The Road To PowerRNC Chairman Michael Steele

At a Crossroads

A New Breed of Republicans

Editor’s Letter I Moxie

California College Republicans is a very special group. CCR combines both youth and passion in the same political organization. These are both highly sought after and valuable characteristics in the political arena. Over the past several years CCR has grown by leaps and bounds and has reached new levels of activism and accomplishment.

This prestige and success the California College Republicans has earned through much hardwork and consistent effort by many different people all over the state. Yet, CCR will remain only as good as the people who make it up and who work for the organizations betterment. I encourage every College Republican to take this lesson to heart. CCR is only as good as the efforts its members put into it. Don’t forget that the contribution of ever single College Republican, even small ones, is appreciated and makes a difference.

To you as college students the California College Republicans opens up new opportunities that would not have been available otherwise. The effort you put into CCR does more then help further some ideology, it can help you make new connections and learn new things. In this way the effort you put into CCR will be repaid to you and can serve you well after you graduate.

While the California College Republicans remains a strong group, it will rely on the contin-ued contributions from students in California. Please continue to make the California College Republicans one of the most active and dynamic political organizations in California. Use the tips and information within these pages to help you continue to make the California Col-lege Republicans the great group that it is today.

Editor’s Letter

The California College Republicans’ mission is to recruit, inform, train, and empower every existing and potential College Republican in the State of California. College campuses today are ideological battlegrounds for the future of America due to the liberal dominion over college faculty, curricula, and administration. This is especially dangerous for the future of America and the Republican Party because partisanship is chosen between the ages of 18 and 24. We work for the future of the Republican Party and its principles of limited government, opportunity, and freedom. Everyday, we realize our obligation to preserve the Republican Party by balancing debate on California’s liberal col-lege campuses and fulfilling our mission. We are here to influence now! Visit www.CollegeGOP.org

Scott CullinaneEditor in Chief

Chairwoman’s Corner I Moxie

Hello fellow Republicans and conservatives!

Well it wasn’t pretty, but we survived. We won some key races in California thanks to you! Now is the time to re-group and come back stronger. Fighting against the Left is what California Republicans are known for, defined by. So in a way, this is our time to shine.

What we’re focusing on this spring is starting with the grassroots. We’re going to keep our clubs strong by find-ing the truly dedicated Republicans and conservatives. This is when we can focus on our individual chapters. California College Republicans do two things: help win elections and promote activism on campus. This spring we go on the offensive. We should have fiery and incit-ing speakers on campus, pro-Israel rallies, regional social gatherings, and spend time volunteering at local Repub-lican headquarters. The Democrats will be enjoying their success, so it is the perfect time to surprise them with an Affirmative Action Bake Sale or an “impromptu” game of “Catch the Illegals.”

Secondly, we need to focus on what our generation of Republicanism should mean. People just don’t understand what the Republican and conservative morals and values are anymore. The Republican Party stands for those who believe in limited government, lower taxes, capitalism, traditional family values, and a strong military. Some-where along the line, Americans have lost sight of that, and it is our job to remind them of that.

Good luck College Republicans! Remember, this is our time to fight back and reclaim our place with the American people. We’re here to have fun and work hard. Fight on!

Please keep in mind that the annual California College Republican Convention will convene April 24-26 in San Francisco at the Hyatt at Fisherman’s Wharf. What with training sessions, hundreds of College Republicans from across the state, and inspiring speakers, how could you pass this up? Keep an eye open for future developments.

I hope to see you all there!Cheyenne.Steel@collegegop.org

Chairwoman’s Corner

Cheyenne SteelCCR Chairwoman

Moxie I Contents

CCR Executive Committee

Cheyenne Steel (USC)

Chair

Leigh Wolf (S.F. State)

Co-Chair

Michael Antonopoulos (SMC)

Administrative Vice Chair

Matthew Donnellan (San Diego)

Treasurer

Kaitlyn Shimmin (UCSC)

Secretary

Matthew Dobler (CSU San Marcos)

Executive Director

Megan Rodriguez (UCSD)

Southern Vice Chair

Falicia Mandel (USC)

LA Region Vice Chair

Ryan P. McNicholas (UCSB)

Central Coast Vice Chair

Pete Markevich (UC Davis)

Capitol Region Vice Chair

Trent Downes (S.F. State)

Bay Area Vice Chair

Brian Lovatt (CSU Chico)

Northern Vice Chair

Ryan Clumpner (UC Davis)

Immediate Past Chair

Adiofel Mark Mendoza (UCSD)

Chief of Staff

Scott Cullinane (SMC)

Moxie Editor in Chief

Heather WalrodMoxie Layout and Design

California College Republicans I Moxie Spring 2009 I Volume 7.1

Contents

01 Editor’s Letter Scott Cullinane

03 Chairwoman’s Corner Cheyenne Steel

04 The Great Bailout Rene Rodgers

06 A New Breed Scott P. Raab

08 At a Crossroads Clinton Soffer

10 CRs in Action

12 Creating & Managing Your Web Presence Jonathan Craig

15 CR Convention Update Michael Antonopoulos

16 They are Doing What Matthew Donellan

17 The Road to Power Matthew Dobler

18 Working with the College Left Chasen Bullock

20 Chartering Your Club for Convention 2009 Matthew Dobler

21 The Audacity of Equality Megan Rodriguez

22 Wake Up Call James Kincaid

26 Tips and Tricks for Conservative Blogging Alan and Ari Dana

Moxie is the official publication of the California College Republicans. The

views in Moxie do not necessarily represent those of our membership, Execu-

tive Committee, Board of Directors or committees thereof. All ads placed in

Moxie are sold according to the prices and regulations set forth in our official

advertising prospectus. This prospectus is available upon request.

October 2008 was indeed the month of surprises; President Bush finally lost all resemblance of fiscal con-servatism. With the crash of the Housing and Mortgage Markets, the entire economy seemed to come crashing down around our ears. US banks such as Washington Mutual, the largest bank failure in US history, and Lehm-an Brothers, which survived the Civil War and the Great Depression, closed their doors. Companies like AIG, an insurance company, clamored for Washington to bail them out. And bail them out Washington did.

Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson called for a mas-sive 700 billion dollar bailout for “Wall Street” which would then trickle down to and save Main Street. The resolution was introduced originally in the House, where all monetary bills originate. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi railed against Republicans blaming them for the economic crisis moments before the House was to vote on the bill saying that the American people should not have to pay for the Republican mistakes. This caused the bill to be defeated 228-205 with two thirds of Republi-cans voting against it and one third of Democrats voting against it. With this vote, the Market took a nosedive of 777 points that same day.

A week later, the Senate passed their $850 billion bailout bill, but the market continued to go downhill. The market is still rather unpredictable with its wide swings, some-times doing 500 points in both directions in one trading day. This bill not only slapped America’s capitalist mar-ket in the face, but it could only be passed by being laden with $150 billion in pork for special interests. The menu included things like tax sweeteners to the tune of $6 million for manufacturers of wooden arrows for children, $128 million for the seven-year cost recovery period of motorsports racing facilities, and $10 million for Holly-

wood to keep TV shows and films in the US among other things. To pass this giant bailout, a large amount of tax breaks had to be included to entice enough people to vote for it. This is cause for some concern, if Washington is going to grant massive tax breaks how do they plan to pay for the $700 billion bailout? If they just have the Treasury print the money, inflation will skyrocket and we will start heading toward something that looks like Germany prior to World War II.

Even with the bailout, neither Wall Street nor Main Street seems to be saved and now many once privately held companies are becoming nationalized, such as the bank-ing system, Freddie Mac and Fannie May, and General Motors. The $700 billion bailout is now half gone and no one knows exactly how it is being spent.

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We learned in the Great Depression that the answer to solving a crash in a market is not to have the Govern-ment try to spend their way out of it. By having the government issue a bailout, they are rewarding failure and prolonging the agony of a slumping economy. What makes this bailout even worse is the fact that a Republi-can President promoted it.

The elected officials in Congress were pushed and prod-ded by Paulson and President Bush to pass the bailout in order to save the economy. Companies like General Motors and Chrysler, who should have gone under are now being propped up with their poor business models still intact. Our economy works by weeding out those companies that have a poor business model.

General Motors and Chrysler (Ford said no thanks to their bailout) both make cars that consumers no longer want, and this was not an overnight transition. They had to have recognized the warning signs as Toyota and Honda have taken market shares away from the American automobile industry. Their business models, which involved huge union contracts and huge salaries for their CEO, have taken their toll on the companies and helped in bringing about their bankruptcy. Both companies could have easily declared bankruptcy, closed down plants, cancelled out their union contracts, and restruc-tured their companies in order to have a business that produces a product that people want to buy.

The bailout is not going to help the economy. The only thing it is going to help is getting the Republican Party back to its roots. This bailout may have been started by a President with an “R” by his name, but he has turned out to be a RINO more than anything else. Hopefully with this folly, more real conservatives will come out of the woodwork and we can work towards rebuilding this great country and our economy.

Rene RodgersCSU Sacramento

“The bailout is not going to help the economy. The only thing it is going to help is getting

the Republican Party back to its roots.”

“If Washington is going to grant massive tax breaks how do they plan to pay

for the $700 billion bailout?”

The Great Bailout

When I was approached to write an article for Moxie, my first thought was of College Republicans and fellow activists that participated in the presidential cam-paign. But the “record breaking” turnout of young people on both sides that helped deliver their counties, districts, and even so called “unwinnable” states is not what was so impressive. In reality this happens every year, elec-tions are always historic, always epic, and always “more than ever.” The real historic part of this campaign was the forced realization by Republicans and conservative minded individuals everywhere that America and its values, culture, and fundamental beliefs have changed. We can no longer assume people understand our ideol-ogy and think we are right; we must fight to protect our beliefs and teach others why we are right.

Fifty years ago it was almost unimaginable that America could ever head down a socialist path. We were warned that our own complacency and naiveté would crumble our strong foundation. Today, the words of the former Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev are truer than ever. He said during the Eisenhower Administration that, “You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept Communism outright; but we’ll keep feeding you small doses of Socialism until you will finally wake up and find that you already have Communism.”

Khrushchev predicted this cultural “change” before it be-came a catchy campaign slogan and fodder for the lib-eral media. Americans have forgotten what it means to be a conservative and stood idly by while conservatism was demonized. Young minds are being force fed social-ist ideals in schools, under the guise of “tolerance” and Republicans have failed to challenge this obvious indoc-trination of our society.

Scott P. RaabCentral Valley Vice-Chair

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There is now a new breed of Republicans willing to stand up and take their place in American politics. These are the individual’s tired of remaining quiet in class, the in-dividuals who speak up and risk being ostracized by a

teacher’s condescending remarks. Showing others why global warming doesn’t add up, why rent control con-demns residents and why the free market unhindered by government intervention is the only way to control cost and ensure quality. I’ve seen them on my campuses, I’ve seen them working the phones or putting up signs for the first time. I know them, because I am one.

The new breed of conservatives is needed now. There is a war going on and fifty percent of Americans think our foreign policy causes terrorism and we should give enemy combatants Constitutional rights. We have a Republican President that thinks we have to abandon free-market principles to prevent the economy from collapsing and promotes ridiculous bailouts. Republicans must be comfortable discussing conservative values and confident in their reasoning if the conservative philoso-phy is to survive.

I know it is hard being a conservative in California poli-tics. It sometimes seems that bringing up politics is not worth it, we don’t want to sound combative or “politi-cally incorrect.” But you must remember that there is an agenda to change the culture of America from one of prosperity and freedom, to one of growing socialism. I’m asking you to stand up and take part in the ever evolv-ing world of politics. If we don’t stand up to the creeping hand of socialism we will lose our value as a party and as a country, and we will only have ourselves to blame.

“If we don’t stand up to the creeping hand of socialism we will lose our value as a

party and as a country.”

“We can no longer assume people understand our ideology and think we are right; we must

fight to protect our beliefs and teach others why we are right.”

“Back in 1927 an American socialist, Norman Thomas… said the American people would never vote for socialism. But he said under the name of liberalism the American

people would adopt every fragment of the socialist program.”

— Ronald Reagan

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We now stand at a crossroads, we must choose between following a path that will lead us back toward the light, or continue wandering toward the dark abyss. Building a stronger party will require us to restructure how we organize and communicate to make us credible to millions of Americans who are not currently connected to us. And what is so great is that the process is getting faster and faster as we advance our technology.

As College Republicans, we must remember that when the going gets stuff, the tough get going. We do this by reaf-firming our principles of strong national defense, limited government, lower taxes, and empowering individual re-sponsibility. And then we must work for building a strong foundation to move forward in the future. The seeds of the Reagan Revolution were sown during the 1964 presi-dential election, when conservatives under Senator Barry Goldwater finally took the party back.

Our party must remember that the Republican Party lost credibility with the American people in the 2006 midterm election. We were a party that advocated smaller govern-ment and ethics. Yet we grew the size of government to gigantic proportions. We became synonymous with cor-ruption and scandal (Foley, Libby, Vitter, Abramoff, etc.). We must be a model of ethics and embody what we stand for when we make our return from the wilderness.

We must also reconnect with urban and suburban voters, a growing share of the voting population. Republicans used to dominate areas such as Long Island and the Phil-adelphia suburbs. As Republicans, we must once again go after previous Republican strongholds, and try to build our credibility in other suburban and urban areas. We must build up our strength among cities and counties, which then will lead us to grow our strength statewide, and then across the nation. Our party must be willing to go after diverse communities that have in the past voted in bloc for the Democrats.

Unfortunately, our party is seen as unwelcoming and tone deaf to the issues that effect minority communities. We need to reaffirm our party’s values by diversifying our image. We must welcome more women, Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and other ethnic groups as candidates for office. These leaders can serve as a case in point to their respec-tive communities to show that they too are welcomed to our party.

As College Republicans, we see diversity everyday, on campus and in our classrooms. We should not be afraid of trying to make our tent bigger for others to fit in while at the same time reaffirming our principles and values. Clinton Soffer

Palomar College

Another aspect of this overhaul is to improve our or ways of connecting with voters through new media.

I’m not lying when I tell you that Barack Obama’s cam-paign through the new media outlets was the best we have ever seen. They used their websites, online fund-raising, social networking, and text messages (Remember when he said that if you signed up for his campaign text messages, they would be the first to know his VP choice). One of the major factors of this election was the amount of new voters was the largest we have ever seen. These new voters do not get their info from traditional sources, such as newspapers, TV, or radio. They get it from You-Tube, Facebook, and blogs. If our party is to be success-ful again, we must reach these new voters in a similar fashion, by investing ample amounts of resources. We should always be trying to find a better way to do things, because they will always at some point become obsolete.

As an American and a Republican, I have nothing but respect and admiration for Ronald Reagan. If it not for him, I would probably not be writing an article for this publication. But he understood that the torch must be passed to our future leaders. He once said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.

We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” We must find new leaders who can car-ry the torch, instead of relying on past images of glory. There are many differences between the idea of having Reagan and Obama’s images put on party door hangers. But the most compelling is that Reagan is the past, and Obama is the present. We must move forward if we are to return to the top of the hill.

We College Republicans are the future, here in California and across the country. We know what we believe in and we know what we stand for. Now we must focus on how were going to win. Because these are historic and significant times, and I don’t want to be a spectator, do you?

“We must work for building a strong foundation to move forward in the future.”

“We need to reaffirm our party’s values by diversifying our image.”

I think it is safe to say that every College Republican in America asked themselves on election night: “So…what do we do now?” Our party suffered major losses across the board, losing the presidency, more seats in both houses of Congress, and state and local offices across the country. In New York, The Democrats captured control of the State Senate for the first time in over four decades. On all fronts, we are in retreat, filled only with more questions and struggling to find a way out of the boondocks.

AT A CROSSROADS

California College Republicans

In Action

11 I MoxieMoxie I 10

13 I Moxie

There is value in consolidation. It’s easy for your web presence to become very scattered. If you had a website before creating your blog you should note that you could very easily replace your website with your new blog (and it might save you some money). Your blog will be able to tell visitors information about meetings, upcoming events, joining your club, and pretty much anything else. If your club does anything video related, your new blog will also be able to replace your YouTube channel as you will be able to embed all of your videos onto the blog it-self. If your club records podcasts, your new blog will be a perfect place to distribute them via embedding. There are some things like Facebook groups that will always be valuable for contacting people. It’s important to note that your blog will not replace any of your social net-working groups but will work in conjunction with them. In the end what you’ll want is to be able to give out one link (instead of three or four) to people who ask where your club’s website can be found.

Driving traffic to your club’s blog. The possibilities here are endless and what it comes down to is the amount of work you’re willing to put into getting your blog’s ad-dress out to people. You should include your blog’s ad-dress on every flyer you hand out. You should mention your blog’s address to everyone that approaches your club’s table interested in joining. You should write your blog’s address on the board at every club meeting. Your blog should be easily accessible to anyone trying to find more information about your club.

Let’s track your blog’s visits. For people trying to sell ad space, tracking visitors is a lucrative business. For your club, it could just be a lot of fun. Your G-mail ac-count will give you access to something called Google Analytics (www.google.com/analytics) that, once set up properly, is very easy to embed on your blog. You’ll be tracking visitors in no time. Don’t worry about being too tech savvy, they’ve included help guides here as well.

Let’s generate some ad revenue. It’s not going to make you rich, but if you get to the point where you’re gener-ating enough ad revenue to host a small pizza party at the end of the semester for your club, you’ll feel pretty accomplished. To sign up for Google AdSense (also ac-cessible with your G-mail account), head over to www.google.com/adsense.

Some other services that might come in handy. These are just three, but keep in mind that if you look hard enough you can find almost any service you need provided for free somewhere on the internet. When you stumble across free services be creative and try to apply their use to your club before you throw them out.

Jumpcut If you have a video camera, get some great foot-age at a protest or event, but don’t have anywhere to edit it, check out www.jumpcut.com. Their services allow you to upload video to their site and edit it on the web, for free!

YouTube Yeah, you’ve probably watched videos on You-Tube, but if you’re looking for somewhere to host video for free, they’re one of the best. They’ll allow you to cre-ate a player for your channel, which you can populate with just your videos and then embed on your blog.

Mozes This is one of those great free services that they really should charge for. Mozes is a mobile media tool that allows you to set up and maintain mass text message groups. You sign up for the service, start a group, have potential members text a specific message to a provided number, and suddenly you are able to send customizable mass texts to these people online through the Mozes ser-vice. Just catch word of a protest? Need to send three to four hundred text messages out immediately to members of your group? Mozes.com has you covered. And they al-low you to embed a widget that will allow users to sign up directly from your blog.

As mentioned, this is not a comprehensive guide to suc-cess online. This is a starting point. The internet is a tool that won’t be disappearing anytime soon and it’s crucial that you learn sooner, rather than later, how to achieve what you want with it. There is no best way to do anything online; there are, however, ways better tai-lored to what you want to do. The most important piece of advice you could take with you when working with the internet or technology: do not fear it. Be confident that you can overcome any obstacle you come across, apply the knowledge and experience that you’ve gained through overcoming similar obstacles in the past, and work through it. I wish you the best of luck with your online endeavors and hope to see some of the things you can come up with!

Jonathan CraigSan Francisco State

Moxie I 12

So you’ve somehow stumbled across or heard about this great new tool called the internet. You have eliminated the need for television and print media and now follow all current events through blogs and online publications. You stalk family, friends, and complete strangers alike in the magical world of social networks like MySpace and Facebook. You’ve even managed to find another channel of procrastination via the endless hours of mind numbing and yet utterly entertaining videos available on YouTube. Now you have decided, rightfully so, that you’d like to harness just some of the power that this so-called internet has to offer and use it in a way that will publicize your College Republican club. Only, where do you begin? Worry naught. Though the follow-ing is neither a comprehensive nor a concrete guide, it is a great starting point for establishing your club’s web presence, and it’s free!

What’s all this “Web Presence” jazz anyway? Your web presence is essentially all of your club’s online assets. This can include (but of course, is not limited to) your website, blog, YouTube channel, and even your Facebook group.

If you do not have a club G-mail account, register im-mediately. You may never use this account for any e-mail correspondence, and that’s perfectly fine, but Google of-fers a wide range of invaluable services and this is step one in accessing them. You can register at mail.google.com. If you are going to use this as a means of contact, do your best to register something related to your club (ex. LancerGOP@gmail.com would be a decent choice if your school’s mascot was The Lancers). If you’re now the proud owner of a G-mail account you may be asking what’s next.

<Creating and Managing Your Web Presence>

Head over to Blogger.com. Blogger is one of Google’s many free services. For beginners it is some of the most user-friendly blogging software available. For advanced users it offers a lot of customization and is designed spe-cifically for the integration of Google’s other services (Analytics, AdSense, YouTube, etc.). If your club doesn’t have a website, this is your answer. If your club does have a website, you’ll still want to check this out. Registering is very simple with your G-mail account. Once registered, you can start a blog and go through a very easy step-by-step process until it’s up and running. There is no need to feel overwhelmed by any part of this process as Blogger has done a good job of providing explanations for pretty much any function you’re trying to change. A few things you’ll want to note along the way: the name of your blog, which can easily be the name of your College Republican club, the blog template, which is the actual appearance of your blog on the web, and the permissions, which is a list of users who can post content to your blog that can be modified once your blog is up and running. To gener-ate content (like club related news, opinion editorials, and outside articles and videos) you’ll want to encourage members of your club to write blog posts. To add them to the permissions section of your blog you’ll want to log in and click on the “settings” tab on the top, click on the “permissions” subcategory that follows, and then click on the button that says “Add Authors” and go through the process. Your new authors should now be able to log in and add posts just like you! Keep in mind…

Don’t be afraid to mess things up. You need to explore the Blogger software as much as you can before you start posting content. Familiarize yourself with the different settings you have control over. Don’t be afraid to change every setting on the blog if you want, chances are you’re not going to break anything if you change the settings back when you’re done. When your blog is configured to your liking, start posting!

Content is king. You’ll want to keep this in mind when you begin writing. It’s easy to get caught up in the ap-pearance of your blog but what your audience is really going to care about is the material you’re trying to pres-ent to them. For this reason, you’ll need to decide early on what kind of content you’re going to be posting on your blog. You may decide that you want your blog to be a place where outside links to all of your favorite blog posts and videos can be found, and that’s perfectly ac-ceptable. You may, on the other hand, decide that you want your blog to be a place where you can keep readers posted on the things your CR club is doing and where your members can post opinion editorial pieces. Heck, you may go crazy and decide your blog will have it all. If you’re having trouble here, try to consider who your target audience is (college students, college Republicans).

<<

I am excited to announce that this year’s California College Republican statewide convention will be co-host-ed by the Saint Mary’s and San Francisco State College Republicans. The convention will be held at the Hyatt Ho-tel near San Francisco’s historic Fisherman’s Warf from April 24-26th.

To many Republicans this convention site may seem like a surprising choice because of the radical liberal affiliations of San Francisco, but this is exactly why San Francisco was chosen. San Francisco is a microcosm of the College Republican experience and if conservative students can stand proud for their beliefs in the most liberal city in the United States, then they can stand against any liberal professor, any liberal politician, and any liberal cause. To prove that the “city of socialists” does not intimidate College Republicans, we will be having a rally on the streets of San Francisco to spread awareness about Isla-mo-Fascism. The weekend will be full of great speakers, from David Horowitz to Assembly Leader Mike Villines.

Please be sure to check out our website at convention.collegegop.org or email me with any questions at anton@collegegop.org. I am looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Michael Antonopoulos Administrative Vice Chair

CCR ConventionComing Soon!

Last month, the former Lt. Governor of Maryland, Michael Steele, was elected to head the Repub-lican National Committee. Steele certainly has his work cut out for him. The RNC has been outmatched in nearly every area over the past two years, but Steele is prepared to change that.

Michael Steele has had a plethora of experience, as a candidate for public office himself, as the Chairman of the Mary-land Republican Party, and as Chairman of his own PAC. He will use all of his ability and experience to see that the Republican Party is again successful on a national level.

In Steele’s first speech as RNC Chairman he struck a strong cord, making it clear that he will not cede any ground to the Democrats. Speaking to America, Steele said “we want you to be a part of us, we want you to be with us. And for those who wish to obstruct, get ready to get knocked over.”

Michael Steele will reemphasize core Republican Party principles. He will lead the party with discipline that will allow for inclusiveness without selling out principles. Steele will ensure that the Republican Party message is communicated well, through both new and tradition media. By doing these actions, the Republican Party will be reenergized and heading toward victory once again.

The road back to power for Republicans is not a short or easy one, but with the steady leadership of Michael Steele and the participation of organizations like CCR backing him up, the Republican Party will find itself on top once again.

The Road to PowerNew National Chairman Michael Steele

Ready to Lead Republicans on the Road Back to Power

17 I Moxie

Matthew DoblerCCR Executive Director

They Are Doing WHAT!How to keep your College Republican chapter energized, active, and keeping the left on their toes.

Matthew DonnellanCCR Treasurer

ies, have people purchase the treats and then patiently wait ten minutes to receive the brownies, regardless of a line, to symbolize the wait time for medical treatment in countries that have implemented socialistic healthcare programs. Completing your bake sale with one last sa-tirically delightful treats is a must, try National Security Cupcakes, regular chocolate or vanilla with frosting and a tiny white flag in the middle. Holding this event will show the liberals on campus just how ridiculous Barack Obama’s policies are, and you can bet they will not be to happy. Just be sure to put an “all sales final” line at the bottom of your sign!

For the clubs who are still slightly weary of openly mock-ing the left on campus try the more traditional route of on campus debates. Campus debates are an excellent way to spur intellectual discussion, encourage participation in different areas, make members feel connected, and show everyone on campus that College Republicans do not dis-appear after elections. A series of debates, held either four or five days in a single week or on the same day over a month, will help spur attendance and allow you to split the topics between days so there is enough time to cover everything. Having a spirited public debate with a leftist group on campus will give your club an instant boost of energy, just plan accordingly with the necessary groups involved. If you are anticipating problems focus less on your debating counterparts and more on the professors, students, and random leftists in the audience.

One key aspect of making and keeping a College Repub-lican chapter strong is creating deep connections and friendships between members. The closer the members of your club are the better the communication will be, the more people will be able to use each others strengths, and the more you will be able to accomplish. Holding a variety of social events is an essential part of allow-ing members to establish these connections to the club and one another. For those clubs that hold a relationship with a liberal club on campus try holding a joint party with friendly competition as the focus, use your imagi-nation when planning exactly what type of competition would be best for a party. For those clubs who adhere to strict busi-ness or philosophy at meetings, try going out as a group after to encourage personal connec-tions. Finally, do not forget to use events for multiple purpos-es; activism and rallies are an excellent opportunity to unite your club around a cause with clear liberal opposition.

There is a saying in politics, it is simple, direct, and straightforward, “there are good days and there are bad days, today was a bad day.” The reason there is not a parallel statement expressing joy on the “good days” is because you do not need any sayings on the good days, which is why they are the good days. The 2008 elec-tion cycle was one of the “bad days” for our Republican Party. We lost control of the Senate and nearly allowed the Democrats to obtain a super-majority, we continued to lose seats in the House of Representatives, and most visibly of all we lost the Presidency. In California we lost seats across the state, from City Councils to State Leg-islators. By the time this article is published President-Elect Barack Obama will be President Barack Obama, the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility will be crumbling and decaying, the American people will be giving money to carmakers and not getting any cars, and “your money” will be “our money.” There are good days and there are bad days.

Although these seem like the darkest of times they truly are not because we have something our liberal counter-parts do not, something that is more than just a word to us, something that has guided righteous men in the bleakest of times. We have hope, real hope, and we mani-fest that hope into action. You might be asking yourself, “how, how do we energize our clubs, how do we stand up to the cloud of liberalism that appears to have overtaken our nation, how do we make a difference now.” The an-swer? Don’t give in, don’t surrender, and take this time to do all those things you always hoped to do. Here are some ideas you can use or build on to keep your club energized, active, and visible.

Have a “Barack Obama Bake Sale,” a play on the College Republican classic “Affirmative Action Bake Sale,” com-pile a clever list of treats to sell on campus. Get the prop-er permissions, set up a table or two under a large picture of Barack Obama, and list your items by name, price, and description. You can sell things like “Tax Cut Cookies,” which are simply three or four chocolate-chip cookies that are occasionally randomly taken and redistributed to someone who had not purchased any cookies. Add “Universal Healthcare Brownies” to the menu and things start to get interesting. Just sell chocolate fudge brown-

Moxie I 16

College Republican views. Students on campus are fed up with left-wing propaganda everyday in class, whether they know it or not. That is why it is important we make ourselves heard on campus. We must educate the students about the greatness of center right politics, the same poli-tics which universities have tried to destroy. We must be pioneers. And the California College Republican’s are here for you.

One of the first steps would be to contact your Regional Vice Chair, they have all worked with the College left and they can help you come up ideas on working with your counterparts. Also other CR club Chairs in the state can be of help seeing as they go through the same predica-ments as you, but on a different campus. The following are 5 key elements of which I have adapted in working with the college left:

Key Element 1 Get in good terms with the members of these leftist clubs. Upon being appointed to CSUSM Chairman, my first step was to inform the College Demo-crat president that I am the new Chairman and that I look forward to working with him next year. He greatly appreciated the gesture and to this day we remain good standing friends. No matter what your opinion is on the student organization or of the organizations leadership, you must make an attempt to create a good standing rela-tionship. Without the relationship you will ultimately end up closing doors on your club.

Key Element 2 A relationship with a member (ideally the president) of a liberal club will ultimately lead to many political debates. This is good; you can precisely understand where your two clubs differ. Now stop and think. Are both sides presenting good, intriguing, and powerful arguments? If so, you have just found your next campus wide event, a political debate. You should talk to your counterpart about hosting a joint event on cam-pus. Yes, it must have both your organizations in it. That obviously splits the cost of hosting the event, but a co-sponsored event will ultimately attract the most people.

Key Element 3 Your organization must be respectful to their positions. Remember you are not only representing your club on campus, but you are also representing the California College Republicans.

Key Element 4 Independent students will judge the event differently then you may think. The manner, in which the event is carried out in, is what a majority of the students will remember. The feeling that they get during the event is important, not whether or not you stated the statistic

19 I Moxie

Chasen BullockCSU San Marcos

that would have caught the College Democrats off guard. This element can include everything from the set-up of the event, to what food you decide to provide, to what materials you decide to give out. These things are remem-bered, not what you said when you were proposed with the second question of the debate.

Key Element 5 You must be organized. Being organized even if the club you are working with is not is crucial. It illustrates that the College Republicans are a serious and legitimate organization that is not in the business of wasting others time (this includes working with students, student organizations, outside organizations, and elected officials). And upon deciding to work with another or-ganization, you owe it to them to not cause problems; after all, you both have the same goal which is educating students on political matters.

I try to follow these five elements when working with college liberals. Working with these organizations is not easy, a lot of the time they will not be as open to work-ing with the College Republicans as you may have hoped. You can only try to get them to get on board for so long, before you have to abandon the idea of working with the organization. If the organization decides not to engage in the event with your club, it will be discouraging, but you must continue on with the event (if it has been al-ready made official and the promoting process is already underway).

You might have noticed that this formula can and should be applied when working with any organization. That is true, left-wing student organizations are in the same business that we are. They share the same higher purpose that we do, which is to educate the students on campus and to bring them on their side of the issue.

The beauty of working with college liberals is that you expose their organizations to the students, revealing the profound lack of thought in which the left has and continues to put in their beliefs.

“Use these left of center clubs to promote the California College Republican views.”

As College Republicans, it is our duty to edu-cate the students on our college campuses about politics. Lets face it, a majority of the students on cam-pus look at politics like it is a rotting, repulsive, gro-tesque, dying corpse. But they shouldn’t! So what can we do as College Republicans? Show the students that engaging in political debates and rallies is fun and not a lame waste of time. But before you put on your “Lu-vya Dubya” or “Don’t be a dumb a$$ - Join the College Republicans” t-shirts, remember that not every student on your campus shares the same ideologies that you do. But imagine if they did. You think that we would be liv-ing in a better America without the Left? Well, we could possible do without some of their hysteria, their hypoc-risy, moral relativism, the ACLU, okay okay. One could possibly make the argument that we would be better off

without them, but they can also pose the same question on us. We need to question our ideas, philosophical posi-tions, and stances just as much as we promote them. And what better way to question our Republican values then with the college liberals.

Look around my fellow College Republicans, the college left is everywhere. Cal State San Marcos is lucky enough to be graced with the presence of the LGBTA, the Black Student Union, the Women’s Club and the College Demo-crats to name a few. Look at these organizations not as setbacks, but as a way to advance your club on campus. Use these left of center clubs to promote the California

Five Key Elements that Must be Considered upon Working with the College Left

Moxie I 18

“Students on campus are fed up with left-wing propaganda everyday in class.”

The largest resounding ideological difference between the Liberal and the Conservative in America is the emphasis that they place upon two ideas: freedom and equality. It is believed that freedom and equality go hand in hand when in actuality, these two values often clash whenever policies are enacted to promote egalitarianism. This raises the question: to what extent is it acceptable for the government to promote equality at the expense of freedom?

I’m not saying that equality is a bad thing. Discrimina-tion against someone based on race, ethnicity, or gen-der is not acceptable by any means since man is created equal. However this doesn’t mean that because everyone is created equal, we are all entitled to the same things. That’s socialism. When our founding fathers established our political system, they envisioned a country and a government that protected economic and political free-dom as well as the freedom of speech. They believed that everyone should have equal access to these freedoms and that the scope of government should be limited in order to increase individual and private action. In the constitution, we are given what are called “negative rights,” meaning that the government does not have to literally provide us with these rights, but simply that the rights cannot be taken away from us. Nowhere does it imply that government is responsible for the equality of outcomes among people of different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds.

As Conservatives, we emphasize equality of rights, but understand inequalities are the result of differential capacity and merit. Liberals on the other hand promote equality of outcomes. Unfortunately, this current trend of Liberalism has forged into society the misconception

The Audacity of Equality at the Expense of

Freedom

that because we are all created equal, we are all thereby entitled to the same positive outcomes and that it is the duty of the government to provide us with them, even at the expense of others’ individual freedoms. Liberals believe that the role of government is to coerce equal-ity upon us through policies such as the redistribution of wealth, nationalization of healthcare, and affirma-tive action. As citizens, it is reasonable to be expected to contribute monetarily to the government so that nec-essary services such as national security, law enforce-ment, and infrastructure are provided. However, when the government calls for greater taxation of the wealthy to promote equality through social programs or direct-ing employers in their hiring methods, they are overstep-ping their constitutional liberties and undermining our personal freedoms.

Any sensible person would ask, “if the Liberal goal is to strive for equality, shouldn’t we all be taxed equally or don’t policies of affirmative action do just the opposite by promoting discrimination based on race or gender?” The Liberal would disagree. They expect the rich to pay for the poor until they become poor themselves, or for minorities to be the only ones getting jobs until they in turn become the majority in the workplace. By forc-ing these scenarios to take place the Liberal believes that equality would be achieved. This viewpoint is unaccept-able and a clear infringement of our freedoms. Instead of allowing Liberals to use government in order to achieve equality, we should be promoting our conservative values of accountability and personal responsibility to encour-age and motivate people into achieving social and eco-nomic mobility. We need to hold true to the ideal of free-dom that makes this country so great and unique. Only the Conservative can do this because as Dinesh D’Souza puts it best, “being a conservative in America means con-serving the principles of the American Revolution”- and that means freedom.

21 I Moxie

Megan RodriguezSouthern Vice Chair

“To what extent is it acceptable for the government to promote equality at

the expense of freedom?”

“Nowhere does the Constitution imply that government is responsible for the equality of outcomes among people.”

With spring just around the corner, CR chapters from across the state will soon be gearing up for the annual California College Republicans Convention, this year in San Francisco. This yearly celebration is always fun and provides lasting memories for any CR who at-tends. Yet, the festivities would not be all that they are if it weren’t for the involvement and influence of every chapter in the organization.

Part of the preparation for convention is chartering. It is important for club leaders to properly charter their clubs for convention so that each school has its full ability to take part in statewide elections and reap all of the benefits and opportunities available to clubs during the next year.

Chartering your Club for Convention 2009

Moxie I 20

Matthew DoblerCCR Executive Director

Each club in CCR needs to have the following available:• A membership list, including the names, phone numbers, and e-mails of each member• An officer list, showing the names, positions, phone numbers, emails, and mailing addresses of each club’s officers• A letter from your school, recognizing your club• A copy of your club’s constitution

E-chartering information should be submited electroni-cally by e-mail to my address dobler@collegegop.org by March 20, 2009.

E-chartering submissions should included membership and officer lists in MS excel format, templates are avail-able on the CCR website (collegegop.org). The letter of recognition should be sent in either JPEG or PDF format. When chartering is done electronically, CCR conducts a random sampling of members to verify that listed mem-bers are current and real.

Clubs can also charter up until the day of the general session at the convention using paper chartering. Paper chartering abides by all of the traditional CCR charter-ing regulations; clubs must present a complete list of their officers, a letter of recognition from their school, and a minimum of 20 valid membership forms. A valid membership form must have the following information: name of the member, phone number, and e-mail address. It must also be dated after the close of the previous CCR convention. Chartering submitted after the electronic deadline will become active immediately following the general session of the 2009 convention.

Chartering your club is a simple, yet important process – do it early and properly so that the fun isn’t interrupted at convention. Please contact me if you have any ques-tions about the process. See you in San Francisco!

did not storm back in ‘94 by trying to win a congeniality contest. As Harry Truman so rightfully said, “If you want a friend in Washington, buy a dog.” Independent voters appreciate the strength of holding to one’s principals.

I am, in fact, convinced that California is winnable for Republicans. Controversy aside, the fact that Proposition 8 passed in the blue state of California is very telling. How we feel individually about prop 8 is irrelevant, but what is significant is that the most conservative mea-sure on the ballot passed in a state that is supposedly moving more to the left of center. California could be delivered back to the GOP through articulation. We have not had much of that for the past 8 years as Republicans, and to be honest, after the Wall Street Crisis, John Mc-Cain struggled to find a consistent message for himself

and seemed lost at the end of his campaign. Fortunately, Democrats are out of touch with the average voter and have gone so far left they would be defeated if light could only be shone upon it. I maintain in a battle of ideas that conservatism will always trump modern liberalism. What we, as the future of this party, must do is ensure we put forth a coherent message of a renewed conservative vision.

Our next mission is to stop being defensive about our own beliefs. We must no longer accept the premise of their ar-guments, but assert our own and challenge theirs. This is something that the late great Tony Snow did so well as press secretary. He would not only answer a question, but also chip away at the inherent bias and misinformation in it. The old guard of the party has let us down so badly in this regard. They allowed the party to be battered around on nearly every issue for quite some time.

We have John McCain and Arnold Schwarzenegger talk-ing about Global Warming when we should be question-ing the science behind it. Do not allow them to trot out Al Gore and his convenient fabrications. Why is it that most of the scientists championing Global Warming do not even have a background in meteorology? The fact of the matter is that the jury is still very much out on whether Global Warming is even a legitimate phenomenon. Why has our party allowed being wealthy to be synonymous with being a crook, and that success should be punished? Why is no prominent Republican explaining that the top five percent of the wealthy pay over half the income tax in this country? Let me illustrate that in another fashion: 5% paying >50%. Something is amiss.

Our party has become so weak that we have allowed our-selves to be raked over the coals as the ones responsible

for the current financial crisis. This idea is absolutely absurd. Republicans from top to bottom should have been screaming at the top of their lungs that the Democratic congress passed laws and blocked the reforms on several occasions that would have helped avert this economic downturn. Barney Frank (ranking Democrat on the Fi-nancial Services Committee) should be running for cov-er whenever he shows his face after spouting this gem: “These two entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not facing any kind of financial crisis.” Politicians used to be tarred and feathered in the old days, I can think of no better candidate for this practice to be brought back for. As College Republicans we can show the backbone this party has lacked, go on the offense and hang blame where it belongs.

In order for us to truly rebuild we must be united. It is disconcerting for me to hear the rumors that Mitt Rom-ney’s handlers and Sarah Palin supporters are beginning a feud for party leadership. I hope this is not the case, but my sensibilities tell me otherwise. We will fail if we allow infighting to continue; it will tear us apart. This is something that CCR and all College Republicans should take to heart. Too often people our age can get caught up in titles and who is getting credit. It is my sincere plea that we all promise ourselves to not let that happen. A title is meaningless compared to the work you put in. Fo-cus on the cause that you are a part of, and making sure that we come together and accomplish what needs to be

done. We are a part of a movement above all else, and are the best hope to help this state and help this nation. Take what good we can from our defeat in November, and now let’s go brick by brick and start working. This is a call to arms for College Republicans, do not shrink from it! Rise to this occasion and we will make history of our own in 2010, 2012, and beyond!

23 I Moxie

James KincaidSan Francisco State

“We are a part of a movement above all else, and are the best hope to help this

state and help this nation.”

“Stop being defensive about our own beliefs, but assert our own and challenge theirs.”

Republicans, this is your wake up call. The dust has settled on what was that ill-fated election night, and since then a common alarm bell has been sound from various sources, we as a party must regroup. On election night we reaped in defeat what we had sowed for far too long. We have lost ourselves. This is not a Ron Paul-type lecture about how we have lost our way, although he is right in a sense. Republicans have forgotten the adage that you dance with the one that brought you. What brought us to the dance was true conservatism. We presented ourselves as the party of fiscal responsibility and, in this, we have failed miserably. Our own president cut taxes yes but rarely vetoed a spend-ing bill. The majority of Republicans went along part and parcel with the 700 billion dollar bailout and now the auto bail out. Praise for those who fought against it, but as a whole we did not fight hard enough. Yes, we took a rightful uppercut on the chin this election season and we are now at a crossroads. Do we stay on the mat, or do we get up and counter punch? It may not seem like it to many of us at this moment, while still stinging, but this is a great time to be young and Republican.

It has been said that this is the Republican Party’s time in the wilderness and I say we as College Republicans start a forest fire. It is time for us to burn out the deadwood. Too long we have allowed insufferable moderates, “diet Demo-crats,” to run within our own party. Our candidates nationwide tried to out Democrat the Democrats. We all saw what gains that amounted to in Congress. Moderates struggle to please both sides, but succeed only in upsetting both. We must demand strong leadership and real conservative candidates. Reagan did not win the presidency, and Congress

(WAKE UP CALL!)

Moxie I 22

politics as television, movies, and sports. When you find your angle, you can cover any topic through that lens and keep it fresh and interesting.

Make your Titles Interesting

A blog title serves as the hook. The title is the first thing a prospective reader will see in a Google search, or on Twitter, and you want that title to draw the reader to your site. Try phrasing titles as questions, and make sure your title summarizes the thesis of your post. Instead of something like "Il. Gov. Arrested," try something like " Blagojevich Gets Nabbed: One More Dirty Lib Caught in ObamaLand."

Know your Audience

While you can never control who reads your site, you can gear your site to the perspective audience that you want to reach. Once you decide what your blog will cover, gear your posts, and the rest of the site, to the audience you are looking for. For example, on a social issues blog, you can make a books section with books on social issues. Include ads and images that relate to your chosen topic and include links to other blogs and websites that your perspective audience will find interesting and helpful.

Write from your Own Perspective

Readers will return to your blog when they like what YOU have to offer. It is common practice on most blogs to post articles from newspapers and other media sources, and including outside information is part of doing your research, but make sure to include your own perspective when sharing an article or video. Quotes and links from outside sources enhance your posts, your own opinion is what makes them; this is what makes your blog different from the thousands of others floating in the blogosphere.

Speed is Key

In the 24/7 news world, new stories and new angles ap-pear every minute. To keep readers attracted to your site, you have to work as fast as you can to stay relevant. Since you will be busy with work or school, and other activities, asking friends or co-workers to contribute to your blog can be very helpful for keeping up to speed. Idle-time on a blog will mean decreased readership, the more you can post the better.

Stay Up-to-Date

The blogosphere is a crowded place, if you don't keep your blog updated your readers will go somewhere else. To keep things up-to-date read newspapers and other blogs, listen to people that you think have an inside

Moxie I 24

We joined the blogosphere during the 2008 campaign as bloggers for CaliforniaStudentsforMcCain.com. It was such an exciting and interesting experience, that we decided to launch our own blog, DanaReport.com, in October 2008. During the last month of the election we blogged about the McCain campaign on one site, while writing about more general news and world-events from a conservative perspective on The Dana Report. Since then, our site has received thousands of views from all over the world, we've added fellow CRs as contributors, and are bringing conservative news, politics, and commentary from a young conservative perspective to the web. We've learned about how to attract readers, which news stories will make waves in the press, and how to break through the clutter on the web. As College Republicans, most of us have never experienced life in the political "wilderness." For the next four years we'll have to break through the barriers of the liberal media and get our message out to millions of Americans who may never have considered voting for Republicans. The internet has emerged as one of the most effective ways of doing this. We want to share some of the lessons we've learned, and give you some tips on how to break through the clutter, get your voice heard, influence people you know, and reach out to millions of Americans through the web.

Define Yourself and your Blog

It’s great to write a little bit about everything, but focusing your blog to a specific topic or issue creates a specialized readership that will keep coming back for more. It’s about finding a niche that you can write about intelligently on a consistent basis. Conservatism is not just about politics and religion, it’s a way of life. Find a subject you like and write about it from your perspec-tive. At the Dana Report, we've covered topics as far from

Tips and Tricks for Conservative Blogging, From The Dana Report

25 I Moxie

Alan and Ari DanaUSC

scoop and blog about what you read and hear. Your posts don't all have to be about politics or news, write about things that interest you. The more you update your blog, the more traffic you'll get. It's as simple as that. Readers want to be where the action is, make sure your blog is it.

Use Tags and Pingbacks to Increase your Traffic

"Tags" and "Pingbacks" are blogging terms that you'll learn about more as you start writing. A tag is can be a word or phrase that is attached to a blog post, and al-lows search engines like Google and Yahoo to find you on the web. Let's say you enter "Obama, Rezko, Chica-go, Blogojevich, Corruption" as tags on a post, anyone who enters those terms in any order on a search engine will be directed to your post. "Pingbacks," also known as "Trackbacks," are the blogging version of thank you notes. When you link to information on another website, a pingback lets that site's administrator know that you've linked to them, and lets them see a preview of what you wrote. The administrators or authors of sites that you've linked to can check out your site and link back to you. Blogging often becomes a reciprocal relationship where you share information with others, and they share back with you.

Incorporate Social Media

Social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, are on the cutting edge of internet communication. These sites al-low for instant communication of thoughts, ideas and links to interesting information. If you write something you think your friends might be interested in, post a link on Facebook, you'll get comments in return and start conversations with people that have similar interests to yours.Twitter, a site that lets users send "tweets," 140 character "status updates," to other users, is at the fore-front of the social media revolution. During the 2008 campaign Barack Obama had hundreds of thousands of Americans following his updates daily; John McCain's Twitter presence was almost non-existent. Since then conservatives and Republicans have jumped in and are doing great things. TopConservativesonTwitter.org (TCOT) now has thousands of members including, all of the RNC Chairman candidates, elected officials and important party and movement activists. The Dana Report updates automatically to Twitter by sending all of our new posts as "tweets" with a link to the blog. Twitter alone brings us thousands of readers and lets us build relationships with them, learning what they like and dislike about our blog, and keeping the conversation going. Use these tools to your advantage; at least, they provide free advertizing and an instant connection to millions of prospective readers.

“Swarming” a Story Increases Interest, Keeps Traffic Up

"Swarming" is another blogging term, It's a strategy where you bring information from all over the internet, and connecting it all back to one story. Often, the main-stream media will let important news or events slip by without a mention. A great thing about the blogosphere is that you can bring that story to life. Find a topic or event that you think isn't being covered enough and research it. Who knows, you might be the next Matt Drudge, he got famous when he broke the Monica Lewinsky story, now his blog, drudgereport.com, is one of the most viewed sites on the internet!

Have Fun with it!

If you're having fun your readers will know it. Keep your blog up-to-date, witty and interesting. Communication on the web is exciting, you never know who will be read-ing your site next.

Though we hear the cliché that College Republicans are the "future of the party" constantly, it is the truth. Those who choose to be involved in Republican politics through CR's are making a statement: we will not be brainwashed by the liberal academic establishment. We believe in the Constitution, we love freedom, and we know that our God-given rights must be defended if America is to be the beacon of light and liberty that it has been for the past 233 years. The internet and the blogosphere in particular, have become the new frontier for instant worldwide communication. Mastering new technology can help the youth of the Conservative movement and the future of the Republican Party to stay connected, stay relevant, and remain at the forefront of American politics and society.

Gen Next is a 501(c)(4) organization, comprised of executives and entre-preneurs committed to making a difference by empowering individu-als and causes to provide long-term solutions that will better our indi-vidual and collective futures. Our membership and forward thinking and innovative approach provide a platform for advocates who repre-sent the center-right voice of the Next Generation.

Membership is by invitation only and

requires a $10,000 annual contribution.