Grassroots Organizing Group Meeting, March 24th

There will be a new meeting of the Grassroots Organizing Group on March 24th, 6.30 pm, at Carol Adamson’s flat. Please RSVP to sarah_hollister@hotmail.com for directions and more information.

The first meeting for Organizing for America was held at Tully’s Coffee on February 17, 2010. There will be mor…e meetings, m…ore movement as we work to support President Obama’s goals. The question: How to inspire people to work for those goals in the same way that they worked to elect Barack Obama. He is now where we wanted him to be. We have a limited window of opportunity. Let’s not waste it. The significance and repercussions of the recent Supreme Court Decision regarding corporate finance were discussed. Senator John F. Kerry, writing for Politico (www.politico.com) had this to say about the decision: “…the majority issued a decision inflating the speech rights of large faceless corporations to the level of those of hardworking Americans. In doing so, the court overturned a major act of Congress regulating campaign financing….” The concept of checks and balances was also discussed with the conclusion that we are not powerless. We can challenge the Supreme Court ruling as not representative of the greater number of people living in America. (Figures suggest that 80% of Americans, both Republicans and Democrats, are angry about the decision.) A Constitutional amendment has been proposed by Rep. Donna Edwards of Maryland and John Conyers of Michigan in response to the Supreme Court decision. We discussed how we can urge other legislators to support this amendment as well as other proposed legislation to reform the funding of political candidates.How and what exactly can grass roots organizers do to help bring about change? According to Wikepedia: Grassroots organize and lobby through procedures including:§ hosting house meetings or parties§ gathering signatures for petitions§ setting up information tables§ raising money from many small donors for political advertising or campaigns§ organizing larger events§ asking individuals to submit opinions to media outlets and government officials § holding Get Out the Vote activities, which include registering voters, reminding people to vote and transporting them to polling places.Just as the populist movements of the 1930s helped create the New Deal embodiment of Democratic ideals, today’s grassroots movements using the internet and social media helped elect a President who represents the majority, not the 1%. We have the power to help him stand firm. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 17 – which just happens to be St. Patrick’s Day – at Democrats Abroad Sweden co-chair, Carol Adamson’s flat at 6.30. More details on where and how to get there will follow.Sarah HollisterSee MorePolitics, Political News – POLITICO.com
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