elected; Rather, it was to put up a significant roadblock in the progressive plan to push our country further into socialism.

This week our movement was able to stop a super majority, virtually kill government takeover of healthcare, and the supreme court ruled against government blockades of political free speech.

In my opinion, this is Historic.

For Liberty,
-Eric Odom

Earlier yesterday we announced our support of the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville this February. At the time, we were basing our support on limited knowledge of those involved and we trusted that all was well. A deep discussion on whether or not to support the event took place among our leadership team, and it was determined that we would go forward with the endorsement.

However, throughout the evening we were met with a plethora of replies, emails and Facebook messages that revealed a high level of concern across the board. At first, I personally had tried to explain that most of the concerns were based on assumptions, but later in the evening some very compelling evidence was put forth that painted a much different picture.

I will not go into too much detail about the evidence. I’m fairly confident that it will present itself during the next few days. Plus, I still at this point hope that those who have invested money into the event will attend and make the best of it. I don’t think anyone on our leadership team wishes to discourage folks who are registered from attending the event.

There is no doubt that those who paid for the event will get a great event in return. Sarah Palin and some of the other speakers are fantastic examples of good leadership and solid conservatism. For those who could afford to attend the event, there will certainly be value in return for the money spent.

But at this point, we have to respond to the concerns and wishes of our membership. And quite a few of our members have asked that we consider sitting this one out.

In summary, the controversy surrounding the event involves conversations about the infrastructure of the Tea Party Nation and the way its finances are channeled through private bank accounts and paypal accounts.

To be clear, the for-profit model has its place in the movement. Many, MANY groups in the movement operate this way. But these groups should always have boards and oversight, and should never, ever process donations through personal paypal accounts.

In this particular case, it’s entirely possible that those involved are operating in a fair way. But when we look at the $500 price tag for the event and the fact that many of the original leaders in the group left over similar issues, it’s hard for us not to assume the worst.

With this in mind, we hope everything turns out well and the convention is a huge success. Our movement needs activists who step up to the plate and organize independent events such as this. But we must also use process and caution when doing so.

And it appears this may not have happened in this case.

The American Liberty Alliance will pass on being involved with the Nashville event, and we’ll ask to be removed from the sponsors list.

Also, as a side but very related note, a thanks is in order to all of those working to keep us in the loop with this sort of thing. The emails of concern are very much appreciated.

-Eric Odom

Over the past few weeks I’ve received countless emails from tea party activists asking about recall provisions for federal officials. Unfortunately, in most states it isn’t possible, so I haven’t personally given it much attention.

But, it appears as thought it is indeed possible in 18 or so states. Which, in my mind, makes the thought certainly one worth pursuing.

Below I’ve listed the states where I believe a recall initiative is possible. I’ve also included a list of specific grounds required for recall using the resource made available here.

Alaska:
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) Fax: 202-224-5301
Sen. Mark Begich (D) Fax: 202-224-2354
Law: AS § 15. 45. 510
• Lack of fitness
• Incompetence
• Neglect of duties
• Corruption

Arizona:
Sen. Jon Kyl. (R) Fax: 202-224-2207
Sen. John McCain (R) Fax: 202-228-2862

California:
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) Fax: 415-956-6701
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) Fax: 202-228-3954

Colorado:
Sen. Mark Udall (D) Fax: 202-224-6471
Sen. Ken Salazar (D) Fax: 202-224-1933

Georgia:
Sen. Saxby Chamblis (R) Fax 202-224-0103
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R) Fax: 202-228-2090
Law: Ga. Code §§ 21-4-3(7), 21-4-4(c)
• Malfeasance or misconduct while in office
• Violation of oath of office
• Failure to perform duties prescribed by law
• Willful misuse, conversion, or misappropriation, without authority, of public property or funds entrusted or associated with the elective office

Idaho:
Sen. James Risch (R) Fax: 202-228-1067
Sen. Michael Crapo (R) Fax: 202-228-1375

Kansas:
Sen. Sam Brownback (R) Fax: 202-228-1265
Sen. Pat Roberts (R) Fax: 202-224-3514
Law: KS Stat. § 25-4301
• Conviction for a felony
• Misconduct in office
• Incompetence
• Failure to perform duties prescribed by law

Louisiana:
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) Fax: 202-224-9735
Sen. David Vitter (R) Fax: 202-228-2577

Michigan:
Sen. Carl Levin (D) Fax: 202-224-1388
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) Fax: 202-228-0325

Minnesota:
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) Fax: 202-228-2186
Sen. Al Franken (D)
Law: Const. Art. VIII § 6
• Serious malfeasance or nonfeasance in performance of duties of the office
• Conviction of a serious crime during the term of office

Montana:
Sen. Max Baucus (D) Fax: 202-224-9412
Sen. Jon Tester (D) Fax: 202-224-8594
Law: Mont. Code § 2-16-603
• Physical or mental lack of fitness
• Incompetence
• Violation of oath of office
• Official misconduct
• Conviction of certain felony offenses (enumerated in Title 45)

Nevada:
Sen. John Ensign (R) Fax: 202-228-2193
Sen. Harry Reid (D) Fax: 202-224-7327

New Jersey:
Sen. Robert Menendez (D) Fax: 202-228-2197
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D) Fax: 202-228-4054

North Dakota:
Sen. Richard Burr (R) Fax 202-228-2981
Sen. Kay Hagan (R) Fax: 202-224-1100

Oregon:
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D) Fax: 202-228-3997
Sen. Ron Wyden (D) Fax: 202-228-2717

Rhode Island:
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D) Fax: 202-228-2853
Sen. Jack Reed (D) Fax: 202-224-4680
Law: Const. Art. IV § 1
• General officer who has been indicted or informed against for a felony, convicted of a misdemeanor, or against whom the ethics commission has found probable cause of violating the code of ethics

Washington:
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D) Fax: 202-228-0514
Sen. Patty Murray (D) Fax: 202-224-0238
Law: Const. Art. I § 33
• Malfeasance or misfeasance while in office
• Violation of oath of office

Wisconsin:
Sen. Russell D. Feingold (D) Fax: 202-224-2725
Sen. Herb Kohl (D) Fax: 202-224-9787

Many of these Senators are up for re-election in 2010. I believe our time would be best spent beating them at the ballot box first. But for those who are not, or those who use their power and money to defeat the people in 2010, recall initiatives should be launched to remove them.

I would especially note the states where a simple violation of the oath to office is grounds for recall. I mean, what part of “Congress shall make no law” do they not understand. And how can one so quickly forget that his/her oath to office includes the part about “upholding the constitution” and protecting our rights?

Food for thought…

-Eric Odom

On behalf of the team here at the American Liberty Alliance, I would like to thank the following individuals for outstanding efforts with the DontGo Movement and ALA.

-Tricia Cunningham
-Andrew Kretschmar
-David West
-David Yardley
-John McJunkin
-Bill Murphy
-Sherri Reese
-Neil Spear
-Truman Bean
-Elizabeth Blackney
-Richard Disney
-Brandon Kiser
-Juliana Johnson
-Amy Hagerstrom
-Sarah Desperat

A very special nod of appreciation is in order for the following:

-Lennie Jarratt (I honestly don’t know how we survived this year as far as servers go… but I guarantee you Lennie does!)

-Leslie Harrington (It must feel good to see your Tea Party graphics on virtually every single tea party website out there!)

-Allen Fuller (Man, Allen, how on earth did you put up with us this long???)

-Ali Akbar (Without question… we could not have done all of this without you. Period.)

-And last, but certainly not least…. one of my best friends, mentors, and a person that represents everything that is right within the movement… Ken Marrero.

And, of course, to all of the state coordinators, district liaisons, and thousands of volunteers… we THANK YOU ALL!

The American Liberty Alliance wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a very safe and Happy New Year!

For Liberty,
-Eric Odom

Yesterday I sent out an email about our “final push,” and was immediately hit with hundreds of encouraging replies.

It was a strong reminder that our movement is actually far more unified than most of us know or realize.

And it got me thinking… where did the American Liberty Alliance come from and where is it going?

Many of you have been with us since we began in 2008 during the energy fight. Back then we were called the “DontGo Movement,” and most politicos credit that movement as a key factor in the “Drill Here, Drill Now” campaign that broke out last year.

In fact, many “strategists” believe that what we did last year is what set in motion an online movement that would snowball enough to eventually help spark the 2009 Tea Party efforts.

There is no doubt that we’ve all been through a lot and our core membership should be credited with helping kick off a movement that has caught out-of-control government flat footed.

But, as much as I hate to admit… I think we veered a little off track as an organization. I’m not saying this has been bad for us. Quite the opposite, in fact.

I think these past few months have been very telling for us. We learned who to trust, and who to avoid. We learned what works, and what overwhelmed the resources to the point that we’re forced to temporarily shut down.

And most importantly, we learned how easy it is to veer off course if you’re not careful.

So where do we go from here?

I believe we need to get back to our core objective. It reads like this:

“The American Liberty Alliance was started to fill a void among liberty minded organizations. Somewhere between large national organizations and local activists, there was a gap. Groups seemed too focused on folding activists into their own efforts and not supporting the causes and efforts of the activists themselves. American Liberty Alliance began with that focus in mind – making the local activist a priority and building opportunities and interaction around them.

The type of online infrastructure and community we’re building is going to be very important over the next four years. ALA offers something that no one else does, and that’s the willingness to put personalities aside, listen to our members, and focus on the issues important to them. We’re going to engage on a very local level. We’re also going to build the infrastructure so that we can respond very quickly to emerging issues and situations.”

In 2010, the American Liberty Alliance is going to completely re-structure and work for you… the real rock stars of this movement.
This movement is not about building big organizations, racing for attention or trying to push out other efforts. This movement is about liberty.

And I believe we as Americans have a duty to protect our liberty. I believe the American Liberty Alliance needs to exist solely as a vessel that helps carry that message for the tens of thousands of liberty loving activists within the movement.

I know times have been a little wild this year. And times are likely to get a little wilder going into 2010.

The American Liberty Alliance is honored to have you as members. And we’re honored to stand alongside each of you in this fight.

Now let’s go defend our liberty!

For Liberty,
-Eric Odom

We’re happy to announce the re-launch of the social network!

The new network, which now has open group set up, forums, user applications and much more, is now live and located at ThePatriotCaucus.net.

Not only do we encourage you to join the network… we also encourage you to start groups and invite people, and start using the network to build local coalitions and events.

This new network will serve as a collaborative hub for the American Liberty Alliance, TaxDayTeaParty.com and The Patriot Caucus.

HELP NEEDED!

Are you interested in helping us moderate the forums and networks? We can certainly use the help.

Our main Facebook Group for TaxDayTeaParty.com now has almost 60,000 members. As you might imagine, this creates an environment that requires constant monitoring and attention.

The same can now be said for the forums on our social network.

If you would like to join our moderator team, please join the group on the social network and standby for more information.

For Liberty,
-Eric Odom

The following is Ken Marrero of the American Liberty Alliance speaking in Nashville on the American Liberty Tour stop.

As Ken mentions, you can choose to equip yourself. You can choose to become more active and more influential in the political process.

And the American Liberty Alliance is going to help you do so if you’re interested. Check out our upcoming training sessions and eActivists webinars!

NOTE: Training is and will always be 100% FREE. We’re able to keep it free thanks to contributions from our membership. If you can spare a few bucks to help us continue what we’re doing, please click here.

When we’re asked to describe our feelings about this year and our experience as a new organization, Ken Marrero says it best…

“It’s a perfect blend of frustration and satisfaction”

American Liberty Alliance, formerly the “DontGo Movement,” has accomplished great things since we began in August of 2008.

We started out as an online group that was barely able to afford a cheap shared hosting package. From August of 2008 to February of 2009, we really didn’t know what to do or how to do it, but we had tens of thousands of email addresses and we knew they were all waiting to hear from us.

We were blessed to be able to play a key role in both the February as well as the April nationwide tea party efforts, and in late April filed as a corporate entity that would allow us to function a little more like RedState.com in that we could generate funds through advertising to help pay for our projects.

Since April, we’ve been able to grow far quicker than expected. In fact, we haven’t been able to cope with the growth and we’ve been behind for the past few months.

This is, of course, a good problem to have. What we’ve accomplished this year is what some established beltway groups have spent millions of dollars and many years building.

We’ve done it with very little money, and in record time.

As far as our future goes… we’ve recently set up a non-profit entity and we’ll likely be filing for 501c4 status to run alongside it. There are several other large scale projects that will be announced in either late December or very early January, and we believe these projects will be game changers for the movement.

But there will be plenty of time to discuss this in the coming weeks. For now, it’s important that the American Liberty Alliance recognizes those who have paved the way for us to get where we are today.

You.

That’s right, we could not have gotten this far without you. The number of volunteers and people who have stepped up in this group are countless.

Time, energy, money, ideas, community… you’ve brought it all to the table and it shows.

So on this Thanksgiving, we at the American Liberty Alliance realize there is much work to be done, but we ales recognize the work that has been completed.

And we’re very grateful to all of you for helping us get it done.

Happy Thanksgiving!

For Liberty,
-Eric Odom

Then, in February, we sent out an email to our list from the DontGo Movement almost within hours of Rick Santelli’s original call for a Chicago Tea Party. That email brought in an immediate 10,000 or so visits, and combined with efforts of other grassroots groups, a new movement was born.

The modern day liberty movement, consisting of tea party activists, 9/12 organizers, and independent grassroots groups, is growing faster than anyone imagined. Media writes it off as fringe, politicians claim it to be irrelevant, and beltway organizations try to harness it as their own but ultimately fail.

The movement is strong, but through this strength also comes growing pains. Many have been pointing out the flaws and shortfalls of the movement. While these people conveniently leave out the strengths of the movement, they do have a point to an extent.

There is currently a group of organizations and activists discussing and working together to address these flaws, and we’re close to announcing a completely fresh direction for both the movement as well as the American Liberty Alliance.

Remember these three words and keep them fresh on your mind through the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Regroup. Rebuild. Reclaim.

We’ll have a fairly sizable announcement that goes out in early December. Enjoy this week, and watch for the news the following.

For Liberty,
-Eric Odom