"One Nation" Union Rally Flops
At 'One Nation' rally, a unionized show of unity
"Organizers will deny that the march was a total union job, compared to the more grassroots character of tea party gatherings. And it's true that union allies like the NAACP also played a big part in staging "One Nation Working Together." But it's safe to say the rally would have been nothing without labor's money and organizing strength."
The "One Nation" rally in D.C. appears to have flopped. Credible independent and non-partisan estimates conclude it was only about 1/3 the size of Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally.
I don't like Glenn Beck. He's darkly amusing in a paranoid and outrageous unintended comedic sense, but as for politics, he's crazy. Every time I've listened to him it just seems to be one big conspiracy theory bleeding into another.
I'm also put off by his insistence that I need to worship his God in order to really put this country on the right path. When that's used as a major divisive issue, it's going to leave me disconnected. I don't understand why when I'm basically someone in favor of similar fiscal policy, I've got to be made a target to be looked at as something foreign and "other". It's the same major problem that I have with the Republican party at large, the inevitable descent into the culture wars...
But the aftermath of the two different rallies leaves a stunning difference evident. Beck did hawk his rally for a very long time, so there was some marketing advantage to his right off the bat, but the "One Nation" rally had the backing of Big Labor, including groups which *required* their members to attend.
Cursory glances through YouTube & Google images (with a healthy dose of skepticism in case of doctoring) show not only crowd size differences, but a very different outcome after they dispersed. There was very little litter left after Beck's rally while massive amounts of pre-printed Union signs and trash left all over the national parks, and memorials to our fallen after the Union one. And while the crazy fringe was toned down at Beck's rally at his specific request (because let's face it there's been a lot of crazy signs at many other Tea Party rallies & protests by seemingly unhinged individuals), there were plenty of extreme Socialist, Communist groups at the Union one.
I'm not sure where that leaves things. I think it should probably frighten the crap out of the Democrats. I'm also wary of turning things over to people who may misread the change in leadership to not just be mandate to get our fiscal house in order by cutting the governments size and it's burden upon us, but to also start demanding that we all start conforming to their religion as well.
I guess that leaves me interested to see what Jon Stewart & Steven Colbert can drum up though at the end of the month. Of any of the rallies, that's the one I'd want to attend.
"Organizers will deny that the march was a total union job, compared to the more grassroots character of tea party gatherings. And it's true that union allies like the NAACP also played a big part in staging "One Nation Working Together." But it's safe to say the rally would have been nothing without labor's money and organizing strength."
The "One Nation" rally in D.C. appears to have flopped. Credible independent and non-partisan estimates conclude it was only about 1/3 the size of Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally.
I don't like Glenn Beck. He's darkly amusing in a paranoid and outrageous unintended comedic sense, but as for politics, he's crazy. Every time I've listened to him it just seems to be one big conspiracy theory bleeding into another.
I'm also put off by his insistence that I need to worship his God in order to really put this country on the right path. When that's used as a major divisive issue, it's going to leave me disconnected. I don't understand why when I'm basically someone in favor of similar fiscal policy, I've got to be made a target to be looked at as something foreign and "other". It's the same major problem that I have with the Republican party at large, the inevitable descent into the culture wars...
But the aftermath of the two different rallies leaves a stunning difference evident. Beck did hawk his rally for a very long time, so there was some marketing advantage to his right off the bat, but the "One Nation" rally had the backing of Big Labor, including groups which *required* their members to attend.
Cursory glances through YouTube & Google images (with a healthy dose of skepticism in case of doctoring) show not only crowd size differences, but a very different outcome after they dispersed. There was very little litter left after Beck's rally while massive amounts of pre-printed Union signs and trash left all over the national parks, and memorials to our fallen after the Union one. And while the crazy fringe was toned down at Beck's rally at his specific request (because let's face it there's been a lot of crazy signs at many other Tea Party rallies & protests by seemingly unhinged individuals), there were plenty of extreme Socialist, Communist groups at the Union one.
I'm not sure where that leaves things. I think it should probably frighten the crap out of the Democrats. I'm also wary of turning things over to people who may misread the change in leadership to not just be mandate to get our fiscal house in order by cutting the governments size and it's burden upon us, but to also start demanding that we all start conforming to their religion as well.
I guess that leaves me interested to see what Jon Stewart & Steven Colbert can drum up though at the end of the month. Of any of the rallies, that's the one I'd want to attend.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home