Introducing the author

Just as there are many “Tom Smiths” or “Dave Johnsons” less common names frequently have duplicates floating about in the world.  Such is the case with Ellis Wyatt, there are a few Ellis Wyatts out there.  I have found two to be remarkably interesting, one can be found here and here, the other can be found under that pseudonym on twitter and agreed to do this guest post.

Who is Ellis Wyatt?

I’m @_WyattsTorch aka Ellis Wyatt and I consider myself to be a Conservative/Libertarian activist, not by birth, but by logic.  This was the political path I chose, and for those that follow any politician or political party blindly, I IMPLORE you to do your own research, your parents may have been wrong, your pastor may have been wrong, your Union steward may have been wrong. Listen to all but draw your own conclusions.  My background for the last ten years is in business management, and entrepreneurship.  The prior ten years I was in Unionized commercial and industrial construction, the center part of that was transitional, construction management with staff ranging literally from two to eighty and project budgets ranging from $50k to $25million. My degree is from the school of hard knocks.  I had the scores to get into Harvard but I had broke blue-collar democrat parents and I also had a big chip on my shoulder. Sometimes it comes back in a minor way, but I have mellowed a lot since the wind down of my most recent venture. You could say I “went Galt,” to those familiar with the term.  For the others I will expand just a little.

My wife and I did a start-up company that launched a couple weeks before 9-11.  We opened the doors and shortly after the economy was in the tank. It was a struggle but we worked hard and the recession was not as long or painful as this one. It was actually the good old days by comparison to today.  While we were working hard we also had a pro-growth administration and by 2003-04 we were in the chips.  Bush was no Reagan but we voted him in again, times were pretty good and honestly America was doing well as a whole.  As 2006-07 approached, things were gangbusters for us in business, the system in general was flush with cash, and we continued to grab our share with a watchful eye on the horizon. We knew the music would stop eventually, but we had no clue when.  Something seemed wrong. It was almost instinctual. By 2008 we could see the clouds forming. Bush’s legacy had decayed, and the Republicans nominated a Moderate.  I was respectful of McCain, but uninspired.  I was really busy, and paid no attention to the Left, I had never heard of this Obama guy.  I was puzzled how he beat out Hillary, but I despised the idea of “Hillary Care” coming back to life (from it’s 90s incarnation.)  So with my limited knowledge, lack of availability, and political complacency as major factors, my focus remained on the dual role of business growth and recession readiness.  In August it happened, and we all remember the news. This was no ordinary slow-down, this was out-right bedlam. Main street was hit immediately with cash-flow issues as large companies pushed their payments to small vendors as far out as possible. As the large went to the Fed window, the small and nimble went to their wits alone as credit was simply not there. Not hard, not even really-hard. GONE. The small and not nimble perished, such is life in the jungle.

We froze hiring immediately and switched to a sub-contractor model, we kept one salesman and one secretary as employees, my wife did customer service, I did management and books, all field staff became subs or worked for a sub (about twenty in all.)  We cut every expense we could, negotiated terms with local and regional vendors and customers that we thought we could live with. We had to fire some customers and vendors, it was a re-design of the business for survival mode.  We stabilized, but the markets were getting worse and it looked like Obama was going to beat McCain.  Frankly I didn’t care, I didn’t know the difference and was uninspired by both. I was just glad it wasn’t Hillary, that was my take so I didn’t even vote. Then I saw it, the giant Obama crowd, the speech, it reminded me of Hitler’s giant crowds and passionate speeches. I got the sense that this Obama guy was a game changer.  So there I am, the election is over, the economy is wrecked, all I can do is protect what I can and try to figure it out. That early part of November 2008 I made a fateful decision. I decided to lay off the remaining staff and ride the wave down instead of drowning in it. My wife did two jobs, I did the other two. As we saw what Obama and the Democrats had planned, we knew we made the right decision. Obamacare was the disaster that Hillarycare had promised to be. Instead of plans for growing again we were evaluating if we ever wanted to be employers again, if we should close completely, sell, continue to ride it down, it was like picking between lethal injection, the hangman’s noose, or the electric-chair. How do we want to die?  This is what “hope and change” was about for us and our business.  

Then a glimmer of hope did come, and it sure wasn’t from Obama!  Rick Santelli’s rant rang out like a shot, the Tea Party sprang to life. I learned what a Gadsden was, and we attended our local TEA Party Rally on April 15th. I saw people I knew, people I recognized, we were not adrift and alone. NO LONGER. I saw signs that said “Rand was Right!” and “Who is John Galt?” and talk of “Atlas Shrugged” was in the business and political news.  I had never heard of ANY of this. I read up a bit about Rand and Atlas. I was intrigued with the parallels.  I picked up a copy.  I read it.  I lived it. I learned that I hadn’t even been born yet as an Entrepreneur, nor as a political activist.  Ayn Rand changed me forever.  The larger picture was changing too.  The Tea Party delivered the House and the Democrats were slowed, but with no means to undo the damage, a long road was in front of us all.  

We continued to make a worthwhile profit in the business but it became increasingly clear that the tide had shifted and would not shift back, our strategic options were to tread water until 2013 or possibly 2017, in early 2011 we decided that be it two years or six it was not worth the pace and not worth the risk.  We had our financial security firmly in hand but growth was off the table so we reached for our chips. We finished our remaining contracts and closed shop in mid-2011.  I lit Wyatt’s Torch and have been in Galt’s gulch ever since.  The results of the 2012 elections have only strengthened my resolve and has confirmed my theory that 2012 was not the war, it was but a battle, this is a long term struggle against the tyranny of collectivism.

That, my fellow patriots, is a journey.  That is why I am in this bunker with you. That is why I fight. That is who “Ellis Wyatt” is.

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From Politix Fireball

I hope you enjoyed this blogpost from my friend Ellis Wyatt (and if you’re not following him, please do so today!).  I appreciate his activism and voice.  From a hit tweet with hundreds of retweets honoring Breitbart…

To his quotes from Ayn Rand (to date I have not read any of her books)…

…we share many of the same views, but most of all we are fighting the same fight.  We will win some battles and lose others.  As we follow the path before us we must seek to encourage others to educate themselves pointing them to truth and challenging them to research– truth wins in the end.