The Obama Movement on the ground is certainly comparable in power and scope to the corporate-driven Tea Party Movement, which has been given traction by the consistent fascination of the pundits. To the media the Obama movement is invisible and virtually nonexistent. But this account in HuffPo makes it clear that the tortoise is out there and will probably overcome the Hare Armey (sic) in time.
It is true that a segment of the progressive constituency that Obama had going into 2008 has vaporized in the negative environment of attacks from what I would call the “optional progressive” wing — those who, for the most part, have no real stake in the results of the President’s policy initiatives. We sometimes forget that we were an affluent society and that much of our wealth is discretionary wealth. Folks with wiggle room and an ambient conscience can be will-o-the-wisps and feel righteous in the bargain.
But there is a solid core of Obama folk who will call the tune in November, 2010, either holding back a resurgence of the Republicans (historically the out-party rebounds) or defying the history with serious gains and a a far more progressive Congress than we have now.
In other words, while the HuffPo Obama bashers complain, the work they are not doing will get done by folk who know how to organize and build community locally.
Instead of Tea Parties I believe the Organizing for America folk should designate their gatherings for 2010 as Victory Parties. V Parties are far more pertinent than Tea Parties when it comes to achieving change.
Stephen Curtiss Rose 