Was it our Cairo moment? Hardly. But it was something that moved this individual and it inspired me to write this piece.
This is a story about what dedicated people can accomplish when they put their minds and resources together to get things done. It's the power of the internet in getting folks together and how their efforts can spark a movement.
This all started when like minded people got together on a facebook page. As Kentuckians we came together originally on one or another hate Rand Paul fb pages and when the campaign was over we wanted to keep in touch so one of the ladies on board started our little group. Kentucky C-Span; This is our story.
Like most internet acquaintances that aren't family, none of us had actually met one another except for commenting to each other on a facebook page that was anti Rand Paul. When the campaign was over a few of the ladies from our group decided to create a group called Kentucky C-Span. It's a closed group of like minded individuals.
The group has grown to 78 members in a little under a year. Started in January of 2011, we only had a few members, we exchanged information back and forth, complained and vowed revenge, like oh so many frustrated Kentuckians who woke up one morning and had Rand Paul instead of Jim Bunning for Senator. The nightmare continues.
We are about as eclectic a group of individuals as you could find, from all over the State of Kentucky but we have some things in common. We are activist, retirees, truckers and house wives/husbands but we are all of like mind in our politics and want to bear witness to a needed change.
One day our resident trucker in the group suggested we do something besides sitting on our computers and complaining. He suggested we meet up and talk about things. The idea grew from there and one Saturday we all drove to Frankfort Kentucky for lunch. We spent hours talking about first one thing and the other. Finally getting to know one another in a three dimensional world. One of our members was living in Belgium when we first started the page so we were able to bond with her and her husband and her move back home. In short it was delightful to meet each other personally.
Shortly before that meeting three of the ladies in our group took it upon themselves to organize a rally. They had learned that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was paying a visit to this years Republican candidate for Governor David Williams. In a matter of days these women used whatever contacts they had and carried out a very successful protest in front of Republican Headquarters in Lexington Kentucky.
These ladies organized a bus from neighboring Louisville sponsored by the local Teamsters. They had local media following the rally. The independent candidate for Lt Governor Dee Riley was there, in all approximately 100 people turned out in the cold and rain to protest the anti union anti worker policies of the right wing. The partnership of David Williams with the anti union anti worker governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker does not set well with Kentucky workers. These ladies generated a rally to give him a very well deserved Kentucky Bluegrass welcome.
Since this rally went viral on my dear friends http://hillbillyreport.org blog this group has gained notoriety with the Wisconsin group and feature on local newscasts there. All of this from a small group of concerned citizens who wanted to be together sharing their thoughts and dreams for this country.
This is truly grassroots, this is what it's all about. If it weren't for these dedicated ladies Walker would have slide in and out of town with being noticed but they were able through their efforts to put candidate Williams on notice "we don't tolerate no monkey business round here!". I must say it's my privilege to be associated with these good people and I would encourage everyone everywhere to do what these ladies did, right here the heartland. Organize with people who think like you do, then look for others to do the same. If these ladies can do it then so can you.
Was this a Cairo moment? Who knows? Only time will tell...thank you Karen, Sandy, Debra and all the rest. You are an inspiration