(Note from J.D. — I’ve posted this account of last week’s Washington protests from two of my friends (Lee Light and Robin Taylor) who were there. Hope you enjoy.)

These are some observations of two 60+ year old women, veterans of civil rights, women’s rights and anti-Vietnam movements returning to the demonstration circuit. Because the actions of this administration are so disastrous, we decided that we needed to  participate in the anti-war rally and march in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, January 27. Many friends and community members that we told thanked us for taking the trip and said that they were with us in spirit. It was a very cold night on Friday at 10pm when we  boarded one of six buses that Peace and Justice Center had chartered to take folks down to Washington. We got on the Montpelier bus and knew only four people out of the 55. Some of the others seemed to be new to the anti-war movement.  There were some families and also a church group. Everyone was eager and proud to be representing the anti-war voice in Vermont.  We heard of estimates of 500-750 Vermonters in total that went to Washington. We were a proud bunch wearing our “Vermont Says No to War” banners and stickers.

On Saturday under a bright sun and temperatures in the 50’s we listened first to church leaders, then politicians, political activists, ex-soldiers, and celebrities. For about two hours we listened and cheered. The main themes of the speakers were to bring the troops home now and not fund the escalation and the occupation. The bounty of caring for the troops, their safety, and care when they returned home came through loud and clear, as well as concern for the suffering of their families. Speakers also mourned the lost lives of  Iraqis and their children who have been caught up in a useless and unending war. But there was an underlying message coming through loud and clear through signs and chants that these Americans wanted Bush and Cheney impeached. Several signs read Pelosi in 2007!

But we would like to mention some of what the media didn’t cover in reporting this event.  There were people from all over the country:  Washington, Oregon, California, Iowa, Texas, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, to name a few.  The AP story in the Sunday Times-Argus implied that the organizers, United for Peace and Justice, hoped for 100,000 people and were disappointed. We strongly disagree. At the rally and march we believe we were about 500,000.  The park police on orders from the White House no longer give estimates of the size of protest marches and rallies.  There was also no mention in the AP story of the `Impeach Bush/Cheney’ signs that were everywhere.

After the rally, demonstrators expected to march down Pennsylvania Ave.  As folks were moving forward to start the march, people were being corralled  through a passage way to the parade route that funneled the 6 lane boulevard down to three, creating a tremendous bottleneck.  People slowly edged forward to get in line.  Once we were on Pennsylvania Ave. we were allowed to march 2-3 blocks up toward the Capitol and then the crowd was dispersed because we were blocked from going further. This action of police manipulation of the crowd successfully defused the momentum of the marchers. It was virtually impossible to see how great a number of people there were. While we weren’t herded into corrals like protestors in other demonstrations in New York City, our effort to send our message to the rest of the United States and the world was definitely thwarted.

Eventually the “march” which really wasn’t a march was over.  We wondered why we didn’t parade down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House. We believe we had been allowed to demonstrate under the control of a government that had absolutely no intention of listening to the people. If Congress allows the Bush/Cheney administration to continue to ignore the vote of the American people then we are only living under the illusion of a democracy.

Did the media minimize the rally by underestimating the crowd?  Did they forget to mention the outcry for impeachment?  Was the coverage of the rally and march downplayed by only minimally reporting the event in the press?  Looks that way to us! 

Lee Light farms with her husband in Marshfield.
Robin Taylor is also a farmer in Marshfield.

(Looks like this is the bill if Welch is going to rise to the occasion as Leahy has. Don’t know where Sanders is on the issue. Anyone…? – promoted by odum)

I’ve finally gotten some time to actually read the ‘Bring Our Troops Home and Sovereignty of Iraq Restoration Act of 2007′(H.R. 508) by Congresswoman Woolsey. As I see it, this is the ONLY bill that House Dems should be talking about, no more of this ‘nonbinding resolution’ crap, which are basically methods of acting like you’re doing something while doing nothing. You can read the entire text of the bill here. Some things in the bill worth noting:

“The occupation of Iraq has made the United States economically and militarily weaker, has made the United States less safe because it has enhanced the recruitment of terrorists, and has diminished America’s prestige and influence in the world.

The civilian leadership at the Department of Defense has failed to adequately support United States Armed Forces in Iraq, which were not trained to carry out an occupation and did not receive the proper equipment to achieve their stated mission.

Congress declares that it is the policy of the United States-
(1) to end the occupation of Iraq on the basis of the findings specified in section 101;
(2) to accelerate the training and equipping ofthe military and security forces of the  Governmentof Iraq;
(3) to pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy;
(4) to help preserve the territorial integrity of Iraq as a nation state;
(5) to take all appropriate measures to account for any missing members of the United States
Armed Forces or United States citizens in Iraq; and
(6) to turn over all internal security activities and military operations in Iraq to the elected Government of Iraq not later than the end of the six month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act”

And I love this one here…

SEC. 109. PROHIBITION ON PRODUCTION SHARING AGREEMENTS FOR IRAQI PETROLEUM RESOURCES.
(a) PROHIBITION.-On or after the date of the enactment of this Act, no department, agency, or other entity of the Government of the United States and no national of the United States may enter into a contract for the development, production, or marketing of petroleum resources in Iraq.

Kinda defeats the purpose of why we went in there, huh? Now, maybe I’m repeating myself here, but it’s time for Vermonters to take Peter Welch to the mat on this, especially considering that he based a good portion of his campaign on ending the war and bringing the troops home. The nonbinding resolutions Welch supports do nothing.  Zip. Nada. So, once again, nicely call his VT office at 888-605-7270 or his Washington office at 202-225-4115, and ask Welch’s office why he hasn’t signed on as cosponsor to the Woolsey bill, if he is really serious about ending the war in Iraq. And remember, be nice.

Another thing… if Welch does sign on, let’s give him props for actually doing what he was elected to do. But if he doesn’t, it’s time to start calling for his head.I’ve already got the spike ready.

During the 2004 election season, a campaign by MoveOn.org, Arianna Huffington, and Joe Trippi implored John Kerry to "go big."

The kick-off email began…

Dear MoveOn member,

As George Bush’s poll numbers drop, John Kerry is facing an important choice — perhaps the most important choice he’ll make in his campaign. He has to decide whether, as some consultants will urge, he should be cautious, or whether he should present a bold agenda for change and rally all Americans around a common vision for our future.

Throughout his life, John Kerry has made a practice of standing up for bold initiatives to provide health care, protect the environment, and guarantee truth-telling in government. Together, we need to let him know that we want him to be his best, boldest self — to go big, ask more from us, and power his campaign on the politics of hope and progress.

MoveOn asked you to sign on to a letter to John Kerry from Huffington and Trippi that included…

You should own September 12th – the spirit of generosity and community that poured forth in the aftermath of the attacks – and the politics of hope.

Offer voters a bold moral vision of what America can be. A vision that is bigger than the things that divide us. A vision that brings hope and soul back to our politics and appeals to more than voters’ narrow self-interests. A vision that makes America once again a respected force for good in the world.

Don’t be tempted to adopt the familiar – and failed – Republican-lite swing voter strategy. You can reach out to and inspire the fifty percent of eligible voters who have given up on voting. If you do, you will win not in a toss-up but a landslide.

Senator Kerry, I’m ready to vote my hopes and not my fears. So please: Go Big, Ask More!

The fact that Trippi was a part of this "go big" push is not surprising. The early Dean campaign embraced a similar calling for something bigger, and evoked the idealism of our nation’s greatest leaders… In Trippi’s (and Pat Cadell’s) famous "Definitional Moment" memo, Trippi challenged Dean to be a transformational leader.

On June 11th, less than two weeks before Dean’s ambitious "Great American Restoration" announcement speech (read it) — delivered, on a beautiful sunny day,  to a massive crowd packing every inch of Church St. in Burlington, the memo read…

The campaign has gotten to a place no one ever thought it could get to.

A confluence of your passion, events of the country, the mood of the voters, and the conjunction of history have produced yet another moment that is with precedence in American history – the transformation of American politics.

It began with Andrew Jackson who transformed America into a Democratic Republic, then to Lincoln who saved it, and to the populist/progressive movement of Teddy Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson and then to Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal.

This is another one of those moments – the place where the future happens.

You have felt this – you know that something bigger is happening here beyond conventional politics. It is what happens every time you tell people that the future of our country rests in their hands – and not in yours. The room goes silent and you feel the hunger in them and the frustration within yourself to explain something that you have yet to find the words to express.

It is the need to throw out all that is transactional and embrace the hunger to transform our country.

If the country wanted a transactional leader i.e. somebody to negotiate deals with various groups and interests, and grease the wheels of inside Washington and make things as they are run better, there would be no rationale for your candidacy – nor would thousands be joining your cause. In fact if the people wanted a transactional leader there are far more obvious choices among this field of candidates than you.

Yet young people are streaming into your campaign everyday, your supporters are energized, travel hundreds of miles, and wait for hours to cheer briefly as you go into an event that they are not even allowed to attend.

This is the thing you must recognize – the thing above all others you must understand. This campaign is not about you – it may have started out that way but you have touched something more powerful than any other force in our nation’s history. It is bigger than you, bigger than any single issue, and you can not turn away from it or your responsibility to move from a transactional leader who has a health care plan – to a transformational leader that rises to the historical moment, and leads a movement to save and restore America’s ideals – and invite – no demand that every American rise to the challenge.

You have touched a nerve of unvanquished hunger, and almost limitless need to transform our country.

With later references to Tom Paine’s "Common Sense" — amidst all the seemingly necessary appeals to the base — the Dean campaign hit upon this intoxicating "go big" invitation to participate in something bigger, something better.

Barack Obama struck the same vibe in his speech today at the DNC’s winter meeting, where, in 2003, Dean made his own splash.

And while the content of Obama’s speech today was certainly inspiring, similar to the highpoints of Dean’s rhetoric, the one striking detail to me is what Obama, quite intentionally, didn’t do [my emphasis] …

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama struck an understated tone. Unlike other candidates, he had no entry or exit music when he spoke. His campaign’s table offered no stickers, buttons or other trinkets — merely a sign-up sheet for volunteers.

In fact, one had to look pretty hard to find the table at all. Its sole identification was three tattered pieces of plain, white paper with "Obama’s Exploratory Committee Table" printed on them.

All of this was purely intentional, according to an Obama campaign official. He said it would be hypocritical to say, as Obama has, that you’re running a different kind of campaign while using traditional tactics.

Of course, a candidate like Obama, the current sensation of the Democratic Party, may not need to put on a big show. Even in his speech — interrupted by applause several times — he made little mention of himself, his story or his abilities. Instead, he asked the crowd to transcend partisan politics and embrace hope.

If the recent moves — the bold Iraq De-escalation Act, the support for universal health care, the voting fraud bill — seem to be signaling a bold agenda for Obama’s candidacy, this symbolic spurning of traditional political trappings only adds to the promise.

The themes of civic responsibility and personal humility, of course, are not new for Barack Obama. His Harvard Law years’ writings hit many of the same notes. But that one blind quote highlighted above really sparked my imagination. Maybe, just maybe, the Obama campaign can pull off what the Dean campaign could not sustain.

If Obama and his staff can avoid the internal battles that watered down Dean’s transformational message — apparently as early as the "September to Remember" — they will, in the words of Huffington and Trippi, "win not in a toss-up but a landslide."