In an attempt to rival the largely successful "Restoring Honor" rally and the upcoming “Unite in D.C.” weekend of patriotic events, liberals and Leftists across the nation have scheduled a rally of their own for October 2, 2010. Entitled “One Nation Working Together,” the rally is set to take place in the same location as Glenn Beck’s "Restoring Honor" rally, the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, from noon until 4:00 p.m.
The overall message of “One Nation Working Together” is that “we all deserve a just and fair chance to achieve the American Dream. Our national identity is rooted in the ideal that all people — regardless of race, class, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, heritage or ability — should have the opportunity to fulfill their potential.”
On September 1, march organizers gathered at the steps of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City for a news conference to promote the October 2 event. One organizer, UFT President Michael Mulgrew, explained, “Repelling attacks on a shrinking middle class and fighting for economic justice is a fight for us all. On October 2, we are going to Washington, D.C. to tell the country that it’s not about hating each other and dividing each other, but about working together.”
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While coordinators tout a peaceful purpose of charting “a bold, pragmatic path toward a more unified, sustainable, prosperous future by building support for these core principles and policy ideals," a glimpse of the event’s sponsors creates doubt over the alleged intentions. Sponsors of the event include the NAACP, Van Jones’ s Green For All, the National Council of La Raza, AFL-CIO, SEIU, George Soros’s Campus Progress, International Socialist Organization, the National Education Association, the Institute for Policy Studies, and many more notoriously Marxist, radical, anti-American organizations.
Perhaps with the intent to reaffirm the notion that the rally will exemplify peaceful resistance, organizers elected to schedule it on Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday.
According to the event’s website, attendees and sponsors stand for the following:
Putting America Back to Work
• Extend jobless benefits, COBRA, mortgage assistance, and other initiatives for those currently out of work
• Target help for populations and communities in the greatest need
Quality and Affordable Public Education
• Ensure that all people have access to affordable, high quality education throughout their lives, from pre-school through college
• Provide for teacher training and support necessary to continuously improve classroom practice and serve students better
Equality for All
• End the foreclosure epidemic and save the homes of America’s families
• Reform bankruptcy laws to protect families and working people
• Prioritize affordable housing for all
The website for the rally celebrates divisive individuals like talk show host Ed Schultz, New York Congressman Charles Rangel, and NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, but proclaims its intention to “build a more united country with good jobs, equal justice, and quality public education for all.”
The agenda does not end there, however. Hopeful organizers wish to redirect the “winds in Washington” away from the Tea Party agenda. According to SEIU President George Gresham, “We have not yet found our way out of the crisis, but those who have been making the most noise, such as the Tea Party advocates, are attempting to take us back and tear our country apart. We can’t let that happen.”
Above all, leaders view the rally as an opportunity to "demand all the changes we voted for."
The increased demand for rallies in Washington, D.C., however different they are from one another, certainly indicates the passion that rages in the hearts of voters. However, while the success of these rallies has often been weighed by attendance, true success will be measured by the outcome of the November 2 elections.
