A New Tea Party Resource – The Ensuring Liberty PAC
by John LoudonNashville, TN: As Sarah Palin spoke to the standing room only, sell out crowd at Tea Party convention, activists from across the nation were putting together the finishing touches on a strategy to channel the activism in an entirely new way. The result is Ensuring Liberty, a 501(c)4 and affiliated PAC.
Many pundits debated the lessons from the the New York “23rd race” and the heralded defeat of Dede Scozzafava and subsequent loss of Doug Hoffman. A couple things were clear. The Club for Growth money that went to Hoffman was not enough to bring home a winner. It was equally obvious from the loss, that the national outpouring of grassroots support from Tea Party activists all over the Country was not enough.
What was clear to those closer to the campaign was that all of the assistance poured into a flawed operation could not put humpty dumpty together. An axiom from business holds that before you automate a process you must first perfect that process. The cash and volunteer support were in effect the automation that the Hoffman campaign desperately needed. The “machine” however, lacked the fine tuning so that most of the “inputs” ended up as waste and proportionally little product flowed out of the campaign apparatus.
Every campaign needs at least two critical element pairings; campaign and money or campaign and people. Hoffman had plenty of money and people but too little campaign. Next time, the Tea Party supported candidates will have all three elements. Enter, the Ensuring Liberty PAC.
From the founding documents:
The Ensuring Liberty Corporation, a 501(c)4, and its affiliated PAC, the Ensuring Liberty PAC (ELPAC) were formed to address the next step in the growing impact of the TEA Party movement through fund raising, candidate recruiting and the development of a Congressional Caucus of like-minded representatives that stand for the TEA Party “First Principles”. These first principles are:
- Fiscal Responsibility
- Lower Taxes
- Less Government
- States’ Rights
- National Security
In short, Ensuring Liberty will combine the money of Club for Growth and the grassroots mobilization of the Tea Party movement with a proprietary “’campaign tool kit’” that enables a standard set of electioneering practices” to make sure the money and people inputs result in super-efficient outputs. This should satisfy both donors and “doers” as will the commitment that their support will be limited to candidates who fully embrace these unifying first principles.
Another unique feature of Ensuring Liberty is that successful candidates will be expected to caucus in support of the first principles knowing that their fidelity or lack thereof will be reported to the Liberty PAC membership. The Ensuring Liberty caucus member who turns his back on the principles, will expect the membership to turn their backs to him.
Many in the mainstream media will get the facts wrong. In fact, the announcement of the PAC by board member Mark Skoda received over 1000 media hits, many of which made wild erroneous assumptions. So to all the MSM editors out there, here is a serving of facts on the new Tea Party PAC. Have some more fun spinning them.
Ensuring Liberty will target a limited number of key races in 2010 with a plan to target many more in the following cycles and fully restore America to her first principles. Activists in Congressional districts unlikely to change will be steered to support candidates where ELPAC is at work.
ELPAC plans to work within the two party system rejecting as counter-productive, any effort to create a third political party. The PAC founders are already busy fulfilling the goal of raising $10 million in the 2010 cycle. They expect to raise these funds primarily from small donors.
Ensuring Liberty isn’t a PAC for politicians. Rather, it will focus its support on those patriots who have answered our nation’s call and stepped forward to run for office, often with little experience in the political realm. ELPAC will help them with the tools they need to run effective campaigns and–most importantly–win this fall.
Ensuring Liberty will ensure victory this November.
Let me add, finally, that I know there has been much debate about the next steps the overall tea party movement should take. Whether it should stay focused locally or evolve into a regional or even national organization. There are passionate patriots on all sides of this debate and it shows the strength and health of the movement. But, Ensuring Liberty isn’t really part of this debate.
Ensuring Liberty isn’t about leading or changing the tea party movement. It is a tool, a complement to whatever the tea party becomes. ELPAC is a resource to ensure that the best candidates run the best campaigns they can this fall. With your help, this time, I know our side will win.
On to battle.
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385 Comments
Sounds great!
This kind of centralized support is needed to help ensure those first principals are truely upheld by worthy candidates.
If this succeeds, you can bet the guvmint will try to outlaw it, thereby planting Acorn six feet under as well. If we win, we'll win big.
I am excited how people are involved in politics. The more people discuss, the better this nation becomes. And as it was proven in MA, people can make a huge impact.
What about this? http://www.defundanddisobey.com
Get your legislators to sign the pledge, and our debt decreases to nil, in a hurry.
http://www.ducks.org/hunting/waterfowlgallery.asp...
mmmm, I been looking at this site for an hour and can't find the species "lame duck".
indeed…and whom and what is leading PAC?….question…question….question.
Lame ducks are the ones that are shot with the Fedzilla mandated steel shot, instead of lead, and get away in the marsh as cripples. All because of one lake in the Great Plains with a hard sandy bottom.
By the way private property owners do much more to help coastal restoration than Fedzilla ever seems to accomplish.
Cool, looks like A LOT MORE PEOPLE are finally WAKING UP!!!
Great news?!?
I am 100% behind this. There will be much more coming forth on this PAC. A Midwest Tea Party did a Conditional Endorsement prior to their elections. This PAC reveals 'their first principles — These first principles are:
Fiscal Responsibility
Lower Taxes
Less Government
States’ Rights
National Security
We are thankful that Americans who stand for Liberty and the Constitution give of their time and efforts for the America we love and have seen fading away.
The midwest community I speak of, there was a County Board meeting and the turn out was 200+ protesting a proposal their citizens did not agree. They had their hour speaking asking the NO VOTE for the proposal and they were speaking of 'smaller (less)government, the Constitution, the farm owners rights and being heard. Tyranny or Liberty! The county Board members should also be commended for 'listening to the people!! All levels of government need to take a 'history lesson' on this and see this at all city/state and the FEDERAL government needs to begin doing the same!
Yeah… I'm suspicious of a centralized PAC because someone or some group will have to vet who gets money and who does not. We all know there are lines we're comfortable with and lines we're not. There are good people that are running here and there, but some still don't like them because of this or that.
So… I'm more in line with, we should be willing and ready to vet candidates ourselves and send money when we identify them. To the extent we become aware of others via this blog or others, great! To the extent possible though, this movement will need to minimize the conservatives running against one another and then, absolutely support who wins in their general election if it outs a dem or a rino.
President Barack Obama: During his presidential campaign, President Obama promised to run an ethical and transparent administration. However, in his first year in office, the President has delivered corruption and secrecy, bringing Chicago-style political corruption to the White House. Consider just a few Obama administration "lowlights" from year one: Even before President Obama was sworn into office, he was interviewed by the FBI for a criminal investigation of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's scheme to sell the President's former Senate seat to the highest bidder. (Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and slumlord Valerie Jarrett, both from Chicago, are also tangled up in the Blagojevich scandal.) These are just a few highlights of why the tea party movement has gained strong support around this great country,May God Bless America…
Translation:
* Fiscal Responsibility – except when it comes to National Security
* Lower Taxes – except when it comes to National Security
* Less Government – except when it comes to National Security
* States’ Rights – except when it comes to National Security
* National Security
This "National Security" BS is like Hillary's "for the Children" BS. It can be used to justify anything……except closing the border or stopping thousands of uninspected containers pouring in to the country carrying illegals, diseases, weapons, bombs, etc…..
It all becomes meaningless.
When you get the chops to oppose the bankrupting of this nation via "free trade" and opposing corporations that are selling this nation out and opposing CFR I might help you out. Until then I don't need a rebadged RNC.
I'm quite tired of PACS… Most Candidate PACs end up being "Pay me so I can give your money to the candidates *I* like, after I take my fee" things. Sorry… we have more than enough of those.
Best to just give your money straight to the Candidates.
No mention of how the country rallied to support and re-enforce Scott Brown is made. The key to Browns win was that it was the right thing to do and America responded directly. I am very wary of another layer of organized 'help'.
Paul, Joshua, DHasselhoff, victory will go to the organized in 2010. Scott Brown was the only race in the Country. Doug Hoffman was at the time. The difference between these races was campaign management.
Each of us will have hundreds of campaigns to consider this cycle. Every local Tea Party group will endeavor to nationalize their favorite candidate's campaign. How will you discern a wise investment from an emotional one? I joined TCOT in Nov, '08 and joined my wife at the first Tea Party, under the Arch in St. Louis, in Feb. 2009. We have been very active, along with thousands of other families, young and old. We are always looking for the SMARTEST use of our time, because it comes at the expense of time with our five young children. Our Country is in serious trouble so we know our kids will understand someday.
Bundling our efforts and concentrating the national energy on a select 15 or 20 races is in my considered opinion, and that of the other Tea Party leaders who comprise the board, the best use of my volunteer time in 2010. The Parties will push for their candidates and let the chips fall where they may. We will come in and tilt the table for a handful of vetted patriots. Make sense?
Sure would be looking into the history of the organizers of this & the national convention & try to figure out if they are just opportunists. It would be a shame for the Tea Parties to become just another top down organization.
Be very careful about supporting any PAC which claims to represent the movement. One of the key messages at the convention was to carefully support worthy campaigns directly. More important, Power Plays are taught traits that do not come with normal day activities of the common man. The silent majority do not like power plays because they normally indicate something behind the scene is at work.
I do believe we can work with our local representatives and organizations, including HCRP. I also think that activists in ever corner of your local government will be afaid of truth and honest agendas. Don't be ran off from established groups or leaders. Hold them to the truth.
ONCE again the tea party is NOT an ORGANIZATION, it is a group of AMERICANS that are tired of the CORRUPTION, LIES, TAXATION and OVER SPENDING. nothing fancy, just middle class working people asking the government to be "TRANSPARENT AND OPEN", the words of the first african-america president.
The Beck Co-Opt of disgruntled voters marches on…
Next thing you are going to argue that Ronald Reagan would want everyone to rally behind the "bomb the bat snot" out of everyone new-conservatives party (not to be confused with New Republican Party).
And only "purists" would argue that our wars should be Constitutional.
And what Dhasselhoff correctly translated above –
Hits it on the head – National Security
So, Define it – Obviously it is the defining difference between 2007 Tea Party and 2009 fractured Tea Party – define it
a) A 900 base 130 country $750bn per year Military "PreEmptive" Empire funded by a defunct China owned fiat currency that promotes covert-ops Blowback (because of undeclared war illegal drone bombings of sovereign nations and their people through Executive Power of ONE)
or
b) A Pro-National Security Policy adhering to the Constitutional Powers of Congress (not abdicated to POTUS) that follows the brilliant principles of the Founding Fathers on Foreign Policy.
What's next? A Beck/Palin ticket?
Ever hear that song by Screamin' Jay Hawkins?
I see.
National Security, in the face of threats inside and outside the country by nations and institutions you don't recognize for what they are = meaningless.
That's just priceless.
Hey, you just stand right behind the Lightbringer. All the way. 100 percent..
You betcha.
The article totally overlooks
1) The DC GOP first finacing Suzzflave, then attacking Hoffman
2) Scuzzflava was kept on the ballot as an R garnering those who vote straight ticket.
3) The cash flow to the Kommiecrat candidate
..
The election was close inspite of the GOP contempt for Conservatives
.
The lesson is keep the DC pols out of local elections
They wouldn't be inside the country if not for our insane immigration policies and lack of enforcement of our borders. And if we weren't interfering in other countries we would have little to worry about.
Charlie Wilson (Charlie Wilson's war) dead at age 76…RIP
The Ensuring Liberty PAC is about giving candidates the strength in numbers to stand alone in Congress and to govern without the fear of strong arm tactics by career legislators. This approach provides the people with a large group of Candidates already vetted by the principles they support. It's that simple.
The Tea Party's are separate entities offeirng support to a group whose only purpose by design is to place a Tea Party Caucus in Congress. Shouldn't everday Americans be working to build their base and support in Congress?
This PAC is built on the principles of the Tea Party's, by Tea Partiers.
I have been a Tea Partier since the movement was born. In my opinion this is the only logical , effective, grassroots answer to the issues before us.
The "First Principles" are the key. I will tell my children and grandchildren that I voted for representation of the working class and conservative principles via ELPAC. It makes no difference whether I do it standing beside 5, 5,000, 50,000 or 50,000,000 like minded Americans. It only matters that I do it.
Samuel Adams painted a vivid picture of where we are and who should do something about it:
"If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government,
our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." – Samuel Adams
I will tell my children that this group was comprised of individual voters and patriots, some of which were from Tea Party's, Americans for Prosperity, 9/12 and some had no political affilitation at all. The moral of the story will be that the American spirit and dignity prevailed and regardless of numbers it was done in the face of tyranny.
It is in each of us, and we don't need a to wear a badge to prove it. We have ballots for that.
Don't jump to the conclusion that, just because the byline of this article is Nashville, it is somehow tied to the successful National Tea Party Convention last week.
Be very careful about supporting any PAC which claims to represent the movement.
Great news, this begins a critical time in the growth of the movement.
Lets hope it stays pure.
EXACTLY! We need to keep the TEA party message PURE. Keep It Simple. Smaller more accountable government, lower intrusion (taxes) and last but not least INTEGRITY.
Again, 100% behind this, personally know the integrity of some of these people & thank you and thank you to all who stand up for Liberty! We WILL get our country back!!
Thank you also John Loudon for that last paragraph and I ask all 9.12 and TEA parties to truly realize this:
Ensuring Liberty isn’t about leading or changing the tea party movement. It is a tool, a complement to whatever the tea party becomes. ELPAC is a resource to ensure that the best candidates run the best campaigns they can this fall. With your help, this time, I know our side will win.
What do you do when you drill a hole in the wall? You need a TOOL and this is a TOOL which will help all of us of TEA and 912 and America to get it's country back!!
"Fiscal Responsibility, Lower Taxes, Less Government, States’ Rights, National Security"
These are not first principles. They are a mixed bag.
The proper set of first principles would be: Individual Rights, Limited Government and Free Markets.
Fiscal responsibility is a secondary principle. Lowers taxes means nothing that is principled. So you would approve of an income tax, a sugar tax, a carbon tax, a tobacco tax, etc., so long as they are low? Less government is also meaningless. You would approve of socialistic public policy so long as it's not much? Why elevate states rights? This is not a primary. States do not have rights that individuals living in them do not possess.
This list of first principles is unconnected to any integrated political philosophy of liberty.
R-I-C-O. thank Rudy for it.
Great contribution – well said, Tim Peck.
Learn from our enemies, that is where strength abounds, that is where our enemies gain their strength!! Beware of infiltrators, they are only recognized by belief!!!!
Well, if John Loudon is associated with the PAC in any way, there's good reason to be suspicious. Loudon has been raising money in Missouri for a state law against card check for months after it was already known that any national bill would not include card check.
If only this could become reality!!!
Of course being cautious of anything is good…it encourages becoming INFORMED. It was announced at the Nashville event. NOTHING in there suggests this PAC represents the "movement" it doesn't. It is a tool that an be helpful, but if you aren't interested, go do what you think will be helpful. But don't comment on this as though you understand what is behind it when you have admittedly no information.
There is room in politics for all different approaches…if this one doesn't interest you, find one that does, but don't tear down what others are doing to help…
Great post Tim. Thou I love watching the Tea Party movement begin to turn minds in the right direction, let us be careful with word selection. May I suggest the following tweeks:
Balanced Budget amendment – our servant government cannot spend more than we give it to spend.
Fair Tax (look it up)- eliminate the illegal IRS and any "reporting" to the government by people with a pulse.
Strictly confine government to the Constitution.
Protect and defend Sovereign rights possessed by people with a pulse. (ie privacy)
Insure Security from tyranny both foreign and domestic.
"Support the Rule of Law", everyone with a pulse is equal and innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.
To get my support, they need to add three more principles to their commitment.
1. repeal of the 16th amenment and try a national sales tax.
2. withdrawl from all of these job killingor job exporting trade agreements.
3. repeal of the 17th amendment.
4. enforcement of the constituion as written and rejection of the "living document" garbage and all progressives!
I'm not tearing down anything. I'm pointing out that there is a remarkable lack of transparency about the leadership and intentions of some of the PACs which are springing up like weeds these days. It is just a message for donors to be sure that they carefully check out what they are supporting. Nothing more.
Note, however, that there were some PACs and Tea Party groups which rushed to criticize the convention organizers in Nashville as though they were profiteering from the movement, without checking their facts.
Thanks for the great post as always, looking forward to the next one!
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