The Power of Protest

My heart sank when I saw the thousands out protesting health care reform in the Washington today. While I would love the idea of us joining the rest of the civilized world with a policy of universal health care, I now know this is just a dream. Thanks to that protest, nothing will happen.

Don't believe me? Ah, how people forget. Do you not remember that fateful day, on Februrary 15, 2003, when not just "thousands" but hundreds and hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets to protest the invasion of Iraq? And not just in D.C. but in cities all over the world. Don't you remember that?

We sought mediation, we sought a peaceful solution, we sought any alternative but the "shock and awe" of missiles and arms and death that the White House had promised were on their way.

And guess what, we did it! We stopped the war!

George Bush watched the news all day and listened to NPR and then he and Laura had that famous "Late Night Cookie Chat" about it, and that's how we avoided getting embroiled in one of the worst planned and worst executed military actions in the last thirty years.

I am sure that is exactly what inspired the riders of the Tea Party Express and Dick Armey's army of Freedomworks soldiers to get out there with their own protest today.

Sure, they didn't have nearly the numbers. But they know there is nothing like a good foot stomping, saber rattling protest to turn things around.

They remember how, together, we collectively stopped George Bush from causing the deaths of thousands of innocent people and wasting billions of our hard earned tax dollars. And they know that -- by using these same techniques against us -- they can keep Barack Obama from helping thousands of innocent people and putting tax dollars to good use.

So we may as well put our hopes and dreams for national health care reform in the old recycling bin, because it's over. Those protesters beat us at our own game.

Touché, my fine opponents. Well played. Very well played.

Comments

[Sigmond]

"They took lessons from Abby Hoffman and the days of rage"

lol...That­'s pretty funny. FYI, protesting is an American tradition for all Americans, not just former hippies and yippees..

[mcsquared65]

Wow, way to spin this important occasion into yet another Bush bashing. So I suppose the next time anyone including far out libs don't like something, they should shut up and take it? 'mkay, gotcha.

[Dude23]

First of all, it was not 50,000 in D.C. yesterday. It was somewhere between 600,000 and 2 million. (ABC News and London Daily). Have a look at this photo: www.wnd.com/images/march55.jpg and see clearly that there are probably close to a million of more.

Second, where are the pro-Obama protests? There are none, because the anti-Obama protests are made up mostly of people who originally voted for Obama and who used to support Obama. Obama supporters are falling like flies and joining the anti-Obama movement. These people are able to see a lame duck when they see one.

Third, the Obama supporters wanted change; well you are getting it all right. A million people marching on D.C. in protest and the numbers are swelling of the dissatisfied ranks. These people are not pro-GOP either. They do not support GOP nor do they support the Left. They are generally middle of the road independents; So there is your change. The change is that the numbers of people turning against big government.

Obama is great for the country; He is the catalyst that is causing the people to revolt. I hope he stays in there long enough to really piss off enough people to cause them to rise against this corrupted system. We need to clean house and Obama is the best thing since sliced bread at destroying this corrupted government. Yeah GO OBAMA! Keep pissing off your supporters.

[WASanford]

Ok, I'm willing to be generous. There were three million demonstrators in Washington yesterday and the other 347 million of us are just chopped liver! Never mind what the majority of us want, it either can't or won't happen. None of the real beneficiaries from this demonstration were in fact in that crowd, they were sitting in their mansions sipping mint juleps and laughing all the way to their banks. Please, stop shouting long enough to do some serious thinking, unless you are all paid lackeys of the mint julep crowd.

[reviewingthesituation]

I remember attending the Million-Mom-March in 2000 with my daughter, an event that included many more (and much more diverse) people than Sunday's event. We were there in opposition to America's self-slaughterous gun laws. We accomplished little, I'm sad to say.

Any snapshot of yesterday's march would reveal a group shockingly unrepresentative of America, a group that included many who are benefitting from the very programs they shout against.

But nationalized health care is coming, even if the furor stalls reform. One in three citizens benefit from government health care in NC right now. That percentage will grow and, at some point, the uninsured and under-insured will tire of subsidizing that group, while the recipients continue to bite the hand that doctors them. Sadly, in the meantime, young leukemia patients will rely on church bake sales to keep their parents from going bankrupt trying to keep up with their child's medical bills.

[norman60]

•BUT WAIT A MINUTE. YES, PUBLIC MARCH HAS POWER, BUT WHY DON’T WE USE IT TOO?
We are we only glued to the computer and not stump the streets too?
WHERE ARE THE PRO-OBAMA RALLIES??
•I MEAN THE EQUIVALENT OF THE ANTI-OBAMA TEABAG RALLIES????
• WHEN SHALL WE, THE PEOPLE, THE SUPPORTERS OF HEALTH CARE REFORM LEARN TO BE ASSERTIVE?
• WHY DO WE LEAVE WORK TO ONLY ONE MAN?
•WHEN SHALL WE SEE HOW NOISEMAKING AND LIES-TELLING HAS REVIVED THE ONCE DEAD REPUBLICANS?
•WHAT CAN WE SAY WE LEARNED FROM THE TOWN HALLS?
•POLITICS IS A GAME OF REFUTING YOUR OPPONENT WITH THE SAME TACTICS, SAME PUBLIC DISPLAY OF EMOTION!!!
•WHEN WE GONNA WAKE UP?
• SOMEBODY HELP ME, PLEASE!

[WASanford]

Doesn't look like you're getting much help here, perhaps I can help. I was one of the anti-war demonstrators in San Francisco and by extension one of those who demonstrated around the whole WORLD against G W Bush's war. it was an heady experience, but it stopped nothing! Understand what I'm saying, demonstrations accomplish absolutely nothing. When I joined those folks who tied up Congress's phone lines against the TARP rip off, it didn't stop TARP from happening.

Change your attitude! Begin paying attention to your representatives and who contributes to their campaigns. If they get substantial contributions from PACs (Political Action Committees) find out who those PACs represent. If your representatives seem to be taking care of their contributors and ignoring the welfare of their constituents, get rid of him or her whether their in your party or not!

[Onepebbleinthelandslide]

Wizard: The peasants are revolting, Sir.

King: I know, but what do they want?

[JustAnotherScreenname]

50000 unemployed seniors in DC for an event promoted non-stop on an entire media empire is not much of an achievement.

[CDarwin]

Sadly, I think this post is not satire, but truth. When we protested the Iraq war, we didn't own the press. These days, a few thousand madmen is more than equal to a few hundred thousand sane and thoughtful people. Democracy now means government by the loudest group the corporate owned press chooses to report on. We've lost the democracy envisioned by our founding fathers.

[dave citizen]

Try several MILLION people. People who love their country and will now restore it. People wearing t-shirts like "I represent 10,000 more people from Washington state who couldn't be here."

The revolt has begun. Step aside and let us begin the hard work of fixing the mess forced on this great country by liberals and clueless frauds trying to break it down. I was there today. There was revolution in the air. It was ELECTRIC. There was a positive energy I have never felt in my life. And believe me, it is just beginning.

[dynwit]

You're drooling. Now run along home and get your guns out. Your Civil War is waiting for you.

[Arion]

A bit over the top, but (sadly) I mostly agree. The public option is mostly likely gone, and the tea baggers throughout August and today made a significant contribution to bringing it down. And they learned from us. They took lessons from Abby Hoffman and the days of rage

[jintx64]

Good god - you have GOT to be kidding. They learned from YOU? or Abby Hoffman?
My poor misguided student of social justice - you really believe history began with the Yippies?

The TEA BAGGERS take LESSONS from the founders of this country. They add lessons learned from every FAILED government program which has been pushed on us since then.
Unlike Hoffman, we really DO believe Paine's words: "Man has no property in man, neither has any generation a property in the generations which are to follow." The founders of the left a burden on my generation which is not bearable, now we are asked to double that burden for our kids. HELL NO. I'm no longer going to fiddle while Rome burns.

[wandering girl]

right, because the Founding Fathers were protesting the Universal Health Care that Mad King George was forcing on them.

you're a bit late to start fiddling - where were YOU when Mad King George took us into Iraq looking for those mythical WMDs? where were YOU when the Puppetmaster was spying on us AMERICAN CITIZENS? where you YOU when they took your taxes to give to Halliburton? WHERE WERE YOU when they squandered your children's inheritance?

you really believe this economic meltdown started in JANUARY 2009??? my poor misguided fool.

don't give me your sanctimonious words - you know what those unruly crowds are doing, and it has NOTHING to do with "onerous burdens" - it has EVERYTHING to do with partisan politics.

and you obviously didn't even read the article, because it supports NONE of your arguments.

why don't YOU take LESSONS from the founders of this country and stop trying to claim that bankrupting people for medical exigencies is somehow an AMERICAN VIRTUE?

[WASanford]

First of all, I'm on your side. Secondly, you could not be more wrong! You're not going to fix anything by just stupidly joining in with any crowd that claims to be for freedom. For God's sake stop and think long enough to at least identify who the real enemies of your country are. Here, I'll give you a start, go to http://www.reinventingdemocracy.us/ . It's a long read on a computer screen, but when you've finished you'll understand what happened to our democracy and why it no longer works. There's even a hint there at what we can do about it. It's much better than trying to take our government back with our pitchforks, baseball bats, and placards made for us by our overseers.