Newsletter on the CPAC Controversy

For anyone who is not on SFL’s newsletter list (click the “Join SFL” button on the right to start getting it), here is a newsletter I sent out last night summarizing the status of the CPAC controversy (slightly modified for the website).  Once again, thank you to every fan of liberty who cheered for liberty in the audience and the student movement for liberty for advocating our principles of freedom without compromise.

Dear Friends of Liberty,

I know this email is coming late on a Friday night, but something happened this evening that I felt compelled to inform you about.  As you all know, SFL is conducting outreach to both the left and the right sides of the political spectrum this weekend by attending both the Young Democrats of America’s Annual Convention and the Conservative Political Action Conference.  I was invited to speak on a panel at CPAC this weekend titled “Two-Minute Activist: Saving Freedom Across America”.  I started by thanking the American Conservative Union for inviting me to speak and went on to clarify what it should mean to talk about “Saving Freedom Across America”:

“I would like to thank the American Conservative Union for inviting me to speak.  This panel is titled, “Saving Freedom Across America”.  And so, in the name of freedom, I would like to also thank the American Conservative Union for welcoming GOProud as a co-sponsor of this event.  Not because of any politics, but because of the message that it sends.  If what you truly care about is freedom, limited government, and prosperity, then this symbol is a step in the right direction, and look to the student movement for support!  The typical student’s response is to be socially tolerant and fiscally responsible.  Students today recognize that freedom does not come in pieces.  It is a single concept that we must defend at all times.”

Shortly after my speech, another panelist, Ryan Sorba, author of The Born Gay Hoax, got up to condemn CPAC for allowing GOProud to be a co-sponsor (and tacitly to condemn me as well for speaking out about it).  He even went on to attack the Executive Director of SFL’s friend, Young Americans for Liberty, by shouting: “Jeff Frazee, guess what, you just made an enemy out of me, buddy.”  I am not entirely sure why his verbal attack was directed towards Jeff Frazee as Jeff was completely uninvolved in my speech, but you can watch his rant here:

Since then, there has been a media flurry about the controversy at CPAC.  We need your support in setting the record straight about what happened, what was said, and by whom it was said.  We need your help to spread both of these videos while explaining that if CPAC attendees care about freedom, they should not pick and choose which freedoms they care about.  Please spread the word about this event to your friends, family, and anyone you can think of.  Show them that the student movement for liberty is making a stir and that we will not compromise on our principles.  Here are some links to use:

Background: http://studentsforliberty.org/news/sfl-causes-cpac-controversy/
Videos: http://studentsforliberty.org/news/sfl-controversy-video/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/studentsforliberty

Thank you to every liberty supporter who was in the audience during my speech and cheered down the few social conservatives that booed.  More importantly, thank you to the student movement for liberty for being so strong, for getting me to that stage, and for not letting our voice be dismissed anymore.  What the YouTube video cut off was the end of my speech, which I would like to end this email with here:

“The student movement for liberty is strong.  We are growing.  And we are not only preparing to carry the banner of liberty in the future.  We are raising it today.”

Sincerely & For Liberty,
Alexander McCobin
Co-Founder & President, Students For Liberty