One of the better speeches at the RightOnline Summit in Austin, Texas was given by Erick Erickson, the editor of the freshly designed and re-launched Redstate.com. (Looks good Erick.)

The thrust of Erick's speech (download as PDF) was simple: Stop being pundits and start being (online) activists. Let's dig in.

Erickson opened his remarks with the classic red meat which has helped brand Redstate as one of the top conservative outposts in the blogosphere:

There are people in this world who are morally and ideologically opposed to us. We call them the left. They are a group of people who want you to surrender your hard earned money so they can give it to someone else who did not earn it and probably would not need it, but for the their insistence on government dependence.

Their rhetoric is “hope and change.” You know, hope and change are always buzzwords in the revolution against freedom. The only change theyʼll offer is more government. The only choice theyʼll offer you is whether or not to abort your kids. The policies of the last eight years will be replaced by the failed policies of the last 100 years.

And like a modern general addressing his modern army in what Erick terms the "Freedom Revolution," he was precise and direct in how the activists in the room could make an immediate diference:

So you have a choice: get involved or not.

Go to RedState or one of the other sites out there. Start reading. Develop a feel for the community. Then start writing. Give us your thoughts on your local sheriff. Whatʼs he doing. Give us your thoughts on your state representative. Become the person others rely on for information.

Find what interests you. Start blogging about it. Cover the issue. Learn to do an open records act request or learn to read campaign disclosures or learn to do both. Know who you are up against. Be the person who raises the red flags. At least join the conversation. You cannot sit on the sidelines and expect victory.

You donʼt have to be the commander. You donʼt have to do it full time. Just be willing to lend a hand. Just be willing to stay informed. Just be willing to help others stay informed.

Simple, sound, easy, and helpful advice.

In a conclusion to his speech which caused an eruption of enthusiasm and clapping from the grand ballroom, Erick said: "Weʼve beaten [the left] before. We can do it again. And this time, we can do it online, where they think they are strongest."

The troops are ready to go and the generals are willing to lead. We will beat the left online. It is just a matter of time.

Revolution.

Erick Erickson of Redstate has a post up on the front-page which offers a glimpse at the next Redstate.com (version 3.0) which is said to launch in February.

Perhaps most interesting to the readers of this space, Erick is shifting the platform away from Drupal, an open-source platform, to a customized, proprietary solution. UPDATE: Erick tells me that it will be a custom CMS built in Django.

Excerpt:

In February, we will be launching RedState v.3.0 – a complete website overhaul that, instead of relying on third-party providers like Scoop or Drupal, will this time be our own specially-created platform designed to give us all the capabilities, power and independence to serve you, our readers with everything you want and deserve.

Here are just a few of the features that we'll be adding to our website – or bringing back by popular demand:

★ improved tools for state and local blogging
★ online activism channels
★ enhanced social networking
★ a conservative job/volunteer board
★ special tools for easier posting
★ tools for tracking new comments and total comments
★ user access to comments
★ ability to track recent activity on the site

Ah yeah... "Improved tools for state and local blogging..." and just in time for the 2008 election cycle. I likey.

So how are they going to pay for the additional software?

Erick asks the community to help pitch in $25,000 for the re-launch and looking at the comments, it looks like the community is doing just that.

Campaigns & Elections Magazine has a new look-and-feel for 2008. From a note from William Beaman (editor-in-chief) and Jordan Lieberman (publisher):

Campaigns & Elections has unveiled a redesigned and revamped version of the flagship publication and will now be known as Campaigns & Elections’ Politics magazine.

The redesigned magazine will retain the features that have led to its unprecedented growth in recent years, but will also add new original content, larger trim size and upgraded cover stock.

To help encourage new subscriptions (or renewals), they've reduced the subscription rate to $25 so make sure you get your subscription today.

The re-design looks and feels great. Congrats.

But at least one story in their latest issue is sure to cause sales to decline. You see, included in their latest issue is a profile piece on Robert Bluey, Erick Erickson, Patrick Ruffini, and me.

Read on after the jump for a chuckle.

Bear with me, this might cut a little close to the bone.

When I first came to Washington, DC, I roomed with a former top communicator at The White House who had just finished up a major position overseas. He was 31 and I was 23.

After talking with me about what I hoped to accomplish he gave me some free advice which I'll paraphrase, "Before you came to Washington, 50 percent of the people in this city hated you simply because you were a Republican. Of the remaining 50 percent, 25 percent of the people you will come to know will hate you because of something you'll say, do, or become. The other 25 percent is on your side. Understand that basic premise and you'll do just fine."

I've always thought of that advice as I've made my journey as an aggressive communicator in the House, Senate, and on the campaign trail. I've recently found his advice to ring true in the blogosphere and in the daily struggle of running a small business. In other words, that piece of advice seems to provide comfort in just about every facet of political life - where competition meets you at every corner.

These past few days have been reminders of that reality.

Two individuals who I have considered friends and colleagues whether they have or not, Erick Erickson and Michael Turk, have posted public mantras on why, essentially, "David All" is an over-zealous self-promoter with only one goal in mind: his own.

They rhetorically kick over just about every sand castle I've built over the past year. And they question my allegiance to the Republican Party. Another Redstate contributor has said as much via email and I'm sure others will surface publicly or privately.

More after the jump...