Posted by ecanup1 on 08/05/09

My friends of liberty, allow me to share a few thoughts with you.  My name is Eric Canup (kuh-NUP), and I have recently relocated to the Wilmington area from Charlotte.  I was a County Coordinator in Mecklenburg prior to moving, and seeing the need here in New Hanover, I was glad to step in.  I am looking forward to continuing the fight to restore our Republic from right here on the Cape Fear coast.

As I watch the news, read blogs, and converse with people I encounter in my daily life, I am often struck with two distinctly different thoughts.  On one hand, I am extremely proud and encouraged to be associated with so many people who are passionate about returning our country to its once and former glory.  However, I am also frustrated by the accelerated pace at which our Republic is disappearing, and at the majority of people who still don't know or don't care that this is happening right in front of our eyes.  As energetic as we are, and as well-versed as we are on the talking points of true liberty, we are still but a a small, albeit vocal, minority.

I do not bring this to your attention to dissuade you from our cause.  On the contrary, while our liberties are constantly under attack, our army is growing every day.  The more they steal from us, the more we wake up from our decades of apathetic slumber.  I am guilty of occasionally throwing up my hands in exacerbation, but then I'll reconnect with a fellow Patriot who reminds me that we have a long, difficult fight ahead, but one well worth fighting.

If you are reading this, then you are likely part of the proverbial choir to which I am preaching.  But, you came to the Campaign for Liberty for a reason.  Was it Ron Paul's highly visible Presidential Campaign?  Reading The Revolution?  Perhaps a nagging sense that something is increasingly wrong with the status quo in America?  Whatever it was, think about how you can transfer that sense of duty to others that you know.  Start the conversation, invite them to a meetup, whatever it takes.  We need to grow the army.  The powers-that-be won't pay attention to us until we do.  The voters who show up in the next election won't be awakened to the problems of business as usual until we do.  Real change won't happen until we do.

I strongly encourage each of you to involve at least one more person in our fight.  Maybe you haven't been as active as you could be lately.  Here is your opportunity to re-engage.  If you are a paying member of the C4L, consider becoming a precinct leader, a county coordinator, or even step up to the fill the vacancy in the 7th district.  If you're not a paying member, perhaps the time has come to do more than just be a passive participant.  Anything you can offer helps our cause.

For those not already familiar, please consider joining us at www.meetup.com/wilmingtonliberty.  Again, I look forward to meeting you and continuing the fight to restore the Republic.

Posted 10/26/09 BigIron Greensboro, NC

I would encourage all those who want to make a difference to become members of C4L and work with their local and state groups and to, also, become members of the Republican party and become active in their state / county branch of the party. It's a great opportunity to have an immediate effect and, also, an opportunity to slowly, respectfully educate Republicans in the need to restore the Republic, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the meaning of liberty. It is also an opportunity to educate the Young Republicans to think in ways that the public education system disparages. The Republican party needs help; they are in terrible shape and many of them know they it. As you said, there are posts available with C4L that need to be filled and, just as with C4L, there are posts within the Republican party that need to be filled. So why not fill these Republican party posts with C4Lers or like thinking individuals. Consider becoming a precinct chairmen or, better still, a county-district chairman. Precinct chairmen have leverage in selecting precinct officers in their precincts. Precinct chairmen are automatically delegates to the Republican state and congressional-district conventions if they wish to be. County-district have leverage in the selection and filling of precinct chairman and other positions in their districts. This allows leverage to make changes that actually affect the operation of the party. With enough C4L minded people we have a real chance to control candidate selection at state and local level and state party officers and the direction of the party. The opportunities to become a delegate exist at every level. Encourage every like-minded individual to do likewise and become a delegate and go to every convention possible. You can make a real change to the party ... but only by acting ... and acting now while opportunity allows it. I think many of the Republican national officers are already very afraid of the Ron Paul, C4L movement and the probable loss of their power in the party if we become well organized within the party. They should be afraid, very afraid! Under their direction the Republican party has almost been destroyed. We have a unique opportunity that we must use; we cannot wait longer.

Posted by ecanup1 on 01/19/09
Last updated 01/19/09

My friends of liberty, we are fast approaching the edge of the precipice. Like a stampeding herd of lemmings, most of our fellow Americans will not only follow our newly elected hero-President over the edge, but will cheer him all the way to the bottom of the pit that lies beyond. There are a precious few of us who understand this impending doom, and the reasons for it. Unfortunately, we cannot simply sidestep the herd and watch as bystanders while the rest plunge America into the darkest period of our short history. We are, in fact, caught up in the blindly raging demise whether we like it or not. As I see it, we only have one choice: We must convince the herd to stop. But how?

Every day I read, with great interest, the variety of highly educated freedom lovers among us espouse the changes we need in terms so eloquent and simple I am constantly amazed. I find myself thirsting for more knowledge. I, like you, have awakened from my political slumber, my ambivalence towards the seen and unseen chaos of Washington, to realize that we have the greatest form of government in the world. We have but to act on it--to demand our elected officials follow the supreme law of the Constitution. The answers are right there! Yet they continue to elude us as a nation, primarily because most Americans have not yet been awakened.

I would argue that the vast majority of people who already belong to the Campaign for Liberty, or other like-minded causes, feel the way I do. As I've mentioned, they understand our country's plight and what must be done to reverse it. They are the primary readership of the blogs we write, because they have already made the choice to frequent these websites and quench their own thirst for the knowledge of what our Founders wanted for us. Therein lies the problem. We are preaching to the choir. Now, before I get some angry responses to this blog that I'm condemning this open expression of our ideals, let me be clear: I am fully in favor of this dissemination of information and knowledge.

The uphill battle, as I see it, lies in how to engage the rest of the country in honest, thought-provoking discourse, so as to provide for the collective political epiphany of as many freedom-loving Americans as is humanly possible. In short, we need to expand our market. How do we move our message beyond the realms of this little corner of the blogosphere, and into the American conscience? Shall we rely on the mainstream media? A resounding no. How about demonstrations and public speeches? We may collect a few more politically aware soldiers to the army, but not the legions we need. Frankly, I don't have specific answers. I'm hoping to generate some thoughtful discussion on this matter. Is it beyond our capacity or mission to buy airtime on TV and radio, a la MoveOn.org? That's the most efficient way to reach the masses.

There is a silver lining. When I go out and talk to people, I am continually amazed at how many are at least vaguely aware that our situation is getting dire. They may not know why, or to what extent we have strayed from the Constitution, but at least it's starting to tickle the back of their brain a little. We must tap into the growing angst and give it life!

Posted 01/24/09 aclove Charlotte, NC

Outstanding, Eric. I'm not sure at what point you started following Dr. Paul's presidential campaign, but if you're interested in alternative media, you may want to check out http://www.breakthematrix.org. It's an online media company started by Trevor Lyman, one of the architects of the Ron Paul Blimp project. Talk to you soon!