To stand in solidarity with our fellow healthcare supporters in DC, we in the Tampa Bay area had our own presence this afternoon.
Dozens of healthcare supporters from all over Central Florida showed up to join hands across the causeway that joins Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties--and not a teabagger was to be found.
Join me at the jump for details and photos of this pleasant event.
So this afternoon, my younger son and I hit the highway to travel about an hour westward, where members of Organizing for America (OFA) had called out to supporters on Facebook and via other organizations to join hands at a UNITY For Health Care Reform rally across Tampa Bay.
We met our fellow ralliers on Courtney Campbell Causeway, the multi-laned bridge road that joins the Hillsborough (Tampa) side of the Bay with the Pinellas (Clearwater/St. Petersburg) side. When we arrived, the cars and people were already lining up on the water side of the causeway:
The red truck below is from ABC Action News 10. Several people were being interviewed, but as of this diary's posting, it is too early to tell if the coverage actually went to broadcast (the nightly news starts at 11 p.m. EST). Channel 10 and our local, listener-supported public-radio station, WMNF, were the only local media sources to my knowledge that were present. (If any Bay Area people who were there can confirm or correct me, I can update.)
It was raining all day around our area, but to my and Little Boof's surprise and delight, the weather stayed dry the entire time. Little Boof even remarked that he liked holding the SINGLE PAYER OPTION sign he was holding, and wanted to stay! (At 7, he's a budding progressive activist.) Here's a pic of two supporters:
One sign I wished I'd photographed when I had the chance (darn!) was one that read, MY CAR HAS BETTER INSURANCE THAN I DO. If I see it online anywhere, I'll ask the photographer if I can re-post here at a later time--it was a keeper!
More of our group:
What was amazing to me was the complete and total lack of a teabagger presence--anywhere. I talked with one of the organizers who'd mentioned that another segment of UNITY healthcare supporters had gathered farther down on the causeway, and she said that none of them were in opposition to either of our contingents. Not one.
Perhaps they were just exhausted from traveling on insurance company-paid buses from DC back to their homes across the country. Who knows?
At the end of the day, like coquiero mentioned re: the DC Rally today, our contingents in Tampa were "small, but mighty"--and enthusiastic and positive, as the organizers attested in their follow-up email to this afternoon's event. From the email:
United For Change, MoveOn, PDA, HCAN and of course OFA were all on board. It was an amazing day. Twice in a weekend the clouds parted and gave us sun for our event! At 1:30 we all put our signs down and joined hands in Unity for Health Care Reform. It was beautiful ABC Action News and WMNF attended as well as over 100 supporters and pledges! Not too bad for something pulled together so quickly. Several of you expressed an interest to do it again.
We had participants who drove in from St. Petersburg, Largo, Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs, Tampa, Lakeland, Riverview, Fort Meade...several looking for like-minded people to share their passion, energy and commitment to REFORM.
In the words of Mike Malloy, let's keep it lit.
Me with Little Boof: