Last week we all had a lot of fun here posting entries to a contest the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was running for a bumpersticker slogan for Democrats to run on next year.
Because of the wildly enthusiastic response, I am running another slogan contest this week. But this week, we have a much more important contest to run. Don't worry, though -- it should be just as much fun to enter!
In a few weeks, there will be two large "Marches On Washington" by major and well-organized anti-war groups. The first is sponsored by Sept15.org, and will (naturally) take place on September 15th. This was going to be the date General Petraeus' report was to be delivered to Congress. The White House has since announced that (1) the report will be written by the White House, not Petraeus himself; and (2) Petraeus will testify before Congress in open session, but before the September 15th date. September 11th was floated as a possible date, but the historical significance of the date may cause it to be rescheduled.
In any case, the march itself will not be rescheduled, and will take place as planned on September 15th, as well as some other activities in Washington, D.C. which will happen afterwards.
The second large March On Washington will happen September 22nd through the 29th, and will be sponsored by troopsoutnow.org. The "Encampment on Washington" begins September 22, and will be followed by a March On Washington on September 29.
I heartily salute both organizations in their efforts. I have been saying since the beginning of this year that the anti-war forces need to keep the pressure on the politicians in Washington with a show of numbers in order to convince weak-willed congressmen from both sides of the aisle that the anti-war stance is actually wildly popular among their constituents. Even in red states.
I, personally, will not be able to make it to Washington to participate in either of these marches. I suspect there are many of you out there in similar circumstances. But that doesn't mean you can't support the cause with your ideas! So I present a forum for you to offer your suggestions to these fine organizations as to what would be the best slogan to use on signs and chants during the marches.
The entry period is from now until Monday evening -- the whole Labor Day weekend, in other words. I will judge the entries then, and post the winners very late Monday night, or early Tuesday. Below are the award categories I will be using.
Entries will be judged in the following categories:
Overall Best Slogan
Best Chant
Best Anti-Bush Slogan
Best Slogan To Influence Middle America
Best Slogan To Influence Members Of Congress
Funniest Slogan
Most Subtle Slogan
Best Obscure Reference
Most Profane / Tasteless
For the "Best Chant" category, you can either stick to the tried-and-true format of "One-two-three-four / Something something rhymes with 'four' / Five-six-seven-eight / Something something rhymes with 'eight' " -- or you can try something more original (imagine some guy yelling it into a megaphone at the rally, to help visualize it in use).
After this column is posted, I will be alerting the pressrooms of both the sponsors of these marches. They may read your slogan. They may completely ignore me and this column. But who knows -- your slogan entry may wind up on hundreds of signs in a massive anti-war protest next month!
In any case, good luck! If last week was any indication, we should see some brilliant suggestions here....
Chris Weigant blogs at: ChrisWeigant.com