From the diaries by Erick. American Majority is one of the few organizations I fully support with no caveats. Glad to have them here . . .

Every now and then you hit milestones, either in your personal life or with an organization you’re a part of, and it causes you to reflect a little on how and where you got started.

American Majority, the nationwide training group I founded and run (with massive and fantastic support from American Majority staff), recently just hit the 20,000 mark for candidates and activists trained the other weekend in Pittsburgh. For me, this marker fosters a moment of taking stock and looking back. I think about where American Majority started and the glamorous beginnings of me with two employees in what was essentially an attic. That first year was all about putting the pieces into place and then starting to roll out different state offices and trainings. In 2009, we started to hit our stride, going from not even 500 trained in the final few months of our first year of operating to over 4,500 in the second. Next–really inside the last two years–we trained the rest of our 20,246 trainees and conducted 571 separate, in-person trainings in almost all 50 states.

We started with the vision of building a farm team at the state and local levels to ultimately break the Ruling Class’s hold over our system of government. But not just a farm team of new leaders; also the support structure around them, filled with “effectivists” who will help get them elected while at the same time keep them accountable.

I’m most proud of my staff. A world-class group of political veterans and grassroots experts, they work very hard AND they have fun doing it most of the time; I do worry (sort of, but not really) that one of my longtime staff has my cell phone listed not under my name but under “The Widowmaker.” I’m also proud of the way we’ve gotten to 20,000: we don’t inflate numbers by counting individuals more than once, and we only count people we’ve trained for a bare minimum of three sessions (trust me when I say there are thousands more we’ve touched through trainings, but that we don’t count as trained).

Most importantly, American Majority has always sought to honestly empower the grassroots, not claim credit for work that local groups do in the trenches of their capitals, parties and communities. We seek to do our best to be of help so that they can succeed–and continue succeeding. We’ve never asked for email lists to come train them (I’ve made it clear to staff that the first time they do that is their last day at American Majority). We’ve gone to the grassroots, not expected them to come to us. And while yes, I’ve found myself in some windowless rooms in some random places, I also know we’ve performed what I call “small-batch evangelism,” training literally tens of thousands of people on how they can impact their communities and country for real change.

I look at this milestone as the first of many to come, and as one of many that simply must come, if we are to restore our republic. Yes, 20,000 is a nice number, but considering where we are as a nation, and what we have to do to turn it around, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. If you’re an alumnus or friend of American Majority, take a moment to reconnect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or our website. If you’re a candidate who’s run—and won (or lost)–drop us a line or an email. And if you’ve simply seen what’s been going in America these past few years, either quietly supporting or possibly donating to our work, join us even more visibly and get even more involved. I can sincerely assure you that we’re only at the beginning and that you ain’t seen nothing yet!