« Montana Convention | Home | Quote of the Day »
Not so sunny in California…
By punch bowl | April 19, 2008
An active California College Republican had this to say, rebutting the report submitted by current CCR chairman Ryan Clumpner on the state of the California College Republican federation:
I don’t know why Ryan Clumpner thinks things are going great in California. I know many clubs who have decided to not send people to the convention or sent significantly fewer people than last year.
The only thing that I have seen them do in the last year is post the videos of the San Francisco CRs on Facebook. I have received more emails in the last 3 weeks about the convention than I did all year about anything else.
Not to disparage conventions, they are always a lot of fun. But, College Republicans are supposed to be about getting stuff done and winning elections, and I don’t feel that CCR has done anything in a long time to help win an election.
Lets face it the California College Republicans are broken. They don’t participate with the CRNC, as of CPAC they had not submitted a list of school chapters to the CRNC for Storm and I am told they still haven’t.
On the front page of their website the first piece of news is about the convention, the second item was posted in December of 2007. If this is what they meant when they said that they had were going to “activate” the CCR, I am thoroughly unimpressed. There blog “activate” has only had 3 posts all year.
The organization is broken, electing leadership from within the current leadership is not going to solve the problem, CCR needs fresh leadership.
CALIFORNIA COLLEGE REPUBLICANS: What are your feelings on the state of your federation?
Topics: CR gossip, CR federation elections, CR events, CR elections |
April 20th, 2008 at 12:37 am
Deep breath. Okay there are things that a state chairman can do and things that he cannot do. He can raise money. He can see that the statewide magazine is delivered. He can keep his state fed out of trouble. Ryan has done all of these things.
Convention turnout is __not__ one of the things that a CR state chair can control ( by the way, CCR is subsidizing hotel rooms so its more affordable for CRs to go) , especially not in a state the size of Cali where it’s just not logistically possible to for a full time college student to visit all chapters.
Yes, the website is out of date and there are fewer posts than there would be ideally. But mind you that 2007-08 was an off-year. If it seems like there’s less campaign business, it’s because… there is less campaign business! How many people were running for Congress this past year? Dude, zero. You want leaders who are going to network and that’s what they’ve been doing.
STORM is the national office’s responsibility, not CCR’s. The CRNC signed up people at CPAC. Since California doesn’t usually send CRs to CPAC, I wouldn’t say its surprising that they don’t have STORM signups. And besides its up to CR clubs decide whether they want to be a part of it.
The point that I would like to make to the person who sent in that “letter”: If you want to run, then run. Don’t run around like a weasel trying to undercut your chairman.
April 20th, 2008 at 1:36 am
I want to know who said that because I agree 100%.
We had the chance to elect leadership from OUTSIDE the current leadership last year. People are starting to give up on the organization. They saw what happened when someone ran in opposition to Ryan at the last convention…they learned from other peoples’ actions. It’s sad really.
And to top it off…the soon-to-be CCR chair, Cheyenne Steel…barely did her job as LA Regional Vice this year. She was in DC for the first semester…one of the most crucial times for membership recruitment. And even when she got back she still was barely in contact with anyone except to tell the region about something that was going on at USC or about the convention. I don’t care if she’s Shawn Steel’s daughter. If she can’t do the job properly…don’t put her in the position!
April 20th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Thomas: working to develop STORM is everyone’s responsibility. The CRNC asked all the state chairs to submit a list of the chapters in their states as well as the info for the person in charge of each chapter. Since STORM operates like facebook with each CR chapter having it’s own network, getting that information is essential for them to be able to set up the network correctly. If the CCR chair did not submit his list of chapters to the CRNC, then it would be impossible for them to be able to completely develop the network in that state, and California CRs would be unable to utilize the potential of STORM for the coming elections in their state.
April 20th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
CCR under Mason’s leadership was awesome. They launched the field rep program and helped recruit and build across the state. This year, the only thing we’ve seen is videos from SF State. Leigh does an excellent job of running that club and is by far, one of the best examples of what a CR club should look like. But I feel Ryan hasn’t done much this year. Maybe he was overloaded with school but running for Chairman is a huge responsibility. When he was ED, he wasn’t enrolled in school and maybe that’s why Mason’s administration got so much more done.
CRNC has sent numerous requests for California to submit their lists for STORM and they simply haven’t done it. I’ve asked my club chair at UCSD at least 3 times to submit his list so he can start a chapter on STORM. UCSD has a large club with over 300 members and there is no reason they shouldn’t be on STORM.
Fresh leadership is needed because the tight knit group that has been running CCR the last 3 or 4 years has been doing a piss poor job this year.
April 20th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Why is everyone so hung up on STORM? My state federation does not give a shit about it and for good reason. Its a terrible application that would not intrigue the average college student enough to want to sign up. Perhaps the CRNC should have spent 250 grand on something worthwhile.
April 20th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
something worthwhie, like field reps…that actually do their job and not just travel around collecting a check
April 20th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
I think the CRNC could have better invested this money into the field program. In fact, our field program is one of the worst paying ones out there. And quite frankly, you pay for what you get. Being a former Field Rep, I knew it to be very difficult making it week to week and overdrew my checking account many times doing so as reimbursements checks seemed to never come on time and you just didn’t know what to expect.
April 21st, 2008 at 2:41 am
^ Former: So um, just outta curiosity, how much do you think the CRNC should pay? It was $3500/10 weeks your year wasn’t it?
April 21st, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Not my state, but couldn’t agree more with Former and New CRNC. STORM is an unneeded application. Pretty much everything on STORM can be done on Facebook, only now we’ve only got our traffic on it. Is that what we wanted? CR’s action-networking LESS available to the general public? Most organizations want more face time and exposure, we’re the organization that apparently wants more exclusion.
I think the money spent on making STORM would have been better used on the field program, which, likewise, my state (a red state) will never see the benefits from.
And whatever happened to the promise of “updated chapter boxes”??? Mine was the same one with a few more applicable brochures. Certainly has not been a plus.
April 21st, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Thanks for the plug on the videos. Glad to hear that people enjoy them.
I’m shocked anybody is even taking this seriously. My club alone has walked precincts for 3 candidates over the course of 7 weekends this semester. CCR coordinates and facilities most needs associated with those walks. Sounds to me like this person is more interested in creating an exploitable division in the organization he can use to his advantage when he runs for chair next year. CR Nation should be careful posting the anonymous rantings of someone who would destroy our organization attempting to become chair, a position that is nothing more than a resume builder in his eyes. He is an esteemed colleague with immense potential and dedication, but he needs to focus more on the movement and less on his title.
This “active California College Republican” should live in the wisdom of Ronald Reagan…
“There is no limit to what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.”
April 21st, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Dear “Reaganite”:
If I recall correctly (and I do), not only was Cheyenne Steel around during the first semester, but she threw some great events AND started two new chapters in the LA region this year.
Word of advice to you: when you claim to be a follower of the great man, the least you can do is get your facts straight before you start trashing your fellow Republicans.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I can’t speak for everyone,
But as far as the “rebuttal” of the unidentified letter writer is concerned, I couldn’t disagree more.
All things considered, as Thomas outlined, Ryan has fulfilled his duties as the CCR State Chair, and more.
Furthermore, to the assertion that the CCR’s are “broken”:
Like many other CCR chapters, uur chapter at CSU Sacramento has been very active, both “getting stuff done” and “helping win elections”, as the letter writer said.
I would hardly consider that “broken”.
Ryan has been, and continues to be an integral part of our efforts, and an invaluable resource.
That’s not fluff, just fact.
Nothing worth fighting for comes easy, and advancing the CCR cause is no easy task. Ryan has really stepped up for the CCR’s and his efforts are appreciated.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:28 pm
For the average user, STORM doesn’t seem like something worth investing in. But from an organizational point of view, the back end of STORM the an excellent database. (Which only chapter chairs can view and not regular members) One of the main points of storm is for information to be carried on year after year when elections take place. As it is, most chairs use a spreadsheet that either gets lost in between elections. In Storm, they can with a few clicks, update and transfer information over. There is less than a handful of schools in CA that are on storm. If CCR would submit their club lists, the storm network can grow to well over 100,000 members and we can get a true indicator of how many CRs we have out there and how many we will recruit with the new field rep program.
On another note, everyone knows working in politics really doesn’t pay. It shouldn’t be about the money.
April 21st, 2008 at 11:16 pm
so here’s the deal kiddies:
let me lay it on you.
1) Ryan is currently enrolled at Davis and always has been. Even when he was ED.
2) Why do we care about this storm crap. Facebook is more effective, so are the amazing contact list that CCR keeps. (over 20000 donors and members)
3)CRNC doesn’t do crap for CCR. wait. I take that back. they gave us a field person (that recruited 40 members in a week, i believe) WEAK!
4) oh and not to mention taking from our donors and not cutting us in on the deal
5) Adam Ellison is whiny and insignificant…
6) the party in CA would be nowhere without our footsoldiers that save elections and are our face to the voters that are moving away from our party. we reinvigorate.
7) no candidate in CA would have a manager without the people that have been trained in our organization.
Listen: Don’t throw rocks from the outside. Come on in. Open arms.
But whoever posted this… I hope your jealousy and bitterness at our accomplishments eats you from the inside.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:14 am
Storm lover:
How can we ever really tell how many CR’s are out there? I think it would be unfair to use STORM as a measuring stick. Most college students don’t want to get on some ugly site that is difficult to navigate. Let’s not forget the fact that many parts of it are almost a cheap knock-off of Facebook, which ironically was cheaper than STORM to launch. I think this comes down to a fundamental difference of opinion: who do you want to be a CR? You can get the dedicated political activists by using ugly sites and holding politically-informative meetings or you can tap into all worlds by still having informative meetings but also attempting to bring in more people by creating a party atmosphere. I’d rather go with the latter. I couldn’t give 2 shits about whether a volunteer of mine could name my entire state’s federal delegation, I just want them to volunteer. Party atmospheres draw a broader audience. Super-serial atmospheres attract only people interested in the business at hand. That’s just how the real world works.
Also you said “on another note, everyone knows working in politics really doesn’t pay. It shouldn’t be about the money.” Well maybe in a perfect world, but who are we kidding? This isn’t 2004. This isn’t 1994. This isn’t 1984. Republicans are a little more popular than 2006, but we still have a terrible brand name right now. Many people have grown ambivalent about politics altogether. We HAVE to have incentives for people to skip a semester to go try to recruit in an environment not conducive for growth. We’d be lying to ourselves to say anything else.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:06 am
If CCR is broken, i hope it never gets “fixed.”