Archive for the ‘Community Organizing’ Category

Final March to Reform – Days 3-5

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

Organizing for America, President Obama’s grassroots organization, is entering the next phase of its Final March to Health Insurance Reform. This weekend, we are joining volunteers across the country at phone banks to activate the public in support of HIR.

Check out Organizing for America and plug in your zip code to find a phone bank near you.

Also, plan to take to the streets next week in a final push for strong, quality reform. I’ll be at the San Diego Civic Center on Tuesday at the end of the ALL ABOARD for Health Insurance Reform Rally to encourage Senators Boxer and Feinstein to fight hard for true HIR. Event details:

At 10:30 AM we gather at the south side of Santa Fe Train Depot located at 1050 Kettner Blvd. We will march as a group, proceeding south on Kettner, turning left on W. Broadway and proceeding for 8 block along Broadway,and turning left (north) on 3rd Ave for 2 blocks, to 1100 3rd, the entrance to Civic Center Plaza Concourse. Throughout the march, please carry your home-made sign in support of Health Insurance Reform. 

At 11:00, we will arrive at the Plaza Concourse, to hear the speakers in support health insurance reform.

After the speaking program, we will march back to Santa Fe Depot. If you are not taking the train, there is ample paid parking near the Depot at 1050 Kettner. If the walk is not convenient for you, there is ample paid parking next to the Plaza Concourse at the Civic Center.

The Tea Partiers did their part to sabotage Health Care Reform the first time around, and now its on us to do our part to fix it. Its not enough to criticize our politicians after the fact for things not going our way, especially if they are in conservative districts. We need to take action to make it politically viable for our representatives to vote the way they should.

So check out Organizing for America to find a phone bank or visibility event near you!

You Fight, We’ll Fight

Monday, March 8th, 2010

I went to an Organizing for America 2010 Strategy Session yesterday and was psyched to learn about the “You Fight, We’ll Fight” campaign. From OFA’s website:

COMMIT YOUR TIME TO BACK UP CANDIDATES WHO FIGHT HARD FOR HEALTH REFORM

We must show every member of Congress that if they fight for real health reform now, we’ll be there to back them up this election season.

We’re shooting for 10,000,000 hours pledged to spread the word to fellow voters. And we’ll publish the total hours pledged in USA Today, so there will be no doubt that health reform is both good policy and good politics.

Wow. Voting. Not exactly a new idea, right? (In fact, its one that many people consider worthless in our current political climate.) But, its campaigns like this one that aim to increase the power of the political voices of everyday citizens and to pass ground-breaking social justice legislation that have the potential to change this political climate.

Sometimes its damn hard to tell Democrats and Republicans apart. As Talib Kweli says:

You try to vote and participate in the government
And the m**f** Democrats is actin’ like Republicans

If President Obama’s message of change has a chance of materializing into something worth the enormous struggles ahead of us, it will depend in large part upon Democratic politicians legitimately working in service of the people. And this means challenging the staggering influence that corporate lobbyists have on our politicians. We will never come close to outspending the bloodsucking insurance lobbyists, so we have to maximize the power of the tools we do have.

The You Fight, We’ll Fight approach inserts you and me into the equation by pre-emptively strengthening our bargaining power. By identifying ourselves as potential supporters, we are a force to be reckoned with and voters potentially to be lost instead of a disengaged, disempowered public. Plus, it sends a clear message to the Democrats that Health Insurance Reform in 2010 is a deal-breaker for their constituents.

In short, the You Fight, We’ll Fight campaign is one worthy of your consideration. Organizing for America has declared March 8 – March 14 the Week of Health Insurance Reform Action, so now is the perfect time to get involved. Check out Organizing for America to pledge your support and find an event near you. And check out the President’s message to his supporters below:

Join Dolores Huerta in the Fight for the Public Option!

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

Attention all LA-based folks in support of health care reform! Dolores Huerta, co-founder of United Farm Workers of America, life long social justice activist and president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, is headlining a Health Care Reform open forum this Thursday, November 12 at 12 noon at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church.

Community organizers, religious leaders and politicians, including California Senator Barbara Boxer, will be joining Huerta at this incredibly important event. In addition to mobilizing for the next health care battle in the Senate, community members will be able to voice their feelings about many issues, including the recent devastating EXCLUSION of undocumented peoples from health care reform. The event will also serve as an opportunity to strategize for health care and immigration reform and to discuss the needs of the diverse communities of Los Angeles and the country as a whole.

For more information, email hcan.california@yahoo.com.