Mobilization Against the War, November 1969--photo by phc
I lived, studied and worked in Washington DC throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s. Between 1968 and 1972, everyone I knew believed we were headed for revolution.
There had already been bombings, and we knew (people who knew) people who were being investigated as possible radicals, etc. Several had their phones tapped; others saw men in white jumpsuits going through their trash. Thousands of mostly young people had been arrested in various demonstrations in the city, fueling the fires. Given the number of people under 30 who hated the government, a full-blown revolt was a given, not a guess. Just a matter of time until the crazies got their act together.
To prepare for the inevitable, our neighborhood worked out telephone trees and contingency escape plans. We lived only a few blocks from the US Capitol building, a magnet for rebellion. Everyone figured our block could be torched, as happened in other parts of the city during the 1968 riots. I remember putting together a box of stuff I didn’t want to lose. It would be the last thing I grabbed when I left.
Around 1974-75, something happened: Absolutely nothing! The war was over. Nixon was on his way out. Radicals traded in their fatigues for polyester pants suits, hippy anthems for disco, and quite a few gave up politics for cocaine. By then, I had moved to New York, and no one I met in NY had ever even heard of the revolution that almost took place. It was as if I had arrived from another planet. Go figure.
There had already been bombings, and we knew (people who knew) people who were being investigated as possible radicals, etc. Several had their phones tapped; others saw men in white jumpsuits going through their trash. Thousands of mostly young people had been arrested in various demonstrations in the city, fueling the fires. Given the number of people under 30 who hated the government, a full-blown revolt was a given, not a guess. Just a matter of time until the crazies got their act together.
To prepare for the inevitable, our neighborhood worked out telephone trees and contingency escape plans. We lived only a few blocks from the US Capitol building, a magnet for rebellion. Everyone figured our block could be torched, as happened in other parts of the city during the 1968 riots. I remember putting together a box of stuff I didn’t want to lose. It would be the last thing I grabbed when I left.
Around 1974-75, something happened: Absolutely nothing! The war was over. Nixon was on his way out. Radicals traded in their fatigues for polyester pants suits, hippy anthems for disco, and quite a few gave up politics for cocaine. By then, I had moved to New York, and no one I met in NY had ever even heard of the revolution that almost took place. It was as if I had arrived from another planet. Go figure.
Mobe, 1969, photo by phc
With this historical background in mind, I bring you an update on the new revolution, which seems to be having a tough time getting off the ground.
______________________
From The New York Times
January 26, 2010
Tea Party Disputes Take Toll on Convention
By Kate Zernike
A Tea Party convention billed as the coming together of the grass-roots groups that began sprouting up around the country a year ago is unraveling as sponsors and participants pull out to protest its expense and express concerns about “profiteering.”
The convention’s difficulties highlight the fractiousness of the Tea Party groups, and the considerable suspicions among their members of anything that suggests the establishment.
The convention, to be held in Nashville in early February, made a splash by attracting big-name politicians. (Former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech.) But some groups have criticized the cost — $549 per ticket and a $9.95 fee, plus hotel and airfare — as out of reach for the average tea partier. And they have balked at Ms. Palin’s speaking fee, which news reports have put at $100,000, a figure that organizers will not confirm or deny.
Tea Party events exploded last winter, as increasingly large gatherings protested the federal stimulus bill, government bailouts and proposed health care legislation. While they vary by name, specific tenets and relative embrace of anarchy, such groups tend to unite around fiscal conservatism and a belief that the federal government — whether led by Republicans or Democrats — has overstepped its constitutional powers.
Tea Party Nation, the convention organizer, started as a social networking site for the groups last year, a kind of Facebook for conservatives to “form bonds, network and make plans for action.” But its founders, former sponsors and participants are now trading accusations.
Philip Glass, the national director of the National Precinct Alliance, announced late Sunday that “amid growing controversy” around the convention, his organization would no longer participate. His group seeks to take over the Republican Party from the bottom by filling the ranks of local and state parties with grass-roots conservatives, and Mr. Glass had been scheduled to lead workshops on its strategy.
“We are very concerned about the appearance of T.P.N. profiteering and exploitation of the grass-roots movement,” he said in a statement. “We were under the impression that T.P.N. was a nonprofit organization like N.P.A., interested only in uniting and educating Tea Party activists on how to make a real difference in the political arena.”
To continue reading this story, click "Read More" in the lower right corner, below.
______________________
From The New York Times
January 26, 2010
Tea Party Disputes Take Toll on Convention
By Kate Zernike
A Tea Party convention billed as the coming together of the grass-roots groups that began sprouting up around the country a year ago is unraveling as sponsors and participants pull out to protest its expense and express concerns about “profiteering.”
The convention’s difficulties highlight the fractiousness of the Tea Party groups, and the considerable suspicions among their members of anything that suggests the establishment.
The convention, to be held in Nashville in early February, made a splash by attracting big-name politicians. (Former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech.) But some groups have criticized the cost — $549 per ticket and a $9.95 fee, plus hotel and airfare — as out of reach for the average tea partier. And they have balked at Ms. Palin’s speaking fee, which news reports have put at $100,000, a figure that organizers will not confirm or deny.
Tea Party events exploded last winter, as increasingly large gatherings protested the federal stimulus bill, government bailouts and proposed health care legislation. While they vary by name, specific tenets and relative embrace of anarchy, such groups tend to unite around fiscal conservatism and a belief that the federal government — whether led by Republicans or Democrats — has overstepped its constitutional powers.
Tea Party Nation, the convention organizer, started as a social networking site for the groups last year, a kind of Facebook for conservatives to “form bonds, network and make plans for action.” But its founders, former sponsors and participants are now trading accusations.
Philip Glass, the national director of the National Precinct Alliance, announced late Sunday that “amid growing controversy” around the convention, his organization would no longer participate. His group seeks to take over the Republican Party from the bottom by filling the ranks of local and state parties with grass-roots conservatives, and Mr. Glass had been scheduled to lead workshops on its strategy.
“We are very concerned about the appearance of T.P.N. profiteering and exploitation of the grass-roots movement,” he said in a statement. “We were under the impression that T.P.N. was a nonprofit organization like N.P.A., interested only in uniting and educating Tea Party activists on how to make a real difference in the political arena.”
To continue reading this story, click "Read More" in the lower right corner, below.
Mr. Glass said he was also concerned about the role in the convention of groups like Tea Party Express, which has held rallies across the country through two bus tours, and FreedomWorks, a Tea Party umbrella. He called them "Republican National Committee-related groups,” and added, “At best, it creates the appearance of an R.N.C. hijacking; at worst, it is one.”
Erick Erickson, the editor of the influential conservative blog RedState.com, wrote this month that something seemed “scammy” about the convention. And the American Liberty Alliance withdrew as a sponsor after its members expressed concerns about the convention’s finances being channeled through private bank accounts and its organizer being “for profit.”
“When we look at the $500 price tag for the event and the fact that many of the original leaders in the group left over similar issues, it’s hard for us not to assume the worst,” Eric Odom, the executive director of the American Liberty Alliance and an organizer of the tax day rallies last April, wrote on the group’s Web site.
Sherry Phillips, who founded and runs Tea Party Nation with her husband, Judson, said Monday that it is not a nonprofit group.
Ms. Phillips said the American Liberty Alliance was “a for-profit company that takes donations.” The National Precinct Alliance, she said, demanded compensation of around $3,000. “Our budget on this convention is very tight and we could not afford them,” she wrote in an e-mail message.
She declined to comment on Ms. Palin’s speaking fee.
“If there is any profit,” Ms. Phillips said, “the money will go toward furthering the cause of conservatism.”
Mr. Glass denied that his group had requested money and said convention organizers had asked his group to pay $2,200 to speak.
As for FreedomWorks, it is not a convention sponsor. Tea Party leaders in training sessions at the group’s headquarters on Monday said their members, for the most part, could not afford the convention or were not interested.
Erick Erickson, the editor of the influential conservative blog RedState.com, wrote this month that something seemed “scammy” about the convention. And the American Liberty Alliance withdrew as a sponsor after its members expressed concerns about the convention’s finances being channeled through private bank accounts and its organizer being “for profit.”
“When we look at the $500 price tag for the event and the fact that many of the original leaders in the group left over similar issues, it’s hard for us not to assume the worst,” Eric Odom, the executive director of the American Liberty Alliance and an organizer of the tax day rallies last April, wrote on the group’s Web site.
Sherry Phillips, who founded and runs Tea Party Nation with her husband, Judson, said Monday that it is not a nonprofit group.
Ms. Phillips said the American Liberty Alliance was “a for-profit company that takes donations.” The National Precinct Alliance, she said, demanded compensation of around $3,000. “Our budget on this convention is very tight and we could not afford them,” she wrote in an e-mail message.
She declined to comment on Ms. Palin’s speaking fee.
“If there is any profit,” Ms. Phillips said, “the money will go toward furthering the cause of conservatism.”
Mr. Glass denied that his group had requested money and said convention organizers had asked his group to pay $2,200 to speak.
As for FreedomWorks, it is not a convention sponsor. Tea Party leaders in training sessions at the group’s headquarters on Monday said their members, for the most part, could not afford the convention or were not interested.
