So I spent my day in DC yesterday as part of One Nation Working Together.
I left the Hampton Roads, Virginia area about 6 am with my brother and we drove north toward DC.
For those who do not know, such a trip is approximately 3 1/2 or more hours by car, depending on conditions.
What follows below is an account of my day, including pictures and I was actually shocked to hear what I believe is the most damning indictment of the current crop of Republicans I have ever heard.
We drove up through Virginia to DC and arrived at the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station around 10:30 or so.
We are neophytes to the Metro system, so we enlisted the assistance of an older woman who asked us if we were going to the rally. We got our farecards and headed to the train.
We spoke to her on the way to Foggy Bottom / GWU station. She told us she had gone to school in the area and she was happy to be back in the area. We talked about public transport and various other chit-chat sort of topics as we proceeded forward.
When we arrived at Foggy Bottom, we immediately saw a cadre of people in green shirts that identified them as with AFSCME. I knew that this was a good sign, because I knew the unions were talking a big game about turnout at this event, so I knew not only were we in the right place, but we were not going to be alone for long.
The first picture I took was of the Lincoln Memorial itself. As a n00b to DC, I admit I had a little patriotic feelings of awe (though "shock" was nowhere to be found I must add...) at the Memorial. It was spectacular. This was a little after 11 am, and you can see that people and broadcasting gear was already in place. Oh yeah this was going to be great.
The steps of the Lincoln Memorial were already packed with people. The Jumbo-trons were set up and were all ready to go. There was a live band playing too, some type of jazz. It was upbeat, and it was going to set the tone for the day.
A shot from where I was standing looking over the Reflecting Pool.
And here's another. People were filling in by the minute as I was taking these.
This sign caught me by surprise and I had to scramble to get my camera. The first letter is missing, but I think it ought to be plain to anyone who knows what word they're spelling what the first letter is.
UPDATE: Photobucket didn't like the previous image, so I put a different one on. It says 'MR. OBAMA: STOP THESE FUCKING WARS. WAR IS THE OBSCENITY.'
It shocked me a little, but in a great way. I was not offended, but rather I felt a strong sense of respect and pride for these veterans. It takes fortitude to display a sign like that, and I salute them for having done it.
This got me "Fired up!" It's Big Ed Schultz, who got the crowd fired up while he spoke. He spoke with a passion and a vitality that neither the Half Governor or the Shyster could ever hope to match. I was very happy that this shot actually got a great view of Ed on the big screens.
I was a little surprised too because Ed gave his speech and then emceed for like another 3 hours before he finally got off the Memorial. I had not expected that, and I was happy he stuck around.
It is hard to read this sign, but I will translate.
The sign says to "Say No to DRUGS"
Disruptive
Republicans
Undermining
Government
and
Society
Hell yeah!
"Why is there always money for war but not for education?" this sign asked. There's a cynical answer to that, but I'll let you just nod in agreement if you so choose.
This is a shot looking toward the Memorial. Notice how many people there are, and how little empty space there is. This was early afternoon (like 1:30 or 2pm) when I took it.
A young couple with a couple of great signs. The one in shiny letters reads "This is Real America, Sarah". Nuff said.
The young lady's sign says to "Stop blaming Obama, Blame the SENATE".
I absolutely agree. Yes, Obama's White House has done a few things I may not have approved of, but at the end of the day, he can only do so much to get recalcitrant Senators off their asses. I blame Reid and Baucus particularly, much more than I would Obama.
This dude had a double-sided sign that I think I can offer without comment.
This sign bothers me a little because I think it's honest...in that I do worry about what kind of crap might be sold to the American people to try and start a war with Iran too.
The sun makes this hard to read, unfortunately:
"Iraqi Veteran Mom
Call me a "Lefty"
or a "Liberal"
or "Part of Obama's Base"
"I am a Proud Progressive"
More like her, please.
This gentleman expressed his frustration with the Democratic Party, and I commiserated with him because my chief complaint about those with D's next to their names is they are too often afraid of their own shadows let alone the Republican Party. Makes legislating hard to do, and it doesn't have to be.
For example, if more Democrats were touting this as a message - y'know, instead of saying we should extend tax cuts for them as well - then I think the narrative would be much more on their side.
A dozen of some of the baddest people for America that you can find. "Traitor" is as apt a word as I can think of for those miscreants.
Testify! Somewhere, Glenn Beck's tinfoil hat is vibrating.
My Feelings on the Day
The One Nation Working Together rally was a resounding success, in spite of anything the conservative corporate media may try and tell you later.
There were thousands upon thousands of people there. One official estimate I heard pegged the number between 175 and 200 thousand people.
Remember that the Charlatan claimed that Whitestock had half a million people show up, but CBS News' official estimate put that number at about 87,000.
If the numbers stand to be accurate, it appears that the progressives may have rallied 100-125 thousand more than that rally did.
As I told my brother, I think that that has to be seen as a huge accomplishment on the part of the One Nation team.
Yes, Ed Schultz is a big name to us, and Al Sharpton has been a leader in the black community forever. But did One Nation have anyone that had the platforms given to them by outlets like News Corpse that Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck had?
Yeah, I didn't think so.
I was interviewed by several people from foreign media outlets:
The Stuttgarter Zeitung, a German magazine. (Page has been Google Translated)
French Radio International
At least one other French (?) media team with a video camera also asked me questions, but they didn't say who they were with.
I conducted a short interview with a couple of journalism students from the University of Maryland, and one other young lady who did not announce her affiliation.
I also think I was recorded via iPhone by a conservative activist, but I have not verified this yet. He asked me questions and pushed back on a few of my answers, but overall was pretty polite...and he appeared to agree with me a few times too.
But I noticed he had a button on that said "YAF" on it. A quick Google of "YAF" produced a couple of Conservative websites, so...
We'll have to see!
But overall I had a lot of people ask me about what I thought about the elections, the rally, why I was there, etc.
I told many of those who asked me straight up that I was there because I wanted to be a part of a movement that I felt better represented America. The Tea Party does not offer a good representation of the entire country, just of the right-wing conservative part of the country.
Now, I heard one that that shocked me a little, and I believe it may be one of if not the most damning things I've ever heard about the Republican party.
*****************
This is me:
I carried two signs to the event. One was a positive one and one was, well, not positive.
Because my signs were bright and bold, I think you can probably read them. The one in my left hand tells what we stand up for every day: universal health care, civil rights, stopping endless wars, and the restoration of the middle class.
In my right hand, however...
I exhort people to "Just Say No" to...The American Taliban, AKA, the Teabaggers and GOP.
I lost count of how many people took pictures of me and my signs, and gave me a lot of encouragement. It was motivating and I think that saying such things has got to move past the "taboo" stage and into the "accepted" stage; we have got to call extremists what they are.
But as I stood around, I had a young man stop by and talk to me for a second. He said he was in the military, and that he was "incognito" because the unspoken understanding was that his fellow servicemembers probably do not appreciate our side of the aisle the way they do the others.
He spoke for a minute on being there, and then he pointed at my Taliban sign, and he said this:
Yeah, man, you know, I think you're absolutely right. I've met [the Taliban], and they are exactly alike.
I was a little stunned, so I asked him if he had gone overseas and served. He said he had in fact fought in Afghanistan, and the similarities could not be denied.
My brother and I thanked him for his service and he walked off.
****
What does that say about the state of the Republican Party these days?
A young man, in the military, who has actually engaged in combat with the actual Taliban in Afghanistan told me that my sign was appropriate because the groups were alike.
It is one thing for Markos to write a book with that title; it is designed to not just call out the right wing, but I imagine to get attention too.
But to have a member of the US Armed Forces tell me that he had fought the Taliban and that my sign was on the mark...speaks volumes to me.
I hope more people will notice what is going on now, and I would love it if the media snapped out of it and started asking questions instead of just giving extremists an unfettered platform to spread their hate.
One Nation Working Together was a great experience, and I hope I have the chance to stand up for progressive principles again soon.
Thanks for reading.
HRP.
UPDATES:
- Thanks again my friends for the Rec List! =)
POINT 2 REMOVED BY REQUEST.
We have got to keep showing people from not just the rest of the country but from around the world that the Tea Party is not a real representation of the whole of America the way that the people at One Nation were.
We must keep fighting!