By James Thompson

WASHINGTON, DC – I attended the ‘One Nation’ rally in Washington, DC on 10/02/2010. I was gratified to see an ocean of progressive people standing together against the negative assault by the ultra-right wing Tea Partiers and their partners, Fox News and Glenn Beck.

Organizers estimated the crowd at 175,000, but it was really impossible to say. Many people were coming and going all day long, so getting an accurate crowd estimate was not feasible. In any case, the crowd was definitely awe inspiring.

DC has an admirable public transportation system and I took it to get to the rally Saturday morning. Although I started fairly early at 9am, the subway was jam packed with enthusiastic union members who were loud and visible. I happened to be with a large group of UAW members as I made my way to the rally site. Being a UAW member, this really made me happy. Some people said later in the day there were so many people in the subway they had to stop the escalators abruptly since there were too many people on them. There were reports that some people fell as a result and were hurt.

I was disappointed to find out that some subway lines were delayed because of maintenance. One would think that with such a big event, the transportation planners would have cooperated fully and kept all lines moving to accommodate the massive crowd.

Union members and NAACP members were everywhere. They really dominated the scene. Also, a lot of people were there to express their opposition to the wars in the Middle East. Many people were pushing for universal health care, universal education and jobs. A lot of people held signs demanding an end to the senseless wars, as well as bailouts for banks and the ultra wealthy. The anger at the ultra-wealthy and ultra right-wing’s drive for increased profits for corporations was palpable.

I spoke with one young African American man from Baltimore who was incensed that the ultra wealthy in this country are not taxed at a level comparable to working people. He thought the country’s problems could be solved if everyone paid their fair share of taxes. He was a big supporter of Obama and felt our President is not getting the support from progressive forces that he deserves.

People were openly talking about the ugly face of racism and how it has served to divide our country and make working people easy prey for corporations and capitalists.

The most striking thing about the rally was its diversity and focus on unity. I watched an Asian dance troupe and a number of young African Americans joined right in with them in a show of solidarity.

Peace groups such as the U.S. Peace Council stood shoulder to shoulder with union members and civil rights activists.

The CPUSA was present and visible. Two banners, one for the CPUSA and one for the YCL were very prominent. People distributing a copy of a People’s World article by Jarvis Tyner welcoming people to the rally and declaring “Hope is stronger than hate!” were everywhere. There was a table for the CPUSA located near the table for the national office of NAACP. The CPUSA table was well received and distributed a lot of party literature. There was a great demand for YCL tee shirts, clappers as well as other items.

The rally was a great example of what is needed from progressives to move the nation forward. One man at the top cannot do much. We have to make him do what is right for working people. He is undoubtedly under extraordinary pressure from the wealthy to do the wrong thing. Massive shows of solidarity are needed to demand real solutions to the economic crisis facing this country and the world.

PHill1917@comcast.net

By CPUSA Houston

It is our understanding that on September 24, 2010 at 8am, the FBI carried out coordinated raids on seven homes of anti-war and solidarity activists and two offices in Chicago and Minneapolis and served grand jury subpoenas in Illinois, Michigan, and Minnestota. Other activists in California and North Carolina were contacted in an effort to intimidate. Initial reports indicate that their homes were ransacked with all but household essentials taken by the FBI.
Such authoritarian actions are reminiscent of the McCarthy era as well as the Palmer raids. Do we need to remind the Obama administration that you were elected on a platform of peace and a promised end to the wars in the Middle East? Many CPUSA members worked hard for your election and support you completely even to this day. We will be working hard for the election of Democrats in these mid-term elections.
Harassment of the left is not what we expected from this administration. We did not expect you to throw Van Jones and Shirley Sherrod under the bus when they were attacked by the right wing. We did not expect you to step up the oppression and deportation of immigrant laborers and bring it to a level that would shame the Bush administration. We did not expect you to issue right wing slurs of liberals and disrespect organized labor which has been nothing but loyal to you. Such statements as “F… the UAW” and “drug test the liberals” should not be tolerated and anyone making such statements should be unceremoniously removed from government office.
The peace activists you are attacking were merely working for the originally stated goals of your administration during your campaign in the 2008 election cycle.
No one is fooled by the so-called withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq. People know that there are still 50,000 troops in Iraq that are costing U.S. taxpayers $1,000,000 a year for each soldier deployed. People know these soldiers will kill many civilians and continue to destroy a country that never attacked or threatened our great nation.
These recent attacks on peaceful, law abiding activists is totally incomprehensible. However, what is even more astounding is the lack of action from the FBI and other Federal law enforcement agencies in curtailing the activities of the ultra right wing. While beating up on peace activists, the countless bloggers as well as TV and radio personalities who spew out racist hatred and advocate a violent takeover of the federal government and even assassination of many government officials walk free. When will the FBI do their job and vigorously prosecute these shameless criminals who display their venom for all to see?
Call the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at (202)353-1555 and/or write an email to: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov. to register your concerns about these authoritarian measures applied to peace activists and failure to police the right wing hate squads.