How do we get a mass movement back?

[BayCityProgressive]

Before the war we had a mass movement of millions of liberals demonstrating in the streets. How do we turn these people out for protests again and start other protests as well? The women's reproductive rights march was HUGE. Gays should be marching, as should organized labor. Where is the outrage?

[Warpy]

1. Another DLC campaign killed it.

[Ardee]

2. This is th esixty four dollar question

In SF there were recent marches protesting the onset of the Falujah (sic) offensive, not very many showed up. After four years of weakened environmental legislation, weakened public education through defunding, weakened international support for our foreigh policy because it is stupid, immoral and deadly, weakened civil rights for most americans, weakened health care systems due to greed and Bill Frist (this guy owns one of the largest HMO's in the country and decides health care policies....eerrr) and the threat of even worse to come America is divied on Bush, almost in half, and not many are even excited, worried or angry.....WTF.

[BayCityProgressive]

3. If someone like Kucinich, Feingold, Pelosi

ect got out in front and marched in the protests and helped rally them like McGovern did in the 60s-70s They could ride the wave to the next presidential nomination. Could they avoid another McGovern like defeat is a very different question. I think it could be different this time though, people have turned against this war faster than they did Vietnam..and although our leadership is conservative, I think the base of our party has actually moved even more Left over the decades!

[Ardee]

4. The base in not in charge

Regardless of your thoughts on the stance of the democratic base it should be readily apparent by now that the leadership is moving further to the right chasing Bush.......The Progressive wing of the party is powerless and shunned.

How many more elections will it take, losing ones for the Dems, before someone, somewhere gets it that one must differentiate oneself or ones party from ones opponent? This "me too only better" crap will not fly, walk or crawl.

[Toby109]

5. I agree. Someone with some stature

has got to step up. In the 60s we had Martin Luther King, JFK, RFK, Malcolm X, McGovern, McCarthy and so on. Of course they were either killed or marginalized. Who is out there now? Where are our goddamn leaders? Dean, Kucinich and Sharpton seem to be the only ones willing to speak truth to power. And, IMO, their efforts have been muted at best. Wellstone would have seemed to be a natural but look what happened to him. Shit...

[Lone_Wolf]

9. What came first... the movement or its leader?

I think if we are going to wait around for a leader, then we are going to be waiting a very long time. Action is better than no action.

[Ardee]

10. Very true

When the people lead the leaders will follow.......however the ability to move the leadership of the democratic party to the left is a puzzlement to me....

[AuntPatsy]

6. In California, some are trying, and they were rewarded with

armed tanks staring them down in the streets, amazing these people..

http://la.indymedia.org/news/2004/11/118865_comment.php#118867

[Lone_Wolf]

7. Some ideas...

1. We have to learn how to organize... It is a skill, that can be taught. Perhaps some people who were involved in organizing in the 60's and 70's can give us suggestions on this?

2. Recognize that there are some sophisitcated controls built into society that keep people separated. These controls need to be identified and exposed for what they are. For example, the competitive nature of schools often indoctrinate people the idea that the only things you are entitled to are the things you can win for yourself. In our society competition is more highly regarded than cooperation.

3. We need to act without a leader. Instead of doing something, people often wait for a leader to lead them. This leader rarely if ever comes. When they do come it is because of the foundation laid by progressives we will never hear about. Martin Luther King Jr. became a leader only through the work of many people.

[H2O Man]

8. Have you ever studied the 1963 March on Washington?

It started out being planned as a "people's march." The big names weren't invited. It was going to be the common people, the grass-roots. Country folk, city folk. House people, apartment people, trailor people, street people.

Kennedy called "the Big 8" into a conference at the White House. He said they needed to stop the march, because he was preparing to send some legislation to the hill. The Big 8 told him they couldn't stop it, because they hadn't started it.

So Kennedy decided to "endorse" the march. He decided to have some of his friends fund it. He put the Big 8 in charge. If you don't believe this, read some of Malcolm X's comments on it ... and he was right. No one can dispute this.

Maybe the grass roots should organize on the grass roots level. We don't need any big names. Maybe just a "people's march."

[German-Lefty]

11. Let them screw up the country just a bit more and let blow back get them.

When the pendulum swings back the other way, we'll get a chance to reeducate the country.

4 more years of people dieing in Iraq
4 more years of job loss
4 more years of corporate power
.... and then people will see who they've been voting for.