Today's March: One Nation Working Together

If you combine the 35,000 KKK members who marched in Washington-- though, of course, not because they were racists-- on August 8, 1925 with the 87,000 Fox News disciples of Glenn Beck who marched-- also not because they're racists-- on August 28 of this year... that's around half the Hispanics who turned out for the March 28, 2010 comprehensive immigration reform rally and around half the gays and lesbians who came to the October 11, 2009 National Equality March. Fox promoted the Beck hatefest with nearly a million dollars in free advertising and 87,000 attendees wasn't bad. Early satellite reports show turnout today also dwarfed the combined KKK march and the Beck-Palin fascist rally of August.

Today's One Nation Working Together doesn't have the corporate big money machine urging people to attend. Most people don't even know about it-- and probably will never find out about it either unless they watch MSNBC. After all, it doesn't fit the corporate narrative that controls the ebb and flow of mass communication in America. This is a strictly grassroots affair. As the Washington Post put it, on Thursday, "the goal is to reclaim the excitement that surged among left-leaning groups after the 2008 presidential race but that more recently has belonged to tea party groups and other conservative activists" and is being boosted by dozens of groups-- environmentalists, antiwar activists, immigrants rights groups, church and civil rights groups, union organizers and gay rights coalitions. Yesterday Greg Sargent asked in the same newspaper if the rally will prove what polls are already starting to indicate, that the enthusiasm gap is closing. He estimates that between the AFL-CIO and SEIU members alone, there should be 175,000-- far more participants than the Klan delivered in 1925 and this past August combined.

Listen to Richard Trumka explain what this march is all about:




This statement just went out from One Nation Working Together:

As of 3:00pm, an estimated 175,000+ Americans-- representing all 50 states and our country's great diversity-- joined together at the Lincoln memorial to re-claim the American dream and raise their voices for jobs, justice and public education. One Nation Working Together released the following statement:

"It's inspiring to look out and see so many people-- even more than we expected-- from so many different places coming together as one nation in support of jobs, justice and public education," said Leah Daughtry, National Director, ONWT. "This is an important moment in the progressive movement-- as each person returns home and continues to rally our fellow Americans as we head to the ballot box in November and re-commit ourselves to our common future.

"This is true democracy and good old-fashioned organizing at work."