Ron Paul Loses by 1 (Yes, ONE) Vote in SRLC Straw Poll

Reporting outside the Hilton Conference center in the Big Easy:

Just as the headline reads, Ron Paul lost the 2010 Presidential Straw Poll by one single vote to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.  This one vote, however, really comes off as a big win for Congressman Paul--Evangelicals for Mitt spent tens of thousands trying to influence voters in the straw poll by giving away Romney books, piggy-banks indicating fiscal responsibility and massive advertising posters of Mitt all throughout the conference. 

Ron Paul, on the other hand, merely had a few supporters with homemade signs. 

As I attended the 2010 SRLC to spread the mission of YAL with dozens of other liberty lovers from the South, I could not but help to notice how many people were starting to support the liberty movement. Although a majority of these people did not vote for Ron Paul in 2008, there appeared some sort of changing sentiment, rising, and fast, for this man and his ideas of, well...big-tent, really, really--really small-government. 

Results from the SRLC 2010 straw-poll:

Newt Gingrich    18%
Mike Huckabee  4%
Gary Johnson    1%
Sarah Palin       18%
Ron Paul            24% (438 votes)
Tim Pawlenty   3%
Mike Pence      3%
Mitt Romney    24% (439 votes)
Rick Santorum    2%

*YAL does not support or endorse any candidates for public office.

CPAC 2010 Sumo Championship

Sixty-Four contestants 'Belly'd up to Big Government' and took part in YAL's CPAC Sumo Wrestling Tournament on Friday, February 19th at the Marriott Wardman Hotel in Washington, D.C.   It was an incredibly fun and popular event and literally hundreds of people participated in open wrestling throughout the weekend against "Big Government", portrayed by 'Big Sis' Janet Napolitano.  

The event was covered by many major media outlets, and even made it live on Fox News:

Here's footage of the Championship Match between Ralph (in Red) and our Tournament Champ Mitch (sporting Blue)!  Congratulations to all who participated!  

A Poem for Members of YAL

Reprinted in whole from LewRockwell.com, which cites Jack Kerouac as the author.

Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.

You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,
disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They invent. They imagine.
They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.

California YAF Chairman Ryan Sorba Attacks YAL at CPAC

During the students activist forum at CPAC, Students for Liberty's Alexander McCobin openly thanked CPAC for inviting GOProud, a statement which received mixed reactions from the audience and boos from another speaker on McCobin's panel, Ryan Sorba.  Sorba, who helped co-found Young Conservatives of California and recently became the California YAF Chairman, used his own opportunity to speak to condemn CPAC for including GOProud.  He went on to taunt those booing him, attack YAL, and announce that YAL's executive director, Jeff Frazee, was now his enemy.

The source of his anger at YAL and Frazee is unclear:  The topic was brought up by Students for Liberty, not anyone associated with YAL.  Moreover, Frazee was entirely uninvolved in the situation (neither booing, taking sides, nor at all involved in gay rights activism) until Sorba out of the blue mentioned him on stage.