In the last two weeks I've been in awe of the growing Occupy! movement. I've seen the campers in Madrid and other cities in Europe, watched the peaceful protests of the Arab spring, and tried to help the voices of the many individuals in Asia reverberate through the Internet as they cryfor social justice. But honestly, I never thought it would come here. I thought that we were too content...too complacent...or too intimidated by banksters and big money boys.
I've also seen the almost comically frantic reactions of the right, who suddenly see their own methods used against them. One of their memes (from Luntz' keyboard to their lips?) is that the movement is unfocused, disorganized, or somehow anarchist.
So it's with great humility that I'd like to offer two suggestions to those who are looking for a way to capitalize on this positive change we can believe in--both admittedly stolen from the Right.
First, keep it visible. When the mayor of a major city or respected media stars show up to talk, that's great. Next, kick it up a notch. Dick Armey spent a lot of Koch money last year to make sure that the ersatz town hall meetings railing against health care reform got lots of press.
One of the key tactics of Armey and his gang is to create the impression that everyone agrees with them. (Look at the bumper stickers and lawn signs. There are more Democrats than Republicans in this country--although some don't vote. You'd never know it from the visual signs, because progressive folks are afraid to get keyed or have their signs stolen.)
We don't need money. Even with the troll population we could rustle up a quarter million readers at this site. If half of them popped an email to a media outlet asking for more coverage, it would be huge. (Follow me to the end for the simplest visibility trick.)
The organizers themselves shouldn't be shy, either. If there can be a beer summit there could easily be a tap water summit! President Obama opened the door at the press conference, saying he (thought he) understood the frustration of the protestors. He now needs to do a town hall at one of the sites or a virtual town hall answering questions, even open the Rose Garden to casual conversation. It may be too much to expect endorsement, but he does have ears!
Second, and most importantly, legislators need to know that the pressure is on. This movement is clearly not (at least at this point) designed to endorse specific candidates. I'm not speaking for any group or making any prediction as to where it would go in a year, but at this point it is the most democratic and well-organized truly grass roots endeavor I've seen in many decades so I take organizers at their word.
That said, I'd like to humbly suggest a mechanism that would both use Grover Norquist's evil genius and put him and his minions to shame--a pledge. This pledge would be so democratic, so constitutional and so just that no one who had pledged his soul to Norquist could possibly take it.
...And most importantly, it would be simple. If we asked potential legislators to pledge to respect basic human rights, to respect the true meaning of the Constitution, that we all have the responsibility to support the necessary functions of government to the extent our circumstances allow, and to pledge that they believed that corporations were not people that would be a great start. Those commitments and Norquist's demands are mutually exclusive. The pledge might go farther--to identify voting rights, health care and education as basic human rights that may not be abridged by corporations. Yes, it's all in the Constitution, but you wouldn't know it.
This approach might be devastating in the "KISS" sort of way. The existence of a Pledge to the People rather than a Pledge to the Party would put Norquist and his ilk in a mirror that wouldn't be very flattering. It would also be simple enough that almost all of us might be able to agree. We wouldn't need lists or endorsements, just clear statements of principles that would fit on a bumper sticker--''"My Pledge Is to the People."