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Thread: YAL Caught Up In Michigan Mess

  1. #1
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    YAL Caught Up In Michigan Mess

    Has anyone heard of or been involved in this? http://www.thelibertyconservative.co...nt-republican/

    "Just a few weeks ago, dozens of precocious young libertarians from throughout the country were bussed out to beautiful Mackinac Island in Northern Michigan. Advertised as “a ground breaking opportunity for liberty,” starry eyed activists hit the pavement with enthusiasm and vigor to make liberty win. Little did they know they were being used as pawns by a big government politician with questionable values.

    Field representatives were offered $1,500 pay with housing provided as well as stipends for gas and “a month of liberty immersion” to participate in the project. One crucial detail conspicuously absent in the description was who the activists would really be working for: Michigan Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley.


    Justin Greiss, Director of Mobilization at Young Americans for Liberty, recruits on social media for Calley’s initiative.

    YAL activists were given assurances that Calley’s involvement would be secondary, and what was important was a part-time legislature proposal that would reform Michigan’s excessively corrupt government. They were slated to collect petition signatures, but soon realized that it was not as much about getting the signatures as it was giving Calley some good press for an upcoming Governor run.

    As soon as they arrived on Mackinac Island, activists got the picture rather quickly. It became abundantly clear that the so-called “Clean Michigan Government” campaign was about Calley first and everything else second. Before they knew it, young libertarians were marching behind Calley in a clearly orchestrated photo op without understanding much of anything about his actual record in public office. They were officially co-opted."



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  3. #2
    Been known to happen in Michigan.

    Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.
    Ron Paul 2004

    Registered Ron Paul supporter # 2202
    It's all about Freedom

  4. #3
    Herding cats. Calley is in Amash's camp. I might not support Calley, but that's enough to get me to leave him alone.

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by angelatc View Post
    Herding cats. Calley is in Amash's camp. I might not support Calley, but that's enough to get me to leave him alone.
    It sounds like 100% false advertising, not herding cats. It's no surprise that some have sold out in favor of their own political aspirations/piece of the pie.
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing."-Ron Paul

    "We have set them on the hobby-horse of an idea about the absorption of individuality by the symbolic unit of COLLECTIVISM. They have never yet and they never will have the sense to reflect that this hobby-horse is a manifest violation of the most important law of nature, which has established from the very creation of the world one unit unlike another and precisely for the purpose of instituting individuality."- A Quote From Some Old Book

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by devil21 View Post
    It sounds like 100% false advertising, not herding cats. It's no surprise that many have sold out in favor of their own political aspirations/piece of the pie.
    They were hired to collect signatures. It isn't really all that complicated.

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by angelatc View Post
    They were hired to collect signatures. It isn't really all that complicated.
    Sure, because collecting signatures and being in photo ops for a (presumably) status quo governor candidate qualifies as a month of liberty immersion.
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing."-Ron Paul

    "We have set them on the hobby-horse of an idea about the absorption of individuality by the symbolic unit of COLLECTIVISM. They have never yet and they never will have the sense to reflect that this hobby-horse is a manifest violation of the most important law of nature, which has established from the very creation of the world one unit unlike another and precisely for the purpose of instituting individuality."- A Quote From Some Old Book

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by devil21 View Post
    Sure, because collecting signatures and being in photo ops for a (presumably) status quo governor candidate qualifies as a month of liberty immersion.
    If Rand Paul had hired them to gather sigs and showed up for pictures they'd be giddy. And it's pretty ludicrous to believe that they were paid $1500 for a covert photo.

    Like I said, herding cats.

    Calley's initiative is not the establishment position. It would turn the MI legislature into a part time position. b
    Last edited by angelatc; 06-15-2017 at 12:01 AM.

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by angelatc View Post
    If Rand Paul had hired them to gather sigs and showed up for pictures they'd be giddy.
    Of course, because that's something related to the liberty movement. Some random governor candidate is not Rand Paul.

    And it's pretty ludicrous to believe that they were paid $1500 for a covert photo.
    Is it? Such a photo of young people with the candidate would be worth A LOT to that campaign. Politicians pay a lot of money for less.

    Like I said, herding cats.
    Not sure what this means in the context of the thread. Oh well, clearly the attendees felt misled by YAL. It's a big reason I don't donate money to those groups anymore. They've all been hijacked to various extents over the years. It's a shame but such is the reality of politics.
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing."-Ron Paul

    "We have set them on the hobby-horse of an idea about the absorption of individuality by the symbolic unit of COLLECTIVISM. They have never yet and they never will have the sense to reflect that this hobby-horse is a manifest violation of the most important law of nature, which has established from the very creation of the world one unit unlike another and precisely for the purpose of instituting individuality."- A Quote From Some Old Book



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  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by devil21 View Post


    Not sure what this means in the context of the thread. Oh well, clearly the attendees felt misled by YAL. It's a big reason I don't donate money to those groups anymore. They've all been hijacked to various extents over the years. It's a shame but such is the reality of politics.

    What it means to me is that 7 years ago no establishment politician wanted anything at all to do with us. Now that we're making political in-roads, there's a bunch of butt-hurt armchair activists throwing up purity tests because they've decided that want to make a living getting Google traffic.

    He could have hired any number of young Republican groups but he threw money at YAL. In the real world, this is a good thing.

  12. #10
    And I would like to point out that the author of the original piece didn't even reach out to YAL for comment.

  13. #11
    It sounds to me like this may have been a simple mistake of left hand not knowing what right hand is doing (this has happened before). Ground forces going one direction, national organization going another. I don't know other than what I've read, but that would be my guess.


    Here is what the head of YAL just posted on his FB page:


    Confession time:

    This week was one of the most interesting weeks I've ever had in my professional career. You all know my policy on facebook arguments and how much I believe that social media is best used to share dog photos and talk about sports. But something happened this week that rattled me. And I want to take a few minutes to make things 100% clear.

    You see, in 2014 I was laser focused on pursuing my dream: becoming a middle school math teacher. I know, I know... Not the most glamorous profession, but connecting with students and creating those "ah-ha" moments is one of the most powerful experiences. My student teaching experience in Pennsylvania and New Zealand is something I'll never forget.

    After student teaching I locked in on a dream job teaching 7th grade math in Oregon and running the theatre department (I also have a BA in Theatre Arts). But I never made it to Oregon.

    Why?

    Because in between graduation and reporting to Oregon... I worked for a Congressional candidate in California who we hoped would be the next Ron Paul. I developed a recruitment and messaging system that allowed us to recruit dozens of interns and volunteers, many of whom were sleeping on air mattresses in the office, alongside the staff. How did we do this?

    The ideas of liberty. Plain and simple.

    It was after I lost that campaign that I realized the ideas that Ron Paul stood for had so much more opportunity. Young people around the country just needed to be introduced to the message. To see the powerful effect it can have on communities. So after a long process of weighing the pros and cons... I listened to Jeff Frazee and Ed King as they persuaded me to take a chance and come to Young Americans for Liberty as the Northeast Regional Director.

    The next year was crazy. We made the "Maloney 4-step" a household name and due to it's success and the extremely hard work of YAL staff and members... we continued to see explosive growth at YAL. Working in an environment where everyone around you isn't driven by money, but by something much bigger than themselves is so rewarding. 12 hour days were the norm and it didn't even feel like work. It was an honor building the Northeast region and seeing so many students lives changed by our organization and it's mission.

    In June of 2015 my life changed again when I was offered the National Youth Director role for the Rand Paul Presidential campaign. I'm so grateful to Senator Paul and the entire staff for putting their faith in me and allowing us to put together a massive youth effort. The SFR staff worked crazier hours than any human being should work. I'm talking 8 months with no days off and hovering around 3-4 hours of of sleep per night. They never stopped and I'll never figure out how we didn't go insane by the end. I've got some of my best memories with the SFR student leaders and staff. I could talk about this for months and still have more stories to tell. When it was all said and done, the campaign fell short. But we had 507 SFR chapters ready for the next fight. Do you see Jeb Bush or Rick Santorum students still fighting for their candidates cause? No.

    Immediately after the campaign I got a call I'll never forget... Jeff Frazee telling me to drive from Iowa to DC because we had to meet immediately. Jeff offered me the role of President at YAL, I ecstatically accepted, and we begin the transition. I officially was announced on May 16, 2016. I met with Senator Rand Paul and he gave us his blessing to bring SFR members into YAL and continue the fight.

    So now I'm overseeing the youth organization that changed my life when I was in college. It's surreal. It's an honor. It's not something I can really describe. The caliber of students and leaders we are developing at YAL is honestly the only hope I have for the future of this country. YAL students WILL be the next Congressman, CEO's, senior managers, state legislators, advocacy group leaders, think-tank Presidents, engineers, doctors, and lawyers that decide the direction of the United States.

    I travel 3.5 weeks per month to keep up with our pace of growth. It's funny, but the more we recruit new students, the more pocket Constitutions we need, which means we need more money, which means more work from me to keep the lights on. But once again, it's not work. 7 days a week, 15 hour days isn't a chore when you're doing what you love. It's a blessing.

    All that said... and I get blindsided this week by a blog that claims I'm running some sort of "rent-a-mob" and saying YAL to support some "big government Republican"... My first response was to laugh off the article. To just brush it aside like I do most criticisms that have no foundation or factual backing. But this was different. Activists, friends, and leaders that I know well were asking questions. Here's the truth:

    1. YAL has no involvement with any campaign, ballot initiative, party, or specific lobbying of legislation. Period. Associating every post of a YAL staffer on their "personal" FB page and assuming it's an official YAL program is rookie journalism, and I'm being nice.

    2. Who or what I endorse on my own time is my business. I will ALWAYS push to limit government in any way possible.

    3. If you knew the hours Justin Greiss spent working OUTSIDE of YAL to help freedom loving individuals get jobs... you'd think he's nuts.

    4. When you write a hit piece on someone, it's standard to ask for their comment before you publish the piece. You'd be surprised how much you'll learn.

    5. The fringe alt-right movement does NOT and will NOT be any part of Young Americans for Liberty. Ever. We will continue to present a peaceful, prosperous message of liberty to college students throughout the United States.

    To the detractors who continuously trash YAL on blogs because of our success... I send only my love. I know you're not expecting it, but the reality is life is too short to get upset and all fired up about what you say about the leading organization for liberty.

    Young Americans for Liberty is the future. Our cause of liberty and Constitutional government will prevail. Thank you to the thousands of people who reached out to show your love. Let's #MakeLibertyWin


    https://www.facebook.com/permalink.p...00010086961137
    __________________________________________________ ________________
    "A politician will do almost anything to keep their job, even become a patriot" - Hearst

  14. #12
    The fringe alt-right movement does NOT and will NOT be any part of Young Americans for Liberty. Ever. We will continue to present a peaceful, prosperous message of liberty to college students throughout the United States.

    Young Americans for Liberty is the future. Our cause of liberty and Constitutional government will prevail. Thank you to the thousands of people who reached out to show your love. Let's #MakeLibertyWin


    Plaudits for the positive attitude, but... at some point optimism crosses over into delusion.

    The alt-right is in an exponential growth curve and is actively pursuing multiple creative and at least somewhat plausible strategies to actually win. They have some hope of actually fixing something.

    Libertarianism and constitutionalism is stagnant, in fact shrinking, with no realistic long-term strategy and showing very little signs of life. That is just the sad reality -- like most of us I remember the energy of the Ron Paul days and I mourn its loss. But it's gone.

    Except where it has allied with the alt-right. There's a lot of energy in those places, in that fusion. And downright fun! An intellectual fearlessness -- no topics barred, no tiny, electrically-fenced corral for the mind. Like it or not, the future is right. Jettison the left-libertarians -- they're boring anyway! -- and embrace the right.

  15. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by helmuth_hubener View Post


    Plaudits for the positive attitude, but... at some point optimism crosses over into delusion.

    The alt-right is in an exponential growth curve and is actively pursuing multiple creative and at least somewhat plausible strategies to actually win. They have some hope of actually fixing something.
    .
    They may have hope, but they're as delusional as we were.

  16. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by angelatc View Post
    They may have hope, but they're as delusional as we were.
    Yes, I probably rightly should have prefixed the word "hope" with the qualifier "small."



  17. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by helmuth_hubener View Post
    The alt-right is in an exponential growth curve and is actively pursuing multiple creative and at least somewhat plausible strategies to actually win.
    A more nationalistic, more authoritarian, more anti-market Republican Party is not a win from a libertarian perspective.



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