American Majority offers activist training in at Austin Library on Saturday

Since the election, we've been writing about the effect of progressive grassroots organizing in Southern Minnesota on the ballot box in posts like Progressive Movement in Rochester recognized by Take Action Minnesota.

We're not the only ones noting the power of grassroots organizing. In a post about Team Franken out-hustling the Coleman Crew legally, MinnPost's David Bauer concludes:

One reason Minnesota DFLers have made big gains in recent years is that they've gotten very, very good at organizing. Those grassroots skills, honed for campaigns, may have proven critical when the recount rolled around. It's an aspect of this endless story that bears more reporting.

Conservatives have been paying attention to the consequences of good organizing on ground that they once held. A couple of weeks ago, we noticed some viral promotion in newspaper comments sections, for an activist training day on Saturday in Austin.

One example of such notices is a comment on a January 2 story in the Austin Herald, Austin School Board to elect officers for 2009. "Joel" comments:

Are you tired of local and state governments spending like crazy and taxing us to death? If you are concerned and want to learn how to hold these people accountable CAGWH and American Majority are holding a free activist training class next weekend(saturday) at the Austin Library. This class will be at 1pm and lasts about 2 1/2 hours. Please email Joel at [email protected] if you are interested in attending.

Joel, contact person at CAGWH, the acronym for Citizens Against the Global Warming Hoax, is a busy viral bee.  We've seen this notice posted in online edition comment sections of papers, including that accompanying a John Adams letter to the Post Bulletin, Don't fall for myth of 'green' energy.

The workshop is duly noted at web sites for CAGWH and American Majority, though the latter organization's post about the event doesn't note its co-sponsor. There's not a lot of transparency at the CAGWH web site (a whois search reveals that the domain name is registered via a proxy) so we don't know what this group is, though American Majority isn't particularly secretive, spelling out basic organizational information in its "Who We Are" section. More on this in a bit.

Here's the pitch for the activist training:

Please join American Majority Minnesota on Saturday, January 10 for an opportunity to make a difference in your community by learning about new tools and resources and by networking with other like-minded individuals and organizations.

The training will be hosted at Austin Public Library located at 323 4th Ave NE in Austin, MN from 1:00 PM until approximately 3:00 PM. The event is FREE and is open to the public and all attendees will receive a complimentary take-home booklet.

Presentations that will be offered include:

• Building Coalitions, Reaching Your Community, and Organizing Meaningful Events
• Holding Your Elected Officials Accountable
• Getting Involved in State and Local Political Campaigns
• New Media: Op-Eds, Blogs, Wikipedia Projects and more
• Much, much more.

Come enjoy a full day of great new information and become a part of Minnesota's rich history of individuals making a difference!

To RSVP or for more information, please contact Lonny Leitner at [email link at AM post] at

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 651-260-1351 by Friday, January 9.

Since American Majority is a "a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit" headquartered in Purcellville, Virginia, the training doesn't specify what "like-minded" means.  To learn that, read below the fold.

While the activist training is open for all according to the announcement, American Majority isn't bashful about declaring its desires on its "Who We Are" page:

American Majority specifically advocates for a reversal of the seat of government power and a return to true federalism, wherein states and localities hold the great majority of everyday government exercise. We desire to see greater:

• Freedom for Individuals
  • Property rights strengthened through the reduction or elimination of property taxes is an example of this principle advanced.
  • Educational freedom expanded and the power of the unions reduced or removed from our schools is an example of this principle advanced.
• Freedom in the Marketplace
  • Lower corporate taxes are an example of this principle advanced.
  • Reducation of government spending and waste is an example of this principle advanced.

The non-profit, non-partisan organization is a spin-off of the Sam Adams Alliance, which hosts various wiki and blog projects. Its Board of Directors is found here. The NYTimes Caucus blog looked at the organization's goals and personnel last summer in the Sam Adams Project. (Interesting post; the Minnesota Independent's citing of the organization's Sunshine Review is mentioned in passing).

American Majority Minnesota is staffed by local talent Lonny Leitner. A graduate of Marquette University where he served as president of the campus College Republicans, Leitner joined  former Representative Mark Kennedy's staff in 2002 before moving on to work as a regional field director for Bush-Cheney 2004 and political director for the Mark Kennedy senate campaign in 2006. Kennedy v. The Machine described Leitner as having a "cult-like following", but our own sources call him "bright" and "well-organized." Such is the legacy of the Kennedy senate campaign.

Austin has been a flashpoint for environmental organizing, with the Minnesota Environmental Partnership basing an organizer in Spam Town, and the Austin Coalition for Environmental Sustainability working on global warming and other related issues. Austin also long and tumultuous history as a union town.

Will Saturday's training session mark the rebirth of conservative power in the First? We'll keep our bovine eyes and ears open.

And now a little Florence Reece ditty from Natalie Merchant, to our AFSCME sistas (they know who they are):