Posted on 04/28/2006 7:43:58 AM PDT by TBP
Does anyone know if Young Americans for Freedom is still operating? Their website's front page still comes up with (a vrey nice statement on the passing of President Reagan) and the toll-free number listed on the (Contact YAF) page seems not to be working.
I'm an old YAFer. That's where I cut my teeth politically. It's where I learned to be an activist, adn I'm proud of that connection. I spent over a decade as an active member of the organization, served on the New York state board, was on Platform Committee at 3 National Conventions. I'm way too old for them now, but YAF is a part of me and I have a real interest in making sure the organization continues. But it doesn't seem to have done anything (including updating its website) in a couple of years. Does anyone know if it's still in existence?
And if so, how can I contact them?
yaf.org
No, that's Young America's Foundation. Young Americans for Freedom is http://www.yaf.com but the most recent articles (except for the Reagan tribute) seem to date from 2002 or so.
YAF's chief problem was the constant infighting that plagued it almost from its inception. This internal strife came to a head at a particularly bitter and divisive national conference in Los Angeles in 1983, which was followed by a financial scandal involving the newly-elected national chairman. After that, YAF quickly went into decline.
The last YAF national conference that I attended took place in Washington, DC, in 1991, but I don't think there has been one since.
By the way, I attended the national conventions in 1977, 1979, 1983, and 1991, so we may have encountered one another.
You don't have to tell me about that. I was in New York YAF headquarters in 1982 when the entire state board was fired. Fortunately, I managed to keep certain thigns from the marauders who took over. New York YAF, which had been the organization's backbone, pretty much went into hibernation after that. I just ran my chapter, contactd National as little as possible, and went on. so they bottled up my chapter's renewal. That's when I "forgot" to renew my membership.
I was a hardcore YAFer, too. I was a New York Board member for 2 years (Mid-Hudson Region), had been on platform committee at 3 national conventions (the last one pretty much because my state chairman asked me to do it), a pretty active and successful director for 6 counties, founder of 2 chapters (at my wonderfully conservative college and one in my community), and generally all-around vigorous YAFer. I used to respond to TV editorials, do radio interviews, issue a LOT of press releases, and basically raise a stink wherever I could.
We used to say the infighting was "the activists versus the careerists." (Boy, did we have some nasty songs about the National Chairman.)
There was even a YAF song about purging.
This internal strife came to a head at a particularly bitter and divisive national conference in Los Angeles in 1983, which was followed by a financial scandal involving the newly-elected national chairman.
That would probably be the chairman elected right after the (fairly longterm) one that was in charge during much of my tenure. (He was in from at least 1979 or so to 1982 or 1983. Prior to that he had been California State Chairman. (Now he's an attorney.)
The last YAF national conference that I attended took place in Washington, DC, in 1991, but I don't think there has been one since.
That's too bad. Not only were tehy fun (and boy, were they ever fun!), but they taught political skills and ideas and they were great visibility for YAF. These kids don't know what tehy're missing.
I was at the 1981 convention in Boston (one of teh three where I was on Platform Committee) and we were having a party in the suite of teh (soon-to-be-deposed) Executive Director (who runs a PAC now.) We had songbooks and we were singing "Deck the Halls With Commie Corpses" when a "reporter" from the New York Times walked in. He reprinted the song in the paper.
Well, I was in state headquarters the following Saturday (doing some work for the various regional leaders) and the phone must have rung 15-20 times. Virtually every call was hte same conversation, almost word-for -word:
"I read about you guys in the New York Times. (Paus, about 3 beats) How do I join?"
I was one of the Platform Committee members in 1979. That was a fun convention.
One of my favorite moments was the 1975 convention when oneof the New York leadership (from teh other faction from mine) decided to do a "flag burning": a Soviet flag, of course.
He started "in the spirit of detente" by laying out the red carpet for the Soviets, so we could walk on it. Then he set fire to it in front of the McCormick Inn while a bunch of YAFers chanted what we had been chanting on the way out of the hotel (and would also chant on teh way back in): "We're gonna burn the Reds,. we're gonna burn the Reds." I remember lots of fun moments like that.
My guess is that YAF can't afford conventions any more.
One of my favorite moments at the DC convention in 1979 was the introduction of Eugene McCarthy, the keynote speaker on the first night. As soon as his name was mentioned, a chorus of "Joe! Joe! Joe!"--a reference to "the other" McCarthy--arose from the floor.
Wow, a blast from the past
I remember that.
Gene McCarthy once told an interviewer that when he was running for President in '68, a guy came up to him and said, "You're Senator McCarthy, right?"
"Yes I am," McCarthy said.
"Well," the guy said, "you keep fighting those Communists!"
BTW, I foudn a former National Chiarman form my era ini the organization (he's listed as the attorney for YAF), contacted him, and he forwarded my mesage to the National Chairman, Erik Johnson, who wrote me back to say that "YAF is definitely still in business and we're about to revamp the website."
He says they have a new webmaster and are about to revamp the website. Now all they need is a songbook. (Maybe we can get YAF songs online!)
I was at the '79 convention in the New York delegation. Where were you from?
I was with the California delegation, from the University of Southern California chapter. At the time of the convention, I worked at the National Journalism Center in Washington and lived in Arlington.
The 1979 convention also featured a mock presidential nominating convention. If I remember correctly, Ronald Reagan easily won the nomination, but other candidates included liberal Republican Senator Howard Baker, who drew a lot of boos (someone nominated him just to be "fair."). Two other nominees were deceased--Senator Joe McCarthy (nominated, of course, by the Wisconsin delegation), and silent film star Ben Turpin.
I remember that, although I think it was on the Vice Presidential roll call. My friend Bob Ritholtz (the Wisconsin chairman and a founder of the Badger Herald) got up and announced, "The great state of Wisconsin is proud to cast its votes for a man who truly believes that it is better to be dead than Red -- our Senator, Fightin' Joe McCarthy!"
That set off just about the only truly spontaneous spontaneous demonstration I have ever seen at a political event. People were marching around carrying signs of various types chanting "Joe! Joe! Joe!" and singing this great classic:
Fightin' Joe McCarthy
(Tune: "The Yellow Rose of Texas")
Oh, fightin' Joe McCarthy,
We're one and all for you.
You got the dirty Commies
And you'll get the pinkos too.
Oh, fightin' Joe McCarthy
We're one and all for you.
Our land you'll save,our flag you'll wave,
The dear red, white, and blue.
now Fightin' Joe McCarthy
Has gone to his reward
And now he's up in Heaven
Fighting Commies for the Lord.
Oh, fightin' Joe McCarthy
We're one and all for you.
Our land you'll save,our flag you'll wave,
The dear red, white, and blue.
You're an NJC extern? So am I. Summer '83.
I live in Laurel now, but I used to live in Arlington, down near the foot of Courthouse Rd. Where were you?
Where do you live these days?
At the time, I was living in Arlington Towers, a massive apartment complex located across near the Iwo Jima memorial. When I was there, it was infested with cockroaches and the air conditioning was poor, but it was in a good location--across the street from a metro station and within walking distance of Georgetown. I spent a lot of time at the Georgetown University library doing research for NJC projects. In the 1980's, Arlington Towers was renamed River Place and, from what I understand, was completely refurbished.
While at the NJC, I completed a monograph, Soviet Violations of SALT I which was published by the Education and Research Institute.
I currently live in Orange County, California, and I work as a reference librarian in Azusa.
So was I. I was one of the ones belting out the song.
In the 1980's, Arlington Towers was renamed River Place and, from what I understand, was completely refurbished.
Yes, River Place in Rosslyn. They're high-end condos now.
Right near the Rosslyn Metro (and all those fast-food restaurants across the street from the Metro entrance.)
I work as a reference librarian
My wife is a librarian.
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