PLEASE CONSIDER THIS AS AN OFFICIAL INVITE, BUT KEEP IT UNDER YOUR HAT! We will take cash at the door.
REGISTER HERE! http://www.mipowwow.com/
Join an elite group of only 400 In our Band of Brothers!
Today and Tomorrow over 400 Tea Party/Liberty/Grassroots/ and Formerly Proud to be called Republicans will congregate in the middle of MI for what will be the 5th Tea Party Pow Wow in Just over 2 years.
The Brainchild of Cindy A Gamrat, Founder of Plainwell Tea Party Patriots, MI4CS, and soon to be Sworn In as the MI Representative for the 80th district, the Pow Wow has become the largest gathering of Conservative activists in MI. From the original effort of MI4CS which broke the records for number of signatures gathered in MI for a Senate candidate, (Gary Glenn, President of the American Family association, also soon to be seated as a State Representative) at 1/10th the budget of the establishment GOP annointee, to this weekends event at the Soaring Eagle Resort and Conference Center, the ride has been tremendous.
The first Pow wow was a group of @ 55-60 Tea Party Leaders sitting in a small run down Conference room in Dewitt MI with a Sam’s club bag of snack size chips, water, and coffee, discussing strategy, hearing from state and local activists, and getting to Know each other. By Pow Wow II the attendance expanded to over 150 people and We had a Mission. Todd A Courser (also Soon to be seated as a State Representative, seeing a pattern yet?) had teamed with Cindy and they were challenging the status quo republicans for control of the MIGOP.
The bid for chair failed by a narrow margin, striking fear into the establishment machine, and empowering and emboldening the Grassroots Tea Party Movement. Whne Cindy decided to plan Pw Wow III she took a leap of Faith, risked her own resources, and booked the Soaring Eagle conference center. With not much more than that Faith, the contacts of the prior 2 years, and a commitment from volunteers, she organized an event that had almost 300 attendees, over 20 sponsors, Speakers from across the nation, and represented the core of the MI Conservative Movement!
With elections Looming on the horizon and Spring on the Way PowWow IV planning began. Cindy doubled the size of the conference room, went for a more professional look, added A Friday evening networking Reception, More National Speakers, over 30 sponsors, (they were now calling her with requests to Participate) and even with a late night Ice storm, attendance broke 400 and we took over the Lobby, and 3 Additional Conference rooms for an all day Event!
Now we have PowWow V: Registration is over 400 with over 40 sponsors, representing over 5 dozen different MI Tea Party and Liberty Groups, National Organizations and will be attended by multiple state Reps and Officials participating in various capacities.
I urge everyone to Pray for safe Passage and travel for all those attending the Pow Wow Tomorrow.
The enemy is doing everything in their Power to prevent tomorrows event.
Record Cold
High Winds
Blizzard Conditions
Threats from the Left
Cancellations by Convention Candidates caving to the Pressure from the Radical LGBTQ Faux Civil Liberties Groups harassing them
Harassment of Organizers and their Family members.
Harassment and threats to the Speakers and their Families.
Harassment of the RNC by Faux Conservative and Republican Fifth Columnists from the media and from within the Party power structure.
I urge you to attend this evening and/or Tomorrow. Join Cindy in her vision, and stand with our Band of Brothers as we advance the battle for Liberty! http://www.mipowwow.com/ to register!
(23)Nuh Uh.
(4)
So, Mr. Wells, I was skimming the most recent version of your flier there (version 5, according to your link), and I couldn't help but notice that one of your "Minuteman Group Sponsors" has been conspicuously whited out. Comparing this most recent version of the flier to a version that was current back on December 30th, the rescinded sponsor seems to be the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Now, reviewing a version of the flier that was current back on December 27th, I noticed at least one conspicuous change for the Dec 30th version, involving the addition of NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), which occurred before MCPP pulled their sponsorship. NORML's sponsorship is even proudly touted on the PowWow's website.
Why did the Mackinac Center pull their sponsorship? Is it perhaps because they don't wish to be associated with a "free the weed" organization? Are the various other pro-family candidates, organizations, and elected officials aware that public perception may associate them with this organization? (Jason, did you consider this when you kept both the blogsite and your business signed on as sponsors after NORML signed on?) You said, Mr. Wells, that sponsors were actually calling Mrs. Gamrat and requesting to participate; did she think that this particular request was a wise one to accept, instead of turn down, or did they offer enough money to make the potential hassle worthwhile?
And honestly, that's not even the thing that really drew my attention in the first place. What did prompt a double-take is a fella that's been listed as a keynote speaker since the very first flier that I saw regarding this event (and yes, even prominently listed on the event's website). For an organization that's so rabidly anti-establishment, you've brought in John Yob (CEO of Strategic National, Political Director of Rand PAC, and consummate political insider) as not only a keynote speaker, but co-host of the “Inner-Party Politics - Committees and Conventions: stories, strategy and tactics to bring the GOP back to its platform” workshop. Really? Somewhere within the halls of 190 Monroe, someone's gotta be laughing their ass off.
I get it; one hand washes the other. What isn’t widely known is that Joe Gamrat (current contender for Youth Vice-Chair) was an intern at StratNat for most of 2014. What also isn’t widely known is that Joey’s 2015 campaign for Youth Vice-Chair is being handled by StratNat and its operatives. What seems to have been forgotten is that Dave Agema’s operations are still being handled by StratNat (at least the financial ones are). So the assumption is that there’s some political payoff in play here.
Frankly, I don’t care. I just find it amusingly ironic that a guy who gave me unrelenting crap for at least two straight years, for no other reason than that I had the nerve to accept an employment offer from StratNat, has been prominently advertising their CEO’s involvement in his event for several weeks now. What I do wonder is, who took the thirty pieces of silver to pencil him into the schedule?
The first doctrine of war is "keep your friends close and your enemies closer". Just cause he spoke, doesn't mean he was well-received.
Actually, the true source for that quote -- "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" -- is Michael Corleone (The Godfather, Part 2). Attributions to Sun Tzu, Niccolò Machiavelli, Francesco Petrarca, or anyone else prior to 1974 are without verifiable merit. Thus the concept arises from mob politics, if it arises from anything. Which is, perhaps, appropriate given the topic.
Whether JPY was or wasn't well-received is completely beside the point. I worked for the guy for two years, and I can tell you that he didn't show up, let alone speak, if he wasn't getting something out of it. And the only way that the event would have been profitable for him is if he gave the PowWow attendees as little useful information as humanly possible. Based on the media reports that I've seen on the event, he spent probably 90% of his speaking time talking about his background, and no more than one-tenth of it discussing anything even remotely germane to the workshop's topic. Short translation: the PowWow (organizers, leaders, and attendees) was played, to StratNat's advantage.
JPY is a a political professional, not an ideologue for any particular cause, who is extremely effective at the political equivalent of guerrilla warfare. Even his rivals acknowledge that he's the best there is at manipulating the process to his clients' advantage.
If the PowWow is okay being associated with that, then so be it. Just do the rest of us a favor and don't pretend otherwise.
Again, it would seem that most would want to know (in detail) what JPY had to say. it would be even more curious if there is not a transcript or record of each speaker's thoughts available soon not to mention any breakout session overviews.
I find it pretty hard to believe also that many seem to be glossing over KRH's assertions or at least questioning his facts. He's connecting some pretty serious dots and I'd at least like to know who is willing to correct him 'at least' in terms of valuing (any) political consultant's contribution to the movement.
If we need a political consultant to insert themselves between God, our hearts and the prayers of others involving the restoration of a way of life that once was ours in God's name (only)...we just 'might' have a problem.
Until we can determine who said what when they spoke or if it was well received or not (beyond terrorism everywhere else but Michigan in particular)...that's a good question.
To date, unless there is a blow-by-blow somewhere complete with platform/legislative updates, promises/agendas concerning past, resent and future legislation from newly elected grassroots candidates or anything else which was offered up by leaders/followers/those hoping to help...it's pretty hard to tell.
Perhaps someone who attended or who knows where the definitive source for all things "PowWow" related resides..can help?
If what happened there (in detail) isn't being immediately and vigorously debated outside the confines of the event itself?...we have a problem larger than what we have been discussing here for certain.
Is this the same Norml of which 'comedian' Bill Maher, Christian basher extraordinaire, is on the advisory board? http://norml.org/advisory-board
Wait a minute... is this the same 'comedian' Bill Maher, speaking the truth about islam extraordinaire, is living in the state of California, yes, the same California?
Indeed. As the man once said, "a time for choosing".
KRH said:
"..Why did the Mackinac Center pull their sponsorship?..."
I'm certainly not driving clear across the state in a sub-zero blizzard before the above question is answered in detail by any one of several organizers who should know the answer by now.
I personally have never spoken with a MCP ‘suit’ and received anything but the typical arrogant response to politely offered legitimate questions. I doubt that they all tow the political line demonstrated by their admitted election year support of the governor (well documented here)...yet if they're evidently much too snobbish to mix with the 'little people' without publicly stating why...how are those 'protecting’ their reasons for declining to do so…any better?
One reason for 'weed' (and soon LGBTQ issues) nosing itself into the tea party 'big tent' might be (former establishment Republican turned Libertarian) Lawrence Wenke's near upset of a historically Republican Senate seat last fall (Republican Tonya Schuitmaker now Republican Margaret O'Brien). Buoyed by college-town pro-pot supporters supporting his gay right agenda; Wenke surprisingly took 9% of a Dem/Rep dominated race decided by less than 100 votes over a strong liberal candidate.
As KRH offered, RunAway Rand's guy here in Michigan (‘Yob', no less) as "..co-host of the Inner-Party Politics - Committees and Conventions: stories, strategy and tactics to bring the GOP back to its platform workshop..."(????????)
Gimme a break...or as the entire Michigan 'grass'roots apparently now feel…a (smoking) 'peace pipe’ at the Pow Wow.
I am not sure it was a good choice to have NORML as a sponsor, but I don't think that it was the reason MCPP pulled out.
It's not the grassroots supporters in general that I often question but frankly their ability to craft a simple platform year after year. I don't think that any of them (or very few) are completely intolerant of what others do in the privacy of their homes...yet many obviously ARE ignorant when it comes to prioritizing what issues this state is dying a slow death from or how to assemble the masses around the solutions to same.
You really DO want to support these people yet hate to waste your time strategizing with them. I can remember marching down towards the Capital in DC ('09) expecting to hear something resembling ' a plan' that all of us who had travelled so far could possibly act on to start saving the country. What we received was either the same well worn crap or frankly speakers who had no business speaking to a crowd of that magnitude in the first place.
Again, if you're not willing to explain NORML or even the Mackinaw Center's flip flops (see Pension Obligation Bonds in 2012 as well) then 'apparently' that is exactly where the movement is heading (everything to everybody).
If you've been paying attention, it should be no surprise.
Jason, This article http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2015/01/michigan_tea_party_going_on_of.html quotes an MCPP spokesperson as saying they pulled out of the event because 'it [Pow Wow] was really becoming too focused on politics.'
Not wonky enough for the wonks? Weak excuse.
Well, they are a 501(c)(3), are they not? It was not that long ago they were removed from State websites for maintaining nonpartisan appearances, were they not?
For myself, and for now, I'm not going to read too much into what the MCPP chose to do with their presence at the Pow Wow.
Tho, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the mLive article you linked above reverts everything right back to Braun, Hoekstra, and Denny trolling Twitter with his Akbar *dirty bomb* coming unhinged over Alan West getting real about life, and Dave, sharing West's article.
Mac Center had a table at the GOP Aug. convention in Novi. An even more extremely partisan political event (attended by the usual suspects referenced in the mlive piece) than this PowWow will be.
Well, then you have two former MCPP employees with a decided agenda, yes?
Braun has drawn them into a bad place. Now they own a piece of a race-baiting session.
As KRH mentioned...not wanting to be seen somewhere (pulling your table due to politics) is quite different than actually sponsoring an event, not arguing that you are listed as such...then suddenly denying that you were ever a sponsor...but only attending to man a table.
Who wants to drive through a blizzard to be part of something which 'covers' for that?
You walk in the door and are greeted by a giant cannabis leaf.
What?
I'm there to strategize with 'leaders' who obviously believe that with all the many issues we would ask fellow patriots to self sacrifice and stand tall against here in Michigan...we have MORE than enough time, resources and extra political firepower to embrace "smoking pot on the street" as we take withering fire from the establishment forces allied against us?
A general is keynoting today that has been obviously 'no-nonsense' in terms of his disdain for those who remain silent in regards to Islam and its role in life/death situations that he has personally been immersed in. With Michigan at literally the tip of the sword every single day on these issues...what are we going to hear from 'Yob'? That it would be more 'politically expedient' to embrace 'marijuana' at this critical juncture in Michigan's wartime grassroots history...or move towards taking a vocal stand (locally) as to making certain that the Trojan horse hasn't already arrived...and that MICHIGAN tax dollars have (already) been shifted wholesale to averting disaster right here in our very own state?
Let's review the platform at present:
1) No financial self-sacrifice (whatsoever) by anyone responsible by virtue of their age/participation in the electoral process for any financial liabilities that their grandchildren are saddled with. A lot of our members are pensioners and we took care of that issue in 2012 by remaining silent on allowing pension obligation bonds statewide "with no vote of the people required".
2) Do NOT declare that we are inherently vulnerable here in Michigan, the religion of Islam, discuss how this impacts your own faith or how the latter guides every single action in your life and the lives of those who died/sacrificed to give YOU the unbelievable blessed life that you now live (with the same breath)..it's bad for party 'image' (ask Yob).
3) 'Discuss' the current brainwashing of our children..yet NOT if it means actually going in to our communities (with the party banner in hand) and 'mucking out the barn'. We like to stand for things..yet not necessarily if it will effect our 'standing' in the community
4) Ignore and refuse to destroy the 'mountains' of legislation that have brought down our state by USING same to oust those who support or refuse to take a position on what even a child could recognize as corrupt. Ignore and refuse to harness the anger of our youth (they may turn on us As with the crappy education that we have purposely saddled them with to hide our retirement plans..'now' convince them to take up 'smoking dope in front of (their) children' as the party platform/assured path to their overall happiness and security.
5) Make certain that your party platform is centered around two fantasies:
#1) That you will always have just as much money as the established party that you are running against; just as many 'potential' candidates year-to-year; that ALL said candidates are corruption focused 'heroes' like this state has rarely if ever fielded previously and that 'term limits' will help (not hurt) this over abundance of talent from not wasting away somewhere else.
#2) That all of the problems our generation has hoisted upon the backs of our grandchildren can be fixed 'part time' along with all of the even more complex challenges that they are about to face due to our negligence.
Or maybe everybody should just take a break with the NORML group today...and (literally) forget about it.
..(sorry for the double post; any typos)..prayers for a safe journey to all that attend.
Duplication fixed.
Are the grapes sweeter?
Forgive me for not immediately understanding, Scales. What's your reference here?
Oh, just a blast from the past is all.
I thought that was where you might be going, but your opening comment not being a "reply" to the comment of mine that it probably should have been posted under threw me off a bit.
To your point: Meh, that assumes that the grapes were sour in the first place. I called MI4CS as I saw it back then (regardless of who was paying me to do what), and in the original context, I stand by every word I wrote. Last year, the way things were shaping up, I was honestly thinking that Cindy Gamrat might prove me wrong (Gary Glenn already has), and I was quite prepared to say so. Right now, I'm somewhat less than impressed.
The truth be told, I have no issue with Mrs. Gamrat whatsoever. One of her PowWow lieutenants, on the other hand . . .
Are you certain you want to hang your hat on that?
What I've written, I've written. I have better things to do with my time than rehash old potatoes.
That's obvious by the grossly off target first comment, continued marginalization within, and attempt to bandwagon.
Thank you, Kevin.
It's a shame that we can't discuss issues such as shared sacrifice and similar solutions that previous generations used to solve the exact same problems that we face today. I've shown up at tea party events, roundtables, rallies and it is (seemingly) the same expectation:
We want you to come...yet just sit there with your mouth shut if you have anything to say about the realities we face, how same 'should' be grossly affecting the platform or anything to do with reaching across the aisle to pull others into the mix (save dope and various other 'rights' of relative unimportance at this juncture).
We need leadership and we simply aren't attracting the types who can get by the 'awe' of anybody outside their one-horse town or the method by which business has traditionally been done.
...I would also add that we aren't reaching (or even attempting) to reach across the generations as well. If we aren't ready to tell these younger people that we are solely responsible for the mess that we are in, ready to sacrifice beside them to fix it or willing to offer up our own as real time examples of why these people need to sacrifice as well..we might as well just accept the NORML crowd and their #1 priority in life as the entirety of our outreach program.
The modern-day tea party movement (circa February 2009) developed around a three-objective mission:
• To re-anchor American society to its founding principles
• To restore citizen control of the government, by restoring the constitutional leash upon government
• To return the Republican Party to its platform and core principles (to the extent that the tea party works with the republicans at all)
. . . and when the tea parties stay on mission, they’re a formidable political force. The problem is that most don't, at least not in Michigan. I agree that a fundamental paradigm shift is necessary, but the question is how to accomplish that.
If you're from anywhere near the Greater Grand Rapids Metro Area, then maybe we ought to sit down for coffee sometime.
KRH:
Your (accurate) description of these (supposed) founding tea party principles pretty much defines our discussion here:
"...• To return the Republican Party to its platform and core principles (to the extent that the tea party works with the republicans at all)..."
Like the values driven Christian family who wouldn't attend a tea party "PowWow" that their children couldn't as well...many of us simply want to 'work' with both Republicans and Tea Partiers alike. Both groups have the exact same barriers in place to ever make this possible. They 'allow' people to meet for coffee 'on their own'' as suggested...as long as said conversations never reach a gathered group of any significance or heaven forbid behind-the-scenes' platform discussions themselves.
Groups not able to work with others is understandable. Even subversive and down right nasty tactics should be expected from those whose livelihoods and undeserved 'legacy' based reputations are threatened. What hurts a grassroots counter movement are elitism, pure selfishness and an unwillingness to 'define' the very enemy that their members are supposedly seeking to defeat. When leaders are unwilling to come forth on policy decisions (NORML); completely ignore the concept of 'self sacrifice' or admit that methods never even so much as 'suggested' before are indeed their children's only hope?...a lot of us are simply not willing to drink the same KoolAid recipes that they continually rip from the pages of the establishment playbook (see Yob yesterday).
Anything less is the complete loss of traction that we witness today and certainly not a comprehensive call to action that many of us can get behind.
Look for General Boykin video later. Wanted to have it out last night but was dealing with other nonsense.
Did he (or anyone else in attendance) bring up the term "radical Islam" AS the threat relates to our state?...or are we taking cues from Republican strategists who wouldn't dare suggest grabbing the bull by the horns before he 'gores us' here locally?
CS: Oui