Ned & Jim Ryun ATTACKING the Tea Party for news coverage: “Defective” Tea Party Leaders?

Jim and Ned Ryun are now presuming to be leaders of the tea party movement through their organization "American Majority." Their marketing strategy is to sell their souls pleasing the liberal news media by attacking tea party candidates like Sharon Angle in Nevada and Christine O'Donnell in Delaware. The Ryuns are taking their 30 pieces of silver paid in undeserved, favorable news coverage.

However, the Founder of the Northern Virginia Tea Party -- whose territory covers American Majority's headquarters -- says he has never heard of them. The American Majority website lists Purcellville, Virginia, as their headquarters. Purcellville is in Loudoun County, one of the four main Counties covered by the Northern Virginia Tea party.

NVTP’s founder Ron Wilcox explains: “If the Ryuns had been active in the tea party movement since February 2009, I would have heard of them. The Ryuns are not found anywhere in NVTP’s extensive contact list of tea party supporters. They have never attended any of our numerous events. They have never contacted us about their training or other activities.” The Ryuns’ American Majority project claims to have been training tea party activists at least since the Spring, but somehow never mentioned it to the tea party groups located right next door in Fairfax, Virginia. Ron Wilcox will speak on the record: (703) 939-5896. http://www.NorthernVirginiaTeaParty.com

A search of the Federal Election Commission website shows a total of $0.00 raised and $0.00 spent by the Virginia-based American Majority Action, Inc. in the 2009-2010 election cycle.

Similarly, their website at www.AmericanMajority.com has been inactive until recently. The internet archiving website "Way Back Machine" shows that the Ryuns' American Majority project website had some activity from 2001 to early 2005, but had no content after February 2005, until just recently. http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.americanmajority.org. So their website was inactive until late in 2010.

So, the Ryuns were not significant players in the tea party movement or the 2010 elections. They want to tell us what happened in 2010 although they were not there. They are trying to run in front of the parade to tell the tea party movement what the tea party should do, including unfairly attacking Sharon Angle and Christine O'Donnell. They claim to have engaged in some training in Kansas, but never offered their training to tea parties near their official headquarters in Purcellville, Virginia.

Ned Ryun’s comments to The Politico are offensive to most tea party members: Ryun said: “I don't blame them, since most of these people are so new to the process, and they don't know anything beyond the protests.” http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/08/09/tea-party-running-out-of-money/

Ron Wilcox, Founder of the Northern Virginia Tea Party, explained: “The tea parties do not need these groups coming along and telling us what we believe in or what candidates we should support. Those in the tea party already know what we believe. That is the very reason why we have gotten out of our living rooms and into the public square. We are tired of elites telling us what to think. The tea party movement believes we remember American values that the elites have cynically forgotten."

The Ryuns’ claim that they will create a ‘more sophisticated’ tea party movement. Yet the Ryuns’ own blunder of attacking leading tea party heroes like Christine O’Donnell and Sharon Angle showed a lack of sophistication, political skill, and even common manners. Similarly, the Ryuns talking down to tea party members like ignorant children is offensive and lacks the "sophistication" that the Ryuns claim to be offering. While the tea party is diverse, many members know more about politics and elections than the Ryuns do.

Before taking cheap shots at Christine O'Donnell or Sharon Angle, the Ryuns should understand that unfair attacks in politics are no indication of a person's quality or competence. In fact, the greatest 'threats' in politics attract the sharpest and strongest attacks.

The Ryuns themselves come under such attacks, yet don't appreciate that this is a normal part of politics. For example, the website "Left Brain Kansas" posted: "Ned Ryun...crazier than his dad?" http://leftbrainkansas.blogspot.com/2008/05/ned-ryuncrazier-than-his-dad.html

The Ryuns were (unfairly) featured in a website "Crooks and Liars": "What do you do when you live in Kansas, are the twin sons of disgraced Kansas Congressman Jim Ryun and you have access to a whole lot of money? What else? Start a non-profit organization to raise up a 'grassroots army'." http://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/4803,13060

The Ryuns have themselves attracted the same kind of attacks from the Left as Sharon Angle and Christine O'Donnell. Yet, the Ryuns' hypocrisy in judging others for the same kind of issues proves the Ryuns are simply cashing in on the tea party. They are not sincere.

Are we to call the Ryuns' "defective tea party leaders" because of their weaknesses -- because they have been attacked by the Left?

Will the Ryuns teach their candidates and activists that the personal attacks against O'Donnell and Angle have been a staple of the Left for decades? Will they teach the party to join forces behind their candidate the way Democrats do? Will the Ryuns teach candidates and campaign leaders that a party cannot be succeed by forming a circular firing squad?

For example, Barack Obama has said an amazing number of crazy things: He visited 57 States. The US Constitution is 20 centuries old. He wants to put more inefficiencies in the health care system. Obama said "The time has changed to come." On and on.

And yet the Democrats and the mainstream media close ranks and defend their man. The Democrats know how to defend their candidates against attacks. Moderate Republicans join in the attacks to sink Republican candidates.

We obviously agree that training future candidates is a great idea. But what kind of training will it be?

The Ryuns will need to train candidates that the same old attacks and themes used against Christine O'Donnell and Sharon Angle have been used against almost every conservative since Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. Goldwater, of course, was not a social conservative, and yet the personal attacks were the same.

To train a future crop of candidates, the Ryuns must learn what the founder of the Republican Party, Abraham Lincoln, taught us:

Teaching candidates to attack each other within their own party is not going to be a recipe for success. We expect that the Ryuns would be toast if they ran for political office against both their own party and the Democrat party like Christine O'Donnell did.. I am not sure what the Ryuns actually know about running a campaign worth teaching to a future crop of tea party candidates.

The Ryuns start their enterprise by selling their souls to the liberal news media for a little favorable news coverage. Will they really stand up to the political insiders and elites with the same courage as Christine O"Donnell and Sharon Angle? Having begun by selling themselves for favorable news coverage, where will they end up?

Jon - John Grigsby here. I don’t live 2 miles away from Purcellville,and I did know of American Majority’s office in Pville. I don’t appreciate your putting words in my mouth. I am impressed that you don’t appear to have threatened to sue anyone in this thread. That’s real progress, Jon.

Folks, Jon was fired by Paul Schiffer, candidate for Congress in Ohio. Paul recently told me some truly amazing stuff about Jon, more than I already knew. I’d stay away from him and another Richard Delgaudio associate, Ron Wilcox, who went rogue, leaving the two other NVTP founders and their board, to go on a personal power trip.

Novatownhall.com did a great expose on him, but because nearly disbarred attorney Jon Moseley threatened to sue, novatownhall avoided risk and took down their posting, which was entirely true. Dailykos has an article on Ronald Wilcox. Might want to take a look.

No, sorry, John, it is you who have gone rogue.

First, you violated FEC laws by putting the campaign manager of a then-active libertarian candidate for Federal eleciton on your break-away splinter group from the Northern Virginia Tea Party.

You broke the law, John.

The corporation you created is illegal and unehtical. You tried to steal the Northern Virginia Tea Party and you are one FEC complaint away from explaining to Pat why the family needs to eat peanut butter and Ramen noodles ... AGAIN.

We have your email in which you announced that you did not want to support the Statewide tea party convention because you oppose Republicans, and are pushing libertarians instead.

I am sure that Jamie Radtke will love to hear about how John Grigsby tried to sabotage the Statewide tea party convention.

If you want to have your own private pro-libertarian tea party, GO AHEAD.

But grow up and stop the mudslinging.

As for the posts you engineered at NOVATOWNHALL.

John, you already were ordered to pay $7,500 once in a lawsuit for defamation in a political context.

Your friend is currently being sued for what you put him up to say at NOVATOWNHALL.

You need to sit down and explain to Pat and the kids why they are going to have to come up with another $7,500 because you keep telling lies about people.

As for Paul Schiffer, Paul Schiffer was sleeping with his campaign manager, who was completely incompetent, and repeatedly told me that he was being BLACKMAILED by his girlfriend / campaign manager Kim.

Paul spent hours on the phone almost every day complaining to me how Kim would scream at him and threaten to quit, and how Paul was unwilling to disagree with Kim because Paul wasn’t “getting any.”

I refused to give away the websites that I PERSONALLY PAID FOR to a total stranger they had meet 6 days earlier, and Kim went hysterical.... once again.

Kim ran a freak show in which her dog ate the power cord of one of only 2 working laptop computer in the entire campaign other than mine.

We could not function as a campaign — Paul could not read his emails or use the internet at all — because Kim’s dog ate the power cord, then for weeks Kim couldn’t find it to get it fixed. (It took me 1 day to get it fixed when she finally found it.)

So, no one could keep in contact with Paul, Paul never knew what was going on — because he did not have a computer available to him to use — and Kim only worked about 4 hours a day while running around with her kids all the time. (Being a single mother is a noble pursuit. But pretending you can also be a campaign manager is foolish.)

The email system showed that Kim NEVER READ the emails I sent telling her what I was doing...

the emails were unopened...

... and then complained I didn’t tell her.

She was incompetent.

And Paul Schiffer was too afraid of “not getting any” to disagree with Kim.

Kim was absolutely incompetent, but was not fired, because Paul was (hoping to) sleep with her.

I spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars helping Paul Schiffer — for which I never got paid back — and Kim was too incompetent to use ANY of the preparation to make phone calls for money, etc., etc.

Attorney Jon Moseley, it pains me to say what I’m going to say, because there was a point in your life when it wasn’t true, when you were a different person. Still, I can’t leave such charges unanswered, or they would be confused with the truth. I am interspersing your statements (quoted) with my responses.

“First, you violated FEC laws by putting the campaign manager of a then-active libertarian candidate for Federal eleciton on your break-away splinter group from the Northern Virginia Tea Party.

You broke the law, John.”

Attorney Jon Moseley, there is nothing against the law in having a campaign manager on one’s board. That’s just plain bizarre. I called Albert, a mutual friend who graduated from your law school, who works at the FEC. He confirmed the obvious. Why would you make such a crazy statement, Attorney Jon Moseley?

“The corporation you created is illegal and unehtical. You tried to steal the Northern Virginia Tea Party and you are one FEC complaint away from explaining to Pat why the family needs to eat peanut butter and Ramen noodles ... AGAIN.”

Attorney Jon Moseley, our corporation is legal and ethical. Your fellow Richard Delgaudio Baltimore business associate Ron Wilcox did not want incorporation. Our goal in incorporating (and we offered him a board seat, but he responded that he wanted to be paid by the organization instead) was to subject him to financial accountability. He was keeping proceeds from events he organized. How do I know this? Because he asked Butch and I for permission to do so. After the Frank Wolf event he told me he’d made $400. When people make checks to “Northern Virginia Tea Party” at the Ron Wilcox Tea Party events, where does the money go to? Not apparently a virginia corporation, as a quick search of Virginia’s State Corporation Commission website will indicate there is no such organization, except ours.

“We have your email in which you announced that you did not want to support the Statewide tea party convention because you oppose Republicans, and are pushing libertarians instead.”

Attorney Jon Moseley, please copy and paste this supposed email into the thread. It doesn’t exist. I have been a member of the Loudoun GOP since 1994, prima facie evidence that you are a liar. Additionally, I am a founding member of the state tea party federation, and continue to be actively involved.

“Your friend is currently being sued for what you put him up to say at NOVATOWNHALL.”

Really? How is that (imaginary) lawsuit doing? Did the voices tell you about this lawsuit? I didn’t put up Joe to post anything. He got the wierd email Ron Wilcox sent to him after we tried to introduce fiscal accountability and a corporate board into the mix, and Joe wrote about it. So again, Attorney Jon Moseley, how’s that lawsuit going?

“You need to sit down and explain to Pat and the kids why they are going to have to come up with another $7,500 because you keep telling lies about people.”

Attorney Jon Moseley, I have to ask myself every day why I gave testimony supporting your reinstatement to the bar. When you aren’t lying, you are imagining things and even making threats to my family and livelihood. I had no idea until I tried to talk sense into you when you were running websites purporting to represent a candidate who had fired you that you had gone over the deep end.

“As for Paul Schiffer, Paul Schiffer was sleeping with his campaign manager, who was completely incompetent, and repeatedly told me that he was being BLACKMAILED by his girlfriend / campaign manager Kim.”

Attoney Jon Moseley, you have accused an honorable Christian man of violating his most fundamental principles, and you have accused a woman of blackmail. I asked Paul whether it was true. He was outraged and said absolutely not. I asked a mutual friend who worked on that campaign, who would tell me if it was true, and he said absolutely not. Jon, it was during that period (after you were fired for good reason) that I realized you’d gone nuts. Trying to convince you to stop passing your websites off as Paul Schiffer’s was akin to an unsuccessful attempt to deprogram a cult member. You really need professional help. I’ve known you since ‘86 and while I always thought you were a little off, it’s clear that an aspect of your personality that was always there is now more pronounced. Despite my anger at your lies and threats, I feel for you. Yours is a sad empty life right now. Seriously, get professional help.

John, you refute yourself, except on the one point you could not know about.

Paul told me personally about his relationship with his campaign manager. His only complaint was what stopped. He might have told you accurately what he wasn’t getting any more. That’s what he told me, personally.

Meanwhile, in Northern Virginia, you cannot have a campaign manager on the board of your tea party AND THEN ALSO HAVE THAT TEA PARTY PROMOTE THE CAMPAIGN MANAGER’S CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS — as you did.

That is illegal coordination, or more precisely the libertarian’s campaign must report everything you did as a campaign contribution to the candidate, and you must comply with the $2,500 limit on campaign donations.

The actions of your tea party cannot be “independent” while the candidate’s campaign manager is sitting on your board of directors.

You will say that you treated all candidates equally, but that is not the case.

It was precisely over your insistence on *NOT* treating all candidates equally that led to your split with the Northern Virginia Tea Party.

Your atempt to hijack the tea party for the libertarian party, bash Republicans, and give extra preference to libertarians was the problem.

Most tea party members want to win elections, not to simply posture in vain for someone’s (not my) ideas of political perfection (which many of us consider wrong in any event.)

If a libertarian can win the GOP primary or the general as a third party candidate fair and square, so be it. But most people don’t consider it our mission in life to burn the GOP to the ground in the vain hope of maybe promoting a libertarian ideal.

Jon,

It wasn’t “my” tea party that had Bill Redpath, the Libertarian opponent of your friend, big spender Frank Wolf, speak. It was the “Northern Virginia Tea Party” group that Ron Wilcox was still associated with. We announced the board to the attendees at the end of that meeting, over “$5 organizer fee” Ron Wilcox’ objections. If we didn’t offer Redpath a voice, we would be guilty of excluding everyone but the Republican, something the FEC would like to hear about. Sounds like you are projecting, Attorney Jon Moseley.

Your boy Ron (has he incorporated yet? / what happens to checks made to “Northern Virginia Tea Party” and given to him?) shows favor for candidates almost every week. He’s only promoted one of three GOP candidates in Loudoun County. Ron, what happens with northernvirginiateaparty.com takes a check made to “Northern Virginia Tea Party”? If it doesn’t go to “Northern Virginia Tea Party”, and instead goes to a person, that’s conversion, a felony, right? Is that what Ron Wilcox is doing? People need to know.

Attorney Jon Moseley, I am involved in three GOP campaigns right now, so I have no time for your fantasy of me as a Libertarian activist. Nice try, doesn’t stick.

And are you going to tell me more about the imaginary lawsuit and the imaginary email from me?

I feel badly rubbing it in when I know I’m dealing with a crazy person, but I will not leave these injurious posts unanswered, because many who read these attacks on me won’t realize until they dig further how “credible” you are.

Just keep it up all you like, and I will continue to answer with the truth.

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