( - promoted by Eric B.)
UPDATE BELOW Huffington Post piece is HERE. Also, Daily Kos diary is HERE and has some additional stuff in it. Check it out and give it a Rec if you're of a mind to.
I got my first inkling that things were going well when I received the following text from a friend: It is AMAZING! HUGE turnout for our side!!! The Jackson Citizen Patriot is now reporting that hundreds of people lined all four corners of the intersection near Schauer's Jackson office in what Jackson police describe as a "primarily peaceful" rally. Positioned on all four corners of the N. West Avenue and Ganson Street intersection, people marched up and down the streets, chanting and carrying signs. Both opponents and proponents of President Barack Obama's health care reform proposal had planned to rally at the location, with supporters starting at 3:30 p.m. and opponents coming out at 4:30 p.m. Many passing motorists were stopping to honk, which created some traffic slowdowns. Police were in the intersection to try and keep things moving. |
Amazingly, Jackson County Commissioner Phil Duckham was also there carrying "a sign with a swastika on it, and compared Obama to Hitler." A County Commissioner? Really? "This is how Hitler started out," Duckham said. "First, Obama took over the auto industry, then the banking industry. We don't need him to take over the health care industry." Organizing for America state director Aletheia Henry was very happy with the turnout: I am shocked, I did not expect this many people," Henry said. "We put out the call and the people came. Well done, District 7. You done us proud! I'm just sayin'... UPDATE: Speaking with Abby Clark, former OFA staffer, who was at the event, it turns out we TOTALLY out-numbered the teabaggers. 355 people signed in at the event and many more were there that didn't sign in. How many anti-reformers? About 50. Niiiii-iiiice! 8+-to-1 ratio? That's something we can ALL be happy about. The brilliant part about it is that OFA and Schauer staff planned the rally for one hour BEFORE the anti-health reform folks had theirs scheduled. When those 50 right wingers showed up, they faced a monsterous crowd of over 400 pro-health care reform citizens fired up and ready to go. Wonder how that felt... Can I get a what-what? Hell yeah! |
