Reply #28: You have to organize one step ahead to capture the moment

[Tom Rinaldo]

I am pretty confident that politics will heatr up this Spring. When the health care battle began the right wing caught us flat footed and were ready to make their presence known at Town Hall meetings. The Left wasn't.

This is the year of the big Republican psuh. They are trying to lock in as much shrinkage of government as possible to change the game board for a generation or more. Democrats need to up the ampage also because the Right WILL be active with their bused in shock troops.

If some progressive heavy hitters, like Move On and some key Unions can reach out to environmental groups and sseior citizen lobbies and womens groups etc. to form a broad based coalition calling for a mass DC rally, by the time that day approaches I predict there will be plenty of people angry enough to get off their asses and attend.

A small aside. Back in 1979 I wsa coordinator in the Abolone Alliance planning a mass rally in San Francisco against the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. We spent months in preperation; permits sound systems, security, stage, performers - tons of logistical details. About two weeks before the rally the movie "The China Syndrome" came out. Suddeenly lots of people got worried about nuclear power and motivated to help stop it. And wouldn't you know, we had this handy dandy mass rally all prepared and waiting for them when their anger hit, and turn out for it was record breaking for any anti-nuclear protest up until that time.