I went to the DNC sponsored protest in Manhattan to support Social Security from Bush's grasping paws. It was a kind of sorry affair, and it illustrated both what is wrong with the left and what is getting better.
First the protest: at its peak about 50 people showed. Despite Bush's racist attempts to get blacks behind his reforms, it was almost exclusively white faces--two minorities that I noticed. Some literature was handed out. And we all stood around. That was it. A handful of elderly firebrands kept trying to get chanting going but there really weren't enough people to sustain it. The person who best exploited the situation was a Lyndon LaRouche guy who handed out literature (he looked frighteningly like Hitler Youth). Analysis below.
So, why didn't the DNC coordinate this event with DFA? Why wasn't labor (AFL-CIO) brought in? Why wasn't there some outreach to black church groups? Why wasn't Billionaires for Bush performing? Any one of those sources could have doubled the turnout and would have made a sad little protest something with some fire. Why did the DNC only send out emails 2 days before the event (given that short notice, 50 people wasn't really bad). This shows what is wrong with the left: we can't pull together properly. We don't cooperate.
So why does this illustrate what is getting better? Well, first of all, the last time my wife and I went to a protest (against the stolen election, set up by United for Peace and Justice) it didn't exist. Info went out, no one showed. So a turnout of 50 beats that. Second, when was the last time the DNC held a protest? I think clearly Dean is already having an effect. The DNC organized, seemingly spur of the moment, a protest in Manhattan! Think of that! I also got an email today where the DNC gave me clear and concise inforamation on the DeLay scandals. (http://www.democrats.org/specialreports/delaycasefile/index.html) No request for money, just information. Imagine that!
SO it wasn't a very good protest. At least it is grassroots activism sponsored by the DNC. It is a step in the right direction. Now if only we can get the DNC, labor, DFA, black churches, and AARP together and REALLY put on a protest, THEN the Greedy Old Party had better watch out. But Dean has only been in charge a short time. That kind of organizing won't come in a day.