Notes from YALCon

I've been a little preoccupied with school and sleep (or rather, lack thereof), but at long last I've written up my notes from the YAL convention on the 5th. Lots of good insights, and far to lengthy to state in detail here. In interest of saving space, I've put in a page break. Political nerds can click the little read more button, and everyone else...why are you here, anyway?


Building a Grassroots Organization
Jamie Cox - American Majority

Any organization should be permanent. Politics happens more than every four years, especially at the local level. You can't win every political contest, but it's important to build on success.

Recruiting volunteers is probably the most important element of this. Begin with preexisting networks--your family and friends that would be interested, and work from there. Develop personal relationships, and cementing the connection soon after it's made.

Keep the vision front and center, and make sure your volunteers know they're appreciated.

Speaking the Language of Liberty
Chris Doss -- Leadership Institute

Messaging is incredibly important, and (as anyone who spends much time with us knows) libertarians aren't very good at it. It's essential to use the right word for the right audience. Doss suggests that messaging is the product of Emotion, Contrast, Connection, and Credibility.

Who frames the issue has the decided upper hand in any argument. Instead of accepting your opponents' terminology, transition away from it, possibly using the Three F: "I know how you Feel, I Felt that way before, but then I Found out..."

10 Things You Can Do for Liberty Now
Chris Doss -- Leadership Institute

Bowties. So many bowties

• Create and deliver a presentation on an issue you care about
• Attend a town hall or campaign event
• Use a petition drive to educate the public
• Join a ghost-writing campaign
• Table for an issue at a public event
• Volunteer for campaigns, especially primary campaigns
• Organize an 'campaign bootcamp'
• Show your positive face with well chosen community service
• Raise money for candidates, campaigns, and organizations
• Find a mentor

Featured Speaker
James Comer -- Kentucky State Agricultural Commissioner

You have to take a stand on unpopular issue to make progress. For example, Comer recently took part in the campaign to legalize industrial hemp in Kentucky (with bipartisan support in Congress). Despite strong opposition from the political establishment, the bill passed, in part because of support among the very young and the very old.

Comer also discussed his work to improve the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Instead of uttering generalities about 'transparency,' they put all their spending records. They privatized many divisions, saving considerable money. Perhaps most notably, they held their own employees accountable...and increased the regulatory efficiency by orders of magnitude.

We have massive government inefficiencies, but they can be rectified, if we have leaders willing to undertake these projects, and politicians willing to push these agendas.

How to Spread the Message of Liberty Online
Julie Borowski -- FreedomWorks

Internet activism is useful because it has low barriers to entry, and can be used to organize large numbers of like-minded people.

Interaction is key to making Facebook and Twitter effective. Ask opinions and respond to messages. Be concise and relevant, and optimize the timing and frequency of your posts.

YouTube is another popular vector, which can be used to reach new audiences. As with everything, it's essential to be entertaining and update regularly. YouTube is more prone to trolls than other vectors, so don't feed them. Laugh at them with normal viewers.

In all of these, it's important to be careful about what you say. Even if you delete an offending post, there's a good chance screencaps will surface if you try to run for office.

Anatomy of a Successful Activism Event
Brandon Cestrone -- Young Americans for Liberty

The three main goals of any activism event are toe recruit, educate, and earn media attention.

There are four main steps to do this. First of all, apply for resources from YAL-National. Secondly, plan it. Which project? What are the goals? What are we doing at each meeting? Who/what/when/where/why/how. Thirdly, promote it. Fourthly, actually do it. Be sure to do your best to retain people, both through sign ups and social activities.

Throughout all of this, remember the 80/20 rule.

Reclaiming Freedom
David Boaz -- Cato Institute

Libertarianism has made major strides since 2008, when Ron Paul really introduced it to the national media. Since that time, YAL and S4L (Students for Liberty) have made tremendous gains. To change political attitudes, we have to promote principles, which requires figuring out our own beliefs.

Individualism is cooperationism, whereas collectivism is based on coercion. In addition to the non-aggression principle, there are utilitarian arguments to be made for natural liberty and a free society.

Bringing power under the rule of law is not yet complete.

Keynote Speaker
Rep. Thomas Massie -- KY-4

Congressman Massie spoke about the corruption in Washington. Apparently House of Cards is even more realistic than people think. For example, the two-party leadership voted through a Medicare patch in the complete absence of a quorum against the desire of the majority, who wanted a permanent, fiscally sound solution.

The party leadership also controls freshman congressmen with their ambition. Committee memberships are largely dependent on reaching fundraising quotas. They also offer 'experienced' staff members to freshmen, who will undoubtedly influence their votes. They also whip their own membership very hard.

The Paul Ryan budget isn't even that fiscally conservative, and scorecards have their limitations.

Wow. You read all of that. You're either a) a extremely dedicated or b) one of my friends. Either way, here's a picture of a bunny: