Hotflash will have a longer post with more details (her video camera is better than mine,) but I wanted to share some observations from last night’s Organizing for America rally for health care reform at the IBEW Hall in south St. Louis.
Somewhere between 1500 to 2000 people showed up to express their support for health care reform. Not a bad crowd when you consider that no program was announced ahead of time. I had no idea who would speak, if anyone. The lineup was pretty strong, actually, with St. Louis Labor Council Pres. Bob Soutier, St. Louis Board of Alderman Pres. Lewis Reed, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, and Congressman Russ Carnahan as the headliners. All of the speakers were extremely passionate and articulate speakers with the exception of Russ, who presented his case rather coolly. And I mean no disrespect to Carnahan – he’s improved his public speaking considerably since his first congressional campaign and did a fine job Sunday evening.
They shared the stage with a woman who is fighting to pay for her son’s epilepsy and leukemia treatments, even with insurance, an OFA volunteer who has been organizing for the past several months in the St. Louis area, and OFA Deputy Director Jeremy Bird, who reminded us that we’ve come farther in the fight for universal health care in the last six weeks than the previous sixty years.
The rally wasn’t the endpoint of what Organizing for America is doing for health care reform in the area. Every speaker emphasized the importance of talking to friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family. And OFA is formally organizing rallygoers and OFA contacts to help out with events like phone banks.
10 thoughts on “Organizing for America Rally in St. Louis”
WillyKsaid:
Given that the media has allowed a minority of fringers to hijack the debate through what you aptly term brownshirt tactics, good media coverage is important for pro-reform rallies. So I wasn’t too happy when I checked to see what the coverage looked like this morning (I welcome corrections if I missed anything important):
No coverage of this in the Post-Dispatch today that I could find. KMOV (ch. 4), which covered the comparatively small tea parties very sympathetically, also doesn’t seem to have any coverage — at least that I can find mentioned on the KMOV Website.
Judging again by Websites, some TV stations did offer coverage, but it seriously differed in emphasis from your report above which goes to show what an impediment local media biases will be to getting real reform:
KSDK (Ch. 5) covered it this same emphasis on presenting “both sides” throughout”:
Tonight, hundreds gathered in St. Louis for a rally in support of insurance reform. Meanwhile, those against it gathered too.
Police did keep an eye on things tonight. But the event went smoothly, those who attended were vocal and not violent. They stood their ground. On one side of the street, those in favor of healthcare reform. On the other side of the street, those opposed.
The Fox (Ch. 2) coverage would almost lead one to think that it was an anti-reform protest. Some selected quotes:
Both sides of the health care debate lined the street outside a south St. Louis union hall on Sunday night shouting back and forth, each side trying to drown the other one out. …
Supporters want a public option but there are plenty of critics who are joining forces with demonstrator opposed to any government run plan.
“It’s exasperation with the growth of government beyond its means,” said Bill Hennessy, demonstrator.
…
Democrats hoped the rally would give lawmakers a reason to stay with the President without worrying about being re-elected.
“This is about sending our congressmen and women back to Washington D.C knowing that there is a lot of support out there for this,” said Jeremy Bird, Organizing for America.
Demonstrators feel a different message will be heard.
“Absolutely the message we hope gets heard is there is going to be a 100 seat turnover in congress if they don’t stop this march to socialism,” said Hennessy
Channel 11’s website just reprints the coverage that went up on the Fox site — although it looks a little better in the video than it reads.
Fox says it best — with no apparent trace of irony:
Both sides think they’re right so in the end it might depend on which side is more effective explaining their point of view.’
Well duh … and if the media is in the can for one of the sides (like the 75 anti-reform protesters you report above as oppsed to the 1500 pro-reform folks) it stands to reason that that side might end up more effective.
Lovely vid and text!! TY!!
The MsM will never get to the core of the issue, it’s about the controversy, the spin. We rocked. We will continue to rock. Wednesday there is going to be a vigil at Tower Grove Park. We will have MORE people at that one. Write that shit down.
For all of you upset with the coverage, or lack of, of Sunday night’s rally, please check out the St. Louis Beacon — stlbeacon.org.
We posted a detailed story, with several photos, about Sunday night’s event.
We also had detailed coverage, with photos, of the opposition’s Aug. 22 rallies outside some congressional offices here.
We’re a nonprofit, nonpartisan Web site with regular coverage of issues — and politics — in the St. Louis area.
Please check us out.
Given that the media has allowed a minority of fringers to hijack the debate through what you aptly term brownshirt tactics, good media coverage is important for pro-reform rallies. So I wasn’t too happy when I checked to see what the coverage looked like this morning (I welcome corrections if I missed anything important):
No coverage of this in the Post-Dispatch today that I could find. KMOV (ch. 4), which covered the comparatively small tea parties very sympathetically, also doesn’t seem to have any coverage — at least that I can find mentioned on the KMOV Website.
Judging again by Websites, some TV stations did offer coverage, but it seriously differed in emphasis from your report above which goes to show what an impediment local media biases will be to getting real reform:
KSDK (Ch. 5) covered it this same emphasis on presenting “both sides” throughout”:
The Fox (Ch. 2) coverage would almost lead one to think that it was an anti-reform protest. Some selected quotes:
Channel 11’s website just reprints the coverage that went up on the Fox site — although it looks a little better in the video than it reads.
Fox says it best — with no apparent trace of irony:
Well duh … and if the media is in the can for one of the sides (like the 75 anti-reform protesters you report above as oppsed to the 1500 pro-reform folks) it stands to reason that that side might end up more effective.
Lovely vid and text!! TY!!
The MsM will never get to the core of the issue, it’s about the controversy, the spin. We rocked. We will continue to rock. Wednesday there is going to be a vigil at Tower Grove Park. We will have MORE people at that one. Write that shit down.
For all of you upset with the coverage, or lack of, of Sunday night’s rally, please check out the St. Louis Beacon — stlbeacon.org.
We posted a detailed story, with several photos, about Sunday night’s event.
We also had detailed coverage, with photos, of the opposition’s Aug. 22 rallies outside some congressional offices here.
We’re a nonprofit, nonpartisan Web site with regular coverage of issues — and politics — in the St. Louis area.
Please check us out.