MoveOn.org, a liberal activist group, plans a rally Thursday at the Woodbury congressional office of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, focusing on Republican opposition to a proposed extension of federal payroll tax cuts.
It’s not like such an event is going to change her mind on the issue, but organizers hope to energize their base and get some media attention.
An email announcing the rally says they hope to bring “the message of the 99%” to Bachmann’s front door:
With votes on unemployment benefits, Medicare payments, and a Wall Street tax likely before the end of the year, the lines have never been clearer. This final month of 2011 will force every member of Congress to show who they really represent.
The noon rally is part of the group’s national effort to have “speak outs” at local congressional offices around the country.
The invitation to the event at Bachmann’s office, 6043 Hudson Rd., Woodbury, says the plan is to:
“…express our disgust that Washington has done nothing for the struggling majority. We’ll tell Democrats to act like Democrats and fight for Jobs Not Cuts and we’ll expose the GOP’s all-out effort to give tax breaks to millionaires. The more we can force Congress to hear our voices and feel our power the harder it’ll be for them to ignore our demands for change.”
Yawn, yawn, yawn. This is such a waste of energy. If these people were *really* concerned about the poor and unemployed, especially at Christmas time, they’d be out helping those people. Their “protests” (which NEVER change anybody’s mind) do no good, they get in the way of innocent people going about their regular business, and are a total waste of time.
“We’re the Koch Brothers, and we approved the preceding message”.
They’re such a ‘waste of energy’ that Dick Armey and his group Freedom Works hired people to swell the ranks of the ‘tea party’ rallies. Other corporate tea party supporters sent busloads of employees to make their rallies look highly attended. After all, only 600 showed up for their much vaunted ‘national’ convention. Yup, it sure must be a ‘waste of energy’ in a democratic republic for people to express their opinions in person and by showing up for a rally. It used to be called freedom of speech.
As to your comment about helping others, most of us do that by volunteering all year long. We know that people need help all year, not just at the holidays.
#1 Don’t know about changed anyone’s mind, but changed votes and results, oh yes.
And recent protests are changing the GOP’s message: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/republicans-being-taught-talk-occupy-wall-street-133707949.html
I may seem useless to rally at Bachmann’s office because of her strident positions and her dismissive attitude towards opposing views.
But I believe the people need to say it.
I believe the people deserve to say it.
I believe Bachmann, her staff and her supporters need to hear, it even in the face of their intransigence.
Bachmann does believe in tax cuts for the middle class…just not these.
For example, she favors extending the Bush tax cuts…and yes they were tax cuts for the rich also. She doesn’t like the payroll tax cuts (FICA and Medicare) mentioned in this article because of what they fund. Thus the need for some cuts….so as to continue funding Social Security and Medicare without raising the deficit or debt.
Obama would like to expand and extend these payroll tax cuts, giving employers a cut on their matching FICA and Medicare also. This would be, it seems, a supply-side cut as well as a demand-side cut. Bachmann would see more value in this, but would still be worried about Social Security and Medicare funding….thus the need for some cuts to go along with this. Although she would say the tax cuts to employers would generate revenue to the Government (i.e. supply-sider thinking).