Dennis S. attended Truthful Tuesday, a demonstration in Columbia, SC on Tuesday and provided a detailed breakdown of the event.…
I loaned about six hours to American Democracy Tuesday; a 1 ½ hour
bus ride each way, a couple hours of whooping it up at a noon rally
called “Truthful Tuesday” and the 30-minute car ride to and from the bus
meeting point where 35 of us progressive locals gathered to add our
presence and cheering voices to well over a thousand (a few, if AP were
to be believed) like-minded liberal Democrats at the state Capitol
building in Columbia.
There was an earlier demonstration, attracting a pitiful 200 souls
that was sponsored by FreedomWorks, a radical organization originally
funded by one of the Koch brothers and headed for a time by Dick Armey
until the group bought off Armey for 8 million bucks. The Tea Party
protesters were bitching about what they called ‘Obamacare’ and, to that
end, featured State Representative, Bill Chumley, the same guy who
wasted thousands of taxpayer dollars flying in Walter Williams,
a George Mason economist and fill-in for Lush Dimbulb, to lend his
expertise (Absolute Zero) to a House Subcommittee working feverishly to
undermine the Affordable Care Act.
My local paper pictured Chumley speaking behind a giant sign “Choose
Freedom’ STOP ObamaCare.” They didn’t dare show the meager crowd. In a
piece of editorial nuance, AP put the estimated crowd of Truthful
Tuesday at “several hundred.” Objective observers placed its numbers at
1,500-2000.
The Associated Press reporter summed up the demonstration contents I
attended by accurately calling it a rally for social justice with the
crowd chanting “enough is enough.” He pointed out the coffin that
fronted the speakers as representing the estimated 1,300-1,400 people
who would die as a result of repugican Governor, Nikki Haley, refusing
to expand Medicaid eligibility. The story added that in addition to
supporting ACA, there were concerns about education, jobs (28.6% pay
poverty wages), and voting rights. As for the latter, South Carolina
ranks 47th in the nation in voter participation. An African-American
lady told of the succession of roadblocks the state put in her way at
every step of the registration process. AP hinted that my crowd wouldn’t
mind getting arrested for civil disobedience at future events. Judging
from the average age of the attendees, they’d have to be cuffed sitting
down.
The Associated Press story included no names of any of the roughly
dozen speakers at the rally. Some were distinguished leaders in their
fields of health care, education and labor. There was a labor union
head, a courageous doctor, a social worker, several ministers and others
who presented real-life examples of the harm repugican elected
officials are bringing down on their constituents.
On my bus ride up and back, we were treated to friendly and
informative patter from the driver on various issues of interest,
including pointing out the bridge collapse, truck mishap of the day
before, temporarily blocking a busy thoroughfare. It was one of those
infrastructure projects on the drawing board. I sat with my Greek
friend, Nick, on both legs of the trip. Nick knows his politics and his
sports and we had an “interesting” mutual friend we gossiped about the
majority of the time.
Once we alighted the bus, we headed for the venue. I’m not a
stand-arounder, so I assisted in moving and setting up chairs and
hauling a table out to the entrance that we could use to stack up
literature.
I talked with a number of strangers. Democrats are invariably open
and friendly at these confabs. One lady had battled cancer for four
years. She had been with her insurance company for 25 years. Her last
treatment came to $45,000. The insurance company paid $2,000 of the tab.
There were numerous similar stories sprinkled throughout the crowd.
I ran into a trio of easily identifiable motorcycle enthusiasts; some
would call them “bikers.” They had patches, but no colors. It was
slightly off-putting that one of their number had never heard of a
Norton or the new Lightning Electric.
They came to the rally to pitch their group called ABATE (A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments). Here’s their
Carolina Website.
The trio appeared to be between 30-45 and gladly handed me a business
card and a narrow, three-page membership application folder. The number
one issue among riders has always been helmet laws. Only three states
have no requirement to wear a helmet. The others with have mandatory or
partial laws.
Of course, opposition to wearing a helmet is a narcissistic
absurdity. I never thought I’d be sending you to a Fox site for a
legitimate news story, but a visit to this year-and-a-half -old Faux News helmet report will
give you an idea of how much we give up in blood and treasure for the
misguided defense of no helmets. There are other issues of importance.
Motorcycle safety and, in particular, riding while impaired. Over 40% of
motorcycle accidents involve drunk or drugged-up riders. I suspect most
members of this fascinating fraternity, with a growing sorority
contingent, signing on, are of the more conservative bent. But they’re
no dummies and I’d respectfully listen to their concerns.
I get along swell with the biker crowd, though I once tore up a knee
flipping over the curb on an actual vintage Indian Chief bike. Yes, it
was my fault, failing to notice gravel that had spilled over onto
pavement in taking a turn too sharply. This extraordinary bike is still
around. The oldie Indians were a blast, riding low with a left-handed
throttle (right-handers were available) and a sidevalve engine (ask
grandpa about Indians if he still wears a bandana around the house).
It’s still the most unique badge out there for motorcycle enthusiasts.
I left the bikers with the full intention of attending one of their
local meetings and turned my immediate full attention to the stage. The
speakers were informed, compelling and animated. A number of Democratic
legislators were introduced to warm applause. I think all of them were
black. I found that strange. It was as if the white elected more liberal
officials were afraid to show their faces to the media at a progressive
event. Too calculating and DINO for my taste.
One of the most high-profile gadabouts at the demonstration was Brett
Bursey. Brett was both an organizer and speaker. He also has a Website
called the South Carolina Progressive Network. He’s the founder and
power behind the site. He works tirelessly and with little compensation
or even recognition, given how much he contributes to the betterment of
the state.
My attendance at Truthful Tuesday yielded a re-commitment to all
things progressive that represent the greatest good for the greatest
number. At the event, I picked up a black-lettered scarf on a bed of red
that pronounced “Enough is Enough”, the phrase we oft-repeated during
the gathering.
Looking at the inhuman path the right has led us down; Enough is most certainly, ENOUGH!
Today is - Squirrel Appreciation Day 
