I love Daily Kos and I respect many of its members, but my current idol is Annabel Park, a fellow Montgomery County (Maryland) resident who started the "Coffee Party USA" a year and a half ago, in response to the madness of 2009-2010 -- the anger, the bullying and the general incivility of the Tea Party movement and the dangerous posed by their ideas. While most of us just sit around all day on our arses and pontificate, Annabel saw the need to actually organize and get active -- to do things in the real world: to debate, to educate, to motivate, to activate people to take back our politics from the moneyed interests that are drowning our democracy and from the radicals who resist reason and hard truths and from those who are only interested in their own self-interest.
Ms. Park and the Coffee Party are now trying to organize a "People Power" response to the radicals who are trying to demand government that reflects the interests of all the people, and not just a government that reflects the desires of corporate interests and the politicians who sell out the interests of their constituents in trade for corporate support. They hope to create a million-strong following to march on Washington and on state capitals. With the madness for the right on the debt-ceiling, I think it's crucial to make our voices heard and our presence seen. I think this march is a great way to do that, and it would be amazing if we could create a tidal wave of support that would trigger the rallies in time to pressure the GOP on the debt-ceiling negotiation.
I don't know if anything like a nationwide march can be pulled together in time, but the Coffee Party is waiting on getting one million people to join the"Enough is Enough" rally page on Facebook. Of course, you need to be serious about a willingness to take a day and do this if and when the call goes out to march. If you can't make it to Washington, DC, be sure to find an event closer to home.
When these kinds of events come up, we all tend to think we have something better, more personal, more urgent or more important to do. The truth is nothing could be more urgent or more important -- and, frankly, nothing could be more personal. What's going on now will affect us in innumerable ways and more profoundly than we can even imagine. Don't think "I'll go if I can". Just go. First, sign up. Then wait for the call. Even if it takes weeks or months to get the million and organize the rallies....
I'm hoping this can happen in time to make the case before the GOP crashes the economy because of their debt ceiling and no tax fetishes. Even if it doesn't, there will be another chance for the GOP to wave their crazy hats when the budget negotiations begin. And, if the rallies don't come until the election campaign is well under way...well, then there would be another, compelling case to make with a show of support for the people who represent the People.