So last week, fresh back from NN11, I get a call from a young man, whose name I cannot recall (he failed to press a card into my hand) inviting me to an OFA meeting in Las Vegas, NM, County Seat of San Miguel County, NM tonight.
I had removed myself from the barrage of OFA communiques last year in some fit of pique, thus I was surprised to hear from them. But he was an earnest young man and so I listened and then blessed him with an earful of my own opinions. He responded by urging me to come and stating that he needed such voices at his meeting. He also allowed as how this was his first outing into the world of political organizing. I told him I could come but that he ought to email me with a reminder, as I was to be out of state for the 5 days prior to the meeting, plus one.
Well, no email came, but I did remember, so I called Estella's Cafe (148 Bridge St., Las Vegas, NM 87701) and asked if the event was actually on before driving 35 miles to attend. It was, so I went, because I said I would.
Estella herself was there, supervising her meager but tasty and ultimately sufficient spread of guacamole, plain humous (!), white tortilla chips, salsa, wings and iced tea. I had arrived hungry, so it was welcome.
Before I go any further with this, I should disclose that I had failed to update myself on Pres. Obama's pronouncements today and other interesting news, such as the delivery of way over a million signatures in Ohio demanding a referendum on SB5, before attending this meeting. Several people there mentioned his latest words, which they saw as more explicit fight and they approved. Good news.
The first words from the neophyte organizer were about how OFA was a true grass-roots organization, unlike the Tea Party, as he stood in front of a powerpoint presentation of various bullet points that I suspect he didn't put together on his own. He then proceeded to preach to the choir of perhaps 20 who were not organizers of the event. Finally a meek voice piped out from the audience and asked "Is this an open meeting? Can we speak?", and things got moving.
I had warned him of what I might speak of, and I had made acquaintance there with the State level organizer, Pam Coleman (Field Director, OFA) and informed her I was fresh back from NN11 and a Kossak, which seemed to give me some stature in her eyes. Turned out we had TheFatLadySings and mindoca as mutual friends.
So he mentioned seniors, and I, having just last week received my very first SS deposit precisely on the day SS had said it would appear, asked him why the President appeared to be willing to compromise on SS and Medicare benefits in his negotiations with the evil 'thuglians. Then someone said something about "class-warfare" and I said something about it was about damn time and that it is only called class warfare when we have the temerity to stand up and fight what has been going on for the past thirty years. Kossak-inspired talking points just rolled off my tongue for a while and I had a sense of gratitude for all the debate that has gone on here at teh GOS that prepared me to speak with some level of coherence. It was lively, and even dared to venture forth into the shaky territory of discussing the misperception from outside of Hispanics being a unified block of voters. I did point out that we had an Hispanic Tea Party Governor (Susana Martinez) in New Mexico.
It might be useful to mention that the demographic of the meeting was distinctly Anglo and elderly, the faithful cadre of Las Vegas "Peace and justice" types who are often seen at rallies and demonstrations. Not that there were not local Hispanics present, including one I know from other contexts, but that in a County that is around 80-90% Hispanic, that is a skewed demographic when half the attendees are old Anglo people like me.
At one point, I brought up the recent labor dispute in this city of 12,000 over whether the workforce at hastalavistaAlta Vista Hospital would be unionized and whether the local San Miguel County Democratic Party organization had taken a position in the dispute. The County Party organization had remained neutral, someone said. WTF, I said, (paraphrasing) why not? Where was the Democratic Party we all knew that stood up for the rights of working people, etc, etc. (I beleive the vote went for the union, but I am embarrassed to say I didn't follow it closely. The local paper, the venerable Daily Optic, isn't online yet.
After more than an hour and a half, having said my piece and feeling I had been heard, I went home.
So I'm asking myself why I went and hijacked the meeting, if that is a fair description of derailing the script and getting some folks talking amongst themselves? I know I had intent to send a message upstream. I also know that I found great respect for the actual organizers, who allowed things to flow organically, rather than remain attached to their script. That's hip. And I come out of it wanting to see what happens next, just a bit energized to get with more people on this whole organizing thing, because I honestly didn't do all that much in previous years. I have some more time now that I am "retired".
I still haven't gotten around to watching and hearing the coverage of the presser I missed. I hear he came out swinging. I so want to rally up and believe again and have it all turn out better, but I am so discouraged by how it has been going. But there I am, going to a damn meeting. Again.