As point man and chief organizer for the Chicago Tea Party, I must admit, I didn’t really know what to expect when I woke up this morning. I knew we had about 300 RSVPs on Facebook, but there really was no way to get an accurate reading of what to expect as far as turnout.

Today is a cold one here in Chicago. I think it was probably 15 degrees when I first arrived at Daley Plaza at 10:20 AM. It was starting to snow and the wind was picking up. When I arrived there was a group of people who had driven up to Chicago from Indianapolis who had a sign or two, but the scene was quiet and still.

About 5 minutes after I arrived, I was approached by Fox News Chicago and the TV crew set up to interview me about what was to come. I stated my clear frustration and outright anger over recent legislation that is shifting our country further down the road to Socialism, and made it clear that many Americans feel the same way.

A few minutes later Daley Plaza began to fill up. People were flooding in from all directions, and it quickly became clear that this wasn’t going to be a small gathering; Rather, this was going to be a large and passionate protest of out of control Government.

I made the rounds with the Chicago Police Department… greeting each of them and letting them know our plans. I spoke to the lieutenant who had been called in to put together a strategy for dealing with the crowd, and was told, much to my delight, that the Chicago Police Department would escort us as we marched through downtown Chicago to the Michigan Ave Bridge where the speeches were to take place.

By 10:50 there were easily more than 300 in the plaza, and by 11:10 I would dare say we were 400+ strong.

At 11:15 I informed the Police Officer assigned to take the lead with us that we were ready to march, and we began our journey through the loop towards the Michigan Ave bridge.

The walk was long and cold, but the energy was high and encouraging. The crowd chanted “No More Bailouts” as we crossed busy streets and intersections, and we were met with supportive honks at every turn.

When we reached the Michigan Ave Bridge, a tea bag was broken open and dumped into the river to signify the birth of a new American Revolution.

We then gathered in the plaza in front of the Tribune Tower, where Dan Proft and others made passionate arguments that were well received and rallied the crowd.

At the end, I was approached by hundreds of activists and every day citizens who literally BEGGED that we do more of this, and a lot more often. And not just rallies, but collaborative action needed to get government back under control.

It was made clear throughout the day that Americans believe, regardless of party, that our government is no longer representing the wishes of the taxpayers.

“Without representation, why is there taxation?” said a women who had NEVER been politically active before today. Her question was extremely valid and reflected the queries being presented by the rest of the protests being made.

The general sentiment of the crowd is that this is the beginning if a new revolution. A revolution that MUST lead to a new government, or at least, one that will again be “we the people”, not “we the government”.

With that said… the Chicago Tea Party was wildly successful and we here at the DontGo Movement are going to be hard at work making more of this possible.

A huge thank you is in order to Top Conservatives on Twitter, Smart Girl Politics, Michelle Malkin and the many other groups and individuals who helped make all of this possible.

And specifically, here in Chicago… many thanks are due to Julie Johnson of the DontGo Movement for her involvement in making sure this all went off smoothly.

Now let’s roll up our sleeves. We have a lot of work to do and we have to do it quickly.

It’s time…

-Eric Odom

After some individual contact, the following DontGo Movement Board members were reached to personally endorse Jim Tedisco in New York’s 20th Congressional District.

• Eric Odom, Chair
• Ali. A. Akbar
• Sherri Reese
• Elizabeth Blackney
• Richard Disney

This is exactly what DontGo needs.

- Sherri Reese

Tedisco currently serves the New York state Senate as the Minority Leader. He is a leader on fiscal policy and believes that he could best serve the District in Washington. The District’s seat was vacated by now Senator Gillibrand (D-NY), after her appointment to the U.S. Senate by Governor Paterson. Unfortunately, Governor Paterson has chosen to postpone the calling of a speical election to favor Democratic turnout.

It’s time to see leaders in the free-market, fiscally responsible movement be elected to represent America in Washington. I believe Tedisco serves New York well, and he has proven his ability to lead with accountability and a responsible attitude. We need Tedisco in Washington, and I personally commit to helping get him elected to Congress.

- Eric Odom

We need no reminder to know that there can be no taxiation without representation.

DontGo Movement leaders’ endorsement does not qualify as an official endorsement. All of DontGo Movement does stand with the people of the 20th District in their quest to seek representation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 20, 2009

CONTACT: Juliana Johnson
(312) 575-9500 (office)
(847) 691-9278 (cell)
julianatjohnson@gmail.com

On Monday, January 20th the Arizona News Platoon will be joining four other state Platoon sites. The website, www.Arizona.NewsPlatoon.com, will work to promote local government transparency and accountability, provide a news platform for local activism networks, and aggregate the top news stories happening across the state.

In wishing the News Platoon the best of luck with the launch, Senator Sylvia Allen (AZ-5) stated, “As you know the supporters of the liberal movement poured billions of dollars into this last election and so the conservative message had a hard time getting to the voter. Also the internet played a very important role in the victory of President Elect Obama. We as conservatives must get up to speed in this communication and battle for the heart and soul of America. Arizona proved that when the voters could hear the conservative message, they voted for that candidate. Blogs are an important part of getting the message out.”

Senator Ron Gould (AZ- 3) also supports #dontgo and stated, “Blogs play a very important part in getting the conservative message out to the people. I have used blogs myself to end run the controlled media and shine the light of truth on insider plans to increase taxes.”

The News Platoons are a product of the #dontgo Movement (www.dontgomovement.com) which uses web-based strategies and tactics to advance free-market values. Its mission is to develop a fifty state strategy of blogs and internet social networks that would activate more free market conservatives in their communities leading into the 2010 elections.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 20, 2009

CONTACT: Juliana Johnson
(312) 575-9500 (office)
(847) 691-9278 (cell)
julianatjohnson@gmail.com

On Monday, January 20th the Virginia News Platoon will be joining four other state Platoon sites. The website, www.Virginia.NewsPlatoon.com, will work to promote local government transparency and accountability, provide a news platform for local activism networks, and aggregate the top news stories happening across the state.

State Representative Manoli Loupassi (VA-68) says, “I am excited to see the launch of the Virginia News Platoon. Conservatives need to find creative and innovative ways to spread our message. This is a great tool to outreach to the internet generation and share our policy ideas for positive change. I applaud them for their efforts to expand the parameters of debate by promoting conservative, market-oriented solutions to the serious problems we face in Virginia and across our nation.”

The News Platoons are a product of the #dontgo Movement (www.dontgomovement.com) which uses web-based strategies and tactics to advance free-market values. Its mission is to develop a fifty state strategy of blogs and internet social networks that would activate more free market conservatives in their communities leading into the 2010 elections.

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Facebook, Twitter, Ning, Bebo, MySpace… all a great place for social networking. But, when we create free-market minded networks using these tools, our networks exist within other networks. Which, of course, has significant value, but can also allow for a lot of noise with regards to unrelated conversation and activity.

Thanks to RootsHQ, that’s all about to change. And the #dontgo Movement is ready to hitch a ride on what may be one of the most important shifts in the online realm of the center-right movement that we’ve seen to date.

RootsHQ, a new social network developed by Flat Creek Strategies, is built on a foundation of action, not just words. RootsHQ has all of the features we as social media junkies want and need, such as discussion walls, groups, twitter streams, blogs, friend networks, RSS feeds and other applications. But RootsHQ doesn’t just stop there.

Indeed, RootsHQ moves into a whole new world where action happens as a part of the entire system, not just an application or “sub network”. You see, once logged in to RootsHQ, you’re met with action items such as petitions and candidate advocacy. The crowds of RootsHQ also hold the ratings of sitting officials, as well as candidates for offices, in their own hands. The ratings are crowd powered, meaning the community, through voting, decides who is approved and who gets the thumbs down.

The same mechanism can be utilized to rate organizations and other groups within the movement. It’s one thing to have a cause on Facebook, but it’s another to have a cause where the community determines its value, relevance, trust worthiness, and over all value.

In summary, RootsHQ cuts through a lot of the noise found on mainstream social networks. RootsHQ is a social network that gets right to the point… and helps us as free-market activists get right to the… you know… ACTION.

For this reason, the #dontgo Movement will be embracing RootsHQ as our new social network. You can find the new #dontgo Movement Group on RootsHQ here. Please make sure you join RootsHQ, and after doing so get plugged in with the new #dontgo Movement on RootsHQ.

In recent months, Barack Obama has adopted the term “shovel-ready” to describe easily implementable programs he intends to use to stimulate the Economy. Some even sound pretty good! He’s talking about “Tax Cuts”, for example. Insofar as they really are “Tax Cuts” and not more “lipstick on a pig” mischaracterizations of dangerous Economic Policy I’ll be happy to see them enacted.

The question, of course, is how do we know what the truth is? How can we tell if Obama is cutting taxes or merely cutting deeper into American’s paychecks? Are bail-out plans emptying water from the lifeboat or just banging on the boat’s bottom, widening the hole and scuttling her faster? The MSM, of course, is keeping Americans informed with cracker-jack economic reporting, detailed accounts of what’s been tried and what worked, voting records and running down the final destinations in the always popular “Follow the Money” game.

In spite of this, some still believe MSM coverage is more “Cracker Jacks” than cracker-jack; sounds like Economics more than it actually is Economics, and; cares only for a final stop for money consisting of their wallet! So, for you diehard Economic skeptics, the #Don’t Go Movement is excited to announce the reactiviation of one site and the launch of another, both guaranteed to shine lights into corners Government and the MSM would rather remain dark!

Speaking of lipstick on pigs, The Oink Report is back and better than ever. The Obama administration is taking up the Bush Administration’s handing out of billions of tax dollars. Americans need a trusted source to knock out bail-outs, hand-outs and stand-out examples of financial irresponsibility. The Oink Report does just that! Now, Government can’t tell you this-or-that spending is necessary or good for America, knowing no one will check. TOR highlights the worst excesses of wasteful Government spending so you can put your time to more profitable pursuits, like asking elected representatives what the heck they’re doing! Neil Boortz regularly referenced TOR and we look forward to his enthusiastic use of TOR while pointing out dirty government financial dealings. Of course, we know bloggers, talk-show hosts and (when they can’t ignore it any longer) the Press will also use the information TOR puts out.

How does one turn over the dirt exposing Government fraud, waste and abuse? With a shovel, of course. We’ll need a big one as the Federal Government proposed spending over $3 trillion dollars in fiscal 2009. Not to worry, our 2nd site, Grab A Shovel, is plenty big for the job! Dedicated to the proposition that many holes Government digs for “Shovel-Ready” programs need to be backfilled ASAP, Grab a Shovel will start filling as soon as Government construction crews are notified “break time” is over. GAS will identify wasteful Government stimulus programs. When they break ground, we’ll let taxpayers know so they can “grab a shovel” and bury bad “shovel-ready” spending by writing, calling and doing what responsible citizens do - serve as informed watchdogs and gadflies to Government.
Alternatively, they can shovel out what The Oink Report piggies produce. But that’s a mental picture for another email.

Visit The Oink Report and Grab A Shovel to discover what Government is doing with your money. Bookmark them and visit often. Tell your family and friends - after all, it’s their money, too! Most important, use the information you find to remind politicians pouring money into Government troughs and digging financial holes so deep we’ll never get out that you demand better and more fiscally responsible representation. Tell them the “without representation” in “No taxation without representation!” means “bad” representation as well as “no” representation. Tell them you’re not opposed to a little revolution now and then.

Written by Blue Collar Muse

It’s Monday morning, Christmas has come and gone, New Years Day is just around the corner, and December is coming to a close. I can’t imagine a better time to announce the launch of a fantastic addition to the #dontgo Movement social media network of tools.

A little over a month ago I noticed that Joe Carter was looking to work with someone or a group to enhance and take the #diggcons project to a new level. Joe had originally offered the project to #TCOT, but according to him his offer was never answered for one reason or another.

I contacted Joe letting him know that the #dontgo Movement was quietly working on a social news network and we would gladly move the project under the #diggcons label. Joe was quick to get the ball rolling, and now the #diggcons Twitter account is officially an account of the #dontgo Movement.

The #diggcons Project
The ultimate goal of #diggcons is to network eActivists in a way that encourages social bookmarking within the center-right movement online. We badly need a network of individuals who can share news and bookmarks, and work together to promote these URL’s in social bookmarking sites.

Our focus in the beginning will be Digg, StumbleUpon and R-igg.

How do I get involved?
To join in on the fun, you need to become active in the social bookmarking network you see here. In order for this to work, everyone “taking” from the community must also “give”.

How do I give? It’s simple. When you see a link in the #diggcon Tweet stream, click on it and Digg it, Stumble it, R-igg, it, etc. That is… if you find it interesting of course.

When you have a link that you think others will find interesting, tweet it and include the #diggcons hashtag. We’ll all go and vote for your link if we like it.

It’s a win-win for everyone!

So what are you waiting for? Go check out the new DiggCons website.

-Eric Odom

On Monday, December 8th, The #dontgo Movement (www.dontgomovement.com) unveiled the Tennessee News Platoon.

The website, Tennessee News Platoon (www.tennessee.newsplatoon.com), will work to promote local government transparency and accountability, provide a news platform for local activism networks, and aggregate the top news stories happening across the state.

State Representative Stacey Campfield (TN-18) states, “I look forward to #dontgo getting together; we’ll be able to finally get out our clear concise message that will push for open government and good conservative values. Now more than ever we need people out there rallying conservatives to get more involved and to spread our message. I strongly feel that #dontgo will be able to help in making this happen.”

#dontgo originally began as a simple Twitter tag that the founders used to track the energy debate by the US Congress on August 1st. Hundreds of activists, including members of Congress, began using the tag not just to track the energy bill, but to energize supporters and champion fiscal conservative values. Soon thereafter the site http://www.dontgomovement.com/ was created and to date has over 30,000 opt-in email subscribers.

The #dontgo Revolution uses web-based strategies and tactics to advance free-market values. Its mission is to develop a fifty state strategy of blogs and internet social networks that would activate more free market conservatives in their communities leading into the 2010 elections.

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Tonight’s show is big… real big!

During the first hour (7:00 PM Eastern) we’ll have our normal show with Tricia Cunningham and I hosting, but we’ll be joined by social media loving candidate for United States Senate, Chuck DeVore.

For those who don’t know, Chuck DeVore is running against Barbera Boxer in 2010. Chuck is a candidate of interest to the #dontgo Movement because A) His campaign is quickly becoming fully immersed in new media/social media, and B) He is a strong supporter of free-markets and offshore drilling.

During the second hour (8:00 PM Eastern) we’ll be hosting a few Tennesseans with our official launch of the new #dontgo Movement’s Tennessee project. This is a HUGE announcement and you don’t want to miss it!

Please retweet this announcement and invite everyone you know to join us during the show tonight. Callers and chatters are welcome, and we hope to talk to all of you during the show.

Click here for the Blog Talk Radio show page.

Call in at (646) 595-2816

-Eric Odom